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10/15/2006: Marc Summers’ Mystery Magical Special!


X-E reviews The Mystery Magical Special, also known as Marc Summers’ Mystery Magical Special, also known as Marc Summers’ Mystery Magical Tour. The 1986 Halloween special hasn’t stood the test of time, but it’s worth noting that it stood longer than anyone could’ve reasonably expected it to. Starring a fresh-faced Marc Summers as the leader of a group of kids (including Jonathan Brandis, don’t you go crying on me) who find themselves trapped in some kind of weird haunted mansion that fancies itself a magician’s stage. The special wasn’t huge enough to have anything more than a mild cult following, and the people who remember it do so for one reason only: Skeleton Dude, the fencing pirate skull creature guy. Review is pretty long for a Countdown entry, and includes video clips.


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Discussion Thread: 96 comments

First reply?

I don’t know if I should be proud or ashamed at my excitement right now. So tormented…

Ghosted by Retro Playback @ 10/15/2006 11:07 PM EDT

Anyone else remember Marc Summers covering the early days of the WACO standoff for GMA on abc?

Skeleton Dude doesn’t seem scary, judging by the still photo.  It looks like he’s just wearing a cardboard cutout from the back of a cereal box.

Ghosted by jrh @ 10/15/2006 11:12 PM EDT

Marc Summers…Marc Summers… jeeziz kryst, that’s the dude from that Food Network show, Unwrapped! Ooh! Marc! Marc! Tell me how they make Cheez Whiz! Marc! Boo-Berry! Reese’s Pieces! Marc!

Ghosted by Roadblock @ 10/15/2006 11:23 PM EDT

I wish Nick GAS still showed old Super Sloppy Double Dare and/or Family Double Dare. Harvy was a total badass and DD 2000 sucks so hard it’s not even watchable. I also wish something /really/ spooky would happen. Lol yay fat kid :D

Ghosted by Eddie Lightning Frog @ 10/15/2006 11:27 PM EDT

Okay, I was thoroughly convinced I’d never seen this particular special when I began reading the article… then I saw SKELETON DUDE!! Yeah, it all came back in a rush. But for some reason I remembered Marc being Skeleton Dude… *shrug*

Ghosted by broomstickjockey @ 10/15/2006 11:43 PM EDT

Is this that thing with the elevator? And the skeleton? I should probably read the article. If it is, I never understood why it was Marc Summers.

I also never understood why there was more than one summer-named gameshow host on Nickelodeon. (Marc Summers! Summer Sanders!)

Ghosted by Katherine @ 10/15/2006 11:52 PM EDT

As soon as the page loaded and I saw Marc Summers (who stole my last name, thanks) in a dark environment with two-to-three kids, I immediately remembered the Halloween year I watched this special on Nickelodeon, right after Double Dare, at 8pm, Eastern.

Haven’t read the entry yet, but dammit, I remember watching it. Vividly, for some odd reason.

Ghosted by ColonelCatsup @ 10/16/2006 12:03 AM EDT

Just be glad he wasn’t sitting on the floor, trying to straighten the tassles on the rugs. Then they never would have escaped :P

Ghosted by K- @ 10/16/2006 12:03 AM EDT

…and, wow, I still love the “Worst Witch”-stravaganza, even though I didn’t actually see “The Worst Witch” until 2004.

Gee! What was up with 1986?

Ghosted by Katherine @ 10/16/2006 12:13 AM EDT

That sucks that Jonathan Brandis killed himself. Oh, well…. I guess it’s better to burn out than fade away.

Ghosted by Billy @ 10/16/2006 12:26 AM EDT

I remembered this one immediately, although I only ever saw the first half, for some reason. I always wanted to know if Marc and those kids ever got out of that house. Now I do. Good to see that head-on-a-platter and that creepy painting again too, images that have been somewhere in the back of my mind for 15 years.

