The Tale of the Dark Dragon

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Midnight Society

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Air Date: Saturday, July 24, 1993
Storyteller: David (Nathaniel Moreau) 

Frame: Gary (Ross Hull) heads to the Midnight Society meeting and proceeds to light up the bonfire for the storytelling circle, but with no one else around. He steps on a random balloon, popping it, and soon enough, the rest of the gang pops out, yelling "surprise" for Gary's birthday. Gary's pleased as punch that everyone remembered, and Kiki (Jodie Resther) reveals that David has come up with a special story, just for him. As David sits in the storytelling chair, he further reveals that he borrowed one of Gary's characters for it.

Story: Keith (Chuck Campbell) and Mariah (Cara Pifko) are friends who are generally sweet to each other, but Keith is distracted by the popular Shelly Bergman (Eleanor Noble), who is otherwise in an on-and-off relationship with her boyfriend, Gary (Sean Hayes). Needing a confidence boost, Keith looks into Sardo's (Richard M Dumont) magic shop, Sardo being the borrowed character once featured in 'Super Specs.' He's given a "love potion" that comes with a cryptic warning: "Before bringing out the best, one must fight the dark dragon from within," and he soon learns the hard way that self-confidence is not something to take for granted.

Review: I credit the episode for improvements in makeup effects and a fair amount of personal relatability when it comes to being love-struck by the "wrong" person, perhaps while someone wonderful is standing right in front of you. It's a valuable lesson to learn: don't have blinders on. It's also a decent nod to the 'Jekyll & Hyde' story. The episode's problem, however, is that it combines melodrama and goofiness, and it ends up being hard to take seriously - even for an episode of a show where the charm lies in its cheesiness. This episode's decent for its life lessons, but all in all, it's not one of David's heavy-hitting stories. 

Final Rating: Spooked

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