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Saturday Night Special
Season 1, Episode 6
Saturday Night Special title card
Air date November 13, 1988
Written by James Nathan
Don Bohlinger
Directed by Lisa Gottlieb
Episode guide
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Judy Miller, Come on Down
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Sister's Keeper

"Saturday Night Special" is the sixth episode of the 1st season of Freddy's Nightmares: A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series.

Plot[]

Story 1[]

The episode begins at the skating rink, where Spingwood's hockey players and figure skaters train. Insurance broker Gordon and his friend Jim are regulars at the rink, though have no interest in skating, instead sitting on the benches ogling at the figure skaters. Due to his unrealistically high standards, Gordon turns down a skater for not being pretty enough and calls it a night. While opening the door to his Ferrari XJ-S, Gordon notices a dating service has opened up next door. Deciding to give it a shot, Gordon enters, unaware he is being watched by Freddy as a potential victim to toy with.

Inside, Gordon meets with the manager, Mr. Bangor, and is sold the "Saturday Night Special", which will include a recorded ad to be distributed on VHS to clients determined by computer to be most compatible. Though initially warning Gordon he had only once chance for the shoot, Bangor begins acting like a film director, complaining that his expressions are bad and demanding a reshoot when he hears Gordon lazily bring up his career in insurance. Having no confidence in Gordon, Bangor pressures him to don a suit and lie about his life if he wants to appeal to a "thoroughbred" woman like he's always wanted. By the end of the shoot, Gordon - under special lighting to appear more handsome - has boasted of his dual University of Minnesota degrees in business and law, a brief hockey career in Montreal, having made millions in banking and owning several porches and a penthouse.

The following morning, Gordon wakes up from a dream where he is pounced on by a beautiful woman with a ravenous sexual appetite. As his clock rings 7AM, he gets a phone call from Lana, a fellow Rendezvous client. Despite the early hour, she claims Bangor tried phoning him earlier and slipped her the number when he couldn't be reached. Gordon is so overwhelmed by getting a date he doesn't notice anything suspicious about Lana, who's choice of words are similar to the woman in his dream. Realising he is starting to stutter, Gordon recalls Bangor's advice and switches back to his suave persona from the video shoot and arranges a date on Saturday.

On Saturday night, Gordon drops by Lana's home and is welcomed in by her roommate, Mary Kelly, who he briefly mistakes for Lana. Sharing Gordon's low self-esteem, Mary easily takes notice of it, but is unsurprised. With nothing to do on a Saturday night, she stays at home while Lana and Gordon take off. Hoping to keep on bluffing for the night, Gordon explains away his beat-up Jaguar XJ-S as a loaner due to his ferrari and porché being broken. Lana is familiar with porché models, however, and is quick to point out inconsistencies in his story though doesn't outright call him out.

Gordon and Lana arrive at a restaurant for dinner, where they are approached by the hostess who looks eerie like the woman from Gordon's dream. After coming back to his senses, he tries to bluff his French in attempting to ask for the champagne selection, which the waitress goes along with. While casually boasting having to regularly speak French for his hockey interviews, Gordon is shocked to see the champagne cork shoot out straight into the hostess' eye, only to see again there was no injury at all. Lana misinterprets the situation, but excuses him for ogling the staff. Soon Gordon has another hallucination, seeing a waitress be impaled by two skewers in a freak accident only to see her again expertly wielding them for demonstration. Despite his unusual behaviour, Lana remains hopeful with their date and looks forward to later.

Following dinner, Gordon takes up Lana's suggestion and, despite preferring to go see a film, takes her to the skating rink which Lana, an accomplished figure skater, has arranged to keep open for their private. Unable to bluff himself out, Gordy joins her on the ice as she takes her dress off. Unmoved by his affection, Lana is quick to don a hockey mask and stick, challenging him to a game. Gordy finally gives up and reveals the truth, but Lana ties him up to a net and continues to play. After this, Gordy's feet are frozen into the ice while Lana rides out, riding in front of a Zamboni as it runs him over. Gordon comes too, stood at the door of his Jaguar in the car park right where he was at the start of the episode, only now the dating service is instead Carnall's Meat Packing, implying the past week was all in his head. Distracted, Gordon is run over and killed.

