- This show marked the beginning of a format change in the program.  Previously we’d hosted a horror, or sci-fi movie.  But Gary Brandt (the station’s General Manager) felt that Live on Tape would work better as its own half hour show.  This change was a huge improvement.  The skits and bits we were doing had never really clicked with the movie stuff.  So, we were in some ways starting over again.  It was freeing not to have to worry about cutting back to movie segments, while trying to service the topic of the film being shown.  Now it was just all us baby!

 

- Gary Brandt also wanted us to spoof the local news format, since KLJB (at the time) didn’t do local news reporting.  Trouble was... we didn’t get any news copy at the station and this was before the internet, so I had to scramble around for source material.  Pulling stories from the tabloids seemed like the best way to start, well... it sorta’ worked... but as I would soon learn it was better to make the stuff up rather than waste time digging it up.

 

- I remember thinking that this wasn’t a very good episode, but upon recent viewing - after the previous um... not so great 12 episodes this one ain’t so bad.  Lots of silly stuff in here.  A good solid effort for the first half-hour I’d say.

 

- Once again,  the news set for Guy and Arnie changed.  This show was taped the same week as WQPT’s (the local PBS affiliate) auction which was broadcast out of KLJB’s studio.  I was at the mercy of their set.  This is explains the green item boards in the background.  But this was also the inspiration for our later signature giant TV that eventually came to hang behind the news desk.

 

-The “Bother the Bunny” skit upset a lot of people.  I was flooded with phone calls from the ASPCA and Humane Society.  They believed we had actually done all those horrible things to that little rabbit.  Of course we hadn’t.  I though it was abundantly clear that the “bunny” being abused was a stuffed rabbit- I mean, it’s pretty damn obvious it’s NOT a real rabbit.  Never the less, a woman from the Humane Society raked me over the coals about the treatment of the animal.  She demanded to know what had become of the rabbit.  I explained to her that I had return the bunny, unharmed, to its original owner,  a man in Geneseo who breeds rabbits to sell as food (which is legal).   He was kind enough to let me borrow the animal for my show.  The woman became very quiet once she realized that our particular rabbit met its demise at the hands of a hungry family rather than on my “stupid” TV show.  The fake “stunt” rabbit that we use however, survived.  She didn’t seem to care about that so much though.

 

Costumes Provided By: Circa 21 & The Showbusiness

Producer - Thomas Hart

Directors - Thomas Hart, Denise Hollmer

Writer - Thomas Hart

 

Don Bargmann Jr.

Mike Carron

Barb Engstrom

Pat Flaherty

Patti Flaherty

Thomas Hart

John Horvath

Scott Hoyt

Merlin Nelson Jr.

Scott Tunnicliff

and Hasenpfeffer as the Bunny

 

Studio Camera Operators - Sue Passe, Joel Poppen

Audio - Laurie B. Snell

Prompter - Jennifer Nahra

 

Thanks to the lovely people of Austria for their continued help and support in bringing this quality program to countless millions of viewers each and every week.

 

©Copyright 1987, 2006 Thomas Hart

 

Live on Tape (Show #13)

Airdate: October 10th 1987

(23:45)

 

 

                              -Mr. Craine (Bunny Botherer from Brierstone)

 

Guy and Arnie start the show off reporting the latest tabloid headlines from around the world, including: a girl who was raised by pigs, a prospector who got his dying wish to be stuffed and mounted, and a disturbing report on a bum who would threaten to barf on people if they wouldn’t give him a hand-out.  Man, this is classy stuff!

Sprinkles reports on traffic and the weather-

Zippy reports on landmarks, like the JFK bathhouse.

Arnie gripes about Tova Borgnine’s beauty cream.

Arnie and Guy fight for world domination of the News Desk.

-and Reagan leaves orbit for a light snack.

He’s an enforcer of the truth, and an exposer of BS... he’s not at all pleased by what he’s hearing in the reports.  In his words, “I just ain’t buyin’ it”... and then he drops his pants.

This news intro with the spinning globe would become a staple from here on out in the show.  But not this set, the news set would still be a changin’ for awhile longer... and MAN, is that desk ever big!  That’s one huge piece of furniture you’re lookin’ at here.

The famous dancing Norwegian Midgets demonstrate how NOT to act when high in the mountains after a heavy snowfall... the word starts with AV.... and ends in O’LANCH.

A chilling tale that hits close to home... it’s a dirty, filthy story that will sicken even the hardiest of men!  It’s....it’s!--- just a pile a dirty dishes in the sink.  But they are pretty disgusting when you see them.

Pick a plump one, then-

Catch it!

Roll it!

HOW TO: BOTHER A BUNNY

Oh man!  Where to begin?!  There are sooo many “firsts” in this episode... like this being the first of the new, half-hour, stand alone format for Live on Tape- woo hoo!

Up to this point John and everyone (other than myself) worked for free on the show--- but this marked the first episode where John was finally getting paid for appearing on Live on Tape.... granted, it was only $130 a month or roughly  $32.50 per episode.  This may not seem like a big deal, but just getting the station to cough up this much cash was a major milestone given how little the budget was for this show.

A special team of Bunny Bothers from Brierstone England demonstrate how best to bother a bunny.  Here you see the bunny returning to have its revenge.  A bothered bunny is never a pretty sight.

Bother it!