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05/13/2006: X-Entertainment loves Amazing Stories.

Was going to wait till late Sunday to put this up, but it’s already done, so yeah. I’ve had this review sitting on the bench waiting to be written for months, and it was starting to get mad at me. Here’s a review of Go To The Head Of The Class, my most favorite-ever episode from the late, great Amazing Stories television series. Starring Christopher Lloyd as a psychotic school teacher who loses his head over two of his students, I was permanently affected after just one viewing on a 1986 Sunday night.

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Discussion Thread: 121 comments

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Shiny review. I had to wait until I had the time to sit down and read it.
Professor Beanes post-beheading would make a most memorable Halloween costume.

Ghosted by Jessica Marie @ 05/20/2006 10:03 AM EDT

Matt, the Donatello, Raphael lipsynch errors bugged the ever-living crap out of me as a kid. I was just watching an episode where the turtles were given a love potion and all fell in love with Irma. Holy crap! There’s about three/four instances where the wrong turtles mouths are moving.

Ghosted by inkmage @ 05/20/2006 8:05 PM EDT

Oh, so many great anthology shows. Another nice one was a much later kids show called Eerie Indiana which was more along the line of X-files but with kids, and predated X-files if memory serves. Saw it was on DVD and I’m oh-so tempted to buy it.

I’ve been buying the Tales from the Crypt DVD’s the day the come out. So damn good they are. All the wonderful stuff I missed out on when I was a kid and couldn’t watch horror movies.

And so many Amazing Stories episodes forever locked in my head. The train engine that comes into the house and the passengers are all ghosts. Santa Claws tripping a burglar alarm and getting arrested. The kid who finds out he’s an alien and gets depressed because he has to leave his girlfriend back on earth until–miracle of miracles–she’s an alien too, also boarding the mother-ship. The very moving one about the Alamo where the kid goes into the future away from the battle into current Texas and sees the outcome of the war so many years later. And of course "The mission," probably my favorite. You just don’t forget cartoon landing gear.

Ghosted by inkmage @ 05/20/2006 8:31 PM EDT

I remember the Mirror Mirror episode. I saw it as a kid and it really freaked me out. i wasn’t the type to get really scared when I was little but that one really did me in. x.x

Ghosted by Adrastia @ 05/21/2006 3:28 AM EDT

After reading this article I remember that episode vividly, and yes it scared the holy shit out of me! I always fondly remembered this show but can’t really think of any actual episodes other than GTTHOTC and the "Remote Control man" If I recall didn’t that episode include Jeff Cohen (Chunk from Goonies) as the hero’s punk-ass son, and didn’t he try to chop off his dad’s hand in the garbage disposal? Maybe I’m merging the vauge mental images in my head.

Ghosted by Timbo @ 05/22/2006 8:00 PM EDT

Nevermind. A quick IMDB search proved me right! Can’t wait for the DVDs!

Ghosted by Timbo @ 05/22/2006 8:03 PM EDT

Awsome summery matt!i never missed the show!
i heard christopher lloyds shrill"mrbrrannnnnd" clear as a bell as i read on!

Ghosted by JAY B @ 05/23/2006 1:07 AM EDT

Just wanted to point out that "Family Dog" was a Brad Bird joint, not Burton.

And that image of Lloyd with the stitches on his neck used to freak me the fuck out for months when I was a kid.

Ghosted by Johny P @ 05/24/2006 12:36 PM EDT

By far, the best part of that episode is after the headless Bean tosses the head of Lloyd onto the bed and delivers the line: "I’ll see you in detention Mr. Brannnnd" whilst sticking out his tongue during the "n" in Brand, making me think back then that his name was actually Mr. Braaalllnd, or Mr. Bllllaaand.

Ghosted by M.V. Peebles @ 05/24/2006 10:10 PM EDT

I’ve never seen this episode – maybe only b/c it hasn’t aired on Sci-Fi. I like “What If?” “Ben and Dorothy” “Main Attraction” and “Magic Saturday”, “Family Dog,” “Santa ‘85,” “Boo!”, and “Without Diana” – of course, all the pleasant ones. Santa ‘85 was funny when the kid thought someone was breaking into his house and Santa was thrown in jail! I laughed hysterical when I saw that – figures in this society, someone like Santa would get arrested!

Ghosted by Allison @ 08/20/2006 9:46 PM EDT

Cool! I worked on that animated green fire years ago. Also worked on the animated landing gear for “The Mission” episode. Glad to see it still holds up and is “kick ass.”

Ghosted by JDT @ 08/29/2006 1:15 PM EDT

I totally agree with Grey Wierdo, the WWII bomber episode was my favoreite as well. Wasnt Kevin Costner the pilot in that one.

