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Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"It's called Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders - and it's a ''[[Blatant Lies|delightful]]'' [[
Born of quite possibly one of the most moronic cases of [[Executive Meddling]] ever, ''Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders'' started as a horror anthology directed by Kenneth J. Berton. Unfortunately, the movie studios didn't want any more horror as family films were all the rage then. As a result, a flimsy [[Framing Device]] about a child and his deeply unhinged grandfather (a poorly veiled [[Author Avatar]] played by a disturbingly big [[Ernest Borgnine]]) who tells his grandson stories during a power cut was attached (the program the grandson was watching before the power went out reminded Grandpa Borgnine "of a story [he] once wrote for TV"), a scene involving a séance turned into the [[Show Within a Show]] [[Cold Open]], and umm... not a lot else changed.
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Then, Merlin's beloved wind-up monkey (AKA "rock and roll Martian") gets stolen (this was seen on TV earlier, and is what inspired Grandpa Borgnine to tell this story), eventually making its way into the hands of a cute family at least a dozen years in the past, and shot on film rather than videotape. Being a smart guy, Merlin had thought to put a terrible curse on the wind-up monkey that will kill all who touch it.
Best known now as [[Mystery Science Theater 3000
{{tropelist}}
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'''Zurella:''' You'll get a lot more than that if you don't get out there and find [[Cymbal-Banging Monkey|that thing]]! Now, go! }}
** One look at the two of them and the audience is certainly threatened
* [[Mood Whiplash]]: Thanks again to that [[Executive Meddling]]: the creators' attempt to neuter the more steadily ([[Narm|cough]]) macabre second half was to add intentionally comical scenes of Merlin, in full regalia, wandering around town looking for a cymbal-banging monkey. The effect is something like randomly cutting together ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' and ''[[Pee
* [[Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant]]: Grandpa Borgnine and, [[Meta Fiction|metafictionally]], the executives. Seriously, who the HELL thinks [[Kill'Em All]] horror is an appropriate genre for the bedtime stories of a seven year old!?
* [[No Accounting for Taste]]: One really wonders why the hell the critic's wife stuck with him so long, to the point of wanting to have his child.
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* [[Tome of Eldritch Lore]]: Merlin's book of spells, most of which summon Beelzebub and/or cause death in imaginative ways.
* [[Vertigo Effect]]
* [[What Happened to
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"[[The Stinger|Rock and Roll Martian!]]"
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