Having premiered in Fall 2015, Scream Queens was the latest camp creation from the team who brought us Glee. The first season took place at the fictional Wallace University and followed the pledges of Kappa Kappa Tau as they were stalked, and in some cases murdered quite dramatically, by the 'Red Devil' killer. With the second season, set in a hospital, airing this Fall, here are my Top 10 Moments of Season 1.
Moment #10: "Ice Scream" - Episode 03 ('Chainsaw')
If I said Aaron Cohen, nobody would know who I was referring to. If I said the ice cream mascot who was attacked with a chainsaw, most Scream Queens viewers would instantly remember Top Moment #10. Due to the association of the University's mascot, the Red Devil, with the growing fear of a killer using the same disguise, Dean Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) changed the mascot to an ice cream cone. Eye rolls. She enlists Cohen to wear the costume and he soon realises that "when you put on a costume", you can "get away with anything". We're shown him jumping lunch queues and slapping girl's butts without consequence, and so we quickly dislike this dude. Fortunately for us, the Red Devil Killer chainsaws into him soon enough, with Wham!'s 'I'm Your Man' as background music. Without this soundtrack, this death scene would not have been even remotely as memorable or funny, highlighting that soundtracks can play a big role in making a moment memorable.
This Moment's Best Line: "Aaron Cohen can't get a date, but Coney gets more trim than a barber's shop" - Aaron Cohen / Coney.
Moment #09: "Dance with the Devil" - Episode 01 ('Pilot')
Who knew Chanel #2 (Ariana Grande) would be killed off so quickly? It was obvious that Ms. Grande wouldn't commit to being a lead or to the entire season, but the first episode? Shock factor! Chanel #2's death thankfully wasn't the end of Grande's appearances, and it also provided a fantastically memorable moment. In an attempt to flee the University in the midst of the killings, Chanel #2 is packing her suitcase when the Red Devil texts her asking if she's brave enough to open her door. Proving that she is just a pretty face, Chanel #2 takes the risk and within minutes she's dancing, literally, with the killer. The pair exchange text messages whilst standing face-to-face and soon Grande's playing a stabbed victim. This moment was so far fetched and ridiculous that it became annoyingly funny. It all seems like an over exaggerated metaphor for 21st century youth's reliance on technology, exemplified when a dying Chanel #2 jolts back to life to tweet for a final time. Zoolander 2 featured a similar critique of the vanity of modern technology with the death scene of another young pop icon who couldn't resist uploading an Instagram photo as he lay bleeding; Grande's performance was much more of a compelling watch though!
This Moment's Best Line: N/A as no lines are spoken during the scene.
Moment #08: "Tinder Problems" - Episode 12 ('Dorkus')
We all know someone who has Tinder. In fact, you probably have it yourself. It's the 'dating' app that seems to have taken the young adult population by storm and the girls of Kappa Kappa Tau appear to be no different. Chanel #5 (Abigail Breslin), the Gretchen Wieners of Scream Queens, provides Top Moment #8 by demanding to speak to the President of Tinder whilst complaining to the app's HQ. Her rant that the "app is broken", evident as she has "gotten zero swipes on [her] profile!", speaks the truth to anyone who has ever justified a lack of matches in this modern age of app dating / hook-ups. Spoiler alert; she eventually does get a match, though it turns out to be a fake profile. Poor Gretchen...I mean Chanel #5.
This Moment's Best Line: "I want to speak to the president of Tinder!" - Chanel #5.
Moment #07: "Chad & Denise" - Episode 13 ('The Final Girl(s)')
Unlike many of Ryan Murphy's other creations, Scream Queens seemed to lack many passionately ship-able couples. If you think back to Glee for even just a few minutes, it'd be difficult to not find lots of couples and motivations for shipping them. There was however one ship that provided an interesting moment and showed true potential on Scream Queens; Chad Radwell (Glen Powell) and Denise Hemphill (Niecy Nash). Although perhaps an unlikely pair, they're actually kinda similar in that they're both in their own bizarre worlds and are fan favourite characters individually. In the season finale, the pair were finally a couple, yet were parting due to Hemphill's relocation to work at Quantico. Their passionate kiss was gross yet also interestingly enjoyable. "We got too close to the sun, baby. We shined too bright", explains Denise. Do you hear that? It's me sobbing!
This Moment's Best Line: "We gotta stick to the rivers and the lakes that we're used to" - Denise Hemphill.
Moment #06: "Zero Dinosaurs" - Episode 07 ('Beware of Young Girls')
What's the one question you'd like to ask about the afterlife? Duh; are there dinosaurs in Hell? The ghost of Chanel #2 provides viewers, and Queen Bee Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts), with the answer; unfortunately there are no dinosaurs in Hell. Jesus stole them all. Returning to make peace with Chanel, in order to leave Hell and enter Heaven, Chanel #2 explains all the negatives of her current home, emphasising how it's not as 'fun' as the pair thought it would be. Her funny remark about the lack of dinosaurs is later trumped by her explanation that Adolf Hitler motor-boated her boobs. It's one of those lines that is uncomfortable to hear, yet pretty damn funny at the time, potentially just because of the shock value. Unfortunately there's no mention of where Jesus took the dinosaurs to, so we can only assume they're in Heaven right now. If anyone was excited at the prospect of Hell before the show, they certainly won't be anymore.
