The Failure of Mummies Alive!: A Largely Forgotten Series

[@justbuggin67]

Thank you reaching into the dustbin of cartoon history, wiping off the dirt and dust, and saying, “oh yeah I remember this one. Let’s do a show on it.” Always appreciate you Dan.

[@archangel5627]

My thoughts exactly and I couldn’t have said it better!👍🏻😎

[@VinceTheCreatorr]

Yall remember Spider riders on 4kids tv? 😂

[@HELLBENTSOUL]

This show definitely needs a reboot. The intro alone was enough to get you hooked. I remember having a toy of Armon as a kid, and my cousin had Ja-Kal.

[@doriancoreyscloset421]

OMG his name was Armon with one arm 🤯

[@jameskiely2788]

Loved this show back when it was on. The Gargoyles connection makes a lot of sense with how they handled the mythology. Would be cool to see what someone could do with it today.

[@lordcorporal4247]

Today? Nah would be terrible

[@georgecook83]

@@lordcorporal4247everything new is terrible! Get off my lawn!

[@jeyfomson6364]

Please leave it in the past where it belongs, it's a Classic.

[@JamaicanScouser]

Naw let it live in our memories 😂😂,where is awesome n still good

[@Author_SoftwareDesigner]

Things seemed better when we were kids because our minds hadn't matured yet. That's why we think new stuff sucks. This phenomenon can be observed in every generation of humanity. "Today's new music sucks."

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Honestly given the insane schedule and the amount of episodes I'm really impressed with the quality of the animation and the quality in general of this show. Truly 97 was still a year when we were putting out bangers it's a shame and never got a second season but at least we got one hell of a decent 42 episode series.

[@coldwater5814]

On God man

[@Shenanirats]

Mummies Alive was one of my favourite shows as a kid, well, extremely geeky teenager. I was a huge ancient Egypt nerd so this was gold. Seriously bummed when they cancelled it.

[@Technodreamer]

It deserved better than it got!

[@warface4881]

The art style looks cool and some of the action seems pretty dynamic.

[@nine_tails137]

@@warface4881 Honestly, I can't help but feel the speed lines during the transformation sequence, were anime inspired?

[@graefx]

I loved the show. Armored warriors was an easy sell. And that opening is just too catchy. Maybe it's a generational thing, but I think everyone went through an ancient Egypt phase and mine was almost perfectly timed with mummies Alive.

[@gerraddowns4909]

Mine too!

[@xANDOCOMMANDOx]

Same haha. also toys with removeable armor was how you got me as a kid!

[@douglanmar]

“Armored warriors with catchy opening” So…ever heard of Saint Seiya? 🤣

[@fredfry5100]

Dude, everyone goes through an Egyptian phase, those shiny gold sarcophagi are way to marketable. Instantly armor able warriors are also an easy sell, since reusable transformation sequences are cheap.

[@phillipjohnson8903]

Dood, mummies alive was so badass. The fact it's not a huge franchise in 2023 proves to me we live in the wrong timeline.

[@saphcal]

facts

[@johnnyhasselburg6918]

This and Skeleton Warriors

[@Madara8989]

Mummies Alive was my shit during my Power Rangers phase; before DBZ came around and eclipsed everything else. Never would pass up Mummies Alive if I saw it while channel surfing though. Super fun.

[@Ronin1977-v6l]

i belive you are the only one living in a wrong timeline

[@cybercop0083]

@@johnnyhasselburg6918Also Gargoyles

[@Pewpewpew182]

That opening song is fire! Thanks for bringing back a great memory of a show 😊

[@henryramirez6106]

This was such a great series. I was so disappointed when the show just suddenly disappeared. The animation at that time was unique and top notch

[@random11]

not forgotten in my heart. I loved this show. Had the first episodes on VHS

[@justinweber4977]

This show gave me one of my favorite quotes about Immortality as Scarab was being sealed up. "I will still be young when you've been in your tomb 1,000 years." "At least I will be in my tomb."

[@moonymonster]

"At least when I'm in my tomb, I'll be dead. Seal the jackel in his den!" Honestly Scarab's PTSD is JUSTIFIED

[@nova_beam]

I used to watch this in the morning before I went to school. It holds a special place in my heart with Beast Wars, Dinosaucers, and that terrible Darkstalkers cartoon.