Story 2[]

Mary Kelly has a dream that she is a beautiful woman, "Pretty Mary", passionately kissing a man in bed, only to transform into her normal "Plain Mary" self and bang at her mirror in frustration. In the real world, she is an office worker at Springwood Realty, and furiously banging at a jammed photocopier. She is quickly calmed down by Lana, who is familiar with her outbursts and reminds her they can't afford rent if she gets fired. The two are interrupted by the branch director, Fadiman, who flirts with Lana and offers her other people's work in securing the sale of the Wellman Estate from its elderly owner. With Freddy Krueger still a recent memory, house prices have collapsed to the point they are effectively profitless, and by selling the estate to the prospective Mr. Rawley, Fadiman believes his proposed shopping centre will gentrify Springwood.

In the evening, Mary lies in bed reading a book when she is met by Lana, who has come back from a date. Having purchased a new black dress, she hopes to look more seductive so Rawley doesn't pass over the property deal. Knowing Mary is still upset over Fadiman's bias treatment, Lana suggests she go to Tony, who will style her to resemble anyone she wants. Initially skeptical, Mary is sold onto the idea when Tony comes out with his latest customer. As Mary heads in, the customer transforms, losing her beauty and covered in slash marks. In a montage, Tony tries out a series of hairstyles and colours, followed by a waxing. The montage becomes increasingly surreal as he covers Mary's face with a boiling towel, chisels at her nose with an actual chisel, staples her ears and liposuctions the fat from her legs. Mary returns from her appointment looking completely different, resembling "Pretty Mary" from her dream. At home, Lana and Mary celebrate her new change in appearance, with Lana suggesting she should take her place in keeping Rawley occupied. Going to bed, Mary has the same dream again, but she wakes up before the transformation. Still insecure, she checks herself in a mirror to make sure.

At work, Mary arrives in Lana's black dress and is immediately approached by Fadiman, who is surprised by her change in appearance. Predictably, he offers her a change in position and she is assigned the job of looking for a house for the Winters family. With their plan going well so far, Lana puts Mary up to the final test by having her meet Rawley in person. As expected, Rawley takes the change of plans easily, and arranges for Mary to go through the paperwork at his hotel room.

Mary and Rawley have dinner in the hotel room, though Mary feels uncomfortable about the flirtation; unaccustomed to such attention, she feels nothing but neither wants to leave or stay. Rawley however misreads Mary at every step; when she pulls away from a kiss, he stands her up so he can grope her, and when she finds no pleasure in his antics offers to be more rough. Removing her dress, however, Rawley completely changes his mind of the whole thing after seeing her breasts, which he believes have been so badly mangled by plastic surgery he offers to put her through to his lawyer so she can sue Tony for malpractice. Hearing his criticism of her appearance, Mary looks back in the bedroom mirror and, just like her dreams, she sees herself not only as her normal self but mangled. Mary has another outburst, going as far as smashing the mirror with a candle. In doing so, a shard of glass tears into her jugular and kills her. Soon after, Rawley is arrested on suspicion of murder, while two paramedics joke about her unattractiveness.

Production[]

Cast[]

  • Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger
  • Shari Shattuck as Lana
  • Scott Burkholder as Gordon
  • Paul Lieber as Mr. Bangor
  • Joyce Hyser as Pretty Mary Kelly
  • Molly Cleator as Plain Mary Kelly
  • Robert Lesser as Rawley
  • Jerry Colker as Tony
  • Vinny Argiro as Mr. Fadiman
  • Stuart Charno as Jim
  • Cynthia Gouw as Waitress
  • Stacey Kim Haley as Shrieking Woman
  • Clare Hoak as Hostess

Crew[]

TBA

External links[]


Freddy's Nightmares: A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series - Season 1
No More Mr. Nice Guy I It's a Miserable Life I Killer Instinct I Freddy's Tricks and Treats I Judy Miller, Come on Down I Saturday Night Special I Sister's Keeper I Mother's Day I Rebel Without a Car I The Bride Wore Red I Do Dreams Bleed I The End of the World I Deadline I Black Tickets I School Daze I Cabin Fever I Love Stinks I The Art of Death I Missing Persons I The Light at the End of the Tunnel I Identity Crisis I Safe Sex
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