Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls (episode)

Note: This article is about the episode. For the original novel, see Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls.

Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls (episode)
Season	1
Episode number	2
Airdate	July 3, 2020
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Previous	"Kristy's Great Idea"
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"Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls" is the second episode of Season 1 of Netflix reboot. It is based on Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls, the second book of the original Baby-Sitters Club series.

Episode Description

The spooky spirit of Halloween sweeps through Stoneybrook. Meanwhile, Claudia explores budding romance and struggles to connect with her parents.

Plot

Claudia Kishi is shown to be good at a lot of things such as fashion, babysitting, and most of all art. She likes art class because there is no homework or tests, and when she is painting and sculpting all the little voices in her head telling her what she is supposed to be all go away.

During art class, Claudia is approached by Trevor Sandbourne, who complements her on her painting. He tells her it's got an Elizabeth Peyton vibe to it. Claudia questions Trevor knowing Elizabeth Peyton's work and he tells her that Elizabeth and his dad used to show together at the Chelsea Hotel back in the 90s.

Impressed by this, Claudia tells him she thinks that's cool. Trevor tells her she nailed the translucency with the oils, which can be hard to get right. Claudia goes over to see Trevor's piece and returns the compliment, telling him she likes his piece and questions what it is about. He tells her that it's a self portrait. Trevor's piece is shown to be an abstract.

Trevor asks Claudia if she has heard about the upcoming Halloween Hop and asks her if she's going. Stacey is seen excitedly mouthing "OMG" to Claudia. Claudia at first tells Trevor yes, then no, and finally says she has not decided yet. Trevor tells Claudia that's cool and maybe he'll see her there.

Trevor leaves and Stacey and Claudia share excitement about Claudia potentially going to the Halloween Hop with Trevor.

In Claudia's room, at the Baby-Sitter's club meeting, Kristy questions whether Trevor asked Claudia to the dance. Claudia tells them that Trevor asked if she was going and expressed the possibility of seeing her there. Claudia hesitantly says he basically asked her and that they will be together. Stacey says that the thing is a guy like Trevor isn't going to show up to Claudia's door with a corsage. She tells the other girls that's just not the way things are one in his type of circles.

Kristy then questions which circles Stacey is referring to. Stacey clarifies that she means artistic and sophisticated circles. Mary Anne asks Claudia if she's going to wear a costume. Claudia tells them she was going to dress as a Troll doll but for Trevor she may have to dress more soigné, which Stacey agrees with. Kristy then asks why Claudia would get all dressed up for some guy who couldn't even ask her out for real.

Claudia tells Kristy that she does not want to look like a baby to which Kristy counters that what's babyish is the dance itself. She elaborates, saying it's giving boys another excuse to be disappointing, setting up girls for a lifetime of making excuses for them. Kristy concludes by saying she wouldn't go to the dance even if she was paid to go there.

Stacey then questions Mary Anne if she'll attend the dance seeing that the boy, Logan that she likes might be there seeing that she is always staring at him in the library. Mary Anne tells her she has no idea what Stacey's talking about. Mary Anne says there is no way her dad would ever let her go, as he has been spinning out enough lately about the Phantom Caller. Stacey questions what's that and Mary Anne tells her it was a home invader who was on the news.

She tells the girls about creepy anonymous phone calls that come from inside the house. Just then, the phone rings and Stacey says the Phantom Caller heard them. Kristy cautiously answers the phone, and it ends up being her mother needing a baby-sitter for Watson's kids Karen and Andrew. Mary Anne tells Kristy that's the seventh time her mother or Watson have called in with a job. Mary Anne says that Kristy is the only one who hasn't gone and she's the one her mother and Watson want.

Kristy tells her mother that Mary Anne will be her sitter and her mother is seen looking annoyed as she hangs up the phone. Claudia asks if that means she is going to the Halloween Hop after all and Kristy says she would rather have head lice again. Claudia says she gets head lice a lot to which Kristy shrugs at.

