The Scariest Moment in TV History: When PUNKY BREWSTER’s Cherie Got Stuck in the Refrigerator

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As a gamer who has survived countless virtual battles and apocalypses, I never thought anything could send a shiver down my spine like the sight of a pixelated monster or a glitchy boss. But that was before I encountered the terrifying tale of Cherie from Punky Brewster.

Plenty of things scare me or make me uncomfortable, but I only have one true phobia. I have Cleithrophobia, the fear of being trapped in a small space. I’m not even afraid of small spaces on their own. Tiny rooms with unlocked doors don’t bother me. I even enjoy the coziness of an MRI. But if that machine had a door the technician snapped shut once I got inside? Nope, couldn’t do it. I can’t even look at that photo of a person stuck in a cave without getting physically ill. And I know exactly who’s responsible for this lifelong terror: Punky Brewster. The show traumatized me as a kid with the scariest moment in tv history. I’m forever haunted by Cherie getting stuck in that old refrigerator.

I didn’t get to see “Cherie Lifesaver” when it first aired on January 19, 1986 because I was too young at the time. I can’t recall the exact date I eventually watched it, but it was during syndicated reruns when I was just a kid and still not old enough to watch it. Even now, I find myself still too young for it. Upon rewatching it for this article, I found it much more disturbing than I had remembered.

If you happened to watch “Cherie Lifesaver” when you were young, you wouldn’t need me to explain why it was so unsettling. Even for a television show, let alone a family sitcom that used to be shown before school, this episode was incredibly scary. If you’ve never seen it, it’s challenging to describe in words just how grim the atmosphere becomes. The plot centers around two seemingly unrelated stories: children learning CPR and Punky’s foster father Henry purchasing a new refrigerator. As an adult, it’s clear that something terrible is going to happen, but young children might not have understood this foreshadowing, even though the writing hinted at it.

In the end, the separate storylines converge in a chilling manner. While playing hide-and-seek outside, Cherie, Punky, Allen, and Margaux find themselves near where Henry has temporarily placed his damaged refrigerator. Unfortunately, snowfall halts both their game and Henry’s intention to secure the refrigerator door for safety. As they all retreat indoors due to the weather, unbeknownst to them, Cherie remains hidden – inside the refrigerator itself.

Which she can’t open from the inside.

And no one can hear her quiet pleas even amid the eerie quiet of falling snow.

The camera focuses persistently on the solitary refrigerator, staying there even after a commercial interruption. When the program resumes, she’s still hidden within its depths, leaving everyone puzzled about her whereabouts.

It was truly harrowing to witness, and it wasn’t until later that I understood she was running out of breath, a fact I wasn’t aware was concerning at the time. It wasn’t until Henry opened the refrigerator that we saw Cherie was no longer alive. Simply put, she had passed away. Unfortunately, neither Henry nor class joker Allen knew CPR, as they both missed the lesson on it due to their misbehavior.

Reliving an old TV show is causing me to feel quite uneasy. Seeing that picture of Cherie makes my chest constrict.

Thank goodness Punky and Margaux were attentive during their lessons because they ended up using CPR to bring Cherie back from the brink. To be absolutely clear, this wasn’t a hypothetical situation—Cherie really did perish, right there on the screen in the TV show Punky Brewster. Trapped inside a refrigerator and running out of oxygen, she actually died on the show.

Ever since then, I’ve developed a deep-seated fear of being confined in tight areas, and nothing on TV has terrified me quite like it, causing this persistent phobia.

If you think I dislike this episode of Punky Brewster, that’s actually not true. While it wasn’t enjoyable to find myself panicking when I couldn’t remove my wedding ring or experiencing a panic attack on a theme park ride without knowing it was fully enclosed, there are some positive takeaways. This particularly scary episode made me learn CPR and reinforced the importance of never, ever, under any circumstances, putting myself inside a refrigerator like Cherie did.

I’m too afraid of what could happen for that to ever happen.

Mike Walsh, a staff writer at TopMob, downplayed just how emotional it was for him to rewatch that particular episode. You can keep tabs on his posts by following him on Bluesky @burgermike. Additionally, he’s often found among those ranking the Targaryen kings.

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2024-10-22 21:32