My, what an unsavoury film. All kinds of creepy things. The dessicated corpses, the whole "shaving Eegah" scene, any scene with Arch Hall, Jr., especially when he's singing. (Shudder.) Onto the references. Oh, and, watch out for snakes...
 

HOST SEGMENTS:

ABSOLUTE ZERO. - The lowest (theoretical) possible temperature. 0 degrees in the Kelvin temperature system, -273 Celsius or -460 Fahrenheit. It has yet to be achieved in labs; scientists can only get to within a millionth of a degree of it.

The BEVERLY HILLBILLIES. - See HOOTERVILLE.

"...the day 'BLANSKY'S BEAUTIES' got cancelled." - That would be May 21, 1977, less than four months after its premiere on ABC. This sit-com starred Nancy Walker as Nancy Blansky, den mother to a bevy of beautiful Las Vegas show girls with names like Bambi and Sunshine. It also featured Scott Baio (of "Happy Days" and "Charles in Charge" fame) as the 12-year old choreographer's son who lusted after the girls.

"What about the BUBONIC PLAGUE, world war, Stalin?". - One form of the deadly disease called, simply, "the plague," sometimes called the Black Death. It's mostly a rodent disease, but can be transmitted to humans through fleas. During the 14th century, it killed a quarter of Europe's population, about 25 million people.

Joe CAMEL. - Joe Camel, or "Smoking Joe" was introduced as a symbol for Camel cigarettes in 1988 and Camel sales surged. Joe was basically a cartoon camel, dressed and acting like a human, who seemed to really enjoy smoking. He became something of a cultural icon for years afterwards, until someone realized that, being a cartoon, Joe might be encouraging kids to take up smoking. Debate has raged for years about this, but R.J. Reynolds, owner of Camels, finally pulled Joe from their advertising campaigns. Although gone, people still argue for his return. One website claims that Joe represents "freedom of expression, personal liberty [and] the pursuit of the American dream." Yeah, right. We're talking about a cartoon camel here. Even Joe's creator, Mike Salisbury has said "...how I feel about being known for this piece of crap that people think is great advertising? It's a pretty sh*tty piece of art."

Christoper CROSS. - Born Christopher Geppert (1951- ). Easy listening music artist. He more or less came out of nowhere with his 1980 self-titled album, and the following year, cleaned up at the Grammies by winning 5 awards, including Song of the Year, for his #1 hit, "Sailing." His best known song is probably "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)" from the soundtrack of the film Arthur (1981). He sank from sight soon after, but still releases the occasional album. He has an official web site.

"Gee, DAVEY, do you think it could be... God?" - Crow is doing an impression of Goliath, Davey Hansen's dog on the Saturday morning series "Davey and Goliath." The stop-action "claymation" show was developed by Art Clokey, creator of Gumby, on behalf of the Lutheran Church of America. Davey and his talking dog Goliath shared adventures together and each episode taught some sort of lesson relating to civic duties, moral and/or God. Sometimes, however, they'd toss in a really heavy suject like racism or near-death experience. 65 15-minutes episodes were produced between 1962-77.

"...the first time FLO said 'Kiss my grits,' something inside all of us whithered and died." - Polly Holliday played Florence "Flo" Castleberry for the first four seasons of the sit-com "Alice" (1976-85). Flo was one of a number of waitresses who worked at Mel's Diner in Pheonix, Arizona. She was pure American South and her favourite exclamation was, indeed, "Kiss my grits!" She'd use it at least once every episode. Flo eventually got her own short-lived spin-off, "Flo" (1980-81), where she managed a roadhouse in her hometown of Cowtown, Texas.

GAINER'S FUEL 1000. - Dr. F appears to be eating some sort of weight-gain powder. This is often consumed by atheletes who are trying to bulk up. Although they usually dissolve it in water first...

GREEN ACRES. - See HOOTERVILLE.

"Here comes Mr. HANEY, pulling another hilarious flim-flam." "Well, Mr. Douglas..." - Mr. Handy and Mr. Douglas are from "Green Acres." Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert) quit his job at a Manhattan law firm to follow his life-long dream--owning and running a farm. Mr. Haney (Pat Buttram) sold Oliver the farm and is constantly trying to make a quick buck and pull a fast one.

"...there's the efficient Miss HATHAWAY." "Oh, Jethro!" - Miss Jane Hathaway (Nancy Kulp) was a character on "The Beverly Hillbillies." She was secretary to bank manager Milburn Drysdale (Raymond Bailey) and had a major crush on Jethro Bodine (Max Baer Jr.), hence Gyspy's "Oh, Jethro!".

Paul HENNING. - See HOOTERVILLE.

Adolph HITLER. - Adolph Hitler, manic depressive, slightly imbalanced, and mad raving leader of the Nazi Party, tried to take over the world and failed in WWII. A former painter, he succeeded in gaining power by showing his inane talent for public speaking and hating Jews. After he was killed, 3 things live on in his memory: Skinheads, Mel Brooks' "The Producers", and the History Channel, which has a policy of "All Hitler all the time".

