Judy, You're Not Yourself Today
The ol' switcheroo.
Crypt Keeper: (in spa robes, wearing a face mask) Oh, hello there, fright fans. I've just been sitting here waiting for my blood pack to harden. My cosmetologist said I was starting to look a little lifeless. (cackles; peels off the mask, then looks in a mirror) Much better, eh? Which reminds me: tonight's poison parable is about a couple who take their appearance very seriously. Needless to say, they're going to end up trying to save face. I call this one: Judy, You're Not Yourself Today.
Donald and Judy (Brian Kerwin and Carol Kane) are a married couple who are utterly devoted to each other, though Donald is dangerously obsessed with guns and Judy always wants every little detail on her house and face to remain perfect. While Donald goes off to the gun club one day, a malevolent witch (Frances Bay) posing as a cosmetics saleswoman tricks Judy into buying an enchanted pendant that allows the two to swap bodies. When Donald comes home and finds an old woman in his house claiming to be his wife, he gradually discovers the truth and sets out to find the imposter in his wife's body before she gets away. But even after the situation is solved, the witch doesn't go down without a fight.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Dumbass: Judy. In the comic, the witch is able to steal her body again via a dream. In the episode, she willingly puts the pendant on again.
- An Aesop: The end of the episode pulls no punches about it: GUNS ARE DANGEROUS. Anyone who owns one needs to use it responsibly, unlike the utterly trigger-happy Donald. Some reviewers have actually described the entire episode as anti-gun propaganda.
- Artifact of Power: The witch carries a pair of identical pendants that allow two people to swap bodies, so long as both people who want to swap are wearing one.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Not only does the witch succeed in swapping bodies with Judy twice, she lives to do it again by the end of the episode.
- Bluff the Imposter: The second time that the witch and Judy switch bodies, they both tell Donald they're actually Judy, making him unsure which one to shoot. He then tells who appears to be Judy to catch his keys to bring their Jaguar around front, but no sooner does she grab the keys:Donald: (sing-songy) Judy?"Judy": (turns around) Yes, honey?Donald: (pulls the hammer) We don't have a Jag... yet, honey...
- Blinded by the Light: The people who swap bodies with the witch's pendants are bathed in a white light, bright enough that Donald has to shield his eyes whenever it happens. Witch!Judy prepares for it when she gives Judy her body back, putting on a pair of shades.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Donald and Judy both deliver valid arguments against the other, with Judy saying that Donald is far too reckless with guns, while Donald says that Judy is far too trusting, willing to allow potentially dangerous strangers into their house, such as the witch.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Donald and Judy's eccentric mannerisms are the reasons why the episode's plot happens. Judy's vanity and trustiness allow the witch to take her body, whereas Donald's trigger-happiness accidentally makes him murder his own wife and lets the witch escape.
- Downer Ending: Donald winds up shooting Judy's body while apprehending the witch, and this prompts the witch to reverse the swap and let Judy die in her place, leaving her free to no doubt steal another poor woman's body.
- "Eureka!" Moment:
- As Donald chases Witch!Judy throughout the train station, he spots a newspaper headline involving tumors. When he finally meets "Judy", he desperately reminds her that she not only has cancer, but has only a few weeks left to live. This causes the witch to swap bodies immediately.
- Donald earlier tricked Judy!Witch into getting her coat, then locked her in the closet as he went out to find the witch. This also proves beneficial because once the swap is reversed, he is easily able to render the witch defenseless and then shoot her dead.
- Fake Nationality: In the beginning, Donald and Judy speak in British accents, hinting that they're from England. It's soon revealed that they're actually Americans speaking in British accents In-Universe as a means of romancing one another.
- Flat Character: The witch, whose motives for wanting Judy's body essentially boil down to wanting to be beautiful and sexy.
- For the Evulz: The witch swaps bodies with Judy mainly to be young and beautiful, escaping to a new life of nonstop hedonism.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: The witch uses a pair of identical pendants to switch bodies with Judy.
- Fun with Acronyms: The man who comes to Donald and Judy's doorstep states that he's a representative for the Gun Elimination Legislation Activists for Total International Neutrality; G.E.L.A.T.I.N for short. Donald wastes no time in mocking the name, deeming it appropriate for a group full of "nuts and fruits".
- Grand Theft Me: Judy gets her body stolen by a witch who spruces it up with the express purpose of getting all the booze, parties, and sex she wants. It happens again by the end of the episode, only this time it doesn't end well for Judy.
