Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom is an Invader Zim episode originally produced as episode 16 but aired as episode 12 on October 26, 2001. It was written by Rob Hummel and guest starred Kevin Michael Richardson as Monster #1. This is the second double-length Invader Zim episode.

[edit] Plot

Dib shows up late for class on Halloween, blaming his lateness on periodically sliding between dimensions where aliens and ghosts roam. The rest of the class deems him crazy and he is placed in a mental asylum. There he is sent back to the nightmare world and is taken out of his cell to be taken to the horrible leader of the Halloween world. Presently he slips back into reality. After escaping, he tracks down Zim (who is convinced trick or treaters are real monsters after his 'blood candy') and drags him into the alternate universe. It turns out that the horrible nightmare world exists within Dib's very own gargantuan head where grotesque, horrifying Nightmare versions of Gaz, Membrane, Ms. Bitters and even Johnny The Homicidal Maniac stalk about. Having already conquered her world, Nightmare Bitters plots to leave Dib's head with the other monsters and conquer his world. Meanwhile, GIR has been instructed to stop the trick or treating kids from coming to the base, which he does... in a fashion.

Eventually, Dib and Zim escape from Dib's head, but Zim is thrown into his fence and gets injured. The aftermath of GIR's servitude is revealed: little kids are all lying about, injured, while GIR, having eaten all of their candy, is a bloated mass. Nightmare Bitters' head pops out of Dib, ready to conquer, but recoiles when she sees the hideous mangled children in costume, and a very bloated and grotesque GIR in his dog suit. She returns to the world inside Dib's head. Dib starts to walk off, but returns for a lollipop nearby.

[edit] Miscellanea

• Rodger Bumpass provides the voice of "Nightmare" Bitters. [1]

• Keef is seen with the other monsters, unchanged from his regular form, and was described as scary enough by Jhonen on the commentary.

• When Dib arrives in the nightemare world crazyhouse, the adjacent cell contains what looks like a nightmare version of Zim. (The one with the huge, lumpy head and Zim's hair and contacts.)

• The motion detector that Zim is using when the kids in halloween costumes draw closer to his house is very much like the motion sensors in the Alien movies, and has the same signature sound. Another reference is that at the opening credits after one of "Zim's fantasies" GIR is dressed up like the alien.

• The children's "attack" on Zim's base parodies the film Night of the Living Dead.

• The "Nightmare" world's quest for "The Boy with the Blinking Neck" recalls the Downworld's search for "The Wrecker" in the TV series The Odyssey.

• The Skoolroom in the "Nightmare" dimension resembles Queen Beryl's throne room in Sailor Moon; "Nightmare" Bitters wears an outfit similar to Beryl's. The Nightmare Creature's punishment of "Eternal Screaming... and... umm... Restlessness!" recalls Jedite's sentence of "Restless Eternal Sleep".

• Jhonen's comicbook character Johnny the Homicidal Maniac makes a cameo in this episode. He is a silhouette with purple eyes that is with the Nightmare Creatures in the Nightmare Skool. He is visible in the top right of the screen at roughly 18:25 into the episode, after Dib asked if he had a say in their plan This extra spooky version of Johnny has been fan-dubbed 'Nightmare Nny'.

• When Zim And Dib Return To The Real World, Zim's house is not boarded up.

• When Dib is inside out, his Arm Control Nerve is visible, referencing the episode NanoZim.