Disney Channel has a long history of celebrating Halloween with original programming. Back in 1986, there was the fondly remembered Mr. Boogedy, followed a year later by the sequel Bride of Boogedy. Starting in 1997, they had a brand new Disney Channel Original Movie themed around the holiday every year through 2007. Under Wraps, the Halloweentown series, Don’t Look Under the Bed, Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire, The Scream Team, and Twitches meant that loyal Disney Channel viewers had something new to look forward to every Halloween. For some reason they stopped the annual tradition, probably because none of them could live up to the success of the Halloweentown films which still enjoy annual airings during normal viewing hours (they don’t get banished to the 2:00 AM hour like other DCOM’s from its era).
Rather than produce yet another DCOM like 2012’s Girl Vs. Monster or make a series with creepy themes that could be rerun in marathons every October like So Weird, Disney Channel UK has produced a 4-part mini-series called Evermoor. Produced entirely in the UK with a mostly local cast, it is very clear that Evermoor was designed for all English speaking countries with Disney Channel. This is obvious with the casting of Naomi Sequeira, star and co-host of Disney Channel Australia (she is also an Australian pop star). In the UK, they chose to air one episode each week in October, with the final episode airing on Halloween night. Here in the States, they’ve opted to run it in two one-hour batches. Episodes one and two aired on October 17th and the final two air on October 24th.
The Crossley Family inherits an estate called Evermoor when their aunt passes away, so they move from America to live in the manner. Think of this family as a modern international version of The Brady Bunch, since mom and two kids have American accents but dad and the rest of the kids are British. When Tara discovers a secret room with a tapestry, she reveals a mystery about the room. The tapestry foretells of a fire in the house and then it happens. A typewriter in the room makes it so anything Tara writes comes true. She uses it to her advantage and quickly learns that there are consequences to adjusting fate. A mysterious sewing circle, the Everines, is allowed to use the room for their meetings and Tara is convinced they are behind all of the mysteries of Evermoor. Will she unlock the secrets of their golden thread?
Evermoor is a fun mystery series. I imagine I would have been in love with it as a kid, but it’s far from perfect. The American accents all feel forced and unnatural. But perhaps the biggest fault with this series is the mansion they live in. The exteriors are authentic and make the place look historic. The interiors look brand new, which easily distracts from buying into the story they are trying to tell. In the middle of these pristinely modern sets, there are secret passages that look hundreds of years old.
Perhaps my memories are flooded with nostalgia, but Evermoor doesn’t compare to the annual fun of watching the Halloweentown films. And waiting for new episodes isn’t as exciting as finding out where the tour bus will stop next on So Weird. It’s a mini-series with the potential to continue if audiences want more, but I have a feeling that four episodes will be more than enough Evermoor. It has an episodic structure, but cliffhanger endings will make it easy to re-air as a film if Disney Channel chooses to do so.
I give Evermoor 2.5 out of 5 fortune-telling tapestries.