So. The Pied Piper of Hamelin is an interesting episode of Faerie Tale Theatre -- mostly because they didn't write it at all. The entire story is narrated and the dialog is lifted straight out of the original Robert Browning poem.Which is good poetry but makes for some awkward and phrases that turn strangely on the actor's tongues.
In spite of that it's one of my favorite episodes. It's just such a crazy, creepy story, and FTT does a good job with the scenery at atmosphere. The Pied Piper is one of my favorite "villains" of fairy tale lore; I've always thought the real villains were the townsmen who promised to pay him and, well, you know. Plus the implications of underhill/faerie are so strong in this one (both the poem and the episode), yet without being blatant.
And what about the Piper? What's his DEAL?
This episode is available to watch for free on hulu. The complete collection of Faerie Tale Theatre episodes is available on amazon and the price seems to vary a lot from month to month, so if you're interested in buying (it's over $30 right now but I've seen it go as low as $22 or $23) I'd say your best bet is to throw it on a wishlist and just keep an eye on the price for a few months.
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