"...the Paul Henning HOOTERVILLE trilogy." - Paul Henning (1911- ) was producer on "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962-71), "Petticoat Junction" (1963-70) and "Green Acres" (1965-71) (as mentioned, The Beverly Hillbillies was made into a movie in 1993). All three shows took place in or near the town of Hooterville (or at least, folks from there) and featured a number of backwoods hick-type characters (in fact, characters would sometimes cross-over between shows). The incidental music is pretty much as the guys describe.

"...your movie this week, Eegah, has got Richard KIEL... and not much else." - Kiel (1939- ), the star of this experiment, is a huge 7'2'' and gets stereotyped in big, frightening roles, like this one. He is best know as "Jaws," the metal-toothed giant from a number of James Bond films.

KISS MY GRITS. - See FLO.

"...Vicki LAWRENCE won a Grammy for 'The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.'" - Vicki Lawrence (1949- ) is best know for her skit-comedy work on various incarnations of "The Carol Burnett Show" (beginning in 1967), evntually moving on to "Mama's Place" (1983-90; based on a "Carol Burnett" skit) and a number of game show and talk show hosting gigs. In 1973, she recorded "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia," a strange little song about marital betrayal and a corrupt judicial system, written by her then husband Bobby Russell. It sat at Billboard's #1 for 2 weeks and eventually went gold. So far, I haven't been able to confirm that she won a Grammy for it.

"...Denis LEARY released 'No Cure for Cancer' as an album..." - Comedian Denis Leary (1957- ) developed a one-man stand-up act called "No Cure For Cancer" in the early 1990s. Full of his typical fouled-mouthed style, it did spawn an album of the same name. This opened up Leary's movie career, leading to films like Demolition Man (1993) and A Bug's Life (1998), voicing Francis the lady-bug. You can read the "lyrics" to "Cancer" here.

MOSES and the Israelites. - Again, do I have to explain who Moses is?

The NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN GEORGIA. - See Vicki LAWRENCE.

NO CURE FOR CANCER. - See Denis LEARY.

PETTICOAT JUNCTION. - See HOOTERVILLE.

Yahoo SERIOUS. - Real name Greg Pead. Australian writer, producer, director and star of Young Einstein (1988) and Reckless Kelly (1993). Serious has a very... unique style about him and his films are rather surreal. Many people find him irritating, but I like him. I actually paid to see Einstein again after attending a free screening. I am, however, in the minority on this.

"I'm SHATTERED!" - From the 1978 Rolling Stones hit, "Shattered," on their 1978 album Some Girls.

"SINBAD's pretty icky." - Stand-up comedian and actor (real name, David Adkins; 1956- ). Sinbad started stand-up in 1983. His big break came on repeated appearances on "Star Search." This lead to a role on the short-lived "The Redd Foxx Show" (1986). He has become increasingly popular over the years, with many TV specials of his own and getting roles in a number of films, including several for Disney. Lots of folks find his loud, boisterous style annoying. He does, however, pride himself on being a "family" act, never cursing during stand-up.

"...SKY CHIEF super service turned into the Tank'n'Tummy." - I haven't found much on this reference. Sky Chief was a logo used by the Texaco oil company at their service stations during the 1950s. The Tank'n'Tummy line of stations are owned by Norco Fuels. More information would be appreciated.

"What about the bubonic plague, world war, STALIN?". - Refers to Joseph Stalin (1879-1953), virtual dictator of the Soviet Union from 1928 until this death. Between 1934-38, he orchestrated a massive purge of the Communist party, the Soviet government, the armed forces and the intelligentsia. As a result, millions of "enemies of the state" were imprisoned, exiled or shot. Stalin was posthumously denounced by Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev in 1956 for "crimes against the party."

STYX. - Art-rock band founded in 1970. One of the biggest album-rock bands of the 1970s. They were big on power ballads and concept albums and managed to cross over into the pop charts frequently, with songs like "Babe," "Too Much Time on My Hands," and "Mr. Roboto" (which everybody thought was really cool at the time). Their music was often rather long and over-arranged, with several sections to a song and huge guitar solos. They broke up in the early 1980s but later reunited, having another hit with "Show Me the Way," which became a popular Gulf War anthem.

TANK'N'TUMMY. - See SKY CHIEF.

"... the Charlene TILTON workout video." - Tilton's (1958- ) biggest role was as Lucy Ewing, part of the massive Ewing family on "Dallas" (1978-91). She stills pops up occassionally in minor roles in movie (especially TV movies). I haven't found any info on her workout video, but it's probably just as bad as the rest of them. Tilton is currently a gossip columnist for "The Globe" tabloid newspaper.

"And there's UNCLE JOE and he's movin' kinda slow..." "...at the Junction." - is directly from the theme song for "Petticoat Junction." Crow as Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) is exaggerated, but only just. Uncle Joe would sit on the front porch of the Shady Rest Hotel he "worked" at, doing absolutely nothing all day, often faking an attack of lumbago when work was to be done.

