90s Reality Series Left An Entire Generation Terrified Of Escalators
Before reality television became synonymous with cheap, trashy programs featuring people trying to become famous, the format became a hit through shows that would feature real events with real people. While one of the most famous of this era was COPS, which lives on today through the spiritual successor, Live PD, it was Rescue 911, a CBS series hosted by William Shatner that was both exciting and horrifying at the same time. Today, it would be considered a docudrama series, as it relies on reenactments, but notably, the show used the real survivors for the vast majority of the episodes.
Real Calls, Real People, Real Danger
Rescue 911 was huge when it first aired, with new episodes becoming the talk of the playground where I was in school. Each episode would feature different stories, anywhere from three to five per episode, and use the real 911 calls made during the emergency. Thankfully, with very few exceptions, everyone featured in the series made it out alive.
The Season 2 episode, “Lightning Lads,” about two kids that were under a tree when it was struck by lightning, were shocking (pun fully intended). Still, the worst (or best) of the episodes came years later. Season 4. “Escalator Traps Boy” is more terrifying than any horror movie. If you wondered why Gen X/Millenials were very, very cautious around escalators, this episode is why.
The Most Terrifiying Episode Of Television Of All Time
The Rescue 911 episode featured a four-year-old boy named Michael sitting down on the escalator, but as he reaches the bottom, his jacket gets trapped under the metal grating, and quickly, it starts to suck him in. Michael’s arm was sucked in under the grating, getting crushed by the machine, while his clothes cinched around him, threatening to suffocate him and pull him under. A good samaritan hit the emergency shut-off, while another tried to cut the clothes away using a pocketknife, but his arm was trapped and mangled.
Michael’s arm, once finally freed by paramedics, was only broken, but he was lucky, and everyone who watched Rescue 911 that night will never, ever get near the sides of an escalator with dangling clothing. Modern Family had fun with this when Claire (Julie Bowen) was wearing only a trench coat and got stuck, but the writers need to know that escalators are no laughing matter. I’d rather walk up multiple flights of stairs than use one if I have the chance, and it’s because of this show.
Everything Will Kill You
Rescue 911 was horrifying and left me with emotional scars, but it was also educational, with each story explaining what viewers could do in that situation. Watch enough, and you’ll be prepared for the worst-case scenario, but you’ll also be scared of everything from laundry chutes to plaster molds to being impaled through the throat by a toothbrush and, again, the danger of jackets, including one that gets caught on a slide and tightens like a noose.
A Life-Saving Series
Modern reality shows and most docudramas don’t bother to try and educate, but back when Rescue 911 was first airing, it was harder to access knowledge like this as the internet wasn’t widespread. The series has won awards and been credited with saving lives, similar to when the Mythbusters ran the famous episode on escaping from a trapped car underwater. Even now, a lot of the techniques and treatments showcased during the series can help save lives.
A Relic Of A Bygone Era Streaming For Free
REVIEW SCORE
Rescue 911 may seem like an odd relic today when you can find countless videos of emergency personnel on social media providing lifesaving tips on a daily basis, but I find that it’s still fascinating. Parts don’t hold up, as today, almost everyone has a cellphone, so worrying about reaching help during an emergency isn’t as big a deal, but everyone should watch at least a few episodes if only to understand why my generation has been traumatized. Modern reality shows, like The Bachelorette, may keep sinking to new lows, but at one time, these shows had an important role in bringing the world to living rooms around the nation.
Rescue 911 can be streamed for free on Pluto TV, but be aware these are the shortened syndicated episodes, so if an episode seems like it’s cut off, keep watching, the next episode will finish the story.
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