Ghosted by Wilkins @ 10/16/2006 12:28 AM EDT

I remember this special all too well. Magic intrigued me as a kid, and yet this bored me to death. Still, it had Marc Summers.

Ghosted by Cid @ 10/16/2006 12:30 AM EDT

I should mention it bored the piss outta me DESPITE the fact that Lance Burton was performing. When Lance can’t even save a show, you know it’s bad. Still, I’d pay top dollar to see this one again. Ah, memories.

Ghosted by Cid @ 10/16/2006 12:35 AM EDT

By the way, that rabbit skittles commercial has stuck with me all week. When did skittles change their image to stupendous? I share.
http://skittles.com/advertising/index.jsp

Ghosted by Billy @ 10/16/2006 12:38 AM EDT

That’s a great commercial. Cracks me up.

Ghosted by Matt @ 10/16/2006 12:39 AM EDT

I must have worn out my copy of this on Beta, watching it not only on halloween, but also on days when ghostbusters and those pieced together loony toons specials wouldn’t do

Ghosted by pete @ 10/16/2006 12:44 AM EDT

Just be glad he wasn’t sitting on the floor, trying to straighten the tassles on the rugs. Then they never would have escaped :P
Ghosted by K-

hah! i remember that. i think he was on oprah when they mentioned the whole rug tassle thing. he has ocd i believe. aw, well now i feel bad for poking fun at this guy…. oh well :-/

Ghosted by niki @ 10/16/2006 12:49 AM EDT

Holy crap, I ACTUALLY REMEMBER THIS!!!

The parts that I really remembered until this article was the skeleton in the phone booth, Marc & Lance revealing that everything was a trick, and of course, Skeleton Dude.

And just in the last thread I talked about how much I missed all the Nickelodeon specials! And I just remembered another block of holiday toons long extinct from that: The Thanksgiving Episodes, as well as their Non-Stop Nicktoons Weekend for all 4 days of Thanksgiving Weekend (although they don’t call this now because all Nickelodeon ever show now ARE all nicktoons, and that godawful Drake & Josh show)

Ghosted by Invader Norbert @ 10/16/2006 12:53 AM EDT

those kids heads are now part of YTMND history. I guess. http://ropehead.ytmnd.com/

Ghosted by Cid @ 10/16/2006 1:05 AM EDT

Niki, he was on Oprah, but also the Today Show. I guess he was plugging the fact he was “coming out of the closet”

I just remember, aside from the rug tassles, was how disgusted he felt when Robin, or whoever else, would throw gunk on him at the end of Double Dare. He’d run backstage and basically all but bleach his skin after the fact.

And Double Dare 2000 DOES suck ass.

Ghosted by ColonelCatsup @ 10/16/2006 1:07 AM EDT

Seriously, forget Jason and Freddy… I want to be Marc Summers for Halloween!

Tell me I’m not the only person who randomnly gets the What Would You Do? theme song stuck in their head?

Ghosted by Review the World @ 10/16/2006 1:33 AM EDT

How would you put that together, though, Review?

Don a suit and wield a lent roller?

Ghosted by ColonelCatsup @ 10/16/2006 1:37 AM EDT

No, Colonel, the key to any good Marc Summers outfit is the hair. You have to get the hair JUST RIGHT or it doesn’t work. That, and constantly ask people if they want to “sit in the pie pod”.

Ghosted by Cid @ 10/16/2006 1:50 AM EDT

Not just anyone got to sit in the pie pod, sir. Just the winner. Hence the time you waste appearing on and sitting through the show.

And sure, Marc Summers does have trademark hair, but it’s nothing compared to something like Burt Reynolds. I don’t care if was a wig or not.

Ghosted by ColonelCatsup @ 10/16/2006 2:12 AM EDT

Yeah, all Bandit. Reynold’s Style.

Ghosted by K- @ 10/16/2006 2:17 AM EDT

Man, I loved that special. I never realized until I finished reading it how much that damn thing shaped my views on the world. Like that lady dancing with the mop basically became my view on romance, dark, romantic and magical.

