Michael Jackson’s Halloween premieres October 27th, 8pm on CBS.
The year is 2017. So why is King of Pop Michael Jackson the focus of an animated Halloween special eight years after he died? I understand that many associate Jackson with the spooky holiday due to the legendary “Thriller” music video, but it’s surprising a major network feels this will be a popular enough idea to broadcast it in primetime.
First off, the animation style isn’t great. But let’s chalk that up to a low budget. It’s baffling that Christine Baranski, Alan Cumming, Lucy Liu, and Jim Parsons all agreed to lend their voices to this. I can only assume that CBS executives snuck a little catch in the fine print of all their stars’ contracts requiring them to participate in random network projects.
While researching exactly what this special was, I came across the official synopsis in the press release. Here it is, and I promise this is unedited:
Millennials Vincent (Lucas Till) and Victoria (Kiersey Clemons) meet “accidentally” on Halloween night and find themselves, along with Ichabod the dog, at a mysterious hotel located at 777 Jackson Street called This Place Hotel. Once inside, Vincent and Victoria are sent on an unexpected, magical adventure of personal discovery, culminating in a spectacular dance finale featuring an animated Michael Jackson.
So… a couple things. Are we really referring to the characters as “millennials”? I know channels are all about the bottom line when it comes to courting demographics, but this seems excessive. I’m still trying to decipher what putting “accidentally” in quotes means. Have Vincent and Victoria actually run into each other ON PURPOSE? Michael Jackson’s estate may have given their permission for this, yet they clearly did not realize what they were getting into.
I urge you to skip this bizarre program and tune into another animated Halloween special on Saturday night, featuring David S. Pumpkins. Any questions?
TV and City 