JEMcast – Hologram Radio

Synopsis: “The Holograms are the musical guests at a magic show. When strange things start happening and people start to disappear, the Holograms have to team up with the magicians and the Misfits to solve the mysteries before it’s too late.”

Summary: Episode 36 (S2E10) is written by Paul Dini.

We open with Kimber attempting to perform a magic trick for a group of Starlight girls. Things unfortunately don’t go right when she get stuck inside a locked chest, because she dropped her key before getting in. After asking for help, Kimber is freed. The rest of the Holograms enter and Jerrica asks what she’s doing. Kimber explains she’s been practicing her magic tricks for the “Music & Magic” special. One of the Starlight girls asks to go with the Holograms to magic island, but Jerrica turns her down and must promise to watch the show from home.

Cut to a mysterious figure who is looking at the ad for the Music & Magic special. We only see the man’s arms as he tears the paper in two.

On magic island, the director of the show, Sid, is speaking with Jem and the Holograms about tonight’s show. Devon Silverstone, walks on stage and interrupts. Sid introduces the band to their co-star.

Devon Silverstone: Ah, Jem. Finally an entertainer whose talent matches the magnitude of my own.

Jem: Thank you Mr. Silverstone… I think.

Silverstone: Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady (a bouquet of roses appear out of thin air). It’s fated that we should dine after the show. I won’t take no for an answer.

Jem: I’m sorry Mr. Silverstone, but I have a say in this and I say no.

Marla Martell, a famous illusionist approaches Jem after Devon Silverstone is rebuffed and leaves. She threatens Jem to stay away from him, but Jem tries to explains she’s not the least bit interested. Marla reminds Jem that not all of her tricks are illusions, and hands Jem a bouquet of flowers with a live snake.

Professor Frick: Fear not, fair ladies. The marvellous team of Frick and Frack will take care of the little brood.

Frack, Frick’s partner is surprised by the trick and says he’s never seen him do it before. Professor Frick tells Frack to be quiet as he has no intention of divulging his secret in front of his fans. Jem tries to correct Frick that they aren’t fans and that they’re Jem and the Holograms, who will be appearing with them in the show tonight. The Professor is not pleased having to share the stage with two bands and storms off. Shana makes an offhand remark about the second rock band as they weren’t aware there was another band in the show.

The Holograms pick up their instruments to begin rehearsing for the show, but before they can begin, the band is engulfed in a cloud of smoke. The Misfits make a grand entrance, swinging down onto the stage on one of the props (a crescent moon).

Cue Misfits music video: “Abracadabra”.

The Holograms make an attempt to rehearse after the Misfits leave, but they’re interrupted once again by a persistent Devon Silverstone. He insists on having Jem participate in a disappearing act to demonstrate the amazing magic they can create together. Jem wishes Silverstone would make himself disappear. Jem reluctantly agrees, thinking Silverstone will finally give up on pursuing her. But trouble strikes when Jem enters the cabinet. After the door is closed, it explodes and Jem is gone. Silverstone appears to be shocked and tells the Holograms the explosion was not part of the trick.

After the explosion, Frick, Frack, the director, Marla, and the Misfits come rushing to the stage to see what’s happened. The Misfits rejoice at the idea that Jem perished in the explosion.

Cue Jem and the Holograms music video: “It Could Be You”.

Aja makes the accusation that only a real magician could have rigged the complicated disappearing trick (she looks in Frack’s direction). Professor Frick defends Frack, saying that not only does he not possess the skills for the trick, but he was busy preparing props while he and Marla practiced for the show. The Misfits refuse to take the blame for Jem’s disappearance as well.

Pizzazz: Same here. Not that I wouldn’t mind shaking hands with whoever did rid of old pink-hair.

Shana interjects and says that Jem must be somewhere in the building, and until they can find her, all of the magicians are suspects. The magicians get defensive, saying they had nothing to do with Jem’s disappearance, so they agree to help find her. The Misfits decide to tag along and help, which seems unusual. Pizzazz remarks that if someone is picking off singers, they should all stick together. Logically this makes sense, but the Misfits have a hidden agenda. Pizzazz tells Roxy, Stormer, and Jetta that they’re going to “fix it” so that Jem stays vanished. Everyone breaks up into groups to speed up the search.

Pizzazz, Kimber, and Marla begin searching one of the rehearsal rooms, but Marla tries to explain to Kimber that they’re waisting time as she just finished practicing and there was no one else. Pizzazz walks onto the stage and pulls open the curtain but is engulfed in smoke. Suddenly demonic creatures materialize and Pizzazz flips out. Kimber tries to calm Pizzazz down, but her comment about the monsters having to be illusions seems obvious, considering she deals with holograms all the time.

Kimber: Stay cool. They have to be illusions of some kind.

