09

LIVE ON TAPE EPISODE LOGS

- This is the third show to use that all famous "someone's taking over the show" theme! Now that's entertainment!

- I LOVE the Voster and Ivan characters--- they are much better in this episode than in the previous. I only used them twice more in the series (eps. #24 & #25). I can’t for the life of me figure out why I didn’t make them reoccurring characters throughout the series. Ah, if only I could do it all again.

- The show was improving, and it’s starting to show in this episode. LoT is taking on more of a “world-of-its-own” vibe. I was growing more confident with the editing equipment and had started adding background music and musical stings, which helped tremendously. Also, we all had just decided to embrace “the silly” and not look back. As I had a studio executive in Hollywood tell me once, “Your humor is silly, but not particularly funny”. That may or may not be true, but silly has served me well over the past two decades--- long live SILLY!

- Becky, Jenny’s “friend” in this episode, is the younger sister of Jennifer Hanson (Magnesia). Both Becky and Jennifer are featured in many episodes.

- The "Safety in Television Viewing Commission" skit was written specifically for my brother and one of his friends. But, as was typical with a lot of the people who said they wanted to be on the show, they failed to show up at the last minute--- it’s tough when you’re not paying anyone. So I called up Pat & Patti at the last minute and they picked up the ball for me. They were always great at coming in and helping out, and not afraid of looking silly.

- We had a minor problem with the Elvis costume that John wore on the show. John never knew from week to week what I'd have him doing on the show, so every Tuesday morning it was a new surprise to him. That day I had an Elvis costume waiting for him...well, you see, John didn't usually wear underwear and when he put the costume on it became very apparent that he was... um, going comando. We compensated for this by adding a long cape to his ensemble. If you notice, he keeps it strategically pulled over his lower hemisphere through a lot of the show.

- John did a commendable job of lip-syncing the Elvis songs, but he’s fumbling through a lot of it-- not his fault. As was the case with every episode of LoT there was NO rehearsal time. Everyone showed up, the script was on the teleprompter and we started shooting cold. We might do a second or third take if we had time, but generally we had to stick with what we got the first time--- and it shows! If I was deluding myself I’d say that it’s part of LoT’s charm... well, okay so I’m deluded. It is part of the show’s charm.

CREDITS

Costumes Provided By: Circa 21 & The Showbusiness

Producer - Thomas Hart

Directors - Greg Baldwin,Thomas Hart

Writer - Thomas Hart

PLAYERS

Don Bargmann Jr.

Pat Flaherty

Patti Flaherty

Becky “Beckers” Hanson

Jenny Hart

Thomas Hart

John Horvath

Brandon Lovested

Studio Camera Operators - Steve Elliott, Kori Skinner

Audio - Denise Hollmer

Prompter - Sue Passe

Soviet Night Fever produced by: Red Square Productions LTD

Soviet Space Craft Designed by: Frightening Real Model Makers Inc.

We thank the people of Texas for their help and understanding.

OUT TAKE (First one)

RUSSIAN COSMONAUTS

VOSTER - “That’s a wrap.”

IVAN - “That’s it.”

Live on Tape (Show #9)

“ELVIS UPSHOE VS. IVAN AND VOSTER”

Airdate: August 29th 1987

(27:23)

MOVIE - “Dr. Franken”

SYNOPSIS - Hey! It's another sequel! This week, Guy and Arnie are preparing to celebrate their victory over the Russian cosmonauts who interfered with last week's show. Guy received a special plaque from the Air Force commending him on a job well done and Arnie’s planning a huge party. Unfortunately Guy’s sister, Jenny, and her friend Becky show up - he has to baby-sit them again. The party gets cancelled and worse yet, Ivan and Voster return to take over the airwaves again!

It becomes a battle to control the show, finally Arnie decides this calls for drastic measures! He rushes out and changes into the “King”, Elvis Upshoe! Then he and Guy combat the Russians with song and wit (what little of it they have). It’s a tough battle and at one point the Russians get the upper hand when they blast everyone with reruns of My Three Sons. Guy buys some time with the cosmonauts while Arnie prepares for the final showdown! Arnie breaks into a medley of Elvis songs, creating enough of a diversion for Guy to launch a secret weapon against this red menace and wipe them out for good!

“Hey girls, how ‘bout an autograph?...Okay, then how ‘bout a kick in the teeth!”

-Arnie “Elvis” Upshoe

Safety In Television Viewing Commission

Pat and Patti Flaherty monitor the program, making sure that everything is up to their standards. Patti here is doing her impression of what a gerbil sounds like.

NOTES AND POINTLESS INFORMATION

MOMENTS FROM THE EPISODE

SKITS AND BITS

Arnie turns into Elvis Upshoe to help fight the commies.

The Russians launch!

Guy’s sister shows up again, this time with her friend, Becky.

Arnie and Guy show off their plaque-- thankfully not the plaque on their teeth.

Arnie takes a break, but finds time to scare the girls.

Elvis Upshoe sings his heart out long enough for--

--Guy to launch a counter-attack!

The secret weapon! Perfect for getting the Reds out.

Voster and Ivan are defeated, but vow to return.

Soviet Night Fever

Once again, the Live on Tapeski Cosmonauts pre-empt Guy and Arnie’s movie, this week they show Soviet Night Fever where cavemen dance around only to be destroyed by Godzilla.

Don’t ask... just move along... nothing to see here.

LIVE ON TAPE FIRSTS!

The First Outtake At The End Of The Show

Okay, so it’s not that big a deal... Brandon and I were done taping all the Voster and Ivan stuff and he says, “That’s a wrap” as we both break character. Not a flub or anything. Just something different to put at the end of the credits, which was a nice touch. I dunno why, but I didn’t start adding outtakes to the show for another 11 episodes (#20)--- and from that point on they were at the end of each episode. Looking back it seems like something obvious to have done from the start.

Arnie’s Party Movie

In celebration of winning their Presidential award, Arnie mistakenly puts on the movie he was going to show at the party-- any excuse to show scantily clad young women on the show.