[@overFINEthousand]

I'm gonna be 38 in August and I remember watching this cartoon. I for one liked the idea of this series along with the amazing character designs, intro seq., and song. The Egyptian lore put into the show was a nice touch that played on my love for Raiders of the Lost Ark and memories of other hit animated teams like SilverHawks, Defenders of the Earth, Thundercats and even Power Rangers.

[@thebigunodos3559]

It hit every just right.

[@neighslayer768]

Imagine how crazy this could've become if this released at the same time as the 1998 Mummy films.

[@finnmchugh99]

iirc there was a series based on the Mummy movies called Secrets of the Medjai

[@neighslayer768]

@@finnmchugh99 There indeed was.

[@TheConcertCruizer]

I certainly haven’t forgotten it. I think it’s highly underrated and deserves another shot

[@wstine79]

I was starting to grow out of animated cartoons, but I watched Mummies Alive for its unique premise. The episodes were good. Plus, Nefer Tina looks pretty hot.

[@docxen]

same i was born in 79 also and yea milf =mummy etc

[@raffaeleparisi]

Gadget made a generation of furries, Nefertina made some necrophiliacs.

[@TitularHeroine]

​@@raffaeleparisi Geez. wtf😂

[@autobotstarscream765]

​@@raffaeleparisi Is it necrophilia if they're UNdead? I see a lot of people getting hot for vampires. 🧛‍♂️ 🧛‍♀️

[@raffaeleparisi]

Bureaucrat@@autobotstarscream765 , you are technically correct - the best kind of correct.

[@AzureSkyStudios]

I remember my father Michael Edens and uncle Mark working on this series. Dad was absolutely furious that the studio meddling limited their ability to make references to actual Egyptian culture. They weren't allowed to use actual people from history, they had an allotment of 3 actual egyptian-related words (Scarab, Shabti, Sarcophagus) to use. Everything else had to be made up, "kid friendly" names like the "Skycophagus". Thanks for covering this show! I know it would have made him happy to watch.

[@ImpetuouslyInsane]

Yeah, that tracks. I'm not entirely sure what their goal was with that, it's like having Stargate SG-1 without being able to reference actual Egyptian culture or any culture for that matter. Kind of undermines the plot of your entire show.

[@dhazard1976]

I loved Mummies Alive. Wish it went longer

[@user-si9fx4xb6v]

Yeah, I fondly remember watching reruns of this on the Sci Fi channel when I was finishing my sophomore year of high school. The Sci Fi channel aired the Bobot Kids programming block on weekday mornings so I got see this, Extreme Ghostbusters (1997) and Roughneck: The Starship Troopers Chronicles (1999-2000) during the summer of 1999. Really enjoyed this show, since I am huge history buff and the animation was really good as well.

[@dhazard1976]

@JB0071051982 nice. I stumbled across the show looking for reruns of MASK. I don't remember the channel, but, it blew me away

[@nine_tails137]

@@user-si9fx4xb6v I watched Mummies Alive religiously on YTV. Although I can't remember if I watched it after school, on weekends, or weekdays during my days off from school? Since I don't remember what time it aired on YTV?

[@KitzelTheMuse]

when I saw this on the recommended list, My jaw dropped. I remember being heavily into this show, but also being a fan of The Mummy, and Also being a Fan Of Yu-Gi-Oh. Now I'm old now, but I think all three of these things really cemented my love for Egyptian themes in tv / movies. I may just have to share Mummies with someone who watches old tv shows with me every Tuesday cause I am pretty sure they haven't seen this. Thanks for reminding me of this show. :)

[@-Genxzys-]

I loved this show and I've never realised Ron Wasserman did the theme. No wonder it stuck in my head so long

[@johncollins7631]

Such an under appreciated series. I wouldn’t mind seeing it come back.

[@TimeSyncS]

Mummies Alive was the show on UPN that was on late enough on weekdays to where, if I was watching TV before school and I made it there, I knew my mom wasn't going to make me go. So thanks, Mummies, for ensuring that I had no chance at perfect attendance!

