Hey, you got your circus on my ice! –You got your ice on my circus! –Two bad things that go worse together!
An imitation of the television ads for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups that aired during the 1980s: “You got peanut butter on my chocolate! No, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!”
Wait, is this a Max Fleischer cartoon? –Looks that way.
Max Fleischer Studios was an animation studio founded in 1919. Among the cartoons it produced were Betty Boop, Out of the Inkwell, and Popeye.
Hey, Bella Abzug!
Bella Abzug (1920-1998) was a U.S. congresswoman from 1971-1977 and was known for her strong opposition to the Vietnam War and her support of women’s rights.
But they are soon returned to their lives of quiet desperation.
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” is a line from Walden, by Henry David Thoreau.
You know, this is about when Donny and Marie come out.
Donny and Marie Osmond were a brother-and-sister musical team. They hosted their own variety show from 1976-1978 and later embarked on solo careers.
I am not a zebra!
An imitation of John Hurt in the title role of the 1980 film The Elephant Man. The actual line: “I am not an animal! I am a human being!”
Prelude to the afternoon of a murder.
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is an orchestral piece by French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918).
Unshaven, stinky, and boozed up on Rumplemintz, the hunters spray bullets into the woods.
Rumplemintz is a peppermint-flavored liqueur.
Venison! Venison! Venison!
An imitation of the protest chant “Attica! Attica! Attica!” commonly heard during the 1970s. Attica Correctional Institute is a prison in western New York state; in 1971, it was the site of the deadliest prison riot in American history.
Operation Desert Ice Storm.
Operation Desert Storm was the massive aerial bombardment of Iraq that began the Persian Gulf War in January 1991. It was followed by Operation Desert Sabre, a ground assault.
The Emmett Kelly girls do their famous spotlight routine.
Emmett Kelly (1898-1979) was a clown; his persona of “Weary Willie,” the tramp clown, was famous around the world from his work in a variety of circuses, but especially the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus, which he performed in for 14 seasons. His most famous routine involved him trying to “sweep” his spotlight into a dustpan.
[Sung.] Torn between two skaters …
A paraphrase of the 1976 song “Torn Between Two Lovers,” by folk singer Mary MacGregor.
Yes, it’s Jules and Jim on ice.
Jules and Jim is a 1962 film directed by Francois Truffaut, about two men who fall in love with the same woman.
Suddenly, mitosis takes place. The DNA strand separates in a dazzling display of color.
Mitosis is the process of cell division.
Hi, prophase! –Hi, anaphase!
Prophase and anaphase are two stages of mitosis (see previous note). In prophase, chromosomes begin to form in the nucleus; in anaphase, paired chromosomes move to opposite sides of the cell.
“A circus on ice.” By Federico Fellini.
Federico Fellini was an Italian film director known for such fare as Satyricon and Juliet of the Spirits.
[Sung.] Hawaii Five-O theme.
This is the theme song to the TV series Hawaii Five-O, which ran from 1968-1980.
Wipeout!
From the song “Wipeout” by the Surfaris.
Elvis has staggered out of the building.
The phrase “Elvis has left the building” stems from a concert given by Elvis Presley in 1956 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Ten thousand screaming young fans crammed themselves into a building on the fairgrounds, and after Elvis’s set, although there were other performers waiting to go on, headed for the exit en masse. The host of the show, Horace Lee Logan, took the microphone and said, "Please, young people ... Elvis has left the building. He has gotten in his car and driven away. ... Please take your seats." The phrase soon became part of the Elvis mythos and was repeated at many of his later shows.
It’s Billy Pilgrim!
Billy Pilgrim is the central character in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s classic novel Slaughterhouse Five (1969).
“Monster A-Go-Go.” Oh, that’s a new LA club.
The Whisky a Go-Go is a club in Los Angeles, California. It was the place to see and be seen in LA in the 1960s and is credited with inventing the concept of go-go dancers. It helped launch Johnny Rivers and the Doors, among other acts.
Monster A-Go-Go? I thought this was going to be Monster Go Home.
This may be a reference to Munster, Go Home, a 1966 feature film based on the TV series The Munsters.
Jeff Smith, the frugal screenwriter! Now, don’t write in, for heaven’s sake.
Jeff Smith (1939-2004) was the host of a cooking show called The Frugal Gourmet from 1973-1997. He also wrote a string of cookbooks under that name.
