The writing team of and Jim Mulholland made a career out of writing for Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show," David Letterman on "Late Show" and several Academy Awards ceremonies, but they also got to be bawdy at times, as writers of AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON, BAD BOYS and the Sylvester Stallone comedy vehicle OSCAR. Their sense of knowing cynicism came across in several comedy specials, including THE SELLING OF VINCE D'ANGELO and 1993's Showtime special BASIC VALUES: SEX, SHOCK AND CENSORSHIP IN THE '90s, a one-shot starring Shelley Long as an investigative news reporter hosting a special on controversial media. It's basically just an excuse for off-color gags, but it's well-remembered by the few that saw it.
Fortunately, at least some of the clips from the show have made their way on to YouTube. Here's a tale of Jesus's Last Supper done as a riff on GOODFELLAS, featuring Paul Benedict as a Michael Medved-like movie critic:
A parody of the explosion of urban-set movies for black audiences from the early '90s, a few years before DON'T BE A MENACE TO SOUTH CENTRAL WHILE DRINKING YOUR JUICE IN THE HOOD:
Alex Winter as rapper Stinx on Ice, who has all sorts of suggestions on how to "Kill Your Teacher":
And best of all, a fake trailer for the horror pic THE GRANNY (with Dan Hedaya), two years before the Shannon Whirry film THE GRANNY made the concept a reality:
If you're a good, wholesome person, you like pinball, but if you're like me, you're basically an amateur when it comes to actual playing. You know not to tilt, you know to make sure ther silver balls need to stay on the playing field and it's your job as administrator of the flippers to keep it there, and you can kind of figure out that it's cool when the ball goes into tunnels and up ramps and on to targets that make the pinball machine react excitedly.
But modern pinball machines are a hell of lot deeper than the "just try to hit all the good flashy stuff" level that the neophyte player enjoys. There is, in fact, a recommended way to play these machines in order to follow the "storyline" and maximize your points.
Williams Electronics, one of the primary producers of pinball machines throughout the '90s, produced a number of promotional videos for their machines, used to sell their wares to perspective amusement locales. And sure, they're just promo reels, but they're more than just sales pitches to buyers -- they're complete guides to how the machines are meant to be played.
The promo 1993's TWILIGHT ZONE (made by Bally, whom Williams had acquired in 1988) features a Rod Serling impersonator along with clips from the episodes that provided the inspiration for the table:
The DOCTOR WHO pinball machine, made to celebrate the show's 30th anniversary, even features a brief recap of the show, though I doubt the statement that there's a WHO convention in the U.S. on every weekend.
1995's DIRTY HARRY machine features "arresting" new features, but somehow misses the chance to ask "Did I shoot three balls? Or only two?" Still, this guide should help you feel lucky. Punk.
The guide to the pinball machine based on 1994's THE SHADOW should help you figure out exactly how the random cavalcade of silver balls bouncing around relates to taking down John Lone.
And who the heck could possibily resist the charms of Elvira, who introduces the 1996 machine SCARED STIFF, featuring six (!) stories sure to entice any pinball boobie-er-newbie.
Lastly, the promo for THEATER OF MAGIC, one of the few machines not based on an existing franchise, has a full story to engage with.
There's a heck of a lot more fun to be had for pinball junkies as well, so check out Jan van den Munckhof's page here. (MONSTER BASH is a must-see for Universal monster fans.)
Susan Seidelman turns 62 today, and the director will always hold a place in psychotronic film history as the writer/director of the '80s New York punk film SMITHEREENS. She also directed DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN and Madonna's "Into the Groove" music video, though in recent years, she's turned more towards television. Here is her short film THE DUTCH MASTER, in which Mira Sorvino plays a future bride that becomes enamored by a painting, much to the dismay of all of her friends and family. The work was one of four segments in the 1993 anthology TALES OF EROTICA, which isn't as bawdy as it sounds, though it's still mildly NSFW.
Cultural phenomena in countries that are not my own fascinate me. Mr. Blobby is a character that was huge in the U.K. based on his appearances on "Noel's House Party," and he inspired video games, toys, and theme parks. He is large and pink and has spots and just says the word "Blobby." I can't begin to understand, but here is a music video about him that will haunt you all day.
This was #1 on the U.K. charts in December 1993. Explain yourselves, English people.
The 1993 made-for-cable film AT HOME WITH THE WEBBERS is a decent but fairly unremarkable comedy about a family that becomes a reality TV sensation, a la Albert Brooks' REAL LIFE. It does, however, have a couple of good things going for it -- a solid performance by Jeffrey Tambor and this song sung by Jennifer Tilly. The vocals are credited to Robbie Peters, but dang, that's one hell of a Tilly impression.
Stewart Main and Peter Wells' 1993 film DESPERATE REMEDIES is a film that should have a cult following and seems to have vanished off the face of the Earth. A New Zealand-lensed tale of high camp bodice-ripping, the film is pitched somewhere between a particularly smutty epic TV romance and a Guy Maddin film, utilizing vivid colors and often ridiculous costume and set design to great effect. While the reviews were good, the film was barely released in the U.S. and hasn't even managed to turn up on DVD. It's a shame, as it's a bit akin to Kenneth Anger doing an '80s Harry Alan Towers-produced erotic period potboiler.