[@katenunyabizness9221]

Loved this show, some of the names were awesome. Ja-Kal being Jackal, Ar-Mon with his power of getting his missing ARM ON! And of course Nefertina being aligned with Bast! I was so disappointed there was no Nefertina in the action figures. It had a good catchy theme song, really nice animation quality.

[@Gatorade69]

For some reason I kind of hate that name, Nefertina. ANF yeah I find it funny how only the UK got the Nefertina action figure.

[@designatedred]

So happy to see you guys cover Mummies Alive! I was obsessed with this series as a kid and had no idea about the Ghostbusters connection. Like Ducktales, the theme song always pops up in my mind when I'm working and doing chores lol.

[@DrDirtyLeggz]

"What if Yu-Gi-Oh was a super sentai" This, Swat Kats and Mighty Max were my jam growing up.

[@TitularHeroine]

I have a few 5" mummy figures: one from this, a Dr. Who monster, the Big Bad Beetle Borgs character, and a wooden figurine of Tutankhamen with his casket. And together they are... The Sarcophoguys. 😂 I guess I commited to the bit before I knew there was a bit. Thank you, Dan!

[@LanceCorporal_Waffles]

I remember watching this every morning before school! That theme song is still awesome. Lol 10:56 The person that took that picture didn’t even bother to rewind the cassette. Philistine!

[@RetroRanter]

Me feeling snobby because I remember this, had the figures and...had the hots for an ancient mummy woman?...wow, yeahhhh that last one was something... Loved the trip down memory lane, thank you!

[@blueskiesj]

maybe it's because I didn't have cable around the time it was on the air, or maybe it's because it's got a lot of tokusatsu-esque stuff going on, but I definitely remember enjoying the hell out of this show for the brief time it existed in the pre-youtube days. the transformation sequences, the style, even the vehicles, it all gives me a lot of old-school Sentai vibes

[@galmorzu]

I really enjoyed this show a lot when it was on. I think what drew me in, besides the great animation, was the idea that mummies could be heroic “good guys”, and didn’t automatically have to be undead villains. I’ve always thought that aspect was really awesome.

[@PrincessMatrix]

I'm so glad someone remembered Mummies Alive! Trying to describe it to someone they seem to think I'm making it up!

[@MarkERoth]

I have fond memories of this show. The animation was tight the opening theme was catchy, and the story was interesting when they fleshed out the back stories of the mummies.

[@rikstrum206]

Brought back a big part of my childhood I missed this show gonna rewatch

[@jac8awol]

When I went to high school in the UK I remember this being on tv in the afternoons. I really enjoyed it! One of the few cartoons I tried to catch regularly. I'm surprised it wasn't more popular.

[@HeadCannonPrime]

Your commitment to the Boba Fett and Jonathan Frakes bit is commendable.

[@garkun23]

I was about 13 when I saw this on tv and loved it, especially since they gave interesting dynamics to the characters. It was also interesting in that, at the time, they discussed death or at least the fact that the mummies had died and left full lives and loved ones behind. More common now, but wasn't that common during the 90s show I saw growing up.

[@igrim4777]

That sounds like the writers had a clue and respected their audience's intelligence. Really cool that you got that experience because that's a big concept to face as kid.

[@KaineMeisei]

I first heard about this the worst way any preteen could have: I stumbled onto it when I woke up early with a stomach bug and stayed home from school. That said, it always seemed awesome.

[@batangbatugan]

I LOVE this show. To me, this was the last of the great Saturday Morning cartoons - written and produced in the USA, animated in Japan and South Korea, promoted by toys and merchandise. I could never get tired of the stock footage animation when they transform, so visually amazing and colorful. If this was produced during the 80s it would've probably made a bigger impact on TV and toy aisles.

[@maguffle]

I absolutely loved this show! I've always loved power-up armor shows and ancient Egypt so this was perfect for me! I would welcome a reboot.

[@Getwright-]

When a we getting a second channel with just Dan doing covers of theme songs?? Its truly is one of the highlights of every video for me

[@ClaudiosCollection]

One of my favorite TV shows of my childhood! Thanks for the amazing nostalgia kick!

[@Turo602]

This was my favorite cartoon as a kid. One of my earliest Christmas memories was my babysitter giving my siblings and I the toys because we always watched it at her house.

