While on a family vacation, Kenan and Kel find themselves trapped in the castle of the Headless Knight and his lackeys. Roger is trying to hurry the family down so they can get on the road, frustrated with the number of bags they have. Kenan complains about the time and leaving by car, and his mom says traveling by car as a family will be fun and makes Roger happy, despite him still being annoyed. Kel arrives to join the trip, citing his mom's permission, but Roger sternly turns him down, so Kenan and Kyra sneak Kel into the back with the bags and supplies. Kyra almost gives Kel away by saying how much she misses him, so Kenan shushes her as Roger gets road rage. Kel tries to discreetly get their attention, but the parents notice, so Kenan suggests it could be a flat tire that Roger should check on later. Roger gets out then, finding the tires fine, and decides to get some food. Kel hands him a sandwich when he gets to the back, and after climbing back into the driver's seat, he finally realizes what he saw. He goes back and opens the trunk, exposing Kel, and to his frustration, everyone points out they can't just leave him, so he agrees to bring him along. Kel quickly gets on everyone's nerves by singing "1 Million Bottles of Orange Soda on the Wall," somehow getting to 11 without anyone yelling at him, at which point he stops, angering Kenan when he says he got tired of the song. Everyone complains to Roger about being tired and wanting to find a motel, but he says they'll be roughing it to have fun. Kel says he's just too cheap to get a room. Around the campfire, Kyra flirts with Kel as he roasts himself a stick. Roger joins them with a guitar to sing "Home on the Range." Everyone is shocked, with Kel saying it stunk and Kenan corrected him that it was just freaky, right as the "Shellys" show up: Sheldon and Shelly Wilson, both of whom go by "Shelly" and ask for some ketchup. The strange family disturbs the Rockmores, and Roger suggests they move on to telling ghost stories. Kel begs that he go first, only for the others to realize he misheard and is telling a "toast story," so Roger takes the reins with his story "The Bloody Cemetery." Kenan, frightened, decides to go get some firewood, prompting the others to call him as chicken before Roger proceeds with his story. Kenan becomes more scared as he walks through the woods hearing noises. Just as he calms a bit, he gets the shock of his life when he looks up to see a knight standing above him, holding his own head under his arm. He screams and runs back to the camp, interrupting the end of Roger's story. Of course the others don't believe him, and despite his pleas, they decide to go look. Kel assures Kenan he believes him, even if he's lying, and Sheryl jumps up with her head in her sweater to give Kenan a scare. Kel hits her over the head with Roger's guitar, thinking she's a monster, and Kenan runs in terror, slamming into a tree. She has a welt the next day and becomes annoyed that Kenan persists about the knight, as he says he knows he saw one. Kyra begs Roger to let them stop at the "Believe it or Else" museum, and he finally relents after Kel joins in and Sheryl convinces him. There, they again run into the Shellys, who again thank them for the ketchup and express excitement about the museum's piano-playing monkey and the world's smallest toolkit. The boys wander the museum, finding a meat-sculpture of Dennis Rodman's head just before the Shellys call them over to see "Chimparace," the monkey. He plays chopsticks,and to Kenan's surprise, even performs Kel's request of Stevie Wonder's "Supersition." They head next to the world's biggest ball of string, which excites Kel and bores Kenan. Kel decides he has to touch it and becomes happy with it being so solid, deciding to hug it, which knocks it from its pedestal. The ball rolls around Indiana Jones style, breaking through walls and finally rolling down the street. Kenan notices an exhibit to the Headless Knight as the Rockmores try to leave, which says the knight lost his head centuries before in a battle and lived. Essentially another take on the Headless Horseman, the knight steals other people's heads and eats their bodies. He apparently lives in Rockville, and though Roger is skeptical, a guide reveals the town is hundreds of miles from the museum, and he believes in the story. The family heads to a motel where Kenan complains about the lack of relaxation in the vacation, and becomes upset when Kel reveals he used Kenan's toothbrush, is wearing his pajamas, and needs underwear for the next day. Kel reveals the only thing's he brought were orange soda and an umbrella, packed in multiple suitcases in the event he loses a case. Kenan becomes further frustrated