Another thing Claudia says she is good at is cooking, which she learned from her grandmother Mimi. She is seen making dinner with Mimi who asks her about the boy she's interested in. Claudia tells Mimi that the boy's name is Trevor who is cute and makes abstract art also, his dad is a really famous painter. Claudia tells Mimi Trevor knows all these art world people. Claudia says it would be nice if her parents could understand her the way Trevor's parents understand him.

Mimi tells her that no one feels like their parents understand them at her age. However, grandparents on the other hand do understand. Claudia continues saying she hopes Trevor likes her as much as she likes him. Mimi tells her if Trevor is not crazy about her that he would be completely out of his mind. Mimi questions Claudia on how her other classes besides art are going. Claudia hesitates to answer.

At dinner, Claudia's father tell her they thought middle school would be a clean slate for her. Her mother tells her that they just want to help her. Claudia says she is not actually failing anything and doesn't need the help. Claudia's mother tells her that her algebra teacher called that afternoon wanting to know if Claudia was ready for her unit quiz. Her mother reiterates that she needs to take school seriously this year. Her father points out her grades will go on her permanent transcript and her mother asks if she wants to get into a good college. It is revealed that Claudia and her parents have had some version of this conversation since Claudia was in the second grade.

Claudia's sister Janine proposes the idea that Claudia should go to the Halloween Hop only if she passes her algebra test based on a behavioral study she read. Claudia's parents like and agree to this idea due to it being goal-oriented and constructive. Claudia then states Janine is the walking encyclopedia that ruined her life.

Mary Anne heads home. She enters the dark house and finds her father Richard sitting in the living room. She questions why he is sitting in the dark and he lectures her about being home twenty minutes late and not calling. Richard informs her that if she can't use her new phone responsibly he will take it away. Mary Anne questions what she's supposed to do if there is an emergency without her phone. Her father tells her that her old phone works perfectly fine and is programmed and ready for her to use.

The next day, at school, Stacey helps tutor Claudia in math during lunch and Trevor waves at Claudia. Thinking Trevor is about to come over, Claudia tells Stacey and the two girls squeal excitedly. They are then approached by Mary Anne and Kristy who tell them Mary Anne can't babysit for the Brewers due to being grounded for coming home twenty minutes late. Kristy says now she's the one who's going to watch Watson's kids unless either Stacey or Claudia decides not to go to the dance. Both Stacey and Claudia say no to this.

Claudia tells Kristy that she is acting crazy because first she was mad at Mary Anne for sitting for Karen and Andrew and now Kristy's mad that Mary Anne's not sitting for them. Kristy protests saying she is trying to run a business and does not like it when someone behaves unprofessionally. Mary Anne looks guilty hearing this remark. Kristy says Mary Anne's father is the one acting crazy due to the fact he is paranoid and treats Mary Anne like a china doll in a box.

Mary Anne retorts that Kristy wouldn't know anything about having a normal dad. This comment hurts Kristy's feelings, as her dad is not around. She then runs off. Mary Anne calls herself a horrible person and runs after Kristy.

Later, Claudia is standing by her locker and gets ready to take her test. Trevor approaches her again and says that his father can give them a ride to the dance and Claudia tells him that sounds great.

Claudia goes to her classroom and sits down to take her test.

At home, Mary Anne sits in bed looking at her old phone which only has her dad's and emergency numbers on it. She decides to use her and Kristy's more ancient way of communicating, their flashlight system. Mary Anne opens her window and gets Kristy's attention. She then blinks the flashlight to say she's sorry and shouldn't have said the things she said. Kristy shuts her blinds in response. Mary Anne looks sad and says out loud the message was received.

The next day, Claudia gets her quiz back and learns that she failed with a 64%. By the lockers, Stacey tries to reassure her that she did better than last time and maybe her parents will see an improvement. Claudia expresses the worry that Trevor will think she's a total loser.

Stacey then asks what about her, the fact that Mary Anne, Kristy and Claudia are the only people she knows at school will mean she will be alone at the dance. Claudia apologizes for this. Stacey offers her own quiz so that Claudia can use it to study or lie to her parents and say Stacey's quiz results were hers. Stacey says Claudia could have a great night with Trevor and wear her amazing costume. Stacey tells her that it's her first dance at a new school, she really wants to go, but she doesn't want to go alone.

