What REALLY Happened to Bump in the Night’s Lost Third Season
What happened to Bump in the Night’s lost third season—and did Disney’s takeover of ABC help bring Mr. Bumpy’s Saturday morning run to an end?
The scripts were written. The voices were recorded. The storyboards were complete. But the third season never became what fans thought it was.
For Spooktober on Dial-Up Dayz, we’re crawling back under the bed to revisit one of the strangest shows of the ’90s. From Mr. Bumpy’s appetite for dirty socks to Squishington’s bathroom adventures, Molly Coddle, the Closet Monster, and Karaoke Café, Bump in the Night made Saturday mornings feel wonderfully weird.
Behind that miniature world is an equally fascinating story: two childhood friends who worked on Gumby, helped create ClayFighter, and built a warehouse full of handmade monsters for ABC. There were VHS releases, a Christmas special, video game plans, and another season already underway. Then the network changed hands.
We explore the creators’ accounts, the rumors surrounding the unfinished third season, what might still survive in an archive, and the unsettling fate of the original puppets. Along the way, we separate the lost-season legend from what was actually produced—and examine what we can and can’t say about Disney’s role in the show’s cancellation.
👻 Did you watch Bump in the Night on ABC, discover it on Toon Disney, or wear out the VHS tapes? Tell us your favorite character or weirdest memory in the comments!
🎃 What Halloween special takes you straight back to sitting on the living room floor with a pile of candy? Leave your Spooktober requests below.
Subscribe to Dial-Up Dayz for more stories behind the shows and movies we grew up with—and join us all October as we revisit the spooky, strange, and unforgettable corners of ’90s childhood.
Comments
Latest news
@headsandhearts
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
I loved this show so much. I had a tough time tracking down the toys, even when the show was still on the air. Thank you for this!!
@RossJr8604
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
This & ReBoot made my SatAM days worth it! I vividly remember that 'H20, let the water flow!' song from that episode when Squishy got dehydrated cause the water was shut off in the house.
@nine_tails137
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
I got a shout DVD copy of this series signed by Rob Paulsen at Edmonton Expo a few years ago.
And I even told him I thought the show was a fever dream, only to find out it was real!
@tmap92
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
I remember this so much!! Same time SatAM was playing too!! ABC Saturday morning was the best! CBS and NBC tried, but didn't last (think Beethoven the cartoon). ABC and Fox were kings.
@stedebonnet2110
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
CLAYFIGHTER!!!
@fangthedergon1863
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
I forgot this existed till I saw your video.
@fartspoo4244
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
I loved this show as a kid, was a sucker for stop motion still am. If you showed me what @laikastudios was doing it would have blown my teeny brain.
@anominon
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
I was genuinely scared of that laundry monster thing, geez.
We got this show on the BBC here, I think, licensed from ABC. I think it was on Sunday mornings as part of a show called "Fully Booked".
As for halloween specials, it was always the Scooby Doo ones for me.
@buddyzilla4557
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
For the longest time, this was a fever dream memory of something I was sure existed but only caught maybe a couple times so I was unsure. The only episode I actually saw enough of to remember the plot of was the one where Bumpy almost got the kid in tourble for eating thier homework. He resolved the issue in the end by remembering that gping over the bar on swings turns you inside out so he just did that to get the papers back. I remember inside out Bumpy was pretty upsetting. I am not sure if it really was a segment on Bumpy or something else done in a simialr style but for years I also recall attributing a short "music video" clip to the show. It was a telling of the bitter batter nursery rhyme but the uncanny style mixed with the character transforming into the batter and such freaked me out.
@That_Guy_In_A_Box
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Core Memory unlocked. I totally forgot I watched this in the early/mid 90s. Just like the Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show ironically. For whatever reason I remember the Tales from the Crypt cartoon and what was on Fox Kids at that time, not too mention Sonic and Cadillacs and Dinosaurs…
But for whatever reason this is one of those shows from that time I likely watched a lot of that didn't manage to stick in the retention part of my brain over the last 30+ years. I guess we were spoiled at that time for stuff to watch and read and play. As far as core Memory of Halloween kids show:
I'd have to say Goosebumps. Every Halloween they either had a special episode or a outright Saturday Movie. Stuff like the Haunted Mask and Attack of the Jack-o'-lanterns. Goosebumps for several years there was a fixture of afternoons during the Halloween week. Same for a short time there for Fox's OTHER Halloween-ish live-action show The New Adams Family.
