31 Days of Halloween: The Phantom Channel Listings for October 10, 2016

Welcome to the second week of 31 Days of Halloween here on Needless Things! We have all kinds of stuff in store for you guys this year, ranging from creepy to kooky to mysteriously spooky to gory and unforgettably disgusting. We’ll look at spooky toys, horror movies, and all manner of things that go bump in the night.

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year and I tend to dive into appropriate subject matter wholeheartedly. One of the cornerstones of the season has always been television. Once October rolled around, I would start making schedules of all of the creepy stuff that would be on – from the classic Halloween specials to horror movies to special Halloween episodes of shows like Knight Rider and Roseanne. If I missed the Halloween episode of one of my shows, it would haunt me the rest of the year (pun intended)!

As soon as I could get my hands on the Sunday paper, I would pull out the TV listings (my dad wouldn’t spring for the actual TV Guide magazine and I don’t blame him one bit) and plan out my week. I didn’t have my own VCR until I was twelve, so there were sacrifices made. If The Howling and Invaders from Mars were coming on at the same time, I was going to miss one (Invaders from Mars, but mostly because that movie scared the crap out of me).

Last year I replaced my thoughts on SyFy’s October programming with some programming of my own. If I was going to complain about SyFy all month long (though I do love the channel and admire the fact that they program a full month of spooky stuff), I should be able to produce some television schedules of my own. Thus, The Phantom Channel was born!

Once a week I will post a “page” from my own personal TV Guide that will present twenty-four hours of Halloweeny movies, cartoons, and TV shows. Rather than being goofy or providing my usual commentary, I have done my best to mimic the dry style utilized in the TV listings magazine of my youth. I’ve added an extra challenge in this year, as I am going to attempt to work a theme into each day’s programming. Today’s theme:

THE EVIL THAT MEN DO

Morning

6:00 – Despicable Me – Family – Steve Carell, Jason Segel

Supervillain Gru faces his greatest challenge!(95 min.)

8:00 – The New Scooby-Doo Movies “The Mystery of Haunted Island” – Animated

Mystery Inc. and the Harlem Globetrotters team up to foil an evil scheme. (43 min.)

9:00 – The Smurfs “The Smurfette” – Animated

Gargamel creates a female Smurf to sow confusion amongst the Smurfs. (22 min.)

9:30 – Wacky Races – Animated

Dick Dastardly races for first place. (20 min.)

10:00 – Gravity Falls “The Hand That Rocks the Mabel" – Animated

Dipper is concerned about a new neighbor trying to woo Mabel. (22 min.)

10:30 – Aladdin - Animated – Robin Williams, Scott Weinger

The villainous Jafar plots to marry Princess Jasmine. (90 min.)

Afternoon

12:00 – The Addams Family – Comedy – Anjelica Huston, Raúl Juliá

A dastardly trio plots against the creepy, kooky family. (99 min.)

2:00 – Jonny Quest “The Curse of Anubis” – Animated

An Arab revolutionary frames Dr. Quest for theft in Egypt. (25 min.)

2:30 – Inspector Gadget “Mad in the Moon" – Animated

Dr. Claw has nefarious plans for the moon. (22 min.)

3:00 – The Tick “The Tick vs. Chairface Chippendale” – Animated

Chairface Chippendale has nefarious plans for the moon. (24 min.)

3:30 – Spider-Man “The Menace of Mysterio” – Animated

Someone is framing Spider-Man for crimes he didn’t commit. (21 min.)

4:00 – The Transformers “Only Human” – Animated

Two humans – Victor Drath and Old Snake – attempt to destroy the Autobots. (25 min.)

4:30 – Batman: The Animated Series “Prophecy of Doom” – Animated

Batman investigates a mysterious cult leader. (22 min.)

5:00 – Manimal “Night of the Beast”- Action

There’s no rest for Dr. Jonathan Chase, not even when he’s on vacation!. (44 min.)

Evening

6:00 – Knight Rider “Halloween Knight” - Action

Bonnie witnesses a murder and Halloween gets weird. (42 min.)

7:00 – The Simpsons “Black Widower” – Animated

Sideshow Bob is released from prison and has plan’s for… Selma? (22 min.)

7:30 – The Simpsons “Cape Feare” – Animated

Sideshow Bob seeks revenge on Bart Simpson. (24 min.)

8:00 – Once Upon A Halloween – Animated

The Evil Queen recruits Disney villains to help her take over Halloween. (53 min.)

9:00 – Alfred Hitchcock Presents “The Gloating Place” – Thriller

How far will Susan go to become popular? (24 min.)

9:30 – Tales from the Crypt “Split Personality” – Horror

A con man (Joe Pesci) woos wealthy, reclusive twins. (24 min.)

10:00 – Psycho – Horror – Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles

A woman on the run encounters terror at Norman Bates’ family-owned motel. (109 min.)

12:00 – 31 – Horror – Sheri Moon Zombie, Jeff Daniel Phillips

Carnival workers traveling cross-country are waylaid and forced into a game of life and death. (102 min.)

Late Night

2:00 – The Abominable Dr. Phibes – Horror – Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten

Dr. Anton Phibes seeks revenge on those he believes responsible for the death of his wife. (94 min.)

4:00 – Cape Fear – Thriller – Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck

A lawyer and his family are terrorized by a sinister ex-cinvict.(105 min.)

That’s another day of Halloweeny programming in the can! I hope you decide to watch a couple of these selections and maybe even put together a viewing schedule of your own. Be sure to join the Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and share your own awesome Halloween viewing schedules. We’d love to hear from you!

Also, follow PhantomTroublemaker on Instagram for the return of #monsteraday, where I feature a different monster toy every day, all month long!

Until next time, stay creepy!