"She’s probably best known as one of Prince’s protégés, but to horror fans she’ll always be remembered as an unlucky passenger in Terror Train. Yep, she’s that most vain of Canadian actresses – Vanity! One of her more obscure credits is as a not too veiled incarnation of herself, pop singer Angelica, in this Friday the 13th episode – Mesmer’s Bauble. An obsessive and pock faced record clerk knows everything there is to know about Angelica. He gets his hopes up when he gets word that one of her reps will be paying a visit to his record store. As fate would have it, when he’s walking home one night he stumbles upon a jeweled necklace that grants him whatever he desires. First he wishes away his bad skin, then a chance to see Vanity, and further still, a chance to be her!
There was fear that since the episode contained a number of Vanity performances (from “Baby Kiss Me, Baby Undress Me” to her opening cover of Eden Ahbez’ “Nature Boy”) that it would be censored as so many other music properties are on TV on DVD releases. Thankfully, though, CBS presents the entire episode intact, complete with all the juicy Vanity songs. And it’s a good thing, too. Other than just the scantly clad Vanity eye candy, the episode features some pretty impressive bodily transformations in the same vein as An American Werewolf in London. The plot is elevated above the usual crazed fan cliché by the goodwill of Vanity’s playful and at times risqué performance. Mesmerizing, indeed!"