- Gun Nut: DONALD. This man is dangerously obsessed with firearms, pointing the barrel of an unloaded shotgun right in the face of "the man from G.E.L.A.T.I.N", then clicking the trigger at his wife's head. He's even shown to get sexually stimulated by firing a loaded gun, as the witch's death prompts him and Judy to get it on right there.
- Happily Married: Despite his obsession with guns, Donald and Judy actually have a perfectly healthy relationship, a genuine rarity for this show. This unfortunately makes the ending all the more depressing.
- The Hedonist: The witch is shown to be one when she steals Judy's body, using it to smoke, drink, and flaunt herself to everyone she sees without care.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Donald reminds Judy that she's awfully trusting of people, willing to let potentially dangerous strangers into their home. His claims come true when she invites the witch inside.
- Meaningful Name: The witch who steals Judy's body gains her trust by pretending to work for a company known as "Avatar Cosmetics".
- Mood Whiplash: The episode's goofy Spot the Imposter schtick promptly disappears in the ending, where Donald shoots his wife's body in the stomach as he strangles her, just as the witch swaps bodies and escapes, leaving Donald to cry at what he's done.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Donald, at the end, when his reckless gun usage accidentally makes him kill his wife.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The second that Donald accidentally shoots the witch while she's still in Judy's body, she promptly swaps back to her body before she can die. As such, Judy dies in her place while she's free to swindle another woman out of their body.
- No Name Given: The witch.
- The Perfectionist: Judy insists that everything in her house and on her person to stay just where she wants them to stay.
- Properly Paranoid: Donald's earlier warning about Judy being trusting enough to invite dangerous strangers into the house comes to fruition when the witch waltzes up to the door, strokes her perfectionist ego, and steals her body.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Judy's body is given a rather seductive makeover when the witch steals it.
- Shout-Out: Donald often pretends to be James Bond when he's alone with Judy.
- Sickly Green Glow: The witch's pendants display this when they're activated.
- Something Only They Would Say: When Donald finds Judy in the witch's body, she manages to convince her husband that she's actually his wife by relaying specific facts about their wedding, including the day it took place, the church it was held in, the minister who performed the ceremony, the number of bridesmaids present, the man who walked her down the aisle, and where they spent their honeymoon. Donald tries to trip her up by asking what room number their honeymoon suite was, but Judy declares that he forgot to confirm their reservation and they had to spend the night in the car, leaving him exasperated as to how she could possibly know that. He's gradually convinced of the truth when Joe calls from the train station, after the witch tells him to go to Hell "like she knew the way".
- Soundtrack Dissonance: The entire episode, even the more suspenseful moments, is peppered by a bizarre and goofy tango score, with piano, accordion, carnival organ, synthesized horns, and choir heard throughout.
- Spot the Imposter: When the witch returns from the dead and swaps with Judy again, Donald is left confused as to which woman is his wife. He narrows it down by tossing "Judy" a set of car keys and tells her to bring around their Jaguar. When she goes for it, Donald tells her that they don't have a Jaguar.
- Time Skip: When the witch is killed and her pendant is locked away, the episode skips ahead three months later, where Judy stupidly puts the pendant on again.
- Title Drop: Judy is twice stated (once directly by Donald and once indirectly by his friend Joe) to not be herself today.
- Too Dumb to Live: After all the hassles the witch and her pendants bought her, Judy fishes her pendant out of her safe and puts it on again, allowing the witch to rise from the dead and swap bodies with her again.
- Vanity Is Feminine: Judy has a beautiful appearance and spends a good amount of time wanting and desiring to keep herself that way. The witch aims to steal her body for herself so she can flaunt it to her black heart's content, and does so by stroking Judy's ego.
- What Does She See in Him?: For a Stepford-esque perfectionist like Judy, marrying the borderline-crazed Donald seemed like a foolish thing to do. It's gradually revealed that she's turned on by his passionate temper, even though it gives her wrinkles and wrecks the various baubles she's collected.
Crypt Keeper: (wearing one of the witch's pendants) I still think die-monds are a girl's best friend. You'll be glad to know that that witch gave up door-to-door sales and joined the Peace Corpse. (cackles) Poor Donald. You can't really blame him. He was only trying to give his marriage a shot in the arm. (pulls out a handgun and fires a shot) And in the leg! (fires another shot) And in the HEAD! (fires a third shot; he cackles) Sometimes, I crack myself up! (cackles) Until next time kiddies, pleasant screams! (laughs uproariously; fires the gun again)
