11 best Halloween-themed TV episodes to binge

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: “Halloween,” Episode 206

There were two Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes that I wanted to include in this list, but ultimately “Halloween” won the slot because it’s full of the charm characteristic of the show’s early seasons. Buffy went through the same thing that Charmed did: the earlier seasons don’t look as good but they have a quirky appeal that would abate or transform as they went on. Here we have Buffy in her truest form: a high schooler who kicks a lot of butt.

Buffy is talked into participating in Halloween even though it’s her one night off from vampire hunting (actual monsters think it’s become too commercial). Everyone gets their costumes from a small costume shop, with Buffy choosing to dress up like a proper courtly lady, a million miles from who she is in real life. Xander is a solder and Willow a ghost.

But there’s no such thing as a night off in Sunnydale. The shop owner invokes the power of the Roman god Janus and everyone BECOMES their costumes, including all the kids in town. With the town’s streets being overrun with actual baddies, Buffy is needed more than ever. Unfortunately, her costume has turned her into a helpless princess who can’t fed for herself. The only ones who can remember who they are is Willow, Cordelia and Giles.

If you’re a fan of the later seasons, then you might prefer “Fear Itself,” when our heroes get stuck in a frat house filled with monsters after some dumb bro messes with some magic. But “Halloween” is the lighter, funnier (but still intense in places) option.