Dream Theatre: In which My Brane shows me an almost entire episode of a TV Series set in a Spooky Town...

 Just gotta get this down fast while I can still remember details.

I had a dream about an episode of a TV Series.

The show has the feel of a made-for-TV movie (70's or 80's, maybe... probably closer to the 80's... or maybe even the 90's looking for a more old-fashioned vibe). 

The whole thing is structured like 'Twin Peaks' or 'American Gothic' (probably closer to the latter, but with a kind of Midwestern or generic idyllic smalltown Vibe - if you could imagine American Gothic set in Mayberry), where the focus isn't on a single character, but on the various dramas being played out in the town itself. I'm getting an Americanized Kim Newman vibe.

One of the themes of the show is that sinister forces of all kinds have chosen the town as a battleground, though my dream pretty much only focused on two of them.

The first is the town's psychologist who worships Lovecraftian Elder Beings. He's a kindly, avuncular gentleman with a moustache and a slightly heavier build. In his practice, he's a sweet older man who genuinely cares about people, but in his secret life, he's a mad scientist dedicated to discovering worlds beyond worlds. It's all very much like the film 'The Beyond'. 
One of his child patients is a troubled young orphan boy. The reason the boy is troubled is that the psychologist used him in an experiment in which he sent the boy into another realm, where he became inhabited by something endlessly malevolent. 

The second is a man who runs either a boarding house or an old fashioned movie theatre. At times in the dream, it has characteristics of both, or it could be two different buildings. He looks like character actor Dick Miller playing Uncle Creepy from the old Warren Magazines, but acts kind of arch and theatrical like Jonathan Harris or Vincent Price. While the psychologist is all Lovecraftian Horrors and Mad Science Machinery, this guy is all ancient dusty tomes, chanting in Latin and dark pacts with sinister figures. Let's call him the Diabolist for the sake of it, but I don't remember his name.
Whatever the building he's based in is, it's an older place. It has a cluttered entry/foyer/lobby which is vaguely like the Bates Motel interior. There are a number of glass cases around which hold dusty old movie memorabilia... scripts, bits of costumes, etc... His building is close to the outskirts of town and has a large parking area. 

Our other main townsfolk character is a young girl (late teens/early 20's) who's been appointed to keep an eye on the orphan boy. I think her name's Julie or Katie. She is endlessly sweet and virtuous, however, the combination of her own naivete and her constant exposure to the child has allowed a seed of corruption into her, which renders her blind to all of his dark, cryptic ravings. He'll be muttering things about rains of blood and the dead feasting on the living and she'll chuckle gently and tell him to mind how he behaves around people, "Honestly, his imagination!"
She serves as kind of a bridge between the two rivals in that she's definitely helping the psychologist with the kid, she also stops by the Other fellow's place to help him out ("He's an old man, and he can't get out so much"). She has the air of being the kid's nanny or babysitter.
There's a scene with her and her (boyfriend?) where he's trying to convince her that the kid's influencing her. 
"You can't deny that we've hardly seen each other since you've taken on this job."
"Well, that's because (boy) needs my help. You can't say you'd rather I DIDN'T help him!"
"I dunno... isn't there anyone else? He just seems a little... (whispers) weird."
(At this point the kid lunges at him, saying something abominable)
"Did you hear that? Did you hear what he just said to me?!"
"Don't be ridiculous. He doesn't know WHAT he's saying most times! You probably upset him is all!"

That's the main town stuff. 

There's a cutaway to an outsider. This is the main viewpoint character in the dream, a female psychic investigator named Sidney Solitaire. She's got a kind of Emma Peel/Modesty Blaise-style catsuit thing going on with a kind of Morgan Fairchild haircut. Her opening scene is her chatting to the Diabolist as she stops off at his establishment on the way into town. She's asking directions and she gets a definite bad vibe from him, but based on his comments after she leaves, she doesn't know just HOW bad.

After she leaves, Katie or Judy shows up. She doesn't have the boy with her, but tells the Diabolist that there's all kinds of funny people showing up. Maybe they're here for the (town festival?) but that's not for weeks yet! 
He expresses an interest and asks if she gets the chance to find out a little about them. He'd do it himself, but he doesn't get the chance to get out as often as he'd like.