that night when Kel keeps saying things that remind him of the Headless Knight, including wondering how he decapitates people. Kenan then has a nightmare where the Knight arrives demanding his head, and he wakes to find the door open just before Kel smacks him with a fly swatter. He had seen a fly on Kenan's head, and opened the door because it was hot and an open window could be dangerous as a stranger might come in. He suggests that Kenan use the bed massager to relax and puts in a quarter; it shakes terribly the whole night, keeping Kenan awake. Everyone else is well-rested, and Roger suggests they take side roads rather than the highway to have some fun, but no one is onboard. He decides to get some gas since it's only $1.23 a gallon, and Kel's desire to pump it gets him soaked in the stuff. Kenan meets a strange man named Steve who introduces himself as Francis and gets oil on his shirt. Roger goes to pay and Steve demands more money, as someone in the back is repeatedly increasing the price of gas. Roger finally agrees to pay one of the increased amounts, and a man shows up warning them to stay away from Rockville, as there's evil there, so the family drives off. Kel laughs about the warning but eventually makes his intense boredom well-known, and when Sheryl suggests they get back on the highway, it becomes clear that they are lost. The car breaks down and everyone gets out to check on it, stuck there as the Shellys roll by waving happily and thanking them for the ketchup, missing their trouble. Roger says they just need to wait when Kenan points out the Shellys left them, and it is finally decided that Kenan and Kel will go up the road to find help. The sign they check says it's 10 miles to Rockville, and after his parents calm him, Kenan agrees to head there to get someone. We fade to Kel gasping for water, only to find they've hardly walked from the car, and after getting some water, they set out. Kel reveals he pulled some wires from the car at the station because they were pretty, causing Kenan to realize that's why they broke down. Kyra notices the missing wires, but Roger is intent on fixing the car himself, and it starts raining when the boys notice they're out of water. Kel then smugly pulls out his umbrella and the two walk on to find Rockville, heading for a large house. Expecting the worst, they are surprised when the doorbell plays "La Cucaracha," which Kel rings a few more times after the house's butler, Chives, comes to the door. He has them wait while someone watches from a creepy painting that Kel repeatedly calls ugly, even after the homeowner, Arthur, arrives and says it's his self-portrait. Arthur reveals that the phones are dead, but suggests they stay at the house until the storm calms, and they can call for help. He takes them to the living room where other guests are waiting, including the Shellys. Mrs. Wilson has a cast, which she says is a result of diving out of the way of the ball of string from earlier. They are then introduced to Harold Takamoto, his wife Nancy, and his grandfather Leo, a crotchety old man. The Shellys are shocked to hear of the Rockmore family's troubles, so Kenan points out that they passed, and Mrs. Wilson simply nods in understanding. Arthur says everyone will have to remain for a time, and though Kenan is suspicious, he agrees to come to dinner when Kel pressures him. Back at the car, Roger, upset that the luggage is getting ruined, goes out to get it and is electrocuted twice. In the house, everyone else seems happy, complimenting the house, minus the rude Leo and the nervous Kenan, who becomes more anxious when Kel insults another painting in the kitchen. Arthur strangely suggests that Nancy go wash her hands, but stops Harold from leaving, saying he's fine. When Leo becomes impatient about food, Arthur calls for his servant Bethel, explaining that she is self-conscious about having been born without eyelids. Everyone nervously avoids eye contact, with Kenan accidentally mentioning her condition, but Kel immediately comments about it before he and Kel poorly cover up his remark. Elsewhere in the house, Nancy is wandering around and Chives grabs her, pulling her into a rotating wall. Everyone hears her scream, but Arthur says it was probably wind or thunder. Everyone is calmed as dinner is brought in, minus Kenan, disgusted by the food. Arthur refuses to get specific about what kind of meat it is, so Kenan lies that he and Kel are vegetarians, only to see Kel chowing down. Arthur suddenly suggests that Leo go to the bathroom, finally convincing the old man, and the Shellys ask for some ketchup again. Kenan is horrified to see water squirt from Arthur's neck after he takes a drink, bringing Kel's attention to