Claudia then heads to the art room to feel more like herself, to be alone, and think. When she gets there she finds Trevor and he asks her what she thinks of his work. Claudia tells him she thinks it's great. Trevor tells her that his father thinks it's derivative, like something he painted in the '80s. Trevor tells Claudia he thought if he painted like his father, he may actually be proud of him for once. Trevor says whatever he tries his father does not seem to think it is good enough. He puts his canvas in the garbage and Claudia tells him he can paint whatever he wants.

Trevor tells Claudia she is special and kisses her on the cheek before leaving. Claudia takes a picture of Stacey's test score and texts it to her mom.

At the Brewers', Watson gives Kristy and her mother a tour of the house. Kristy looks unimpressed by this. When he leaves to get Andrew milk, her mother tells her Watson is trying too hard but they are so excited to have their kids together. Her mother tells her that Karen was especially excited to see her and be with her. Watson comes back out with Andrew says it is time for Andrew to change into his pajamas and go bed.

Andrew tries to give Kristy a hug and says goodnight to her before going upstairs with Watson. Kristy's mother follows them upstairs. Kristy tells Karen it's nice to meet her to which Karen responds that she needs cookies for the wake she is having for her doll.

At the Kishi's Claudia is getting ready for Halloween. Mimi comes in and tells her she looks wonderful and how the family is proud of her. Claudia asks if it is because of the test and Mimi tells her the test is good news but she is simply proud of Claudia for just being herself. Mimi says they will look for earrings to go with Claudia's costume.

At the Brewers', Kristy asks Karen if they should close the doll's eyes. Karen responds that it's dark enough in the grave so that won't be necessary. She then says goodbye to the doll shutting the grave. Kristy asks if they should say a prayer and Karen responds that the doll was an atheist. Just then, Kristy gets a phone call from an unknown caller. Karen questions who the caller is and Kristy replies that it's no one and probably a wrong number.

Karen then says there is a possibility it could be the Phantom Caller. She tells Kristy that the Phantom Caller usually repeatedly calls a person and usually from inside their house. She narrates that the Phantom Caller watches, listens, and smells the person. Kristy's phone rings and she tells Karen it's not the Phantom Caller. The two girls look at each other nervously.

At the Kishis', Claudia comes down the stairs wearing her costume. Her parents tell her how proud they are and Claudia's mom asks to see her test. Claudia pulls out her real quiz from her backpack instead of Stacey's and admits that she lied. Claudia's parents then ground her and tell her she is not allowed to go to the dance.

Claudia then texts Stacey who is at the dance and reassures her not to worry and that everyone wants to be her friend. She then asks Stacey to say hi to Trevor and tell her what he is wearing. Stacey then heads inside the school.

At the Brewers' Karen and Kristy stare at Kristy's phone which is still ringing. Karen then tells Kristy she thinks she should answer it. Kristy agrees and finally answers asking what the caller wants. The caller turns out to be Mary Anne trying once again to apologize. She explains that her dad is making her use her old phone as part of her punishment.

Mary Anne explains that Karen is going through a spooky phase but she's a lot of fun. Mary Anne apologizes for saying what she said about Kristy's dad and gives Kristy the advice that she needs to get used to Watson seeing that he will be a part of her family. The two girls make up and Kristy tells her to stop calling because the phone calls are scaring Karen. Karen protests the calls are not scaring her. Kristy and Mary Anne say they will see each other tomorrow, their friendship restored.

At the dance Stacey runs into her art teacher Mrs. Johanssen and her wife and questions who's at home with Charlotte.

Claudia is seen painting a portrait of Mimi and realizing she would much rather do art and spend time with her grandmother, and whatever was happening with Trevor would just have to wait. Stacey texts Claudia a picture of a flyer for the Baby-Sitters Agency. The episode ends with Claudia telling Mimi that it looks like the Baby-Sitter's Club have some competition.

