Click (27 Sep. 1997)

Seth is interested to see the catalog-ordered Verona XG-20 remote he just got appears to be universal - it works on the stereo as well as the TV. But he's even more amazed when, turning it ... See full summary »

Writer:

R.L. Stine (short story)

Stars:

Dan Warry-Smith, Trevor Ralph, Tabitha Lupien

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Dan Warry-Smith	...	Seth Gold
Trevor Ralph	...	Kevin Kertz
Tabitha Lupien	...	Jamie Gold
Gary Pearson	...	Dad
Catherine Bruce	...	Mom
David Huband	...	Tony
Gabe Cohen	...	Mr. Graves
Matthew Lemche	...	Richard Holman

Storyline

Seth is interested to see the catalog-ordered Verona XG-20 remote he just got appears to be universal - it works on the stereo as well as the TV. But he's even more amazed when, turning it on "PAUSE" on his younger sister Jamie as a joke really does stop her tap-dancing! He's then informed by the still-playing tape that came with the remote by Tony Huband that "It's not a toy!" Eager to see what else it can do, he continues testing it: changing the color of his fish, rewinding/fast-forwarding passerby, hitting channel change so the school bully transforms into something more benign. But soon he goes on to bigger things, like pausing his teacher to cheat on tests, or his family when they want him to give the remote to Janie, despite his best friend's opposition. After all, none of Tony's phone-recorded warnings mean anything. Right?

---

Plot Keywords:

fish | color | best friend | bully | warning | 

---

Genres:

Family | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

---

Details

Release Date:

27 September 1997 (Canada)

Company Credits

Did You Know?

Goofs

Seth's family takes no notice of Kevin's appearance after they have been released from being on "pause" and he arrives.

---

Quotes

Tony: [heard on Seth's alarm which he hits when it goes off] There are several dos and don'ts when it comes to using the Verona XG-20 remote-control. Let's review.
[he turns it off then hears the same tone coming from his computer, goes over to open his e-mail and begins to read]
Seth Gold: "Do use the XG-20 Remote Control to its full potential... Do use it for good. Don't misuse its powers... DON'T LET IT CONTROL YOU."

---

Connections

Features Uh-Oh! (1997)

User Reviews

Who ripped off whom?

Many people might see this episode of GOOSEBUMPS and say "Hey, this is very much like that Adam Sandler movie called CLICK" and they'd be right. Now, before the writer of this GOOSEBUMPS episode starts thinking lawsuits, let's consider something else. The plot of the "Click" is very reminiscent of the TWILIGHT ZONE episode "A Kind of Stopwatch". Even the denouement is parallel, where the world is on pause for eternity because the mechanism breaks.

Now, they didn't have universal remote controls in the 1950s but if they did, I'm sure Rod Serling and gang would have made the best of this device. Even now, IMO, the TWILIGHT ZONE version is the superior production.

While my kids were growing up in the 1990s and I watched the GOOSEBUMPS episodes with them, I started to compile a list of episodes that were basically new versions of classic TWILIGHT ZONE episodes. One that was very popular was called NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUMMY that seemed to have been based on spooky THE DUMMY with Cliff Robertson. I hope the kids that were brought up on GOOSEBUMPS will overcome their Black and White prejudices and check out some of the old TWILIGHT ZONE episodes in syndication or on DVD and see what kind of high quality television there was in the 1950s and 1960s. Maybe someone will even say "Hey, they ripped off GOOSEBUMPS!"