it. Arthur goes to another room with Bethel, saying he'll "never wear this head again" after tonight, while back in the room no one believes Kenan. They all fail to repeat the Headless Knight story correctly, and as Bethel removes and fixes Arthur's head, Chives enters, having taken Nancy and Leo to the dungeon. Arthur comes back as everyone guesses the story, shrugging it off as simple nonsense and laughing creepily before staring at Kenan. The terrified Kenan tries to leave, but Mrs. Wilson points out the rain and Arthur suggests everyone stay the night. Arthur says they'll get him help for the Rockmores in the morning and says Nancy and Leo probably just got lost, then has Chives take everyone to their rooms. Roger is still having trouble with the car, and Kenan tries to convince Kel that Arthur is the Knight, only for his friend to still not believe him. He finally succeeds when he mentions one of the old screams just as another scream echoes through the house and he finds the door locked and the window bricked up when he tries to investigate. Kel manages to bust his head through the door, getting it stuck in the process, and the two then spend the special trying to find the others and escape with their heads. Kenan and Kel is one of those shows I loved as a kid, yet obviously as an adult I would likely see differently, to some extent.
This was a special I always loved, though, due to the odd nature of the situation combined with the typical Kenan and Kel wackiness. We get a recipe for disaster for Roger and fun for us right at the start, when the kids smuggle Kel into their trip, and of course it had to be in a silly way. Since they have so many bags already, they simply stuff Kel beneath a bunch of it, with his head poking out at one point. He's the one who ends up closing the trunk, which Roger somehow doesn't see, and of course later we get a silly moment where he retrieves a sandwich and it takes him a moment to realize someone handed it to him. This sets up the Kel/Roger dynamic to come, which is rather similar to the classic Steve Urkel/Carl Winslow situation from Family Matters. The night where Kenan sees the Headless Knight puts us in a typical situation where one person has a strange experience and no one else believes them. Thinking now, I have to wonder what was up with that night, as the group was apparently hundreds of miles from Rockville at this point, where the Knight lives. It's also a bit odd that there would actually be such a thing as a Headless Knight in this world, as despite all the exaggerated comedy, it's the normal world. Of course the creator can do whatever he pleases with his show; it just doesn't seem like one that immediately translates to this kind of story like Fairly Oddparents and Jimmy Neutron do. Of course, the episode is obviously inspired by The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which I've talked about in other posts this month. While Arthur is simply living as a "normal" person now and lures in victims, as opposed to the Headless Horseman remaining a spirit in the woods, they have similarities. There's the obvious in Arthur being a "Headless Knight," and more than that, Kenan reads that he lost his head in a battle, just like the Horseman. This version also adds its own spin onto an aspect that slightly appears in the original story: what happens to the Knight's victims. In the original, the Horseman is said to simply spirit people away to steal their heads, and they're never seen again. Here we are directly told that once the victims are decapitated, the Knight eats their bodies. Unlike the Headless Horseman, who can only appear on Halloween, Arthur simply living in his own house puts anyone in danger if they are unfortunate enough to stay at his house. The Shellys are fun to me, due to how incredibly childlike and dumb they seem, though of course since they do very little other than thank the Rockmores for the ketchup, it's obvious not everyone will enjoy them. Arthur's house, especially in the storm, is rather creepy, and though he isn't subtle at all about the fact that he's actually the villain, it's funny to see how everyone besides Kenan fails to notice how conspicuous he is. As a child I recall Bethel entertaining my sister and I because of her condition, and since then my brother and I have still enjoyed it. The special isn't Halloween based, but the creepy nature of everything makes it fun to watch around this time especially. My brother and I like to watch this just in our spare time because of its stupid humor, and if you enjoyed Kenan and Kel, giving this a return after so long can be a treat.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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