With Short: The Phantom
Creeps pt 1
First Broadcast - 7 pm Saturday, Oct 6th 1990
Amazing Colossal Grade: A mid-level experiment, that goes good with a serving of French fried potatoes.
Movie Pain: High - White devils are a distasteful lot
Riffing: Chuckle-fest, with several guffaws
Skits: One dud, the other's are cute, though a few ran overlong
This week's experiment starts
off with a "Phantom Creeps" short that's a lot of fun. The guys try
out their Bela Lugosi voices and seem pretty happy with themselves.
The feature is about a
missing heiress whose plane crashed in the jungle. George Reeves (Superman) and
the "White Devil" (Ralph Byrd of "Dick Tracy" fame) set off
in search of her. Highlights of the experiment are the silly stock footage
images of various animals seen from the airplane, and the "White
Devil" shooting everything that moves. Natives, animals, coconuts... you
name it!
One of my favorite riffs
involves a call back to The Crawling Hand. A native girl wonders what
"smart" means" and Joel answers "It means you're stacked"-
which is a reversal of the scene and riff found in show #106
The skits are weird and fun. "Gobo Scopes" was my favorite and I thought the sit-com bit was clever (Crow is called "Art" for the first time during a Honeymooneresque sketch (Art Carney, Art Crow, get it), as was the infomercial... though it ran overlong and there were several flubs (the disc falls out of the satellite dish, Joel says the word "Heart" twice, rather than "Head"). The sight gag of Clayton with a neck zipper was a cute touch. The White Devil skit however is a fail. In it, Jim Mallon is seen on screen via the Hexfield but it's an unremarkable
appearance.
Jim Mallon's first on-screen appearance
Host
Segments
Intro: J&TB's play hide & seek with the
"Elusive and inexplicable forces that control the universe"
Invention: Joel has a remote controlled saw, while at Deep 13 Dr. F has
attached his head to a saxophone. Segment 1:
Phantom creep infomercial. The Mads approve. Segment
2: Gobo matte effects. Segment 3:
Hexfield visit from the white devils (Mike Nelson & Jim Mallon). End: Sitcom: "My White Goddess",
letters, Frank mocks Clay. No Stinger - But if I
chose one? The White Goddess craves some French fried potatoes
Notable
Riffs
Phantom
Riffs
* "Hey, I just invented the post-it notes."
- Servo as Bella
* "You're not going to tell her about the new element
you discovered are ya?" - "You mean "up-see-daisyum" -
Monk/Servo as Bella
* "I'm sorry but he just can't help being
creepy" - Crow as Mrs. Bella
* "He can't stand tobacco" - "How about
his assistant" - "he can't stand smoking his assistant either" -
Wife/Inspector/Joel
White Riffs
* "I think a trip to the jungle will do you
good" - "Well I went before we got here" - White Devil/Servo
* "Well they had to land, the rubber bands
unwound" - Joel
* "Hu, it looks like they all just got out of the
shower" - Servo on natives
* "It's a dance of death" - Joel and bots
singing
* "I hope that's an acceptable greeting" -
Joel (after Bob shot native)
* "What is this, the airplane of Dr.
Caligari?" - Crow
* "Take that you stinkin' coconut!" - Servo
as White Devil
* "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" -
"You're in luck" - Mike/Crow
* "Get me! Sentenced to death and I'm 'still'
making time!" - Joel as White Devil
* "Oh, Bob's alright. A little trigger-happy,
perhaps..." - Joel as Mike
* "Bob has a hand compass..." - "And
some French fried potatoes?" - Mike/Joel as Greta
* "Should I get out the anatomically correct
doll?" - Servo
* "Hi I'm Satan. Enjoy the film" - Joel as
snake
* "White goddess having trouble?" -
"White fascist getting smart?" - Bob/Crow
Riffs Explained
"You know if you bite one of those, it'll spark in the dark" - Servo
Spoken as 2 characters examine a flat round disc. Tom is talking about the old tale (which might very well be true) that says, when you bite into a Wint-O-Green Lifesavers it sparks in your mouth.
Stuff and
Nonsense
* The White Goddess was
performed by Wanda McKay. The Portland OR native was born Dorothy Quakenbush!
Whoo baby, now THAT'S a name! Wanda was married to composer Hoagy Carmichael
(Co-writer of "Georgia")
* That pilot on Greta's doomed flight was actor Fred Coby. Who played the college day Brute Man, before he became Rondo Hatton.
* That pilot on Greta's doomed flight was actor Fred Coby. Who played the college day Brute Man, before he became Rondo Hatton.
Available on DVD: Volume 31: Turkey Day Collection
Includes skits with Joel, Crow (Trace) & Servo (J. Elvis)
