The Tale of the Pinball Wizard

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Air Date: Saturday, November 14, 1992

Ross Campbell (Joe Posca) is a mischievous kid who frequents a mall searching for loose quarters for the arcade. One day, he "wanders" into a fix-it shop called Olson's, where Mr. Olson (A.J. Henderson) keeps an antique pinball machine under a tarp. Hoping it will lead to a job, Ross offers to look after it while Mr. Olson runs an errand. Olson accepts, Ross plays the pinball game, loses, and before he knows it, the mall transforms into a giant video game which, for Ross to beat, he has to save a princess named Sophie (Polly Shannon).

This is another one I met entirely in the middle. It's one of those sad situations where they did what they could with what they had, but I'd love to see this concept done on a bigger screen with a bigger budget, and it ends up being a "me" problem. For as much as cheesiness is part of the experience with this show, this episode has almost too much of it. It's also not particularly scary, but I credit the ending for bringing it from a fun place to a dark one. It's also fun for its nostalgic aspect, as it screams 1990's YTV (up here in Canada, anyway).

Final Rating: Spooked