But while Goosebumps tied to a bunch of core Halloween memories of growing up, because of the several years it was on, and how it treated Halloween as Special… I would say my MOST STRONG Halloween memory of kids shows on Halloween Night (or there about) was probably… Halloween Town when it FIRST originally aired on American TV in October of 1998. It aired a bit before Halloween that year, but my memory of that time is kinda unique, as in my school and home town they made a usually big deal that year of the Holiday.
For several week leading up to it, TV stations where doing 30 Days of Halloween Specials, my school had several Halloween events (parties, festival, etc), and my town had a Halloween event. Decorating everything two weeks in advance.
I spent that time rewatching Goosebumps reruns, Hocus Pocus, and a ton of Halloween movies and shows. And then, for whatever reason, Halloween Town (being the NEW thing I watched) ended up being this thing people where talking about. It was also my LAST Halloween trick-or-treating and I had just hit that teenage age where taking my brother out was embarrassing….
But I liked candy, I wanted to dress up as ghost face from my favorite new Horror Movie, and my mom pushed me to do it because I would regret not going for the rest of my life (wasting one more right of childhood, basically).
I enjoyed everything about that particular Halloween Holiday – EXCEPT… when we pulled up to this big nice house, and I walked my brother up to ring the door bell, me lumbering besides him as a 5'4 Ghostface with a Burger King Glow in the Dark Jack-o'-lantern pale… and suddenly the most popular cheerleader in my school, and my first major crush, opens the door.
….lol. 😂 That particular Halloween of 1998, my first one in High School, and the year I found my remember for both familiarity AND firsts – it's burnt into my memory. And every time I watch Halloweentown at my house, which I do every season (this year with my kids who are older than I was back then)…
I am brought back to that time as a awkward 14 year old boy, enjoying all those things I had always loved – but questioning if I was SUPPOSED too at that age. These days, I just wish I had Trick-or-treated two more years (as I learned some teens continued too), instead of giving into pressure that honestly was in my head.
@Siyucircle
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
My family and I LOVED this show!
@KaseyPelegrino
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
I watched this along with Reboot
@EWOODJ
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Was literally thinking about the lost 3rd season a few hours ago and then this random video pops up in my feed… can google read minds? Get out of my freaking head.
@bryanjohnson8162
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
If you find clay fighters or have a copy it's one of the more valuable super Nintendo games…
@jrr2480
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
I remember watching 👀 the Christmas special in the late 90s.
@tfdband
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Has anyone suggested The Perils of Punky eps of Punky Brewster? Terrified my sister and me as kids.
@lylearoyii
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Thank you for thus! Lost childhood memories, and I KNEW Danger Productions! I saw that and was like, "why do I know this?" The very next shot was of my favorite Snes game "Harleys humongous adventure!" No one knows how amazing that game is! Best game on the snes and im an rpg fanatic!
@Powherkrangunch
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Spooktober video suggestion- Toonslvania! This series was amazing! The characters were hilarious. It was made by some of the same people who worked on Animanics and it only aired for 2 seasons but it had a lot of heart and great humor. Also it’s full of funny music too! Very underrated cartoon!
@dangochao8612
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
oh yes i fondly remember Bumpy as a kid! and i was so sad when he disappeared. it never scared me either. it stuck with me and my family so well that we still sing the "I Was Right Song" when one of us is right about something lol. managed to snag the dvd collection!
@sakurashy8492
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
I loved Bump In The Night way back when. They should totally make a revival season of the show.
@batlrar
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
This show was my first encounter with accidental plagiarism, but in retrospect it would have probably been just different enough to be fine. I had a comic I drew with characters that had similar body parts, shapes, and colors and then a couple of years into me drawing it this show started up and someone asked "Hey, aren't those your characters?" My mind went reeling trying to figure out how they stole the idea from me, but I had to eventually come to terms with it just being similar concepts.
@mickeyd343
October 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Anyone who is a fan of 90s anime probably knows this but Ayeka's actress was a part of this show, Jennifer Darling