This Moment's Best Line: "As soon as I got there I was like 'where are the dinosaurs?', and they were like ' We know. Jesus broke in an stole them'" - Chanel #2.
Moment #05: "Pictionary With the Radwells" - Episode 10 ('Thanksgiving')
It was a clever move putting Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, Glen Powell, Chad Michael Murray and Patrick Schwarzenegger in a scene together. Such a scene was likely to be a memorable one, if not for its wonderfully cast cameos alone. If you don't recall the scene I'm referring to, let me remind you with two words; 'Neckbrace Whore'. Chad and his annoyingly rich family compete about Chanel Oberlin and Chanel #6 (Lea Michele), and the former seem to have no respect for rules, unsurprisingly. Before the match a card with the word 'Horse' on is changed to say 'Neckbrace Whore' by adding letters and removing the 's'. The joke's on the Radwells because this 'Neckbrace Whore' transforms into a beauty and she's actually a pretty smart and successful killer in the end.
This Moment's Best Line: "I'm sorry but someone needs to contact the good people at Hasbro, because the odds of you picking 'Neckbrace Whore' are astronomical" - Chanel Oberlin.
Moment #04: "The Missive to End All Missives" - Episode 12 ('Dorkus')
Viewers of the show may not know that it was, in part, inspired by a viral sorority email from 2013. This was reflected in the show itself when sorority leader, Chanel, sends out a lengthy and inappropriately written rant to members of Kappa Kappa Tau. The missive is motivated by the fact her pledges, who she refers to in the email as "useless Kappa sluts", backed out of their failed plan to kill Dean Munsch. "I don't entirely know what you whores could have been doing that was more important than helping your chapter president drown a serial killer" is perhaps one of the less inappropriate and more politically correct lines of the missive. It's an awkward, funny, inappropriate scene and it's based on the show's inspiration so of course it has to be a Top Moment.
This Moment's Best Line: "Unless that thing you were doing was getting enemas of pure liquid gold at a new local establishment called Liquid Gold Colonics for Young Sluts, like if you were doing literally anything else, you all should seriously consider doing the human race a favor and getting sterilized." - Chanel Oberlin.
Moment #03: "There's the Door, Bitch!" - Episode 05 ('Pumpkin Patch')
Everyone knows Lea Michele for her portrayal of Rachel Berry on Glee. Comedy was wasn't part of Berry's shtick though, so Michele was unable to show off her evident comedic talents; something Scream Queens has no allowed her to showcase. As creepy Hester Ulrich / Chanel #6, Michele has provided some of the most memorable moments of the show. None funnier than her unexpected and hilarious shouting of "there's the door, bitch!", to a stunned Chanel #5. This was arguably the first instance we'd seen of Hester standing up to a Chanel and was extremely unexpected and shocking. Bravo Michele, it seemed for a while like you were only capable of playing yourself, as Rachel Berry, but I now acknowledge your versatility. Bravo!
This Moment's Best Line: "There's the door, bitch" - Chanel #6.
Moment #02: "Knife in Shondell's Throat" - Episode 02 ('Hell Week')
Hands up if you love Denise Hemphill? That should be everyone. No Scream Queens Top Moments would be complete without the mention of this memorable quote. Just like Moment #3, one line can be enough to make a standout moment. Huffing and puffing that she needs her inhaler, everyone's favourite, yet poorly equipped, security guard, Hemphill, rushes back to her vehicle. She soon finds colleague Shondell murdered, having been stabbed whilst Hemphill was in the sorority house. Screaming, Nash provides this memorable moment with her hilarious delivery of; "Shondell! Why you got a knife in yo throat?". Although brief, this moment is one that I remember immediately whenever thinking about the show. The line may not be funny on paper, but Nash proves that delivery is everything.
This Moment's Best Line: "Shondell! Why you got a knife in yo throat?" - Denise Hemphill.
Moment #01: "Girl Power" - Episode 04 ('Haunted House')
The best moment of Season 1 has to be the Chanels' take-down of Tommy the misogynist in the fourth episode. The guy approaches the girls in the University cafeteria with a creepy conversation starter about wanting to have "awesome sex" with one of them. His friend soon jumps to Tommy's defence, remarking; "what in the hell is wrong with the world if a guy can't whistle at a chick just to tell her she looks hot?". Keep digging that hole guys, keep digging. For all her faults, and frequent dumb comments, Chanel Oberlin herself stands up for the group citing a load of pro-feminist ideas she learnt in a compulsory women's studies class. The girl who previously thought STDs were caught from "dirty toilet seats and drinking the water in Mexico", now shows some intelligence in her take-down of the patriarchy at large. Tommy spews yet more cliche misogyny and explains that telling girls to smile and calling them "sweetheart" is his signature move. In response, Hester, the newly named Chanel #6, chimes; "well this is mine", right before kicking the dude right in the nuts. Ouch! The rest of the group then join in, kicking the guy and using a tray as a weapon. Yes, it was very cliche and movie-like, but that doesn't take away from the concept. I don't condone violence but nice one, ladies...
This Moment's Best Line: "That's my sister and she's no bitch; but I am" - Chanel Oberlin.
Be sure to check out my weekly reviews of Season 2 after Scream Queens returns to FOX on Tuesday September 20th. Let me know in the comments of any equally memorable scenes from Season 1 that I may have forgotten.
