Any Questions? by Tyler Smith
It was recently announced that NBC will air an animated special featuring David S. Pumpkins, the delightful Saturday Night Live phenomenon of last Halloween. It will air as The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special on October 28. The story is being described as Pumpkins and his skeleton sidekicks showing “a young boy and his sister the true meaning of Halloween, answering none of their questions along the way.”
This sounds positively delightful. The David S. Pumpkins sketch was one of my favorite things of last year, due in no small part to the total commitment of Tom Hanks, who thankfully has not let his movie star status and Oscar pedigree get in the way of his sillier instincts.
Of course, there is always the chance that they will pound the joke of David Pumpkins into the ground, but I think that might actually be the point. The sheer ridiculousness of the whole character and premise has already rewarded multiple viewings for me, precisely because it does the same thing over and over with no real explanation.
Last year, many worried that the Pumpkins character would be trotted out every Halloween and the novelty would eventually get old. However, by creating a surreal, goofy comedy cartoon, they won’t need to feature a new Pumpkins sketch; they’ll just air the special, which could become a perennial favorite, every bit as essential as It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but much more confusing.