[@wstine79]

Dan Larson's banter with his producers is always a treat like Magic Spoon.

[@LanceCorporal_Waffles]

The retort/smart ass response text by the editor is also hilarious. 10:13 “Just like Dan”

[@EckerKyle]

Use code "screen crush" to make Dan cry

[@SwiftTrooper5]

His "dedication to the bit" is admirable!

[@mattgrundy27]

I used to watch this every day before school. Classic!

[@rodolfosjeronimo9274]

Man, I loved Mummies Alive! back in the day. If my memory serves me right, the cartoon was well received here in Brazil.

[@ohjeezriles]

Those transformation sequences are so damn crisp.

[@chiissu]

Used to watch this on YTV in 90s canada and loved it. Used to pretend to have those powers as a kid like JaKal's wing flight and found it weird to hear Dale Wilson playing bad guys like Cell in the Ocean Dub of DBZ or the Principal in X Men Evolution after his kind and fatherly role in this. Looking back it had some impressive animation that makes modern things look like used human waste when compared to it. The colors, movement and design all held up really well. Also a lot of the enemies summoned by Scarab were actually high rank gods who probably would not be so easy to beat nor eager to help him in real life.

[@autobotstarscream765]

Everybody gangsta until Scarab summons Slifer the Executive Producer to attack the reincarnated Pharaoh.

[@raunc9278]

As soon as you brought up DBZ the first thing that comes to mind is how many episodes and the commercials we had to sit through to finally see Kakarot transform into a SSJ. It was so epic when it finally happened. A lot of cartoons back in the 90s had a similar feel great storylines awesome character development it was worth watching the commercials just to not miss anything. Shortcuts nowadays ruin everything like doing a 1 button fatality when playing Mortal Kombat the satisfaction isn't the same.

[@bluenothing720]

Yup, loved this one as a kid. Can't remember the last time ANYONE brought it up though. Thanks for bringing this back to my conciousness.

[@dr.wolfstar1765]

I loved this show. My older cousins kept telling me this show would rot my brain

[@thedigimontamer]

I often found myself in the early years of KZbin searching for this and finding it occasionally in 3 parts when videos couldn't be longer than 10 minutes. It stuck with me from watching it as a kid until 10 years later. I still have an episode taped on VHS. Thanks for the video on it :)

[@candidgamera]

I love how every time Andy Heyward comes up, Dan can refer to him as a 'DIC head'.

[@pacmancdi]

He's the best DIC head that ever lived lol. He's responsible for so many amazing cartoons

[@donatellothegraet]

I loved this show as a 12 year old. Came on right before I had to catch the bus for school. Also I really dig the Xanatos "no way" supercut😂

[@pamelamays4186]

Ghosts. Gargoyles. Mummies. Nineties kids had it so good!

[@kmdbaby]

Loved this show and the toy line. Very happy to see this video about the show! Thanks so much for putting this out there.

[@Popstalgia]

Loved this series, wish I had toys of it back in the day.

[@RAYSIFF23]

Still can’t believe this never took off. My brother and I looooved this show. Those transformation sequences will always be burned in my mind.

[@dynamicsketch]

I remember this show. I use to work with a guy who liked it because he thought the concept of mummies was cool. We both got off work in the morning and would get home to catch the show on TV along with Sonic Underground, which my coworker would crack jokes about the theme song.

[@bazanime]

Loved this show during DJ Katt. It was beautiful fight animation and unique characters.

[@grapeshot]

Oh yeah I remember this also I hope one day you'll do a video on Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys.

[@Tsuki_Itsubi]

This was one of my favorite shows as a kid. Very underrated, also gave me a love for Egyptian culture

[@darrenmacqueen9884]

I actually loved this show as a kid. I even had some of the toys. I wished I held onto them.

[@ChristopherMB87]

Between Bots Master, Arthur and the Knights of Justice, James Bond Jr., this show and countless other properties you've covered; thank you for affirming that my childhood wasn't a fever dream I concocted. Also, peak usage of The Frakes

[@TitularHeroine]

Oh yeah, The Frakes! Sixteen-piece trombone ensemble of identical guys!