Ghosted by James @ 10/16/2006 2:26 AM EDT

Wow…I’ll bet 25 bucks that was filmed in the Magic Castle in LA- I’ve been there a zillion times (great place when you’re a kid) and I recognize practically all the setpieces.
Fittingly, the scariest part of the place is the totally disused basement that looks like it’s missing the “do not tresspass” sign.
Love the site.

Ghosted by Laila @ 10/16/2006 2:27 AM EDT

Yeah and with your own hand. AHAHAHAHA

Ghosted by Mad Skelter @ 10/16/2006 2:32 AM EDT

Speaking of game show hosts, did anyone see Bob Saget’s return to network tv?

Ghosted by jrh @ 10/16/2006 3:22 AM EDT

Marc Summers was cool to me back then, and because of Unwrapped, he’s cool to me still. It’s a shame he struggles with OCD, though. I can’t imagine how he got through Double Dare with it… what with the messy… everything.

jrh: I saw the Saget return. I thought what I think every time I see him on television — Danny Tanner’s moving on up. The set of 1 vs. 100, with the people stacked on top of each other, looks a lot like that conference chamber/arena with the pods from the latest Star Wars movies. It’s interesting.

Ghosted by Dr. Acula @ 10/16/2006 4:31 AM EDT

ha, “Mystery Magical Special director Steven Santos is rumored to have offered whichever kid gave him the best reaction a cookie shaped like Big Bird”

- genius, pure genius! easily best article of the countdown so far, old skool x-e “flava”..

Ghosted by drbong @ 10/16/2006 4:37 AM EDT

is there some reason why the article makes no mention of jonathan brandis’ suicide?

Ghosted by jp @ 10/16/2006 4:41 AM EDT

Whee, I’m finally up to date with the Halloween Countdown. Y’see, rather than get antsy about the whole Megaparty dealio, I’d waited until it was all over before reading it. And then realised I had the countdown to get through as well. Which amounted to a lot of backed-up articles, and a shortage of time to kill. But I read it, and I loved it, and I thank Matt most sincerely for once again getting me excited about a holiday that’s purely commercial over here in EnZed. All but ignored, sadly. Though the original Nightmare on Elm Street screened here a couple weeks ago as the Sunday Horror offering, and that sure got me in the mood. Mmm, Freddy’s crispy ‘and’ dreamy! So now I can check back all regularly-like and keep up to date. Being one of the cool kids is so..cool. I guess.

Ghosted by onslaught86 @ 10/16/2006 4:41 AM EDT

Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve so much as thought of that special that I forgot Jonathan Brandis was in it.

Ghosted by M.Fireball @ 10/16/2006 6:30 AM EDT

I had such a crush on Jonathan Brandis when I was in middle school. I totally remember this special. It did not seem so cheesy then.

Ghosted by kb @ 10/16/2006 9:52 AM EDT

DUDER! I’m FROM Keansburg!

How depressing is that???

Ghosted by Los Pepes @ 10/16/2006 9:54 AM EDT

Why don’t they still play this? Halloween wasn’t complete without watching Marc Summers find his way outta that place!

Ghosted by Jeff Mack @ 10/16/2006 11:24 AM EDT

I wonder if Jonathan Brandis knew that this was a stepping stone to a career with the greatest actors of all times like Chuck Norris in Sidekick or The Never Ending Story 2 with…..actually I don’t know who was in that besides Bandis.

Ghosted by Billy @ 10/16/2006 12:16 PM EDT

Wow….Marc Summers. My 4th grade teacher LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE MARC SUMMERS and for that reason, he was and still IS my favorite teacher of all time. “What Would You Do” was an obsession with my brother and I- we HAD to watch it every single day, no matter how angry we would get at the contestants.

I too had a huge crush on Jonathan Brandis. Started with “IT” and lasted even through “Ladybugs”. Sad stuff.