Cast

• Sophie Grace as Kristy Thomas
• Momona Tamada as Claudia Kishi
• Shay Rudolph as Stacey McGill
• Malia Baker as Mary Anne Spier
• Aya Furukawa as Janine Kishi
• Takayo Fischer as Mimi Yamamoto
• Kevan Ohtsji as John Kishi
• Diana Bang as Kimiko Kishi
• Mark Feuerstein as Watson Brewer
• Alicia Silverstone as Elizabeth Thomas-Brewer
• Sophia Reid-Gantzert as Karen Brewer
• Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez as Andrew Brewer
• Cody Colson as Andrew Brewer
• Rian McCririck as Logan Bruno
• Bodhi Sabongui as Trevor Sandbourne
• Sawyer Fraser as Jamie Newton
• Jasmine Lukuku as Claudia's Teacher

Similar to Source Material

• This is Trevor Sandbourne's first appearance in the series and in the book.

Difference from Source Material

• The episode's premise is wildly different from its book counterpart:
  • The Phantom Caller still exists as a burglar in the book, but only homes in Mercer and New Hope are targeted.
  • Kristy, Claudia, and Mary Anne (while sitting at Kristy's house) get silent phone calls and think the Phantom Caller has finally arrived in Stoneybrook. Kristy and Claudia are sitting for Jamie Newton and his cousins when the house starts getting silent phone calls again. When Claudia hears noises from outside and sees someone peering in the window, she calls the police. When the police arrive, they reveal who's outside and who has been making the silent phone calls: Alan Gray, who wanted to ask Kristy to an upcoming school dance. He got the information of where Kristy was babysitting from the BSC notebook that Mary Anne was in charge of. His silent calls were directed at Kristy, while the ones directed at Claudia were from Trevor Sandbourne, who wanted to ask Claudia to the same dance, and got the information from Alan.
• This episode marks the debut of Logan Bruno. In the books, his debut was in Logan Likes Mary Anne!
• Trevor is a poet in the books, in this version he's an artist.
• Logan doesn't volunteer at the library.
• Mary Anne and Kristy never fought in this book.
• The flashlight code in the first book is introduced in this episode instead of the first episode.
• In the books, Baby-Sitters Agency dilemma is introduced in The Truth About Stacey.
• Kristy actually had baby-sat for Karen and Andrew in the first book but under different circumstances, in the novel Karen and Andrew's mother breaks her ankle and because the other girls couldn't do so due to various reason (the differences are listed below), Kristy ultimate ended up having to go while in the episode she has to go because of Mary Anne being grounded and Stacey and Claudia refused to give up going to the dance.
• In the TV show Charlotte Johanssen has two moms, while in the books she has a mom and dad.
• The different reasons why the girls couldn't baby sit Karen and Andrew in the first book are as follows:
  • Mary Anne was sitting for the Pikes
  • Claudia had to catch up on homework.
  • Stacey was lying about being in New York.

Pop Culture References

• Claudia's initial plan for a Halloween costume is a troll doll, but she changes her mind when Trevor kind-of asks her to the Halloween Hop.
• Mary Anne's old phone is a Verizon LG Migo.
• On the day of Claudia's algebra test, she dresses "Ruth Bader Ginsburg chic".
• For the Halloween Hop, Claudia dresses as Melanie Daniels from the 1963 horror film The Birds. Stacey dresses as Marie Antoinette.

Songs Used

• "Molotov" by Kira Puru
• "Vampire Vamp" (Transylvanian Disco Empress Mix) by The Fangs

Trivia

• This is the only episode where both actors of Andrew Brewer (Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez and Cody Colson) star in the same episode.
• This is Logan Bruno (Rian McCririck)'s, Trevor Sandbourne (Bodhi Sabongui)'s, and Claudia's Teacher (Jasmine Lukuku)'s debut to the series.
• A 65% is a D, which is passing, not an F in some school districts. It's unknown how Stoneybrook Middle School's grades work in this version.

Gallery

References

• The Baby-Sitters Club (web series)
• Netflix
• IMDB