"American Gothic" Meet the Beetles (TV Episode 1995) Poster

(TV Series)

(1995)

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9/10
The Bug Chamber
claudio_carvalho8 September 2014
Caleb is showing Boone his house that was burnt to the ground and his legs stumbles with a skeleton under some timbers of the house. He calls Gail and Dr. Matt and they bring the bones to the coroner. Coach Fred Bender hits on Selena and Lucas interferes. Lucas tells to Selena that Hack Weller is reported missing by his wife. Lucas visits Curtis Z. Webb that identifies the bones as Hack. But the problem is that he played golf with the victim three days ago. When Lucas returns to his office, he meets Hack's brother-in-law Lieutenant Drey of the State Police that has come to Trinity to investigate the case. Drey has learned that Hack had hit on Selena Coombs, who is the sheriff's girlfriend, and he threatens Sheriff Lucas Buck if he is involved in the disappearance of Hack. Drey meets Selena and is seduced by her. Caleb finds a gravestone with his name and he decides to open the grave. Out of the blue, Lucas appears at the grave and tells to Caleb that there is money inside the coffin to rebuild his former family house that now belongs to Lucas. Soon Couch Fred Bender is murdered and also disappears, and Lucas becomes the prime suspect of Lieutenant Drey. Who is killing Selena's fans?

First of all, the previous episode ("Potato Boy") is not included in the DVD Box "American Gothic – The Complete Series". "Meet the Beetles" is a creepy episode with the scary Bug Chamber in the Trinity Museum of natural History. I researched in Internet and found in the Smithsonian.com that museums indeed use beetle chambers to reduce birds that have tiny and fragile skeletons that might be damaged by chemicals to their skeletal frames for scientific research and education. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Meet the Beetles"
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8/10
Who is killing men who hit on Selena Coombs?
Tweekums16 October 2016
Warning: Spoilers
As this episode opens Caleb and his friend Boone are exploring the burnt out remains of his house; a floorboard breaks revealing a skeleton… it is all very strange as it soon emerges that it is the remains of a man who vanished a mere three days previously. The dead man had been making advances towards Selena Coombs leading to State Police officer Lt Drey to wonder if Sheriff Buck could be responsible; when a second man who flirted with Selena is murdered he becomes more convinced that Buck could be involved. Gail starts to research how a body could become a skeleton so quickly and learns from the curator of Trinity's Natural History Museum that there are beetles that could do it; in fact the museum has a special room where they use such beetles to clean specimens. Meanwhile Caleb is shocked to discover a gravestone bearing his name; when he digs it up he discovers a large amount of money which Lucas Buck says he can use to change his life.

This is another fine episode with a solid central mystery and plenty of creepy moments… especially if you are disturbed by bugs! The opening effectively grabs the viewer's attention with a solid scare. Having somebody target those who flirt with Selena being murdered provides a good reason to have her take a larger than usual role; Brenda Bakke does a fine job in the role; a delightfully ambiguous character. Bruce Campbell makes a welcome guest appearance as Lt Drey; a character playing a dangerous game by crossing the sheriff and getting close to Selena. Caleb's side story was enjoyable and had a satisfying conclusion even though it raises questions about his continuing relationship with Merlyn. Overall this was another really good episode.
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