Damn, makes me wish I still had Nickelodeon. :(

Ghosted by Muppet Baby @ 10/16/2006 12:36 PM EDT

Holy shit that dude looks absolutely whipped at the end of the fencing scene. “Gasp… only a trick… gasp.”

Great review, I needed that after a long, humorless weekend. At least the Saints won.

Ghosted by klatubaradanikto` @ 10/16/2006 12:46 PM EDT

so it’s off topic. but when have i ever been ON topic?

Has anyone else watch “Halloweenie”, the Halloween episode of The Adventures of Pete & Pete, lately? It’s on the Season 2 box set…which I got for $5 from the used DVD section at work. Wordd!!

I forgot how much I missed that episode. Go watch it. Now.

I was born in 1986. Wow do I feel under-priveleged for having missed this.

Ghosted by brianfax @ 10/16/2006 1:09 PM EDT

I remember watching this somethime in the late 80’s, but I don’t think it was when it originally aired. That skull guy scared the crap out of me. In fact, the whole show did. Now the only thing about it that scares me are the low production values.

I think I actually saw Lance Burton’s show when I went to Hot Springs, Arkansas as a kid. I remember my grandpa told me they released live snakes into the audience every night.

Ghosted by Deuce @ 10/16/2006 2:40 PM EDT

Sorry for the double post. It wasn’t Lance Burton I saw, it was a guy named Maxwell Blade.

That’s a cool name.

Ghosted by Deuce @ 10/16/2006 2:46 PM EDT

Glad I’m not the only one that remembers when Marc was going public with his OCD (Yeah, you know me!), and appearing on different talk/news magazine shows to revel in the irony of hosting DD. What show was it where as he would stop to straighten the rug and they would play the song “Lunatic Fringe” to underscore his problem? It was both funny as hell and cruel as hell.

Ghosted by kingklash @ 10/16/2006 3:19 PM EDT

I kept reading it as “Magical Mystery Tour”

Ghosted by Moore_Roger @ 10/16/2006 3:28 PM EDT

Iknow this is a little late, but I was reading your great pumpkin article and it just so happened I rented this cartoon yesterday for my little girl, you know getting her into the spirit and stuff. It was kind of funny, she looked over at me (she’s 5) and she’s like. “daddy, did you used to watch this cartoons when you were a little boy.” I said yes. the she’s like ” Daddy this cartoon is very old.”

I felt like smacking her……

In the end though she did enjoy the Great pumpkin cartoon so I guess that’s the important thing… of course unless she was just trying to make me feel better.

Ghosted by mjsgrass @ 10/16/2006 3:40 PM EDT

Poor Jonathan Brandis. Still can’t get any love. Maybe that’s why he killed himself. Very sad.

Ghosted by Toni @ 10/16/2006 3:58 PM EDT

I also totally remember this special. I think Lance still does that skeleton dude fencing trick. He did it a few times in other magic specials definitely.

I also remember all of the Marc Summers OCD publicity. I was amazed that he would do a show like DD and WWYD with it. I watched those religiously as a kid and never saw him cringe. Kind of reminds me how Oprah also had on that New Kids on the Block guy who had stage fright or something. Plus, there’s Howie Mandel’s germaphobia.

Ghosted by JLAJRC @ 10/16/2006 4:12 PM EDT

I also was on the Jonathan Brandis crush wagon. My room was adorned with at least 13 posters pried from the colorful pages of Tiger Beat and similar magazines – I also had a small photo album where I kept all of the tiny pictures of him I cut out from those magazines.
Nerd.

Ghosted by Jessica Marie @ 10/16/2006 5:27 PM EDT

Rudy Coby did a similar switchout on his FOX special. But he got “decapitated” by a Killer Klown before he whipped off the Klown mask. I liked the chick playing his assistant.

Ghosted by kingklash @ 10/16/2006 5:57 PM EDT

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 15th, 2006 at 11:04 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.