[@ChristopherMB87]

@@TitularHeroine that’s a lot of transporter accidents

[@bigman88zz]

Heck of a theme song, heck of a show. Part of me always wanted a Yugioh crossover. A little boy named Yugi found a secret out this year, that he was once a pharaoh when Egyptians ruled the world. And now a sorcerer named Pegasus/Marik/Dartz/Bakura tries to get him day and night, but Yugi has four guardians to protect his very life.

[@autobotstarscream765]

That really is just Yami Bakura, and Yugi's four guardians are either Joey/Tea/Tristan/Kaiba or Dark Magician/Dark Magician Girl/Kuriboh/Valkyrion the Magna Warrior.

[@kiddfaith4397]

I really enjoyed the show when I was younger, and still do; it was a prime example of 90’s style cartoons. Thanks for covering the more obscure series that never really took off. There’s some real gems in that bin.

[@haljordan1558]

If there was ever a toy line that needs to be made NOW it’s this IP!!!! Man that would be so awesome

[@MarcusG450]

Man, the childhood memories are just flooding in. School day mornings getting ready and having no intention on rushing because I wanted to make sure I watched the whole Mummies Alive episode. Those mornings just didn't complete without hearing that banger intro song and "With The Strength of RA!". Ja-kal was my favorite but the whole squad was ace. I definitely appreciated these shows back then but even more so these days.

[@orinanime]

I loved this show when it originally aired. I remember watching it when I was 11 years old. I was also swept up in 90s "mummymania". I still love this show as an adult. It's genuinely a LOT of fun. The complete Series was released on DVD in Germany, with the English language option. I have an "unofficial" English copy of the German release. It looks and sounds so good that if I didn't already know it was a bootleg, I'd never be able to tell.

[@williamlee2182]

Mummies Alive is a CLASSIC! Loved it

[@bootsthecat6718]

Really loved this show

[@onigvd77]

this was one of my favourite cartoons back in the day, thanks for the trip down memory lane :)

[@captainsteroid2454]

Ah, Nephertina; every 90's kids' gateway crush into necrophilia. :P

[@MatthewRAB]

Im so happy yall covered this! I loved the whole concept of this show, familiar but beautiful, with original flare. glad its remembered here

[@mhutch5082]

I loved this growing up. Had all the toys. This street sharks and the dino one lol

[@cookscreativecorner]

Extreme Dinosaurs. Loved that show as a kid (I found the VHS tapes at Blockbuster, and that alone brings back so much nostalgia), and I found a way to get its theme song on my computer and phone.

[@mhutch5082]

@@cookscreativecorner ah that's the one. I still got a toy of the bad black raptor with the blades

[@cornyeugene1591]

One Of my favorite childhood television shows!! Thank y’all!

[@kietus]

oh man! I have fond memories of waking up before middle school and watching the airing of this on UPN. I had no idea it was only 1 season!

[@CameronHuff]

I remember this series and was bummed that it didn't go longer.

[@DudeRetro]

Mummies alive was one of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid. I preferred Mummies Alive over Gargoyles at the time

[@DanielleBaum]

I remember this! I was just looking for it on KZbin the other day

[@jamesintherye8749]

Forgotten? I remember this series just like it was yesterday when it was I think shown when I was a child in the late 90s. I swear whenever someone highlights some media as "forgotten", chances are I've already seen and know about at some level. Shows how deep my tastes are even as a kid...

[@paulanaya2503]

Finally, UPN was acknowledged! In CA they played Ronin Warriors and Mummies alive and Digimon Frontier and it was epic!

[@joegiles7785]

I remember watching this one. Some the best episodes I remember the arc that starred Ja-Kal's scorpion-themed elder brother Arakh and the episode in which Nefertina got hit by Scarab's beauty treatment and became a supermodel. I always what a Yugioh crossover would be like.

[@rachelharvey977]

When I was younger I only had a CD with three episodes but the amount of times my siblings and I watched it is innumerable. Loves the show to this day

[@geardog24]

This series could've done greater things with the Egyptian mythos, but instead of making more like Moon Knight they made it more like 80's Ninja Turtles.

