"Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom" is the special Halloween episode of the Nickelodeon animated show Invader Zim, produced as the fourteenth episode, but aired as the twelfth, of its first season.
Synopsis[]
It is Halloween, and the entire town is getting into the Halloween spirit. Zim, unfamiliar with the holiday, panics when he becomes convinced that the schoolchildren have transformed into candy-starved monsters, so he fortifies his base to protect his blood from them. Meanwhile, Dib has been acting crazier than normal, seeing strange hallucinations of hideous creatures. The class decides to use one of their Crazy Cards, and Dib is taken to the Crazy House for Boys. However, this is a cover-up for the truth that Dib is really being teleported to an alternate dimension due to meddling with one of his father's inventions. The "flashes", as he calls them, get progressively longer, and Dib predicts that he will eventually be stuck in the Nightmare Realm forever. He escapes from the insane asylum, but is unable to return home.
Instead, Dib goes to Zim's house, in hopes that the alien can help him. Zim, of course, refuses, but ends up getting involved in Dib's problems anyway, when both of them are permanently teleported into the Nightmare Realm. Zim and Dib decide to work together to get home, which is through Dib's mind. This truce does not last long, however, and only a short period of time passes before Dib leaves Zim to be captured by the Halloweenies.
Dib finds himself in the Nightmare version of his house, only to be captured by Nightmare Membrane and Nightmare Gaz. While in captivity, Zim meets the leader of the Halloweenies, Nightmare Bitters. She explains that they want to capture Dib so they can travel through the portal in his mind to take over the real world. Zim escapes the Halloweenies, but has to save Dib.
Meanwhile, Nightmare Bitters has opened the portal in Dib's head, but Zim shows up with a mech he found in Nightmare Membrane's lab just in time. The robot slows down Nightmare Bitters and the Halloweenies long enough for Zim to force his way through the portal in Dib's head. Meanwhile, Dib is left trapped in the Nightmare Realm, surrounded by Halloweenies, until he manages to force himself through the portal in his own head.
Back in the real world, Dib and Zim abruptly appear (As a result of having to go through his own head, Dib shows up inside-out, but he somehow manages to turn himself right-side-out instantaneously). All seems well for Dib and Zim, until Nightmare Bitters also forces her head through the not-quite-gone portal, but triumph turns to horror when the first thing she sees is GIR, who has become morbidly obese from eating all of the schoolchildren's candy. Convinced the real world is far worse than the Nightmare Realm, Nightmare Bitters retreats and closes the portal for good.
Availability[]
The episode made its home video debut on Media Blaster/AnimeWorks' Invader Zim: Volume 2 - Progressive Stupidity DVD set, released on August 31, 2004. It was later included on the Invader Zim: Season 1 manufacture-on-demand DVD set, released exclusively on Amazon.com on May 4, 2010.
Cast[]
| Voice actor/actress | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Richard Steven Horvitz | Zim |
| Rikki Simons | GIR The Enigma - Monster #3 Whitecoat #2 |
| Andy Berman | Dib Membrane Nightmare Dib |
| Melissa Fahn | Nightmare Gaz |
| Lucille Bliss | Ms. Bitters |
| Rodger Bumpass | Professor Membrane Nightmare Membrane Nightmare Bitters |
| Mo Collins | Zita |
| Phil LaMarr | The Letter M Whitecoat #1 |
| Jhonen Vasquez | Brian Yolk - Monster #2 |
| Antoinette Spolar | Mary Horrified Child |
| Kevin Michael Richardson | Hummelflesh - Monster #1 Scientist |
External links[]
- Invader Zim Wiki: Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom
- "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom" at the Internet Movie Database