"...the tragic UNIVERSAL fire." - On November 6, 1990, a massive arson fire swept through Universal Studios in Universal City, California. It took more than 400 firefighters from 86 companies from Los Angeles City, Los Angeles County and Burbank, aided by 6 helicopters, to extinguish the blaze and about 20% of the Universal backlot was destroyed.

Charlie WEAVER. - "Charlie Weaver" was not a real person, but rather a persona used by comedian Cliff Arquette (1905-74), grandfather of actors Rosanna, Patricia and David Arquette. Charlie was a funny, little walrus-mustached man with spectacles, porkpie hat and loose fitting-tie, who hailed from Mount Ida, Arkansas. Arquette performed this character on a regular basis on both "The Jack Paar Show" and "The Tonight Show" between 1958-62. There was a short-lived "Charlie Weaver Show" in 1962 and the character was a regular feature on "The Hollywood Squares" from 1966-74. In this real Mount Ida, AR, there is even an Annual Charlie Weaver Day (June 10).

MOVIE SEGMENTS:

"When Edward ALBEE dabbles in beach movies." - Playwright Edward Albee (1928- ); best known for his 1962 play "Who's Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?" (made into the 1966 film of the same name). His plays are generally emotionally brutalizing. "Woolf?" in particular features a
unhappy, spiteful couple.</P>

"I'm with ALLSTATE." - A major American insurance company. Well known for their ad slogan, "You're in good hands with Allstate." Here's their official site.

APOCOLYPSE NOW. - See WHIRLYBIRDS.

"ARCHIE's here!" - Opening line to the theme from the ARCHIES (see entry).

The ARCHIES. - Clean-cut youngster Archie Andrews and his friends, characters from the long-running Archie line of comic books, have starred in a variety of cartoons over the years. "The Archies" was a segment on "The Archie Comedy Hour" (1969-70). The Archies was the name of Archie's band (how modest) and they drove around in a buggy.

"Is that BILLIE JO, Betty Jo or Bobbie Jo?" - These were the three sisters who helped run the Shady Rest Motel in Hooterville on "Petticoat Junction" (see HOOTERVILLE in Host Segments). Their mother Kate Bradley owned the Motel.

BLUE THUNDER. - See WHIRLYBIRDS.

"Which way to BLY workshop?" - Robert Bly (1926- ) is a poet, translator, story teller and lecturer. His 1997 book Iron John: A Book About Men, a New York Times bestseller for 62 weeks, said that men need to rediscover the warrior side of their natures; this became the start of the "men's movement." His works deal large with masculinity and femininity stereotypes, and he holds workshops on this subject.

"BONK, BONK, on the head!" - Line from "Miri," a 1st season episode of the original "Star Trek" (1966-9). The Enterprise crew encounters an Earth-like planet devastated by a disease which has killed all adults and slowed aging in children, producing a planet of 300-year old children who have lacked adult supervision. As a result, things are pretty chaotic with gangs of children running around terrorizing each other. When the time comes to kill someone by clubbing, they describe it as "Bonk, bonk, on the head!" while making clubbing motions in the air.

"He makes Debby BOONE sound like 'Hound Dog' Taylor." - Debby Boone (1956- ) is the third of four daughters of pop singer Pat Boone and his wife Shirley. All four sisters followed in their father's footsteps by getting into music, with Debby being the most successful. She is the one responsible for 1977's lame and insipid mega-hit "You Light Up My Life," from the movie of the same name. She also sang "When You're Loved" for The Magic of Lassie (1978).

"I think it's a BUG-EYED SPRITE." - The Sprite, nicknamed "Bug-Eyed" or "Bug-Eye" due to the appearance of its headlights, was an automobile produced by Austin Healy from 1958 to 1961. For more information, take a look here.

"Checkin' the BUSH, boss." - No idea. Help!

"He looks like CABBAGE PATCH Elvis." - When Cabbage Patch Kids were first introduced in 1983, they immediately became the hottest must-have toy of that holiday season. People went completely nuts over these funny-looking dolls created by Xavier Robert. Each Kid was completely unique and came with a "birth certificate" and "adoption papers," making it as close to a having a real child as possible. Without having to spend a fortune in food, clothing and education and with no real maintenance, that is. Mattel's official CBK site is really insipid but has some samples. Elvis, of course, refers to rock and roll legend Elvis Presley (1935-77); he also has an official site, Graceland.

"CACTUS FLOWER with Goldie Hawn." - 1969 film, about a man who pretends to be married to avoid commitment to his "mistress," but falls in love with her, based on the 1965 Broadway hit by Abe Burrows. Goldie Hawn (1945- ), known for many films, including Private Benjamin (1980), Overboard (1987) and The First Wives Club (1996), as well as her regular appearances on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (1968-73), won the 1969 Academy Award and the 1970 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in this film.