[@thesavingmenslivesnetwork]

One of the Top 10 best intros for a cartoon EVER written. Salute to you guys for doing this episode on "Mummies Alive!"

[@psychodeviant8903]

I remember this show. It came on, for me, super early in the morning during the week before I had to go to school and I wasn't really about getting up any earlier than I had to in the morning on school days so that hurt it. I don't remember much about it, other than I didn't think it was all that great from a writing standpoint, but I thought the animation was really good and the theme song was an absolute banger!

[@wavemantha4th]

Had thee action figures when I was a kid. Saturday morning classic.......ITS LIT🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Mr.Greenbacks]

This show was actually DOPE AF! I'm grown and would definitely tune in again. They need a Netflix reboot like Voltron.

[@masterseal0418]

Same. We need Studio Mir involved somehow.

[@CommanderBohn]

Hell no. LD was wasted potential. Literally not enough of the titular mecha.

[@Hanokaze]

I watched this when I was a kid. I remember really liking it and the theme song, and the fact that Wasserman composed it makes a lot of sense retrospectively.

[@michaelrlomax1977]

Really enjoyed Mummies Alive when I saw it. Had good stories and the action was awesome. When watching it I would wonder who would I cast in a live action version. Could only ever foucs on character and that would Harris Stone/Scarab. The actor who would fit the role brilliantly would be the late David Warner. Call it the influence of his roles in Time Bandits, Tron, Batman The Animated Series and all the many other things he had started in. The role would fit him prefectly.

[@TitularHeroine]

.....good choice!

[@AdamBladeTaylor]

Forgotten series? Them's fightin' words! Scepters at 20 paces! I loved this show. It was so well done. And had some of the best intro music ever.

[@BlackShogun]

This show always stood out to me. I remember it being reminiscent of anime which I’d recently discovered, at a time when availability was scarce.

[@Getwright-]

Yeah those power up scene were straight out of something like saint seya, or ronin warriors. I remember loving those

[@PHNX-ls5bt]

Holy crap, I completely forgot this show existed. As soon as i saw the thumbnail my mind was flooded with very old, dusted memories of having these toys, and absolutely loving the concept of mummies in gold armor.

[@LouisTheBassman]

I always like mummies alive. Too bad it didn't get recognition.

[@zainhartono7193]

Are you kidding me, dude I loved that show as a kid. Gosh this brings back memories.

[@joshuafrias2415]

A Power Rangers with mummies? This is weird stuff. I know Power Rangers can be weird, but this is the next level.

[@williammiller3277]

Power Rangers is just Mummies Alive without mummies. I mean whats the point then?

[@DuckAvenger]

This is the deep depths of my memories I can't believe you brought out. I think this came in mornings before school but haven't thought about this since the 90s

[@Peecamarke]

One of the first action cartoons that gave Africa some shine 👏 had a whole fighting system based off a North African belief system

[@thatsnozakuboi2415]

I had the shoes as a kid for this show! One of the best Christmas gifts I ever got, never felt cooler in elementary school.

[@bloodtopaz8816]

I remember Mummies Alive, I really liked it. I was out of the demographics they were looking for at the time I bet. I was in my late teens early twenties when the show first aired. Would have liked to see a second season but by the end of the first season, the show started making fun of itself and the Mummies themselves were less and less out of place in the world. I think part of the charm was the magic they used to "power up" but also that they were out of place in the world. I, however, would like to see a reboot of this show, this show should have gone for at least 2 season for sure. The only issue I have with the thought of a reboot, is that the way the Mummies Alive was drawn back than was popular in the 1990's, the new art that is popular today would feel like a downgrade for the show. Unless the show runners made a conscious effort to mimic the art of the Mummies Alive from the 1990's. Look at the reincarnates of Thundercats or He-man for instance and did it work for them? I wonder and those shows were cancelled quickly. Outside of the Netflix He-man art, which, to me, has the feeling of the 1980's and seems to fit.

[@maxordman4100]

Thank you so much for doing this video! Truly fantastic! I loved this show! It was a really wonderful and exciting cartoon! I also loved the theme song and of course it also didn’t hurt that I had a huge Screen crush on Nefertina! I loved her personality too in addition to her looks. She was very Tomboy like. This was a wonderful weekday morning cartoon!