Hey, didn’t Sheldon Seymour write The Other Side of Midnight?
The Other Side of Midnight is a soap-opera novel by author Sidney Sheldon, about a beautiful French woman driven by a lust for revenge on her ex-lover, an American pilot she fell in love with during World War II.
[Hummed.] Ride of the Valkyries.
A reference to the iconic scene in Apocalypse Now, in which the flight of a group of combat helicopters during the Vietnam War is accompanied by the strains of Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.” The music is now irrevocably associated with helicopters.
“Observers reported that a strange object had fallen to earth.” A Coke bottle.
In the 1980 film The Gods Must Be Crazy, a man in the Kalahari desert finds a Coke bottle and decides to return it to God, whose possession he thinks it must be.
Hey, good-looking, we’ll be back to pick you up later.
A reference to the ad campaign for Mr. Microphone, a low-power FM modulator popular in the late 1970s that made it possible for your voice to be transmitted over someone’s radio. In the commercial, a young man in a car uses Mr. Microphone to pick up a good-looking chick. The phrase was parodied in an episode of The Simpsons titled “Radio Bart.”
Traffic is heavy on the outbound 94—you might want to take an alternate route.
Interstate 94 is one of the main highways in Minneapolis and is known for its chronic congestion.
[Sung.] The theme from M*A*S*H.
M*A*S*H was a classic 1970 movie and later a television show, which began every week with a shot of helicopters coming over a mountain range. The theme song was called “Suicide Is Painless.”
They’re talking to Charlie Brown’s mom.
Charlie Brown is the hapless protagonist of the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles Schulz (1922-2000). The strip was first published in 1950 and was later turned into several successful television specials. In the specials, the voices of all the adults are heard only as a sort of muted, duck-like squawk.
So the government drives stock Chevys? –I think it’s a Biscayne.
The Chevrolet Biscayne is a model of car introduced in 1958.
Ray, look, it’s filled with Schlitz cans!
Schlitz is a brand of beer.
Well, thank goodness Les Paul is backing them up on guitar.
Les Paul is a musician and guitar designer known for such 1950s hits as “How High the Moon” and “Mockin’ Bird Hill.”
Huh—she usually keeps a bunch of M&Ms in that bowl.
M&Ms are a brand of candy-coated chocolate candies manufactured by Mars Inc. They were first sold in 1941.
[Sung.] Times like these were made for Taster’s Choice.
This is an advertising jingle from a series of commercials for Taster’s Choice coffee that ran during the 1980s.
It’s a hover Bonneville.
The Pontiac Bonneville was first introduced in 1957. A new Bonneville was reintroduced in 1992.
I think this is the movie version of Darkness Visible by William Styron.
Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness is a nonfiction book by Styron chronicling his problems with crippling depression.
He said Garp and then he said Good and then he died.
I believe this is a line from The World According to Garp, but I was unable to confirm whether it stems from the John Irving book or the Robin Williams movie. Or both.
Robert Goulet and Martin Milner—they’re cops.
Robert Goulet is a Broadway veteran and now a Las Vegas mainstay. Martin Milner is an actor who has appeared in dozens of movies and television shows, including Route 66 and Adam-12.
Look, could we get a Miracle-Ear or something?
Miracle-Ear is a brand of hearing aid that has been around for more than 50 years. It was invented by Ken Dahlberg.
He’s rather Dr. Bellows-esque.
Colonel Alfred Bellows, M.D., was the psychiatrist concerned for Tony Nelson’s sanity on the TV series I Dream of Jeannie, which aired from 1965-1970. The part was played by Hayden Rorke.
Five! No, three, sir!
A reference to a scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, in which King Arthur has difficulty counting to three. The exchange:
Arthur: Right! One ... two ... five!
Galahad: Three, sir!
Arthur: Three!
I’m Percy Dovetonsils.
Percy Dovetonsils was a character created by television comedian Ernie Kovacs, a self-satisfied, effeminate man who wrote odes like “Leslie the Mean Animal Trainer.”
You know what, this is like The Blob. –No, no, The Thing. –No, it’s It! –Or maybe Them! –No, it’s Three Coins in the Fountain! Sort of.
