X-Entertainment.com X-Entertainment.com A Proud UGO Affiliate
My dying wish is for an owl/camel hybrid, which I call camowl.
« [Main Index] »

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.

Posted by Matt on 10/15/2006. E-mail me!



Discussion Thread: 96 comments

I thought his Mom said his acne medication made him do it. Pimples can be killer, man.

Chestnuts roasted by Old E @ 10/16/2006 5:57 PM

Dude. I totally forgot about this special. I watched it when I was like 5 (and I wasn’t around in ’86 so maybe it was a rerun) and the only parts I remember are the fact that it had Marc in it and that whole “Help yourself” bit at the end. Thanks for the little blast from the past!

Chestnuts roasted by Chris @ 10/16/2006 6:18 PM

I have fond memories of this special. My abiding memory of it is the Marc Summers/Skeleton switch.

The music during the duel reminds me of Castlevania. Go figure.

Chestnuts roasted by Frostor @ 10/16/2006 7:06 PM

Wow. That was so horrible, and yet so…1980′s Nickelodeon charming.

Chestnuts roasted by Frito @ 10/16/2006 7:51 PM

I grew up watching that special every Halloween, until one year they stopped playing it. It took months to get over it. Thanks for bringing back old memories.

Chestnuts roasted by Dean @ 10/16/2006 8:01 PM

I used to watch some show on Nickelodeon, where at the beginning of each show, all the early teen kids were sitting around a fire. They would proceed to tell ghost/spooky stories, and then the show would start. At the end they always came back to the campfire for some cheesy story-related gag. I wish I could remember the name of that show. Goosebumps maybe… no I think those are books (which are also awesome) anyone have ANY CLUE what I am talking about. Hey Dude rocked.

Chestnuts roasted by Old E @ 10/16/2006 9:00 PM

Sorry for double post but… I just say Charlie brown Great Pumpkin Colorforms at Toys ‘R’ Us.

Chestnuts roasted by Old E @ 10/16/2006 9:04 PM

Old E …. are you serious? You can’t remember Are You Afraid of the Dark? No offense but, are you like 16 or something? Cuz it ran like 4eva.

Chestnuts roasted by Mystie @ 10/16/2006 9:07 PM

AHAHAHAHAHA. I remember reruns of this!
Marc Summers, your life is one of cruel irony.

Chestnuts roasted by Denise @ 10/16/2006 9:18 PM

Matt, I want Tina Lenert on the blog. Post her weird mop thingy, please?

Chestnuts roasted by Mara @ 10/16/2006 9:38 PM

Tales From the Darkside is on Scifi and it is staring the kid from Better Off Dead. I think he wants his two dollars.

Chestnuts roasted by Billy @ 10/16/2006 9:42 PM

Ah, yes, I also have fond memories of this on Nickelodeon. I’ve never been a huge magic freak, but it WAS cool to see them do all those tricks, and the whole “guy and kids in haunted house” thing was silly, cheesy good fun. I wish Nick would release more of this wonderful old stuff on DVD, if only as extras on a set.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 10/16/2006 10:25 PM

Oh my fuckign gawd, that skittles comemrcial is the greatest thing that I have ever seen. I had to poke out my eyes, because there can be so sight more beautiful than it.

Chestnuts roasted by Roadblock @ 10/16/2006 11:09 PM

I loved Marc Summers as a kid. Didn’t he have some clean-freak disorder? Anyways, did ya grab this ‘un from my tape, Matt? I was waiting to see if you’d review this classic. Excellent article!

Chestnuts roasted by EtHM @ 10/16/2006 11:12 PM

I figured this would be the best place to ask this question. Why was there never The Last Starfighter 2? I researched this before asking such a question only to be horrified to find insead of a well deserved sequal they made an off broadway musical. No shit. I kind of feel like an elephant who had his leg cut off only to find out they made it into a waste basket. Matt or anyone else, could you help me out?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Starfighter_%28the_musical%29

Chestnuts roasted by Billy @ 10/16/2006 11:41 PM

Yes!! I’ve been hoping you’d review this one for the longest time! Loved it as a kid…I remember the whole thing, from the phone gag to all the it’s a tricks. I definitely remember being somewhat spooked by it, but then I was a total wuss that could barely handle “Zeke the Plumber” or Goosebumps. Or that episode of Hey Dude where the windows were locked from the inside? Chilling.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 10/17/2006 12:18 AM

I definitely remember being somewhat spooked by it, but then I was a total wuss that could barely handle “Zeke the Plumber” or Goosebumps.

Holy crap, I think I’d be scared by Zeke the Plumber even now. That dude was genuinely disturbing.

Chestnuts roasted by Monte @ 10/17/2006 12:27 AM

I think I remember seeing commercials for that, but I don’t think my parents let me watch it. My parents were weird…I could watch anything except for slasher movies or anything that my dad found stupid (which was basically everything on TV.) Didn’t Nickelodeon have some kind of Halloween contest at one point (around the same time, but more likely in the early 90s) where you had to call in or they called you or…something?

Chestnuts roasted by Ariel @ 10/17/2006 1:07 AM

Ariel – Would that be “Snick or Treat”? I forgot how it worked, but I definately remember phones being involved.

Chestnuts roasted by Monte @ 10/17/2006 1:22 AM

It was Nick or Treat…IIRC you signed up, and to win you had to answer your phone by saying “Nick or Treat” when they called for you. Some kids (not me) may have been known to answer their phone in such a manner throughout the entire month of October, despite not having actually signed up for the sweepstakes. Again, it wasn’t me, so I wouldn’t know. Really.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 10/17/2006 1:50 AM

jp [441am E]–

If Bradis had killed himself in 1993 instead of 2003, I think it would’ve been common knowledge.

Chestnuts roasted by jrh @ 10/17/2006 2:09 AM

In defense of jp, if you’d known the name Jonathon Brandis, and checked the news, be it online or television, you’d have caught the fact of the tragedy, jrh.

Chestnuts roasted by ColonelCatsup @ 10/17/2006 3:02 AM

Haha, yeah, that was it, thanks guys! XD

Chestnuts roasted by Ariel @ 10/17/2006 4:03 AM

Just when I thought this countdown couldn’t get any more AWESOME…. bam, theres a blast from the past….I think I have this special on VHS somewhere, brought back memories….thanks Matt, you rock my Halloween socks…

Chestnuts roasted by m1928mouse @ 10/17/2006 10:08 AM

Whoa! I remember this from my childhood. I hadn’t thought about this in AGES, but I used to watch it on Nick every Halloween before Trick-Or-Treating. Thanks, Matt!

Chestnuts roasted by Raptorgirl @ 10/17/2006 12:19 PM

Add A New Comment!


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.