"They took the whole CHEROKEE nation..." - Lyric from "Indian Reservation (Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)," a 1971 #1 hit for Paul Revere and the Raiders, from their album Indian Reservation (actually put together after the single's released to cash in on its success). The song lamented the dismantling of the Cherokee nation when its people were forced to live on reservations and had a beat very similar to the one heard here.

"...money for some CHUCKLES?" - A chewy, jelly candy produced by Hershey's.

"CIRCLE PINES after dark." - Circle Pines, Minnesota is the hometown of MST's own Mary Jo Pehl and is something of an Everytown, USA. Clean, quiet and probably pretty dull after dark.

"That was Art CLOKEY's first study of Gumby." - Art Clokey (1921- ) is the creator of Gumby, introduced in the 1953 short film Gumbasia. Gumby was a friendly, happy, adventurous "Claymation" character. He was green and had a distinctive sloped head, inspired by Clokey's father's haircut. After his first appearance, Gumby had a regular segment on "Howdy Doody" before getting his own show, "The Gumby Show" (1957). Gumby has remained a favourite with kids and adults ever since and got a new show in 1988 ("The All-New Gumby") and appeared in Gumby: The Movie in 1995.

Harry CONNICK Jr. - The bellboy resembles this musician (1967- ), largely responsible for the revival of swing and big band music. Compared to Frank Sinatra, he won the Best Jazz Vocal Performance Grammy for his work on the soundtrack of 1989's When Harry Met Sally. He began a successful acting career with Memphis Belle (1990).

CRATE & BARREL. - Founded in 1962 by Gordon and Carole Segal, Crate & Barrell is a chain of houseware retailers. When the Segals opened their first store in Chicago, they couldn't afford much in the way of fixtures, support staff or a nice site. They ended up renovating space in an old elevator factory, nailing crating lumber on the walls and having their merchandise just spilling out of their packing crates and barrels, giving the store its name. It is now a chain of 75 stores across the US. They even have an official web site.

"Welcome to the CRYPT! We've 'dug' something up for you! Why not stick around and watch 'Dream On'? It's the 'breast' show on TV!" - Crow is doing an impression of the Crypt Keeper (voiced by Jon Kassir), host of HBO's "Tales from the Crypt" (1989-1995), a horror anthology series based on the old EC comic books of the same name. The Crypt Keeper was more or less and animated skeleton and, when introducing each story, would use a lot of bad puns based on death, corpses, graveyards and so on. Got tired really fast. The Keeper also appeared in two "Crypt" movies, Demon Knight (1995) and Bordello of Blood (1996), as well as the animated series "Tales from the Cryptkeeper" (1993-5). "Dream On" (1990-6) was another HBO series, and "adult comedy" about Martin Tupper (Brian Benben), a man constantly looking for dates, but without the slightest clue how to relate to women. Most gags revolved around sexual situations.

"I'm DEAD, don't smoke." - Acclaimed actor Yul Brynner (The King and I (1956), Westworld (1973)), got lung cancer in the mid-1980s. Wishing to keep this from the public, he secretly recorded a public sevice announcement, denouncing smoking as the cause of his cancer, to be broadcast after his death, which came in 1985. One of Brynner's statements was, "I'm dead now; don't smoke."

"Welcome to 'DEATH VALLEY DAYS.'" - Originally a radio series beginning in 1930 before moving onto television, "Death Valley Days" (1952-75) was a western anthology based on historical western incidents or settings. Shows ranged from drama and action to light comedy and human interest. Crow is doing his impression of Ronald Reagan, who hosted the show during the 1965-6 season.

DISPATCHES. - See WHIRLYBIRDS.

"Why not stick around and watch 'DREAM ON'? It's the 'breast' show on TV!" - See CRYPT.

"He looks like Cabbage Patch ELVIS." - See CABBAGE PATCH.

"The ENDLESS BUMMER." - Take on the film title The Endless Summer, a 1966 documentary film about surfing. It was followed by a sequel in 1994.

"Actually, it seems to be EXHIBITING sort of an [can't quite get this word; help!] defenestration..." - I think Tom is doing William F. Buckley (the... corpse, or whatever it is, at this point, looks sort of like an undead Buckley), conservative journalist, founder of National Review magazine and host of the weekly PBS discussion program "Firing Line" from 1966. You can read his newspaper column here. Known for his abundant use of large words. "Defenestration," by the way, one of my favourite words, means "an act of throwing someone or something out of a window."

Wiiliam FAULKNER. - William Cuthbert Faulkner (born Falkner) (1897-1962), American author. Born in Mississippi, Faulkner started writing in his adolescence. His first book published, The Marble Faun (1924), was a collection of his poems (he added the "u" to his name at this time). His first novel, Soldier's Pay followed in 1926. He became known for a stream-of-consciousness style of writing in novels such as The Sound and the Fury (1929). One of his major themes was the toll taken by white Southerners' treatment of African-Americans. He won the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature and the 1954 Pulitzer for his novel, A Fable.

