"Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes" is the eight episode of season two of the Goosebumps TV series, and the twenty-seventh episode overall. It premiered on October 12, 1996 on Fox during the Fox Kids block.
Cast
- Lance Paton as Joe Burton
- Kerry Segal as Mindy Burton
- Peter Keleghan as Jeffery Burton
- David Hemblen as Major McCall
- Nora Sheehan as Mrs. Burton (as Nora Sheenan)
- Jordan Prentice as Hap
- Yvan Labelle as Chip
- Sheila Boyd as Gnome #2 (uncredited)
Blurb
Joe Burton's dad loves tacky lawn ornaments—pink flamingos, plaster skunks, cement angels—nothing is too ridiculous for his yard. But, when Mr. Burton brings home two hideous lawn gnomes with tall, pointy hats and evil grins, it's not just embarrassing, it's spooky. Late at night, Joe hears eerie sounds coming from the garden. Could those ugly lawn gnomes be alive?
Differences from the book
- At the start of the book, Joe and Mindy are playing ping pong. In the TV adaptation, they are playing catch.
- In the TV adaptation, Mindy and Joe are notably more interested in the garden. In the book, they're embarrassed over their father decorating the lawn in tacky ornaments.
- Moose and Buster are not in the television episode. McCall's wife is also absent.
- Mr. McCall is meaner than the book version (the TV episode establishes that he used to be in the military). This was first seen when he takes away Joe's baseball when it lands in his yard.
- Two additional lawn gnomes come from out of nowhere during the chase scene close to the end.
- The television episode's ending is different. In the book, the lawn gnomes are left at Lawn Lovely, but Joe's dad buys a lawn statue of a gorilla. In the television episode, the lawn gnomes come back to life after being frozen by bright light and attack Mr. McCall. When the judges come over for the "Best Lawn" contest, they tell Joe's dad that he lost because they found a hideous lawn gnome in the backyard. Everyone present is surprised to find that the gnome in question is Mr. McCall in a saluting pose.
- Lawn Lovely never visited in the episode.
- Joe never brought a camera to record the gnomes in the book.
- Joe and Mindy's mother strangely doesn't appear until the end of the episode.
- Mindy thinks the gnomes look cute, not evil like in the book.
Other Media
Goosebumps Presents
| No. | Cover | Release date | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 |  |
February 1998 | 64 |
Home releases
"Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes" was released on DVD on September 7, 2010, as the third episode on Go Eat Worms. It was included in a 3-Pack Thriller DVD on August 26, 2014.
| Title | Release date | Media type |
|---|---|---|
|
Go Eat Worms  |
September 7, 2010 | DVD |
|
3-Pack Thriller
|
August 26, 2014 | DVD |
Trivia
- On this television episode's intro, the dog's eyes do not light up.
- This episode was adapted into Goosebumps Presents Book #18, the final book in the series.
- Hap and Chip were actually played by actors Jordan Prentice, and Yvan Labelle whenever the gnomes moved.
- Jordan Prentice was also one of the actors to play Howard The Duck.
- David Hemblen, who portrayed Major McCall, was also the voice actor for Magneto in the 90s X-Men animated series, another series that aired on the Fox Kids block.
Gallery
Characters
Scenes
