The Case of the Halloween Special
Back during our first year of podcasting, we did a special episode about A Disney Halloween or Disney’s Halloween Treat, an early 1980s made-for-TV Halloween special. When we were thinking about what to do for this year’s Halloween episodes, we thought it might be fun to return to that topic and have an episode that highlights more of our favorite spooky season TV specials.
Of course, there are hundreds of incredible TV show episodes that focus on frights. The perfect Graveyard Shift episode of Spongebob Squarepants, the unforgettable And Then There Was Shawn episode of Boy Meets World, and the multiple Halloween Heist episodes of Brooklyn 99 just to name a few. But tonight we’re not talking about those. No no, we’re going to do something much scarier: we’re going to talk about a couple of slightly more obscure specials from our childhood! (cue evil laugh)
The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t (1979)
In October of 1979, ABC premiered a half hour Halloween featuring a cast of Halloween's most iconic characters: Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the mummy, a zombie, Igor, the wolfman, and the witch.
The special begins as the monsters meet at Dracula’s castle for a very important Halloween meeting. Dracula (played by Judd Hursch who was starring in the TV show Taxi at the time) warns the others that they have become too soft and not scary enough for the holiday. He even scolds the wolfman for appearing in a razor blade commercial.
Much to everyone’s surprise, the witch responds to Dracula’s comments by saying that she wants to quit. The problem is, Halloween cannot begin unless the witch hops on her broom and rides across the moon. If she truly quits, there will be no Halloween! But the witch is tired of Dracula leading the monster world and scaring the other monsters, and she doesn’t like that he gets the credit and praise when she’s the one that makes Halloween happen.
Dracula and the other monsters desperately try to convince the witch to reconsider. Meanwhile, the local news has somehow caught wind of this dilemma, and children at home are finding out that Halloween might be canceled this year.
The witch makes several demands of Dracula, all of which he eventually agrees to, including disco dancing every night (it is 1979 afterall). But in the end, the reason that she decides to ride across the moon is because of the children. Somehow, these two unsupervised kids find the witch’s castle and plead with her to fly across the moon. When she sees that one of them is dressed as her, she’s so touched that she reconsiders quitting and takes flight across the moon.
The special was directed by Bruce Bilson, a television director with credits on Get Smart and The Odd Couple. It was written by Coleman Jacoby and Bruno Caliandro. It starred Mariette Hartley as the witch. She has many TV and film credits, including Columbo and Encino Man. Jack Riley, who we might most recognize as the voice of Stu Pickles, played the wolfman. Henry Gibson, who played Reilly O’Reilly in the Disney Channel Original Movie The Luck of the Irish, played Igor. John Schuck, who played Capt. Painless Waldowski in MASH, played Frankenstein. Josip Elic played Zabaar the Zombie and Robert Fitch played The Mummy.
The special aired on Disney Channel throughout the 80s and 90s, finding a special place in the hearts of millennial children everywhere. According to MeTV, it was also released on VHS as The Night Dracula Saved the World.
Halloween is Grinch Night
In October of 1977, ABC aired an addition to the Dr. Suess' canon called Halloween is Grinch Night. With a teleplay and lyrics written by Dr. Suess, this special served as a prequel to the classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas of the 1960s.
It’s a little unclear how well it connects to the original Christmas special because this special ends with Max leaving The Grinch and living with Eukariah.
Joe Raposo, who wrote music for Sesame Street and The Great Muppet Caper, wrote the music for this special.
It’s Halloween in Whoville, and a strange wind is blowing. Despite the warnings of his father Josiah, a young Who named Eukariah ventures out into the night to use a “euphemism” (which seems to mean outhouse.) Eukaraiah comes across The Grinch, who has come down from his mountain top to wreak havoc in Whoville with his dog, Max.
This special actually won a primetime Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Special
It starred Hans Conried as The Grinch. He played Captain Hook in Peter Pan, and he also played the Magic Mirror in A Disney Halloween. Hal Smith, who played Owl in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, played Josiah. Gary Shapiro played Eukariah, and Henry Gibson (you know, from the last special we just talked about) played Max!
Halloween is Grinch Night was directed by Gerard Baldwin.
The Last Halloween
Airing on CBS in October of 1991, The Last Halloween is the kind of TV special that makes you question whether or not it was real or a fever dream. It’s not streaming anywhere officially, but you can find it on YouTube.
The story follows two siblings, Jeanie and Michael. They live in the small town Crystal Lake, which relies on the success of their family’s candy factory. Unfortunately, due to the lake drying up, the factory hasn’t been able to keep up production. Because of this, this year might be the last Halloween for Crystal Lake. It turns out that the local evil scientist, Mrs. Gizborne and her flunky Hans have been draining the lake to find the secret to eternal youth. With the help of four aliens that have crash landed in the woods, Michael and Jeanie uncover Mrs. Gizborne’s operation and save the factory.
This live-action special is unique in a lot of ways. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera, which is generally known for its animation. It’s also narrated by William Hanna. It featured four completely animated CG characters that were voiced by Paul Williams (who is best known for his work with the Muppets), Don Messick, Stan Ivar, and Frank Welker.
The special effects were done by Industrial Light and Magic.
The Last Halloween was written by Sean Roche and Savage Steve Holland. It was directed by Savage Steve Holland as well. He directed Better off Dead in the 80s!
It starred Rhea Perlman as the evil scientist Mrs. Gizborne; Richard Moll as Hans; Eugene Roche as Grandpa; Sarah Martineck as Jeanie; and Will Estes as Michael.