Live on Tape (Show #25)
“ALF VAN ZEE CONQUERS THE RUSSIANS”
Airdate: January 30th 1988
(21:54)
SYNOPSIS - Arnie’s stuck in orbit over the Earth, Kewanee has been ravaged by Mallo-Cups, the Russian Cosmonauts, Ivan & Voster continue their Live on Tapski reign of terror and Guy is joined at the news desk by someone in a rubber mask! It doesn’t get any better than this. Fortunately Arnie has a secret weapon that will drive away those pesky Russians for good... too bad we can’t leave with them.
“No one wears a tutu in my air-space and gets away with it!”
- Arnie Upshoe
“LIVE ON TAPE FIRSTS - Bongo the Exploding Clown makes his debut.
SKITS AND BITS
•Meddlesome Manor - The Bumphreys argue over the propriety of interrogatives in casual speech.
(Written by: Brandon Lovested)
•Between the Lines - Guy gives a riveting performance as he updates us on the previous week’s show... “Last time as you may recall...”
•Blabberman - It’s everyone’s favorite wiggly hero making an appearance.
•Chez Sam’s - It’s a restaurant, it’s a skit, it’s a mess! See what happens when comedy and food don’t mix.
(Written by: Larry Smith)
•Mucusman - He’s sticky and he’s just outside on the porch!
•Uncle Joey #4 (My Father’s Job) - Joey attempts to read a disturbing story about a little boy who learns his father’s true profession while Nosey interrupts with a bad knock-knock joke. When Joey refuses to listen, Nosey’s scrappy friend Boris the badger roughs up Uncle Joey.
•Bongo The Exploding Clown - He’s big, he’s can candy colored and he’s packed with high explosives!
•Swan Lakeski - This classic ballet is perform in zero-g by a tutu wearin’ Ivan... Voster loves it, but what about the American critics?
NOTES AND “LIVE ON TAPE” FACTS
- This is part two of the previous show, and the end of the Russian Cosmonaut’s. This makes this the SIXTH show with the “someone’s taking over the show” theme. There is always room for more.
- Meddlesome Manor was an interesting skit, check out Tom’s legs! We we’re short an actor that morning and so for the part of the butler we had Joel Poppen (the prompter operator) read the lines off camera. I had intended on shooting and cutting in another actor for the part, but I ran out of time and ended up just sticking in a still from an old movie. This still was the best performer we ever had on the show... and cheap too.
- The whole Alf Van Zee thing was making fun of a local news caster named Al Van Zee. He was notorious for misreading his new stories and screwing up people’s names... so we spoofed him. After the show aired I’d heard he was furious and threatened to sue etc. We didn’t really malign him that badly, plus he wouldn’t be able to keep any of our names straight to begin with. A week later I was contacted by one of the engineers at TV station Mr. Van Zee worked at, they wanted a copy of the show for their Christmas reel. I gladly sent one over.
- Chez Sam’s just didn’t quite work. The skit came about when I was contacted by an individual who was very critical of the show and said he had written a skit that I should use... so I did. Bad call on my part. I have to admit that we added the goofiness to the skit but it was really really dull without it - believe me, we attempted to perform the material several different ways--- with no success. I probably should have pulled it, but we were hurting for time in the show-- so we made it wacky! My understanding is that the writer was furious with what the skit looked like when it aired. Sorry, that’s show-biz babe.
- This Uncle Joey is a pretty good one. Don Abbott wrote the story that Joey reads and I (Tom) came up with the stuff for Nosey and the Boris the badger. This was one of the first things that Don wrote for the show and certainly not the last.
- This show was the birth of Bongo the Exploding Clown. He was to become a staple cast member through the rest of the show’s run. Scott Hoyt the actor in the clown costume wasn’t thrilled to play the part, but he did a great job. A few days after this show aired, Scott was spotted in the shopping mall by a very attractive young woman who asked him, “Didn’t you play that exploding clown on TV the other night?” Scott blushed and smiled, responding, “Why, yes I did.” She smirked back at him and said, “Boy, that really sucked.” She then turned and walked away. And thus, Scott’s insecurities as an actor were born.
- This show also marks the last appearance of Ivan and Voster, the Russian Cosmonauts. They were popular characters and I planned to use them in future shows, but for some reason they never reappeared. One show that I outlined was a take off on the movie “Innerspace” where Ivan and Voster get shrunk down and ingested into Arnie’s body-- but I don’t think that’s something anyone wants to see.
CREDITS
Costumes Provided By: Circa ‘21 and the Show Business
Producer - Thomas Hart
Directors - Denise Hollmer, Thomas Hart
Writer - Thomas Hart
Meddlesome Manor written by: Brandon Lovested
Chez Sam’s written by: Larry Smith
Uncle Joey written by: Don Abbott & Thomas Hart
PLAYERS
Greg Baldwin
Jim Cox
Greg Crook
Becky Hanson
Thomas Hart
John Horvath
Scott Hoyt
Brandon Lovested
Mark McLaughlin
Merlin Nelson Jr.
James Peterson
Joel Poppen
Bobbie-Sue Young
Video-Tape Editor - Thomas Hart
Studio Camera Operators - Steve Elliott, Kori Skinner
Audio - Don Bargmann Jr.
Prompter - Sue Passe, Joel Poppen
“If you find something out in the yard, don’t eat it!”
©Copyright 1988, 2006 Thomas Hart
OUT TAKE #6 (Voster applauds and cheers wildly at the off-screen Ivan)
Voster: Bravo Ivan! Bravohohoo! Ohhhhh! <smack!>
(He then leans into the camera)
Voster: That’s as good as it gets.
Tom (Ivan) (os): That was good.