"...he looks like the bat from FERNGULLY." - The 1992 animated film Ferngully: The Last Rain Forest featured a goofy-looking, mentally unbalance bat called Batty Koda, voiced by Robin Williams. He looked like this . The film was followed up by Ferngully 2: The Magical Rescue (1997), where Batty was voiced by Matt K. Miller

"Is that a Bell Huey? Whoa! FLASHBACKS kickin' in! Danang!" - Reference to US involvment in the Vietnam War. Many veterans of that conflict suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder; an event can sometimes set off "flashbacks" in which the victim remembers events so clearly, they can believe that they're really there. Danang (or Da Nang) is where US troops first arrived in Vietnam, on 8 August, 1965. The Bell Huey (properly, the Bell AH-1G HueyCobra), the first modern combat helicopter, was used in Vietnam.

"FREDERICK'S of Maplewood." - Frederick's of Hollywood, founded in 1946 by Frederick Mellinger, is a lingerie company. To see some examples, first of all, make sure you're allowed to at your age, then visit their web site. There are three Maplewoods in America, but Minnesota's is probably the one being referred to (the others are in New Jersey and Missouri). Maplewood, MN, is not the kind of place one associates with sexy lingerie. Probably much like Circle Pines...

"I'm Charles Kuralt and we're going to leave you with this shot of a FLOWER." - See Charles KURALT.

"It's the FLYING SUB." - The Flying Sub was a vehicle used on the Irwin Allen series "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1964-8). It was a small submarine which could actually fly short distances. Here's a few pictures.

"GLENN was 50 feet tall!" - Refers to MST episode 319's experiment, War of the Colossal Beast (1958). When a giant footprint is discovered, which could only have been caused by a man 50 feet tall, Glenn Manning's (Duncan "Dean" Parkin) sister Joyce (Sally Fraser) points out, "Glenn was 50 feet tall!" Just in case anyone forgot, I guess...

Stephen Jay GOULD. - (1941- ) Noted paleontologist and Professor of Geology at Harvard. Gould has advanced the theory of "punctated equilibium," that evolution moves in fit and starts, rather than gradually, as proposed by Charles Darwin. He has written many book on natural history, including Bully for Brontosaurus (1992), Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes (1994) and The Mismeasure of Man (1996).

Jos瞼B>GRECO. - (1918- ) Spanish-American dancer and choreographer, noted for his flamenco. His first professional appearance was in 1937 New York in Carmen. He appeared in a handful of movies, usually as a dancer, including Around the World in Eighty Days (1956). In 1948, he organized his own dancing trope, Ballets y Bailes de Espa🪠with which three of his children now perform.

"Got a GROOVY THING goin' baby!" - From the Simon & Garfunkel song "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'" off their 1966 album Sounds of Silence (1966).

The GRUNGE look. - The Grunge look accompanied the Grunge sound. This genre of music grew out of the indie-music scene of the 1980s and came into its own during the early 1990s (when alternative music actually was alternative), especially in the Seattle, Washington area, with such bands as Nirvana and Soundgarden. The Grunge "look" was essentially sloppy and... well, grungy. Torn jeans and the like.

GUMBY. - See Art CLOKEY.

Goldie HAWN. - See CACTUS FLOWER.

"He borrowed that top from AUDREY HEPBURN." - Popular American actress (1929-93). Very feminine and child-like, almost fragile in appearance. Tommy's shirt looks a lot like something she wore in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Other films include Roman Holiday (1953) and My Fair Lady (1964).

"Looks like a thin William HICKEY." - Character actor (1928-97). Hickey was a veteran of the Broadway stage when he made his film debut in 1957's A Hatful of Rain. He is best remember for his portrayal of an ancient Mafia don in Prizzi's Honor (1985), for which he received an Oscar nomination. Towards the end of his life, Hickey was extremely thin. Made Kate Moss look voluptuous. This often helped him to portray characters that seemed older than he actually was.

"She's dressed for a Benny HILL audition." - Benny Hill (Alfred Hawthorne Hill; 1925-92) was a popular British comedian. His "The Benny Hill Show" (1957-66) was rather raunchy (for the time, anyway), featuring a lot of chasing after sexy women wearing very little, often in bikinis or their underwear.

"HONK if you love Eegah!" - A common bumper sticker in North America is "Honk if you love..." whatever or whoever it is you love.

Howard HUGHES. - (1905-76) American millionaire businessman, film producer, film director, and aviator. He studied at the California Institute of Technology, inheriting his father's machine tool company in 1923. In 1926, he ventured into films, producing Hell's Angels (1930), Scarface (1932), and The Outlaw (1941). He also founded his own aircraft company, designing, building, and flying aircraft, and broke several world air speed records. His most famous aircraft, the "Spruce Goose," was an oversized wooden sea-plane designed to carry 750 passengers, which was completed in 1947, but flew only once over a distance of one mile. Throughout his life, he shunned publicity, eventually becoming a recluse while still controlling his vast business interests from sealed-off hotel suites, and giving rise to endless rumour and speculation. One rumour was that he never shaved or cut his hair or fingernails throughout this period.