The Blob is a 1958 horror flick starring Steve McQueen as the leader of a group of teenagers fighting a mysterious blob that devours everything in its path. The Thing is a 1982 horror film about a shape-shifting alien killing scientists in the Antarctic. It! is a 1966 horror film about a murderous cursed statue. Them! is really a surprisingly good B-movie from 1954, about giant radioactive ants trashing Los Angeles. And Three Coins in the Fountain is a 1954 film about three American girls looking for love in Rome.
We will return to George Kennedy in Airport ‘75.
Airport 1975 was the first in the string of airport disaster flicks of the 1970s. In it, a flight attendant has to take over the controls of an airplane after a midair collision. George Kennedy played Joe Patroni in the film.
Early in 1965, President Johnson visited Saigon. He was greeted by General Westmoreland.
Although Johnson visited Saigon in 1961 while he was vice president under Kennedy, he never went as president. He did visit Vietnam twice to meet U.S. troops during the war, but both times he traveled to Cam Ranh Bay. General William Westmoreland was the commander of U.S. military forces in Vietnam.
So, Beef N Barrel? Barnaby’s, then, how about Barnaby’s? Yeah, Barnaby’s, that’ll be good.
Possibly a reference to the Beef N Barrel restaurant in Olean, New York. I found any number of references to Barnaby’s restaurants worldwide (including one in Australia), but I was unable to determine which one the writers might have been referring to.
Hey, General, Midasize it, huh?
A reference to an old commercial for the Midas chain of muffler shops, where passersby urge a man to “Midasize” his noisy car.
[Sung] Rattle rattle thunder clatter boom boom boom …
This is an old advertising jingle for Midas (see previous note).
Oh, they decided to go to Shakey’s.
Shakey’s is a chain of family pizza restaurants located in a number of states, including Wisconsin and Ilinois.
Hello, Laverne. –Hello, Shoil.
Laverne and Shirley was a TV sitcom that aired from 1976-1983; it starred Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams.
It’s the Patty Duke Show.
The Patty Duke Show was a TV sitcom about “identical cousins” that aired from 1963-1966.
[Sung.] Rock rock rock rock rock and roll high school …
A line from the theme song to the 1979 film Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, about a bunch of kids who really, really want to go see a Ramones concert.
There’s Lenny Bruce over there.
Lenny Bruce was a standup comedian from the 1960s whom some consider the father of modern standup comedy. His performances were known for being edgy and pushing the envelope, to the point where he was arrested several times on obscenity charges and was eventually banned from almost every comedy club in the nation.
A sullen Jack Kerouac pulls out a J in the middle of the room.
Writer Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) was, along with William Burroughs, a leader of the Beat movement. His On the Road is a classic of Beat literature, dealing with a series of trips across the country by counterculture youths.
Hey, you put your cigarette out in my Black Cow!
A Black Cow is a drink made with root beer, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate syrup.
What is this, the Lloyd Thaxton Show?
The Lloyd Thaxton Show was a dance and music show, similar to American Bandstand, that aired from 1961-1968.
Django Rinehart tunes up his guitar.
Django Rinehart is a well-known and highly respected jazz guitarist.
[Sung.] Here in my car, I feel safest of all …
A line from the Gary Numan song “Cars.” Sample lyrics: “Here in my car/I feel safest of all/I can lock all my doors/It's the only way to live in cars …”
The thin blue line.
The Thin Blue Line is a 1988 documentary that argued a man convicted of the murder of a Dallas police officer was railroaded by a corrupt justice system. The phrase “the thin blue line” refers to the police, who like to regard themselves as the line between society and anarchy.
Thank goodness my Allstate man was on the scene.
Allstate is an insurance company that offers auto, home, and life insurance, among other products and services.
“Good God.” Jump back! Kiss myself!
A paraphrase of a line from the James Brown song “(Call Me) Super Bad.” Actual lyrics: “Sometimes I feel so nice, good Lord!/I jump back, I wanna kiss myself!/I've got soul, huh, and I'm super bad, HEY!”
I am a fugitive from a chain gang.
I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang is a 1932 film starring Paul Muni as a wrongly accused man who escapes a brutal chain gang. The movie was based on Robert Burns’ autobiography, I Am a Fugitive From a Georgia Chain Gang. The film helped raise awareness of the brutality of forced prison labor.
[Sung.] Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock …
A line from the song “Jingle Bell Rock.” Sample lyrics: “Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock/Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring/Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun/Now the jingle hop has begun.”
No, Ravi Shankar is tuning up somewhere.
