"Stay Out of the Basement" is the eleventh and twelfth episode of season one of the Goosebumps TV series. Part one and two premiered on January 27, 1996 on Fox Kids Network respectively.
Cast
- Beki Lantos as Margaret Brewer
- Blake McGrath as Casey Brewer
- Judah Katz as Dr. Brewer and his clone
- Lucy Peacock as Mrs. Brewer
- Hrant Alianak as Dr. Marek
Blurb
Margaret is really worried about her father. Ever since he lost his job, he spends all of his time locked in the basement. What is going on down there? He says he is just doing a little plant testing . . . harmless really. But when Dad does come up for air, he acts strange and is only getting stranger. All he ever says is "stay out of the basement!" So when her Mom goes out of town, Margaret's worry turns to fear. Especially when she and her brother discover the root of the problem.
Differences from the book
- The Brewer household is set in New York City instead of California.
- Dr. Brewer’s companion from the Polytech campus is ‘Dr. A. Marek’ instead of ‘Dr. Martinez’.
- Margaret calls her mom in regard to her father’s strange behavior, instead of calling to see how her Aunt Eleanor is doing.
- In the book, Margaret sees her dad bleeding green blood in his bathroom given that the bathroom door is slightly ajar. In the episode, the bathroom door has horizontal slats (similar to old style wardrobes) which Margaret is able to flip open to spy on her father.
- Casey takes his shirt off when he and Margaret go down into the basement for the first time.
- When Casey and Margaret go into the basement for the first time, he takes his sweater off. In the book, he takes his shirt off.
- The basement is dark and glowing with low green light, unlike the book, where the basement is incredibly bright, using lights to replicate the sun and help the plants grow indoors.
- In the book, one of the basement plants grabs Casey while he is downstairs in the basement. In the episode, a plant grabs Casey through the basement window while is outside in the yard, and Margaret is grabbed by a plant when she goes down in the basement for the first time.
- In the book, Dr. Brewer wears an LA Dodgers baseball cap, which makes sense given that the book’s setting is somewhere in California. In the episode, he is wearing a hat with an ‘S’ logo on it, unaffiliated with any MLB team.
- The ‘plant food’ that Dr. Brewer is seen devouring is a screw-lid can of plant fertilizer. In the book, it was described as a medium sized bag of fertilizer
- Margaret’s friend Dianne is absent.
- In the book, it is revealed that ‘Dr. Martinez’ never left the house when the kids his clothes. In the TV episode, the kids find a message on the Brewer’s answering machine from ‘Gloria Marek’, Dr. Marek’s wife, who says that he never came home.
- When the kids find the real Dr. Brewer tied up in the supply closet, his hands are tied up with rope. In the book, his hands are tied with plant tendrils.
- Margaret knows who her real father is, when he calls her 'Princess', her old nickname. In the book, she finds out by after pricking him with a knife to reveal red blood.
- The 'plant' Dr. Brewer is killed by Margaret with a spray bottle weed poison. In the book, he is killed by the real Dr. Brewer with an axe.
- Dr. Brewer and the rescued Dr. Marek load up Mareks truck with the plants from the basement. In the book, Dr. Brewer gets rid of the majority of his plants in a bonfire, while transplanting a few to the garden.
- In the book during the basement standoff between the Dr. Brewer's, they both have a cap on. In the episode, only the 'plant' Dr. Brewer has the ‘S’ cap on.
- At the very end of the book, the single flower that nudges Margaret's ankle is small and yellow, whispering to her that he is her real father. In the episode, there are multiple red flowers in rectangle pots by the front steps. One of these nudge Margaret as she ties her shoe, saying ‘I’m your real father!’, followed by the rest of the red flowers who all claim to be her real father.
Home media
| Title | Release date | Media type |
|---|---|---|
Stay Out of the Basement  |
September 3, 1996 | VHS |
A Night in Terror Tower  |
September 16, 2008 | DVD |
3-Pack Thriller  |
August 26, 2014 | DVD |
Trivia
- When Dr. Brewer leaves to take Mrs. Brewer to the airport, Casey appears to be playing a video game on the TV. It appears as though he is playing a video game. However, the living room television actually shows a pixellated frame from "Welcome to Camp Nightmare" If you listen closely, the music for the ‘video game’ is actually the Goosebumps theme.
- Rebecca Henderson, who played Margaret Brewer in the episode, also played Kareen Hawling in season four's "How I Got My Shrunken Head"
- R.L. Stine selected Stay Out of the Basement to be one of the first Goosebumps books to adapted for an episode, as he wanted to ensure that his favorites were made into television episodes.
Gallery
Promos
1996 Goosebumps Commercial (Stay out of the Basement Special)