"To be with the HU-MAN; to live with the hu-man." - I think this is probably a reference to another MST film that I don't have. I'm sure you all know what it is, so you can tell me. (ADD ON by Chris: Tom uses the same kind of "hu-man" phrase in the opening segments of The Amazing Colossal Man, but, as you'll notice in the ref list for that, we didn't know what it meant THEN either. Help?)

"...he remembered to bring the ISLEY BROTHERS." - Blues/soul/R&B trio made up of three brothers, the Isleys: O'Kelly (1937- ), Rudolph (1939- ) and Ronald (1941- ). Hits include "Shout" (1959) and "Twist and Shout" (1962). They sang rather high on their slow songs, sort of like the mysterious back-up singers here.

JAWS. - While Roxy is swimming in the pool, the guys sing the main theme, composed by John Williams, to Jaws, Steven Spielberg's classic 1975 film about a Great White Shark on a killing spree along the beaches of a small summer resort town. The theme was also used in numerous sequels to the film.

"Welcome to the JUNGLE!" - The music at this point sounds almost exactly like the guitar riff from the Guns'N'Roses song "Welcome to the Jungle" from their 1987 debut album Appetite for Destruction.

Brian JONES. - Jones (1942-69; full name, Lewis Brian Hopkin-Jones) was a founding member of and guitarist for the Rolling Stones. He left the band less than a month before he drowned in a swimming pool at his home in England.

"Oh, no, she's chasing down Emmett KELLY!" - Emmett Kelly (1898-1979) was a famous clown for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1942 to 1956. His character, "Wearie Willie," would wander around the rings in a tattered clown suit and try to sweep away a spotlight (which the car headlights look like in this scene). He appeared in a few films, including The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) as himself.

"This is a KODAK moment." - Eastman Kodak is a large American photographic film company, founded in 1881. One of their major commercial campaigns involves people taking pictures of their everyday family lives, making them special, or "Kodak moments."

"I'm Charles KURALT and we're going to leave you with this shot of a flower." - Kuralt (1934-97) was a respected radio/television correspondent and winner of 13 Emmys. Born in Wilmington, N.C., a newspaper writer in North Carolina, he joined CBS News in 1957, becoming a foreign correspondent in 1959. After 10 years abroad, he began exploring America in his "On the Road" series, a segment on CBS' "Who's Who." In this segment, Kuralt travelled the US interviewing the "common man" who had accomplished something special. He also anchored the CBS sunday morning news from 1979 to 1994 and appeared as himself in a 1993 episode of "Murphy Brown." He published his memoirs, "A Life on the Road," in 1990. The flower probably refers to the tendency of some news programs to show pleasant nature shots at the end of broadcast.

"LAWRENCE of Pasadena." - Refers to T.E. (Thomas Edward) Lawrence (1888-1935), called "Lawrence of Arabia," soldier, adventurer, and writer. During World War I, he worked for army intelligence in the North Africa, and in 1916 joined the Arab revolt against the Turks. As a result, he spent a large part of his adult life living in deserts. He was a delegate to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, but was unsuccessful in his attempt to gain Arab independence. He wrote a number of books on his time with the Arabs, including Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1926), considered a literary classic. His story was the basis for Lawrence of Arabia (1962), starring Peter O'Toole. Pasadena is a suburb of Los Angeles, California.

"He went on to do music for Sergio LEONE." - Italian film writer and director Sergio Leone (1929-89) is famous for his "spaghetti westerns," western filmed in Italy and made with a mostly Italian cast and crew. Many of them feature Clint Eastwood. Titles include Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (all with 1967 North American releases). The music for most of these films was composed by Ennio Morricone, and had a very distinct style, which included alot of high-pitched whistling.

"The LORETTA YOUNG SHOW." - "The Loretta Young Show" (1953-61), also known as "Letter to Loretta," was a dramatic anthology show, featuring a different "play" starring Loretta Young each week. Young would make a dramatic entrance at the beginning of each episode; she would come sweeping through the doorway with her dress swirling around herself before introducing the week's story. This entrance was often lampooned by comedians of the time.

"...a real LUCY AND VIV situation..." - Refers to Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance, who played Lucy Ricardo and her friend Ethyl Mertz on "I Love Lucy" (1951-7). Lucy and Ethyl would often get themselves into situations which can only be described as "wacky."

"How will you MAKE IT ON YOUR OWN?" - Lyric from "Love is All Around," the opening theme to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1970-7). The intro showed Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore), just split with a man she had been dating for four years, playfully running and driving around the streets of her new home, Minneapolis, Minnesota, while the theme concedes that she "might just make it after all..."

MASH. - See WHIRLYBIRDS; also SUICIDE IS PAINLESS.

"Jim MORRISON, the Paris years." - Morrison (1943-71) was the lead singer for The Doors, who had such hits as "Light My Fire" and "People Are Strange", both from their 1967 self-titled album. Morrison left the group in 1971 and moved to Paris to concentrate on his poetry. While living there, he gave up his usual clean-shaven appearance and grew a full mustache and beard. He eventually died in Paris later that year, aged 27.

