*cowers in the corner*
Oct. 31st, 2009 02:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sidThis episode of the 1960's series One Step Beyond absolutely terrified me as a child.
I remember that my mother had to walk me upstairs and certify that nothing was hiding in my closet. I remember being utterly convinced that my doll Suzy was lying in wait for me. Half an hour of television that I obviously had no business watching had completely wrecked my mind.
I saw it once on TV many years later, and just watched it again online. And, yeah, there's still enough creepiness to it... let's just say that if John Sheppard ever watched it that would explain why he believes that clowns are scary....
I remember that my mother had to walk me upstairs and certify that nothing was hiding in my closet. I remember being utterly convinced that my doll Suzy was lying in wait for me. Half an hour of television that I obviously had no business watching had completely wrecked my mind.
I saw it once on TV many years later, and just watched it again online. And, yeah, there's still enough creepiness to it... let's just say that if John Sheppard ever watched it that would explain why he believes that clowns are scary....
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(no subject)
Date: Nov. 6th, 2009 12:15 am (UTC)SGA, John/Rodney, PG-13, crack!fic-ish
Clowning Around
or The story of a childhood trauma: The reason why John hates clowns (and one of the reason why he loves Rodney)
“I hope the blond one won't be killed off. But that announcer guy, the clowns could eat him for all I care. He’s trying so hard to be The Old English Scary-Guy. And, you know, failing. Spectacularly so.”
“Rodney,” John sighed and sneaked a hand up into the popcorn bowl, “It’s not that kind of a series. Well,” he cocked his head thoughtfully, “maybe it is. But let’s just watch, okay? We’re barely past the two minutes mark! No silly comments before the first scream.”
“Fine,” Rodney pouted, and smacked away John’s stealing hand, hugging the bowl tighter to his chest, body language screaming mine!
A thirty second’s worth of silence, then Rodney snorted, loudly.
“Sorry, sorry. Just got an image of Kolya; a puddy nose and a grease painted smile.” John’s eyes widened, and he stared at Rodney, who shrugged unapologetically. “Right, right. Shutting up.”
Another minute of relative silence, and John was starting to doubt his sanity in inviting Rodney to watch this with him.
“...I mean, how could anyone be so stupid? I get the blond part, she’s a perfect specimen - and don’t look at me like that, I know you’re thinking it too - but she’s got the brains of a flea! What can he see in her?” Rodney frowned at the screen, and John leaned back into the armrest of the couch, shifting his body so he sat more comfortably on the cushions they’d laid out on the floor. In moments like these, when all he wanted was a quiet night with classic scary television and popcorn, he wished he’d went with a no-brainer himself, instead of the quick witted blabbermouth beside him.
“But I get the jealousy part, though. She reminds me of you, in a way, always throwing yourself at various aliens, or having them throw themselves at you.”
John sent him a glare, “I’m not the one doing the throwing, in those situations! And they don’t happen as often now, you know, after we... Rodney, you know I wouldn’t...”
Rodney nodded distractedly, munching on the popcorn. “Rodney,” John started again. Rodney shushed him. John sighed, and watched the screen.
“Did he... Did he just cut off her hair?!” Rodney stared at John, wide eyed, “That was a prop, right? A trick, he didn’t just... not really.” John put a calming hand on Rodney’s knee. He probably should’ve warned him beforehand. Hair had always been a sore spot with Rodney.
A few minutes went by, and John’s hand had advanced as far up as Rodney’s thigh, when he felt Rodney shiver again, then grumble. John looked over at him, and Rodney shrugged. “She’s whiny. So what, her stupid soon-to-be-ex-husband cut off her a tiny lock of her hair? At least she’s got a whole head of it left,” he sniffed, a frown on his face.
John smiled and looked back to the screen just in time to catch the scene with the dancing and smiling clown, playing with that ‘tiny lock of hair’. It was John’s turn to shiver, and he squeezed Rodney’s thigh.
Rodney’s whispered ‘Uh, oh...’ when the husband came in, though, made John grin. He was really getting into this, now. Of course, John knew how it ended - there was that shiver again - but it was nice. Watching this with Rodney. Nice and safe.
As nice and safe as he felt, it didn’t stop him from shimmying a little closer to Rodney when the stabbing scene came on.
He knew it was coming, he knew it, but he still jumped, and the hand on Rodney’s thigh held on hard enough to if not stop, at least hinder the circulation significantly. Rodney, however, only snorted. “How obvious can you be? That’s not scary, that’s just the terror of low budget television.”
John slowly relaxed. Nice and safe, nice and safe.
He kept repeating it, but the old feeling of something cold creeping up his spine, and the sudden urge to pull his feet up from the floor wouldn’t leave him. That is, until he heard Rodney’s “What do you think her hair colour is? It sort of looks like blond, and she can at least talk in words at two syllables.” John felt a hand squeeze his own thigh, “I doubt she’s a member of Mensa, though,” and the tension flowed out of him.
And promptly flowed right back in when the music turned ‘dark’. John gulped when the clown came on again, and closed his eyes tight when they fell in the water....and opened them right away. Hearing apparently goes up when you’re one sense down. Who knew?
John felt Rodney’s eyes on him, and snuggled closer into Rodney’s shoulder. “Wet clothes. That, you know, that is actually a little creepy,” Rodney commented, and John tensed. That’s not what he needed from Rodney, not now.
Clowns, wet clothes, and shivers creeping up his back made John think of episodes in his life he’d rather forget.
“‘Pippo’,” Rodney snorted. John smiled.
“And yeah, he was soaking wet, but he was all bloody, maybe he tried to wash it off and couldn’t get his two remaining brain cells to figure out it would be wise to undress before showering.” John felt Rodney wince. “God, that was not a pretty mental image. I need the metaphorical soap, cause, ewww!”
John gave a full out grin, and leaned over and gave Rodney a lazy peck on the cheek. Rodney would understand the ‘thank you’ for what it was.
The moment the creepy music started up again, though, John winced and smacked the laptop closed. Even with Rodney by his side, he had his limits.
-
Dithsun
SQUEALS LOUDLY!!!
Date: Nov. 8th, 2009 01:09 am (UTC)Thank you very much for this, it is utterly cool!
I loved Rodney freaking out about the hair, lol. And 'the terror of low budget television' sums things up pretty neatly.
I can remember wracking my little brain about whether or not there was a water source in Pippo's (insert Rodney snort) trailer. What did I know at that age? *g* I think I felt that there should have been water in a trailer, but then the line about Pippo being (surprisingly) soaking wet didn't make as much sense.
*cue the creepy music and scary announcer* :-)
Re: SQUEALS LOUDLY!!!
Date: Nov. 11th, 2009 10:58 am (UTC)"And 'the terror of low budget television' sums things up pretty neatly"
But as we all know, the worst of the worst is often the best! ...I know what I mean.
*grins* So happy you liked it!