Ravi Shankar (b. 1920) is an Indian musician known for his mastery of the sitar, a stringed instrument. His association with the Beatles during the 1960s helped introduce the West to Indian music.
Hey, shove Mr. Hoffa over there.
Jimmy Hoffa (1913-1975) was a labor leader who served as president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1957-1971. He had well-known connections with organized crime, and in 1975 he disappeared from a Detroit restaurant where he was supposed to be dining with a couple of mob figures. He was never seen again and was declared dead in 1982. His son, James Hoffa, succeeded him as Teamsters president in 1999.
What is this, Chinese music torture?
Chinese water torture, in its classical sense, refers to dripping water on a prisoner’s forehead until it causes excruciating pain. Despite its name, it was probably never used by the Chinese, and in fact appears to have been invented by an Italian in the 16th century.
He’s listening to Books on Tape.
Books on Tape were originally invented for blind people but have become popular among the general population, particularly among drivers.
Hey, he’s good at that. He should be on Carson.
Johnny Carson (b. 1925) started his career in show business as a ventriloquist and magician; he went on to become a writer for television before landing his gig as the host of The Tonight Show in 1962, a job he held for 29 years.
Why, he brought a bottle of TJ Swann.
TJ Swann is a brand of cheap wine, sometimes known as “soda pop” wine because it contains a lower percentage of alcohol than typical wines.
It’s Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation.
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation is a 1962 film starring Jimmy Stewart whose plans for a relaxing beach trip are foiled when his wife invites their entire family to stay with them.
A young Ghermazian brother scouts locations.
The Ghermazian brothers were the entrepreneurs who helped build the Mall of the Americas outside Minneapolis in the 1980s. (Thanks to Sampo for spotting this reference.)
How not to be seen.
A reference to the Monty Python’s Flying Circus “How Not to Be Seen” skit, in which the narrator of a film teaches people how not to be seen by blowing up his luckless assistants.
Oh, this is where Van Gogh painted his famous Crows in Corn.
Probably a reference to the Vincent Van Gogh painting Cornfield with Crows, one of his last works.
He’s looking for Nolan Ryan so he can clock his fastball.
Nolan Ryan was a major-league pitcher whose specialty was shattering records: number of no-hitters pitched, most strikeouts, most strikeouts in a season, and oldest player to lead the league in strikeouts. He retired in 1993 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame six years later.
Let’s see: I think I know whose woods these are. No, no. Whose woods are these anyway … no. Damn.
A reference to the opening line of the Robert Frost poem “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.” The actual line: “Whose woods these are I think I know.”
Now, with the Wagner Power Painter, you can paint the whole forest in a day.
The Wagner Power Painter is a power sprayer aimed at the home market; it can spray paint, stain, varnish, etc. onto surfaces such as walls, exteriors, shutters, etc.
Designer Karl Lagerfeld.
Karl Lagerfeld is a fashion designer who has been associated with a number of houses over the years, most recently with Chanel.
Oh, so this is what happened to Robert Vesco.
Robert Vesco was a financier who fled the country in 1973 after allegedly looting $224 million from a mutual fund (and after illegally donating $200,000 to Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign). Vesco initially went to Costa Rica but eventually wound up in Cuba, where he was thrown in jail in 1995 for a plot to defraud the country’s pharmaceutical industry.
Mo Udall!
Morris “Mo” Udall (1922-1998) was a liberal Democrat who served in the House of Representatives for 30 years, from 1961 to 1991. He resigned in 1991 due to ill health and died seven years later.
Oh, that’s the Scotch eggs.
Scotch eggs are traditional British pub food, consisting of hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage and breaded coating and then deep-fried.
“Do you know where Port Wine Road is?” Near Bourbon Street?
Bourbon Street lies at the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans and is the center of the Mardi Gras celebrations every spring.
Snipe. Snipe. Snipe.
The snipe hunt is a type of practical joke in which a group of people take an unsuspecting victim out to the woods at night to hunt for snipe. The victim is handed a bag and told that the others will drive the snipe in his direction so that he can catch them in the bag. Then those who are in on the joke leave and wait for the victim to catch on.
Kolchak! You out there?
Kolchak was the star of two TV movies and a series. Carl Kolchak, as played by Darren McGavin, was a world-weary reporter who found himself continually tracking down agents of the supernatural.