"If this was a MOUNTAIN DEW ad, wouldn't they be water-skiing on roller-skates, being pulled by horses off of cliffs?" - Many ads for Mountain Dew, Pepsi's citrus flavoured soft drink, people would be shown involved in more "extreme" sports and activites, and apparently enjoying it.

The MUSEUM OF MODERN ART. - The Museum of Modern Art, or MOMA, was established in New York City in 1929 and specializes in art produced from the late 19th century onwards. You know, alot of the weird stuff. Its collection of Cubist, Surrealist and Abtract Expressionism paintings are especially extensive. They have an official website, which includes some pretty neat e-cards.

Otis NIXON - (1959- ) Outfielder for the Atlanta Braves baseball team. Presumably there's some resemblance here.

"Richard NIXON leaving the White House." - Richard M. Nixon (1913-94), 37th president of the United States (1969-74). After the Watergate scandal, Nixon was perilously close to being impeached. Rather than face this, Nixon resigned. There is a famous shot of Nixon, as he left the White House (the Presidential residence) for the last time, with him grinning like an idiot and waving his arms in the air as he makes the "peace" sign with his hands.

"The OLD INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES." - The character of archeologist/adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) originally appeared in a series of motion pictures beginning with the classic Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (1992-3, followed by four TV movies between 1994 and 1996) told of his adventures he was a boy (Sean Patrick Flanery playing age 16 and Corey Carrier playing age 10). There actually was an "old Indy" (George Hall) in the series, aged 93, who usually narrated.

"I PLEDGE allegiance..." - When Americans recite their Pledge of Allegiance, it is customary to hold a hand over their heart. The original Pledge was written in 1892 by Baptist minister Francie Bellamy.

"There was a POCO song on the radio!" - The country-rock band Poco was formed in 1968 by several members of the recently disbanded Buffalo Springfield. Top 40 hits include "Crazy Love," and "Heart of the Night," both from their 1979 album, Legend. They broke up in 1984 and re-formed in 1989. As for why this was scary... well, country-rock, c'mon!

"Is that a real PONCHO or a Sears poncho?" - Line from the Frank Zappa song "Cosmik Debris" on his 1974 album, Apostrophe ('). Sears is a large North American department store chain.

Jonny QUEST. - Popular Hanna-Barbera cartoon character, with blonde hair in a style similar to Arch Hall, Jr's. First appeared in "The Adventures of Jonny Quest" (1964-5). It was an adventure series about pre-teen Jonny Quest, who, along with mystical Indian friend Hadji, pet dog Bandit, Jonny’s super-scientist father Dr. Benton Quest, and the doctor's pilot, the adventurous Race Bannon, investigated strange goings-on all over the world. Jonny also became quite a heart-throb to young girls, for a cartoon. Since his original series, Jonny and company have had a couple more series and some TV movies.

"There should be a RAM CHARGER up there." - The Ram Charger is a Sport Utility Vehicle produced by the Dodge Motor Company. In one ad for it, the Charger was shown driving up and up a rocky road until, when it stopped and the driver got out, there was an aerial shot showing the Charger on top of a mountain like the one seen here.

"'RAT PATROL,' in three or four colours." - "The Rat Patrol" (1966-68) followed the adventures of a group of commandos in World War II North Africa. They would drive around the desert in their jeeps and cause trouble for Rommel's Afrika Korps. As for the colours, in the early days of colour television, when a lot of people still had black-and-white sets, it was common for the pronouncement "In Colour!" to follow the name of a show, to let people know what they were missing and encourage them to buy new, colour TVs.

The ROYAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY. - The RGS was founded in Britain in 1830 to further "the advancment of geographical science," through lectures, publications (such as The Geographical Journal), its library and public map room and the support or exploration and research. Over the years, it has promoted or supported many expeditions to unexplored lands in Australia, Africa, and both the Arctic and the Antarctic.

"Richard Kiel is Eegah Templar, the SAINT." - Simon Templar, sometimes called "the Saint," is one of fiction's most enduring characters. First introduced in Leslie Charteris' 1928 novel Meet - The Tiger!, Templar was a gentleman adventurer, who would seek out injustice and make things right again. He has appeared in more than 50 novels, as well as in comic strips, on the radio, and in film and television. The best known version is the television series "The Saint" (1962-9) starring Roger Moore of James Bond fame. To find out more, visit http://www.saint.org/

SCATTERGORIES - A popular party game by Milton-Bradley. Each player is given a list of 12 categories. An alphabetic 20-sided die is thrown to chose a random letter. Then players have two and a half minutes to come up with example of each category beginning with the letter (without duplicating the answers of others). Also exists in a Junior and a Bible Edition.