Ghosted by Spencer4Hire @ 09/11/2006 10:43 AM EDT

Holy crap! I was just replaying this episode in my head the other day after having not seen it in years! I suppose with Halloween here and all it just creeped in there.

AS was THE best show I ever saw as a child. And I watched all of them; Amazing Stories, Tales From the Darkside, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone. They all followed the same type of theme and I get them confused at times, but I loved this show!

My other favorite AS episode (Other than Kevin Costner’s role 2 years before he really became famous in “The Untouchables”) was “Ghost Train”. Just went through the list at – http://imdb.com/title/tt0088478/episodes – and had quite a little flashback session

Ghosted by Brian @ 10/17/2006 1:11 AM EDT

I loved this show! I only remember the episode with the magnatized bully and one other. I can’t belive that no one else has mentioned the episode THANKSGIVING!!! – Oh my gosh, this episode of lives behind my eyelids! This girl (Kyra Sedgwick) is misrable living in a small town (just like I was!) with an a**hole dad (just like I thought mine was!) When she accidentally sends some meat (or maybe the family dog?) down an old dried-up well, she a note asking for more food, and gold! She sends more meat down, and gets some jewels! The jerkwad dad gets irate for some reason, and puts on an old diving suit and lowers himself down the well. The girl hears the sounds of a struggle, and when she pulls the suit up it’s full of gold and jewels with a request for more food!! I remember seeing this as a kid and feeling so jealous of that girl. No parents and a bunch riches! (I think my dad had just denied my request for a bigger allowance, so clearly he deserved to be fed to well-monsters) I always thought my small town was so borring, and I love stories about some kind of strange secret society of monsters living in some rural area, or stories about burried treasure. But to combine the 2 ideas! Brilliant! And to top it off, now I see that David Carradine played the dad!

Ghosted by Jacqueline @ 11/01/2006 12:31 AM EST

This was a great episode, but I still have to give the nod to the B-17 belly gunner who had to imagine the landing gear. -I think Kevin Costner was in that episode(?)

Ghosted by MrAmazing @ 12/08/2006 10:56 AM EST

My brother and I used to rent the videos of Amazing Stories when we were kids and so many of the episodes left me scarred for life. Even ones that didn’t seem creepy at first would often have a scary twist at the end and I don’t think there’s a single episode that I watched that hasn’t marked me. “Go to the head of the class” was by far the one that traumatised me the most though (along with one episode where a man starts having psychic visions of murders… can’t recall the details but I still have images of the killer using a wire to strangle his victims).

Anyway, I’m now in mixed state of childhood nostalgia and too scared to go to bed as I know I’ll have nightmares now. In the meantime, I’m now going to download as many old episodes as I can find in the hopes that rewatching them will cure my trauma.

Ghosted by Dimitri @ 12/28/2006 11:31 PM EST

WOW-Great Site! This was my favorite Amazing Stories episode as a kid and it’s still scary! If anyone is interested, I’m actually selling an official vintage 1987 Digital Laserdisc copy of this episode. The disc is in mint condition and includes a 12×12inch fullcolor slip case. In addition to the episode, GO TO THE HEAD OF THE CLASS, there is also the animated Amazing Stories episode titled, FAMILY DOG.

Ghosted by Robert @ 02/16/2007 10:15 PM EST

Thank you for posting this review! I had been hoping I could find someone else who remembered that episode and who had more information about it, but I hadn’t expected to find anything so detailed. I loved watching the clips, and having my memories of Lloyd’s gleeful performance confirmed. I was also in elementary school when this aired, and it stuck with me just as powerfully. Every mention of Christopher Lloyd since then has had me fondly remembering this particular role. I don’t seem to remember any other Amazing Stories episodes, unfortunately. Well, except for Mirror, Mirror: I’d forgotten that one until coming across descriptions of it tonight, and now it hits me that I, too, spent a good while freaked out about mirrors, after seeing it.

Ghosted by Rachel @ 05/20/2007 1:20 AM EDT

Man this episode did the same to me twenty something years ago! I think I saw it twice because of an encore the next week or something. That final scene scared the shit out of me when I was a kid and has always been a vivid memory. I am so glad they are releasing these finally! Anyway nice site and info!

Ghosted by Brandon @ 02/19/2009 8:42 AM EST

I DARE you to watch/review the doll episode of “Tales From The Darkside”.

Ghosted by Steve @ 06/13/2009 3:49 PM EDT

I finally saw this episode courtesy of netflix and you were right! It IS motherfucking BOSS! My fiance freaked out no less than a dozen times as Beanes’ disembodied head shouted copious dialogue at Mr. Braaaaaand. The whole ’stepping around the trash can in mid pursuit’ was great as well.

I became a fan because of your article. But now that I’ve seen it, I’m even more hardcore about it. I shall spread the word…..

Ghosted by Mike83 @ 07/24/2009 9:09 AM EDT

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