Campus Terror

Season 2, Episode 22. It's not normally a good sign when you see six writers listed for one episode, yet this outing for Frank & Joe Hardy is actually a pretty decent affair. An old friend of Joe's (a cute girl, naturally) calls for help when girls on her college campus start to disappear. On the way there, there's a great piece of continuity as Joe reflects on all the bad luck that seems to follow them around (referring to particular events from all the most recent episodes). Even better follows, as the kidnapper starts leaving messages where he names the Hardy Boys as if he knows them. How could he know them? Unless, as other characters point out, it's from the famous Nancy Drew Kidnapping Case (the previous episode). I love when the show does stuff like this.

Anyway, being the Hardy Boys Mysteries, the college campus is resplendent with cute girls (all of whom are swooning at the sight of these well-coifered detectives). Stepfanie Kramer and Kim Lankford are both very good, but the absolute acting honours go to Valerie Bertinelli as the frightened girl who sends for Joe, and still has a massive crush on him. The plot has all the usual red-herrings, twists and turns and a very, very chilling final shot.

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