Tuesday, August 12, 2014

209 - Hellcats

First Broadcast - 7 pm Saturday, Dec 8th 1990


Amazing Colossal Grade: Glenn had much hate for this episode, but took Ross' code to heart, "Like peace, no war" and now he's okay
Movie Pain: High - a boring evening with uninteresting people
Riffing: Chuckles N' Grins
Skits: Nice intro, rest are throw-away


Yet another grimy Ross Hagen vehicle. In this one, Ross infiltrates a motorcycle gang in an attempt to avenge his brother's murder.

This is not one of the crew's super-shiny moments - but while I feel it runs slightly below the average, it's not completely hopeless. There are several funny lines, my favorite bit coming when Tom notices the "Double Mint Twins", with Crow observing that... "One's already been chewed".

The flashback host segments are a bore (I liked them the first time they aired but we've been there, done that), and the movie is as tiresome and joy sapping as they come. Joel sums it up perfectly when he describes the theme of the story: "We're Born, and we die and there's lots of padding in-between"

Host Segments
Intro: J&TB have colds. Invention: Joel presents the Sign Language Translator. The Mads continue to play on their hobby hogs. Segment 1: Tom's flashback: Shatner & the crawling hand from #106. Segment 2: Crow's flashback: floating skit from show #201. Segment 3:Joel's flashback: Gobo scopes from #203. End: Diaries and tender moments. Stinger: Crazy, hard to understand dude, gets tossed in the lake.



Notable Riffs
"Ross, you're wearing her purse on your head" - Joel
"Congratulations. You are now officially white trash." - Crow
"Don Fido is mad." - Servo as Mr. Adrian
"Her back looks like a Klingon's forehead!" - Crow
"I bet if these guys filmed "Citizen Kane" it would have had a twenty-minute sled sequence in it!" - Servo
"I've been called a lot of things in my life, but never a corn spy!" - Joel as Bartender
"Steve's dead now. From here on, Steve's death will be represented by the oboe." - Servo
"Roses are green, violets are red..." - "I like to shoot heroin straight into my head." - Stoned Biker/Joel
"That had better be beer!" - Crow


Riffs Explained
"I dare you to knock this battery off my shoulder. Go ahead, I dare ya!" - Servo
This comes from a 1979 Eveready commercial. Tough guy Robert Conrad (TVs "Wild, Wild, West") scowled into the camera and dared ya to knock a battery off his shoulder.

"I don't fink on soul brothers!" - Frank
This line comes from the first episode of the TV show “Mod Squad”, and was spoken by the character Lincoln Hayes after he is asked to go undercover.

Stuff & Nonsense
One good thing about this movie was that Davie Allan and the Arrows contributed to the soundtrack. Known as the "King of Fuzz", Allan added music to other biker flicks such as, "The Born Losers (which stars Tom Laughlin, of Billy Jack fame) "Devil's Angels", "The Glory Stompers, "Hard Ride" and Roger Corman's "Wild Angels".

Released on DVD from

The Singles Collection