X-Entertainment's Christmas Season & Advent Calendar, 2008.

09/04/2006: The 1991 Horror Hall of Fame Awards!

The news about Steve Irwin — killed yesterday from a stingray sting — is a real shock. Poor guy. The whole thing is a horror story. The stingray got him right in the chest, which sounds almost as scary to me as getting a foot bitten off by a shark, albeit with far worse consequences in this case. Totally loved his work, so this sucks. You’ve gotta wonder how the many kiddy fans of “The Crocodile Hunter” are going to view the ocean now that this has happened. Let’s hope there’s no tacky Jaws ripoff about a killer stingray next summer.

Congrats to Zack Parsons of Something Awful, who I used to talk to a nightly basis years ago when we were both screwy insomniacs, on the upcoming release of his first book, My Tank Is Fight! He is super talented and I am super proud of him.

For those of you who remember that I write articles too, I thank you. Here’s a new one, about the 1991 Horror Hall of Fame III, which was an entry in a sporadically broadcast tribute show to horror movies and killer characters. Hosted by Robert Englund and featuring a live “Monster Mash” performance starring Beetlejuice, it was a pretty neat/cheesy/stupid/fun event that reminds us of the kind of stuff that could sneak on television back then. Article includes many videos and many words.

It’s horrible news. He was a real hero of mine, he was inspiring to so many people and was so passionate about conservationism. I don’t even want to imagine what his family is going through. I’m really bummed about this!
Looking forward to the article. It’s fun getting into the Halloween spirit so early

Is this the official kick-off of the ‘06 Halloween season?? If so, awesome! Going to have to save the rest of article for tomorrow, but I’m glad to see Tales from the Crypt get a mention

Matt is an insomniatic posting machine. I think that August party damaged his brain.

I mean I’ve seen the man get bit in the face by a Cobra, Got venom spat at him by a Spitting Cobra, goared by a wild bore, bitten by a shark, kicked by a camel, attacked by a Baboon, and stung by a scorpion. Yet the man lived, it’s amazing that a simple stingray can bring someone down eh?

On the same thought, How is the Jackass crew not dead? I mean that wouldn’t be suprising.

I wish I had a cool reason for being up this late.. but I don’t. I’m working. Ugh. Happy Labor Day to me.

That monster mash performance was awesome. Anything with a dancing Beetlejuice is fantastic no matter what it is. Those excited dancing audience members reminded me of the overzealous Ronco Food Dehydrator frantic handclappers/head nodders I love to watch. And yes I agree Review The World.. I certainly agree.

Man does that really suck about Mr. Irwin…he’s someone you knew truly cared about his work, family and those around him. He’s also become a cultural icon…think about it: if you had to deal with crazy wild animals and you could get the help of anyone on the planet, who usually comes to mind first? Exactly. He also was the first of the ‘Danger: Animal Experts’ that are all over Animal Planet now…RIP to the Croc Hunter…

Not sure what is more shocking: the fact that he died or the fact that I was surprised by it. The way the man lived, you just knew his death, and how he died, would make headlines. I especially feel bad for his wife and kid. R.I.P. Steve

i read about that on a messageboard this morning and didnt really believe it. but, wow. steve irwin. and i thought that man was invincible….crikey.

Steve Irwin was awesome. He had one of the few “edutainment” shows that fully provided the entertainment and the education,not just one or the other.

From now on,I’ll always think Ryu is saying that guy’s name!
Which begs the question Matt,you often write about Street Fighter,and you often write about horror,why haven’t you written about Dark Stalkers?
Another question,during Bobby Pickett’s song,did the Frankenstein Monster have a mullet? The weird thing about the special to me is that it seems so family-friendly and TGIFesque,but they’re not just talking about “approved” horror,they’re talking about Freddy Krueger. Granted,those of us reading/posting here usually chuckle and/or cheer on Freddy’s whacky antics,and these days he seems a little dated,but in 1991 I would have to think “respectable” soccer moms found Freddy unsettling to say the least. These were R rated films with their fair share of gore and boobs.