Marla explains the illusions are coming from a projector hidden behind the curtain and to not worry, as the controls for them are hidden within her medallion. As Marla attempts to turn off the projections, she’s shocked that they don’t respond. A projection of a witch points a wand at Marla and smoke consumes her. When the smoke clears, Marla vanishes. Pizzazz completely freaks out at this point and bolts, while Kimber is pushed by Pizzazz as she tries to leave. Kimber stumbles backwards into a coffin and screams. Thankfully, the Holograms hear Kimber’s cries for help and come rushing to save her. Meanwhile, Pizzazz vanishes after attempting to escape the witch. Kimber is freed and explains the situation to the rest of the Holograms. Frack wonders how Marla’s disappearing act could have been done and Silverstone explains that the trap door built into the stage would have been responsible. The trap door leads to the basement (Silverstone kicks it in). Professor Frick agrees to join the Holograms in heading down to the basement, but he urges them to hurry and seems to care more about rehearsing for the show than finding a missing person. Aja and Shana confide in each other and believe that the Professor is the number one suspect.

Down in the barely lit basement, the group decides to split up and cover more ground. Silverstone uses his magic staff to illuminate the room and suddenly we see Jem standing in a cage on the far side of the room. The Misfits appear disappointed that Jem would show up now before they’ve had a chance to ensure she stayed vanished. Raya, Kimber, and Shana walk up to the cage. Raya enters the cage to try and tell Jem she’s been worried, but it turns out it’s just a cardboard cutout. The cage locks behind her; it’s a trap! The cage begins to spin and is eventually engulfed in smoke. Raya disappears and a tiger materializes in her place. The tiger escapes the cage and chases after Stormer, who climbs to safety. Silverstone tries to distract the tiger by using his magic staff, eventually coaxing it back into the cage. Roxy, Professor Frick, and some of the other Misfits arrive and ask what’s going on. Kimber thinks whoever it is that is trying to get rid of the Holograms is playing for keeps, and she questions Professor Frick in an accusatory manner. Shana backs Kimber and makes a good case for motive, that the Professor has been against the Holograms since the very beginning. Frick tries to defend himself and deny any involvement in the disappearances. As Frick stammers, he pulls out a long cloth from inside his jack, and is beside himself as to how it even got there. The cloth engulfs Roxy, Aja, and Silverstone and they vanish. Kimber, Shana, Stormer, and Jetta are the only ones left, and they demand that Professor Frick bring them back. Is the Professor truly guilty? Or has he been conveniently framed? Frick tries to protect himself by hiding behind his partner, Frack, but then decides to run away. The remaining Holograms and Misfits chase after the Professor.

Professor Frick makes a run for it and Frack follows. They run into dead end. Suddenly, an odd noise is heard. A canon moves on its own and everybody ducks. Instead of firing a deadly projectile, it fires confetti and Frick, Frack, Kimber, Shana, Stormer, and Jetta and blown through a paper wall and down into an elaborate secret underground lair. All of them fall into separate cages. In the underground lair, all of those that vanished are locked in cages. But who could the culprit be if everyone is locked up? Frack opens his cage and admits to being responsible. What better a person than the lowly and underestimated magician’s assistant? For years Frack learned all of their greatest tricks, only to use them on his mentors in the end. But why lock up the Holograms and Misfits? Well, Frack refuses to share the spotlight with anyone. At last, the Music & Magic show will be his, and his alone.

Frack decides to perform the very best tricks that his mentors have to offer, but first he needs them to divulge the secrets. At first they refuse, but he uses Pizzazz as leverage and threatens to kill her by improperly performing the “cutting a lady in half” trick.

The Music & Magic show is about to begin. Before Frack leaves, he tells the other magicians not to bother trying to escape, as he took the liberty of replacing their skeleton keys the night before. There’s no way they can unlock their cages now, or is there?

Before all hope is lost, Kimber realizes she still has her own skeleton key. Not entirely certain if it will work, she tries to open the pad lock on her cage. It works! Kimber frees the others from their cages. Marla apologies to Jem for her jealously and Professor Frick says they were all on the same side from the beginning.

The Holograms have to rush to the stage to stop Frack and don’t have time to free Pizzazz, so the rest of the Misfits stay behind to do so.

Cut to the stage show, Frack announces to the audience that he’s about to make a two-ton pachyderm disappear. The curtain opens, but instead of the pachyderm, the Holograms and Professor Frick are there. Frack is shocked at what’s standing before his eyes. Frack shoots hundreds of cards from his sleeve at Shana and the Professor, causing them to slip. Jem asks Synergy for help by creating a multiple illusion. Monsters appear on stage and begin to chase Frack. Frack tries to escape back stage, but the Misfits nab him. They put him in a straightjacket and leave him hanging upside down. Meanwhile, Jem tells Synergy “show’s over,” but Silverstone ends up catching her in the act. Jem didn’t anticipate Silverstone would see her create the holograms.

Silverstone: I can live with you turning me down, but I have to know how you conjured up those incredible images.

Jem: Why devon, you know a good musician never tells her secrets.

Cue Jem and the Holograms music video: “Music Is Magic”.

We end this episode with the Holograms walking off stage, wondering what happened to the Misfits. After all, they were also supposed to perform at the Music & Magic show. Kimber notices the Misfits, who are tied up. The Holograms walk up to them and read a note, written by Frack, who has escaped and promises that they’ll meet again.

Duration: 47:48:00

Present: Alex Knight, Aleen Simms.

• S2E10: “Music Is Magic”
• “Abracadabra”
• “It Could Be You”
• “Music Is Magic”
• Unboxing: Light-Up Synergy Earrings from Jem & the Holograms
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Download: JEMcast – Episode S2E10: “Music Is Magic”