"... it's SCHLEP CAR!" - "Wonderbug," a segment on Saturday mornings' "The Krofft Supershow" (1976-78), was about three teenagers and their run-down dune buggy, Schelp Car. When a magic horn was attached to Schlep Car, it would turn into Wonderbug, a talking, flying, super version of the buggy. Wonderbug and the teens would travel around and stop crime.

"Ach, mien Gott, his SCHWEINSCHTUCKER!" Your spelling may vary :-) - In Mel Brooks' comic take on the Frankenstein story, Young Frankenstein (1974), Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) realizes that to make his monster, "...all of the body parts must be enlarged." His assistant, Inga (Teri Garr), notes that, "He would have an enormous schwienschtucker... Voof!" In this shot, our heroine looks very much like Frederick's wife, Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn), when she first gets a glimpse of the schwienschtucker.

"77 SUNSET STRIP." - "77 Sunset Strip" (1958-64) was a popular private detective series starring Efram Zimbalist, Jr. (as Stuart Bailey) and Roger Smith (as Jeff Spencer). The title referred to the address of their office and the show had the snazzy theme sung here, complete with fingersnaps. Presumably, the show featured shots of the heroes driving around Hollywood, similar to the one shown here.

"SEX APPEAL!" - I get the impression this is from an ad. Help!

"Oh, to live on SHADOW MOUNTAIN..." - Joel is singing Neil Young's "Sugar Mountain" from the album Decade (1977). The lyric should be "Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain..."

"Looks like 'SHELTERING SKY' meets 'The Archies.'" - The Sheltering Sky (1990) was about an American artist couple (Debra Winger and John Malkovitch) travelling aimlessly through Africa, in search of experiences that might give their relationship new meaning. Instead, their wandering just leads them deeper into despair.

"...sort of a mini-SILVERTONE working there." - Silvertone was a house brand of electric guitar sold by Sears and Roebuck. Although produced by a number of different manufacturers, they were all sold under the name Silvertone.

"Oh, you mean a STINGER." - Sure enough, in the 1970s, there was an anti-aircraft gun called the Stinger. Wanna buy one?

SUICIDE IS PAINLESS. - While the 'copter is in the air, the Bots are singing "Suicide is Painless," a song that was performed in the original MASH film and was later used as the theme to the television series.

"...remember where we parked SUPERCAR." - This was the title vehicle of "Supercar" (1961-2), Gerry Anderson's first "Supermarionation" TV series. Supercar, designed by Professor Popkiss (voiced by George Murcell) and his assistant Dr. Beaker (voice: David Graham), was meant to be a prototype for an all-terrain vehicle that could navigate on land, on the sea, in the air, and even in space. Mike Mercury (voice: Graydon Gould) piloted the craft with help from Jimmy Gibson (voiced by Anderson's wife, Sylvia) and his monkey, Mitch. The nefarious Masterspy (also George Murcell) spent every episode trying to steal Supercar for his own evil uses.

"He's doing TAI CHI on her." - A Chinese exercise program which has gained much popularity over the last several years. It consists of a series of positions which are strung together into one continuous movement called a "form." A form can include up to 100 movements and take up to 20 minutes to perform.

"It's a TAMPAX commercial." - Many Tampax commercials show young women enjoying activities traditionally shunned by women during their period before the popularity of the tampon, such as playing tennis in a short, white skirt or going to the pool.

"He makes Debby Boone sound like 'Hound Dog' TAYLOR." - Blues guitarist and singer (real name Theodore Roosevelt Taylor; 1915-1975), front man for the HouseRockers. Taylor took up guitar at age 20 and had a number of singles before his first album in 1971. Bruce Iglauer, an employee for Delmark Records in Chicago, was unable to convince his boss of Taylor's potential, so Iglauer formed his own record company, Alligator Records, for the sole purpose of releasing Taylor's first album, Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers. His style is best described as wild and raucous.

"On their way to THUNDERDOME." - In the 1985 film Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Max (Mel Gibson) wanders through a post-apocalyptic desert wastleland, until he comes across Shantytown, where disputes are settled in a fight to the death in a huge cage called "Thunderdome."

"WHIRLYBIRDS! Blue Thunder! MASH! Apocolypse Now! Dispatches!" - These are all movies or television series to prominently feature helicopters. "Whirlybirds" (1957-8) was about a helicopter company hired to perform all types of jobs. Blue Thunder (1983), later the series "Blue Thunder" (1984) featured a souped-up police helicopter. The film MASH (1970) and its television follow-up, "MASH" (1972-83), both took place at an army medical unit during the Korean war; casualties were usually flown in by helicopter. Apocalypse Now (1979) took place during the Vietnam war and featured helicopters in numerous combat scene. I've been unable to track down "Dispatches" (or "Dispatchers"); help!

Johnny WINTER. - American blues artist (1944- ). Johnny was a child prodigy prior to forging a career as a blues guitarist. He made his recording debut in 1960, fronting Johnny and the Jammers, eventually leading a trio called Winter.

"I'm YOUNG AND FREE and feeling fresh!" - This is the kind of statement young women tend to say in typical American sanitary napkin commercials.