He had two kids, actually, a daughter named Bindi Sue, and a son, who was the center of that ridiculous controversey a few years ago. I’m still really torn up over this. Animal Planet should go dark for a day in his honor, because without him they’d still be the redheaded stepchild of the Discovery and National Geographic channels.
A stingray, though? Still can’t wrap my head around it.
Having read the article, it is hard to imagine how this snuck on TV even then. Addams Family was definitely the best of the bunch, and I’d say it fits into horror pretty well. It’s a comedy foremost, but if not horror I wouldn’t know where else to classify it. Can’t believe they didn’t have anyone better than Lurch to pick up the honors; what, Carol Kane or that magician that does Thing weren’t available?

on a more upbeat note since this mornings terrible news,
i just saw a commercial for Dorito’s Fiery Habanero chips and it features godzilla. i only caught the tail end of it (ha. get it? cause i saw godzilla’s ass disappear into the sea…meh, im here all week). i figure since you like every other kind of promochip, you might be interested in these, matt.

I read the unfortunate news about Steve Irwin while I was looking at a website a couple hours ago. It’s sad to realize he’s gone. I found it a bit hard to believe at first.

On the halloween front, the local corner rite-aid has had halloween candy and decorations out for about a week or two. Not much of note, although the local McDonald’s has Super Mario Happy Meal toys, the first since 1991, if i’m not mistaken. They’re fitness-related, but i thought you guys might be interested. I bought two of the inflatable rubber mallets they had, but i forgot them at the restaurant and they disappeared. When i saw that particular toy, i thought of a great feature for future smash bros. games that was inspired by 007:Goldeneye - double DK hammers!!! One in each hand, alternating. You’d be unstoppable! For that matter, you could have double of any item or, even more interesting, mixed pairs, for even more madness and mayhem! While i’m at it, i don’t know about you guys, but my personal wish is for a smash-bros.-style beat-em-up game with every licenced character imaginable. You could realize your childhood fantasy grudge matches, such as ninja turtles vs. power rangers, or use any number of outlandish characters to complete tournaments, such as (insert your favorite children’s/cartoon character here). While i’m at it, i’ll try to start something with this topic: if you could have any two charcters face off in a video game in the way i just mentioned, who would it be? It doesn’t matter how outlandish. For random example, how about Garfield vs. V for Vendetta? Personally, i know i’d like to see Darkwing Duck back in action, preferably against something comepletely unrelated. To get you started, here are some ideas for character themes (you can use any character(s) from a series, even a minor or one-shot one):

Nintendo All-Stars
Disney
Team Sonic
Ninja Turtles
Power Rangers
WB Cartoons
Universal Monsters/characters (ie Woody Woodpecker)
Gremlins
WWF/E, WCW, NWO or other wrestling
pro sports

Another good feature for a game like this would be a “tag-in/out” feature like they have on “Marvel v. Capcom” where you can switch out and restore some of your character’s energy. Please excuse the length of this post. Any and all responses are appreciated.

i think the best part about the Horror Hall of Fame is it being sponsored by Speed Stick and Butterfinger. I’ve got various tapes of Charlotte’s Webb and random christmas claymation specials laying around that have my favorite “Spot” 7up commercials on them. Those quirky red dots and their shades.

Also, has anyone seen these commercials on tv for Duralast car batteries? Does anyone else realize their ripping off the old Matchbox slogan?

Spike TV is doing the “Scream Awards” pretty soon. Don’t know if it’s in the same vein as this.

The monsters looked like they were almost doing “YMCA” during the Monster Mash.

I’ve seen the that 70s Crypt movie and it is pretty good. In fact, the two other EC Comics horror books “Vault of Horror” and “Haunt for Fear” also had anthology movies made around the same time, but are rarely shown.

My opinion of the TCM pretty much matches Matt’s. Pretty good, but not as horrific as it’s made out to be.

Hoverbored,I’ve never played it,so I’m the expert,but have you ever heard of MUGEN? It’s a 2-D fighting game made by fans,that was originally made to have the Street Fighter characters take on the Mortal Kombat ones,but basically you can copy the sprites from any other game or draw your own and put them in there!

