- Looking over these first episodes now, they are truly awful... ugh. Arnie (Janos) and everyone else were giving it their all and doing a great job with the horrid material...  But I was learning I guess.

 

- The Character of Magnesia was created especially for Darcy Benton, Miss Iowa 1987, whom KLJB had hired as an on-air spokesperson.  But after reading the first two scripts for Live on Tape, she felt that appearing on the show would be “damaging” to her image and consequently backed out right as we were ready to shoot on the first day.  Ms. Benton was actually much more upset that I would have expected, and went straight to the station’s general manager to complain... when a simple “Um... I’d rather not do this” would have sufficed... but I guess there had to be tears and drama-- you would have thought she just got crowned again.  Incidentally, the idea for the “Help of Magnesia” skit for Darcy was the suggestion of the station’s general manager.  So I wasn’t too upset by all this, more annoyed.

 

So... I made a frantic phone call to my girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Hanson who graciously rushed in to do the Magnesia part on a moment's notice.  Jennifer was a real trooper, the Magnesia skit just didn’t work at all, and it had nothing to do with her... Darcy was probably smart to back out.  Them beauty queens know their stuff!

 

- The show's format at this point included a feature film that was cut in between "Live on Tape" segments that aired on Saturday nights from 9pm to 11:30pm.  Live on Tape wouldn’t change its format for another 11 episodes

 

- Originally there was a different actor scheduled to play the character of Arnie Upshoe.  Two days before we were scheduled to shoot the first episode, he decided that he really didn't  want to do it-- maybe he’d talked to Darcy Benton beforehand...  I was left scrambling to find another person to play Arnie.  Jennifer Hanson suggested I give a friend of hers a call, John (Janos) Horvath.  I had never met Janos, but had seen him in the play “Picnic” at Black Hawk College (Jennifer had been in it as well).  Over the phone Janos agreed to do the part and it was during this first day of shooting “Live on Tape” that Guy  and Arnie met for the very first time, really.

 

Costumes Provided By: Circa 21 & The Showbusiness

Producer - Thomas Hart

Directors - Greg Baldwin, Denise Hollmer, Thomas Hart

Writers - Thomas Hart, Brandon Lovested

Photographers - Greg Baldwin, Thomas Hart, Denise Hollmer

 

Greg Baldwin

Don Bargmann Jr.

Patti Flaherty

Jennifer Hanson

Thomas Hart

Denise Hollmer

John Horvath

Brandon Lovested

Lloyd Nelson

David Wooten

 

Cookie Trainer - Chip Soo Hoy

 

©Copyright 1987, 2006 Thomas Hart

Live on Tape (Show #1)

Airdate: July 4th 1987

(30:39)

MOVIE - “Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell”

 

                    -Arnie K. Upshoe

Guy Newswarthy does a short report on Oral Robert’s promise to bring people back from the dead, but that’s something Dr. Frankenstein had tried, and his living dead ended up looking like Herman Munster.  Oh... and is it hilarious too!

A movie promo where the California Raisins finally get what they deserve, a smack-down in Zilla-town.  Check-out the special effects on this!  Whoa!

 

This maven of matrimonial bliss points out what karate moves work best to keep a man in line in this pointless skit... and I do mean pointless.

Taco Hutch is going topless and giving away jugs!  And what jugs they are-  of course we went for the obvious “jugs” joke here.  By looking at this picture and the one above, it’s not too difficult to figure out whose cleavage we filmed for the bit.  And if you’re looking at the picture of Bill Wondering below and thinking about his cleavage--- well, that’s just sick and wrong.

Consumer watch-dog Bill Wondering expounds his views on Taco Hutch’s recent announcement to go topless for the week of July 5th.  And he’s not happy about it, no siree!

Bermuda Simcock covers the tree lurching team from Svengrodin.  Hans, Spritz and Yimper.  Their efforts are foiled by a giant cookie!  Yes.  A giant cookie... don’t ask why... cuz... it makes not sense.   Okay, so we had access to a giant cookie costume and wanted to use it, that’s why.

Just in case there was any doubt.  Jennifer Hanson, who played the ill-fated “Magnesia”, also performed as the giant cookie, and just look at the size of those chips!

Dr. Alan Chadwick delves into what actually causes the weather - grass.  See?  That wasn’t so hard to figure out now, was it?

Mr. Wondering confronts a Taco Hutch employee about going topless only to get trampled by the giant cookie.  Again, we had use of the giant cookie costume and damnit we were going to use it!

Guy welcomes Arnie to the newsdesk.