There's various scenes with townsfolk, and with Sidney meeting people and investigating. I think she's here on the trail of some disappearances..? But it's not clear. Maybe a couple of people travelling cross-country who went missing between Town X and Town Y (They were spotted getting gas here, but nobody here can remember seeing them). 
The implication is definitely that they've fallen afoul of sinister forces in the town, possibly in previous episodes, or in some kind of pre-title sequence if this is the first episode (I don't think it is, though).

There's a cutaway at one point of someone watching Sidney (telephoto lens?). And the same person spotting some mysterious children who're following her. Back to Sidney's POV, she's also spotted the children (The implication is that they're a threat - like Midwich Cuckoos or Children of the Corn). She's also caught glimpses of someone in a trenchcoat she thinks is following her. 

There's a few more scenes. I'm pretty sure there's one with the Diabolist (who has an interest in getting hold of one of the investigators in town - the implication is that they'll be turned into some kind of pawn in his sinister strategies - but doesn't reveal which one).  The scene above with Judy/Katie and her boyfriend(?) is also here, and there's another scene where it looks like Judy/Katie is helping to give directions to a kindly older gentleman. She hands him a folded piece of paper, and he gives her a jaunty salute before leaving.

Sidney lays a trap for the kids following her, and it turns out they're some sort of junior detective group who've also been drawn to the town by its mysteries. She sends them off to tell (someone) that she needs to talk to them. 
Later, Sidney meets up with the man in the trenchcoat, who turns out to be another occult investigator called John St.Dexter. This guy's kinda got Adrian Paul from the Highlander TV series vibes... maybe a little Nick Knight from 'Forever Knight'. His backstory is that he used to work for the Vatican, but went rogue and now hunts he creatures of the night solo. While Sidney is 75% investigation, 25% martial arts, he's kinda the other way around... with his adventures being far more about fighting monsters than investigating strange cases. There's a sense that he's a slightly bigger name than she is. She reveals her conversation with the kid, and she and St.Dexter agree that both are way out of their depth, and need to get the hell out of town before they get in trouble.

It definitely feels like Sidney Solitaire, John St.Dexter and the Detective Kids are (or have been, in the past) all stars of their own shows. 

There's a meeting later behind the concession stand/projector booth at the local drive-in. Sidney and St.Dexter are met by an older man who's a kind of midpoint between an older Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen (complete with hat) and a younger Dick Van Dyke. He's another occult investigator, though of a far more 'after-school kids' tv series' bent (there's also a little 'Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators' vibe here, too).
His name's Simon Specter ('The Mystery Inspector') and his charges are The Clue Kids. There are four adorable young people who, when the Inspector introduces them, all don deerstalker-style hats. The oldest is a 14/15 year old girl with an earnest face and straight brown hair. In the absence of Simon, she's the leader.

Solitaire and St.Dexter impress upon Simon how dangerous the situation is, especially for the kids, and he agrees to get outta town. "Besides, with you two here, the bad guys won't stand a chance, eh?" (cheeky wink). 

Scene later with Solitaire and St.Dexter somewhere comparing notes. It looks like a hotel room and several manila folders (and their contents') are laid out across one of the beds. They both agree that (1) there is something REALLY bad going on here, and (2) That Simon and the Kids are WELL out of it.

Cut to final scene. Simon and the kids are heading out of town in their van. Simon's driving, teen girl is in passenger seat and the other three are in the back. Simon slaps himself in the forehead, "Oh dang, I forgot!" and starts to pull over. 
Teen Girl: "What's wrong?"
Simon: "Oh, nothing. Just something I remembered."
Teen Girl: "You remember what those others said..."
Simon: "Oh yeah. I remember. Don't worry. I'm not going to investigate. I'll just stop in for a second and we'll call those two and let them know what we find out once we're well and truly out of town."
She still looks worried and uncertain (and you get the impression that seriousness is one of her character's key qualities). 
He climbs out of the now stopped car and gives her a cheeky wave before saying, "Don't fret, sugarplum! I'm not gonna be more'n a minute and then we'll be safely on our way!"

Cut to a black and white photo portrait of Simon, which the Diabolist is looking at. As the door opens and the bell rings, he hastily closes it, and grins. Simon says, "I hate to be a bother, but we're on our way out of town and this young lady handed me this and said I should come and talk to you."
The Diabolist gives a warm grin, "Why, of course," he purrs, "Whatever can I do for you?"

Cut to External Shot of the Building with the Van Parked outside. Credits.