My dream liscensed character fighting game matchup is Matt from X-Entertainment Vs. Mystie from Crown Combo. Barbed Wire Deathmatch.

I mentioned this special on the 8/16 entry of of the MegaParty (I looked it up) and here it is!! No one responded then but now I have an article full of proof.
I didn’t know about Steve Irwin. They are talking about it on HEADLINE NEWS right now. One of the online articles claimed that this is only the THIRD KNOWN DEATH CAUSED BY STINGRAY IN AUSTRALIAN WATERS. So sad.

At first, I didn’t believe it when I saw the news about Steve Irwin. He was always entertaining and informative, and was so passionate about what he did. I feel sorry for his wife and kids the most. On the other hand, at least he went out doing what he loved.

WOW! I sent that video in last year! Awesome to see you wrote about it, Matt! I can watch that show anytime, anywhere. Most excellent article. Definetly brightened my day after hearing the news about Steve Irwin. Poor guy. Who’d have thought a stingray’s tail would bring his demise? Crazy.

A ha! EtHM, would you mind e-mailing me? I knew I got the tape from a reader but lost our correspondence.

My dream liscensed character fighting game matchup is Matt from X-Entertainment Vs. Mystie from Crown Combo. Barbed Wire Deathmatch.

Wow. Except I could see Matt and I, instead of using barbed wire, attempting to force feed each other expired food products until we get sick and die. He already once threatened to make me eat old salad dressing. ;.;

Well, that sucks. I know a girl who works for Steve Irwin. I wonder what sort of e-card says “Sorry Your Boss Got Owned by a Stingray.” You kicked ass, Crocodile Hunter. The world is poorer and slightly more safety-conscious for your loss.

You all look like you could use some cheering up. Click my name if you’re interested in what the Amazing Johnathan is all about.

Holy crap, I actually remember this. This is my first, and probably last, comment on this blog, but I’ve had a vivid image of that faceless statuette in my mind forever and I always wanted to know where it came from.

X-E rocks. Thanks for the hundreds of hours of free entertainment and re-lived memories.

Yes, It’s sad that Steve Irwin died, but I bet no one expected a Stingray to do him in. You’d think he’d go by a Croc, a Snake, or one of those poisonous spiky fish that he’d step on, not by accident, he’d say, “Ooh, Crikey, It’s a poisonois spiky fish! If I step on it barefooted, good chance I might die within 5 minutes!” and then he’d step on it to show how right he’d be.

To anyone who watched Venture Bros last night: I’m starting to see a bit of creepy foreshadowing with the villain Torrent having a Steve Irwin-like voice to him.

Finally: I think the new McDs Nintendo toys stink. The old ones were awesome, especially the ones I had, the Jumping Goomba for one! Is there a goomba this time around? NO!

Ok, fist off, the mullet on Frankenstein was just too funny! Second thing, I am so gonna make myself some monster dentures outta gum, like right now!

Not only is today the last day of summer vacation for me, but Steve Irwin dies. Matt, if not for this article today would be really depressing for me. R.I.P. Steve and once again Matt, thanks for this little slice of heaven known as X-e.

This is probably old news, but I just found out that the Nickelodeon Studios building in Universal Studios in Florida will now be the home of…the Blue Man Group. I like the fact that the building isn’t going to be torn down but WTF?!

Wow. The Nick time capsule is certainly going to look a little out of place. Think they’ll move it?

So sad about Steve. We’ll all miss him. It’s a stupid reason to still be happy, but at least we have tons of articles coming up on Halloween crap. Cause I’ll be honest: the great appeal of this place is, no matter how serious and drab life gets, my childhood joy of 80’s stuff like toys, candy and halloween is just a click away.

Matt, that review was SpoOoOoOoky! I’ve been readily awaiting the Halloween season quite abit ever since our horrendous heatwave ended and the Autumn chills started waltzing across the Erie.

This place has pretty much become a tradition around the holidays. Now if only we could make Jan\Feb suck less. I smell a two month long mega party opprotunity.

WTF is Betlegeuse doing here? I don’t remember Beetlejuice being a horror movie. Am I wrong?

Speaking of The Amazing Johnathan, he hosted a short-lived comedy/gameshow called called “Ruckus.” Here’s a clip of him playing “Simon Sez.”

Ok after reading the article and watching the video I am know officially jonesing for some Halloween. Not only that but this year we get a Friday the 13th in October too. Plus I got all of you beat, not only am I seeing Halloween candy at stores, but across the street from my job they are resurrecting the haunted house The Shadows Edge. I am so down for Halloween that I might even dress up this year. Any costume ideas?

AAAAAaaaaaand….Thanks for the ARTICLE Matt! I don’t know what to think, do, say….I mean, an article.

PS: There’s a Peanuts Holliday book out now for like $12, hard cover and really nice too. It has an illustrated story book adaptation of all of the Peanuts Holliday specials, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, even Valentines day.

Also, I’ve got my Peanuts and Candy Corn mix out, and it rocks. For anyone interested in the recipe I’m insisting all of you try this Halloween season: Take peanuts, mix with candy corn, dance around in joy. I’m not asking, I’m telling you, do it!

Poor Steve Irwin. To be stabbed in the heart by a giant stingray is not a good way to go, even if it is an ironic one.

Animal Planet is doing a tribute to him right now. They’re airing the life story episode of Croc Hunter currently.

Hey Fox! I thought of you today! I was out hunting down Halloween goodies and stuff. While I was at Wal-Mart I found a big mix bowl of candy corn, peanuts, and M&Ms. Looked pretty good.

Wow, I get home from Labor Day weekend to find this. Bummer. Poor Crocodile Hunter! I really enjoyed that guy- while at university, we would all gather in the lounge and watch his show together…good memories. I can’t believe he is actually dead!

I just returned from the bookstore with a copy of “The Weird Al Show” DVD. So far, my only problem with it is that you can not skip the previews AT ALL. However, had I skipped the previews, I never would have discovered that “The Super Mario Bros. Super Show” is or will soon be available on DVD. I don’t know if I would buy it, since I haven’t seen much of the show, but I thought I would put it out there.

Secondly, I was shocked when I heard about Steve Irwin. I first found out on the news this morning. I went in to tell my parents, and my mom thought I was making a joke. I mean, this was a guy who would wrestle alligators, and it was like he had built this image of being indestructible. Shame.

“Wow. The Nick time capsule is certainly going to look a little out of place. Think they’ll move it?”

Bad news, Mystie. The folks at Universal already dug it up and paved it over just a few weeks ago. No idea what they did with the actual time capsule. Kind of sad, huh? Click name for more info from IOACentral.com …

Yeah, I got a copy of the Super Mario Bros. Super show on DVD. It rocks in the same way that old episodes of Thundercats are awesome. Except with more references to Italian food, Such as “HOLY RAVIOLI!!” or my favorite, “PIPING HOT PIZZA!!!”

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this. I remember these award shows and have visualizing moments from them over the years, yet was never able to recall their title. They ran in syndication on weekends during Halloween for several years in the late ’80s/early ’90s. Thanks for this article!

Now the burning question remains…when will you tackle a review of the syndicated lip-synching show “Puttin’ On The Hits”?

Mystie, I can’t believe Walmart is ripping off my family tradition, and adding M&M’s.

Oh well, I told you all that it was awesome. Did you try it? I’m literally eatting it as I’m typing this, without M&M’s of course. I perfer the tradition.

Sadly, no, I didn’t eat any. I haven’t eaten any wonderful candy confections in about a month. I have diabetes on both sides of my family and I put on a lot of weight lately so… yeah.

Dude!, i totally remember that special. I especially remember the part where he makes the chewing gun into vampire like teeth.

I found out about Steve Irwin online this morning. I didn’t believe it, either. It’s a bizarre and ugly way to go, even for a guy who chased every even slightly dangerous animal known to man.

I’m just happy the damn summer is over. My bad knee really put a damper on this summer for me, but it hadn’t been all that spectacular even before I hurt myself. I was so looking forward to this summer because it was my first in a place that wasn’t a summer resort…but now I’m hoping for a speedy fall.

I just saw it. It was pretty much the same stuff from his latest CD. The one with the 2 cd and dvd in it…Retaliation i think it is. It was’nt as funny as I thought it was gonna be. I was like Heh-heh…not really lol ing at all…OMG i love Dr Giggles thanks Matt!

Yeah, it was a lot of old stuff, but I love that guy. He’s due for a new cd soon, I hope.

BIG thunderstorm here, I can’t hold off on Halloween much longer. Well, I havn’t really held off at all, Matt you really don’t help matters much. Where are those trick or treaters?

I am what the summer is- fireflies, thunderstorms, butt sweat on the car seat. And when it all goes, I have to go with it.

Decaydance, as in Panic! at the Disco, Cobra Starship, and Fall Out Boy. As in Pete Wentz’ label. It’s alright, I’m used to looking stupid.

“I am what the summer is- fireflies, thunderstorms, butt sweat on the car seat. And when it all goes, I have to go with it. ”

K-Neg — It’s all good, brotha. That’s relatively new. They were on Jade Tree for the longest time, but hopped over to Decaydance a couple of months ago to get a bigger distro on the reunion album. After everyone went nuts at SXSW, Jade Tree wasn’t sure they could meet their needs anymore. Which is kinda bitter-sweet, as they were Jade Tree’s marquee act for a l-o-n-g time.

Nice article, Matt. The blog entries rock, but it’s always nice to see the longform.

I went to Universal Studios in 1991. That set looks an awful lot like the free Conan The Barbarian show that I took in. It was atrocious.

One of my favorite Larry Drake horror roles was when he played the murderous Santa in that one Tales From The Crypt episode. That was good stuff.

And I love Linnea Quigley. She’s got that innocent 80s look, but gets nekkid in B movies. Who wouldn’t love that?

Chris — I believe it is the same set. I also saw that show there — can’t remember much outside of having really bad seats and my father being really pissed off about something and wanting to leave.

The Drake Crypt episode was great — we watched it at a friend’s house just last month, actually.

It may have not been a heart-chillin’, breath-stoppin’, biting-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of presentation, but at least it wasn’t “Cybermania”, the totally craptacular video and computer gaming awards show. One of those very rare things that both sucked and blew at the same time.

Dude, you had Bill Gaines himself up on your screen and you didn’t even give him a MENTION?

At least say something like “And seeing Bill Gaines himself give an interview before he died was cool, too”.

I remember watching this when it was on… that’s so bizarre to see it on here! It’s been way too long since I’ve dropped by X-E. You’re still the best, Matt!

Great stuff Matt! The company I work for is actually sponsoring some of the Spike TV Scream awards happening next month, and it coincides with our annual meeting in LA, so they gave us tickets to go and see it live. I’M PUMPED. I know in my heart of hearts it won’t match the brillance of the 91 Hall of Fame show, but still should provide some fun and cringe worthy moments. If they break out The Mash, I’ll be the one in the crowd pan stripped down and doing the Running Man. (The Charleston is ALL you)

I remember watching the horror hall of fame…that’s the show that made me afraid to see “Alien” for so many years.

I remember them showing the chestburster scene, and it scared the hell out of me…I didn’t muster the courage to watch the whole film until I was 16 years old. So now, i own it, along with the other Alien films, but for years I’ve blamed that show for traumatizing me for so long, lol.

Will you do an article on Stephen King’s This is Horror. This is Horror was a video documentary which ran on several tv stations in the very early 90’s. One of the stations was mtv. It would play late at night and consisted of showing clips from various horror movies in case nobody knew. I’d love to see the intro and outro to that great show!

DUDE, you neglected to comment on how the smoke bomb that goes off 3 inches from Englund’s face after he cuts off his thumb is blatantly a pre-recorded piece of footage. Priceless!

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