Mentioned something about “the horror” …
“The horror. The horror” are the final words spoken by the dying Mr. Kurtz in the Joseph Conrad novel Heart of Darkness; they are also the final words of Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, the Vietnam War-era version of Conrad’s novel.
Sky King!
Sky King was a TV series during the 1950s about the adventures of plane-flying rancher Sky King and his niece Penny. It aired from 1951-1962.
It’s Matthias Rust.
In 1987, Matthias Rust flew his Cessna into the Soviet Union, buzzed Lenin’s Tomb and landed in the Red Square in Moscow. He was jailed by Russian authorities for a few months before being released.
Tonight on Wings, the Beechcraft Bonanza with its revolutionary V tail.
Wings is an aviation series that airs on the Discovery Channel.
Thank you, Thing.
Thing was the disembodied hand on the TV series The Addams Family, which aired from 1964-1966.
Hey, it’s Sununu, going to get a haircut. Because he spent a lot of money on planes.
John Sununu was White House chief of staff under George Bush the Elder. He was forced to resign in 1991 after controversy erupted over his use of government planes for personal business.
He looks like Babe Ruth.
George Herman “Babe” Ruth (1895-1948) is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He was one of the heroes of the Roaring Twenties, both for his unparalleled ability to pound out the home runs and for his womanizing, heavy-drinking, large-living ways.
I’m Chad, from Parke-Davis.
Parke-Davis is a pharmaceutical company and a subsidiary of Pfizer.
Like Shrinky Dinks.
Shrinky Dinks are a children’s toy first introduced in 1973, consisting of various designs printed on a type of plastic that shrinks and thickens when heated in the oven.
Um, doctor? Doctor, could you look at this slide? Doctor, I’ve got a polio vaccine—Dr. Salk? Um, doctor, I think I found it … doctor, if you’d just …
Dr. Jonas Salk (1914-1995) was a doctor and medical researcher who developed the first effective vaccine against polio, a devastating disease resulting in paralysis.
Dr. Salk, please, it’s definitely the polio vaccine. Oh, forget it—I’ll take credit for it.
See previous note.
Okay, let’s see. There’s my journal, this is my coin collection book, and then my book of S&H Green Stamps.
Sperry & Hutchinson were the makers of S&H Green Stamps, stamps they sold to retailers, which then gave them out to customers with purchases. The idea was that if you saved up enough stamps, you could trade them in for merchandise such as toasters and other consumer goods. The stamps were first introduced in 1896 and remained popular until the 1970s.
Regular Evelyn Wood, isn’t he?
Evelyn Wood was a teacher who developed a method of reading very quickly, which she dubbed “speed reading.” Unfortunately, subsequent studies have shown that while followers of Wood’s method do indeed read faster, their comprehension decreases proportionately.
Bullwinkle is a … --Not that lesson. This lesson.
“Bullwinkle is a dope. --Not that lesson—this lesson” appears to be a line from the old Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons.
Later, over lunch with Wally Shawn …
Wallace Shawn (b. 1943) is a writer and actor who has appeared in such films as My Dinner with Andre (1981) and The Princess Bride (1987).
Or Heinz 57.
Heinz 57 is a brand of steak sauce. The number 57, immortalized in the Heinz slogan “57 varieties,” had mystical significance to the company’s founder.
Meanwhile, at LensCrafters … —Yeah, bad movies in about an hour, right?
LensCrafters is a chain of eyeglass stores founded in 1983; it promises its clients that their glasses will be ready in “about an hour.”
I’m sorry, Mr. Gower—please don’t hit my sore ear.
Mr. Gower is the druggist for whom George Bailey works as a boy, and who George saves from accidentally poisoning a patient when he drunkenly fills a prescription incorrectly, in the 1946 movie It’s a Wonderful Life. The part was played by H.B. Warner (1875-1958).
So, there was a good Martin last night. “What up?” I love that part.
Martin was a television sitcom that aired from 1992-1997. It starred Martin Lawrence in the title role.
This is what happens when you get trapped in an Ionesco play.
Eugene Ionesco (1909-1994) was a playwright credited with inventing Theater of the Absurd. His plays are often a string of unrelated comments uttered seemingly at random. A sample, from his famous one-act The Bald Soprano:
Mrs. Smith: Our little boy wanted to drink some beer he's going to love getting tiddly. He's like you. At table did you notice how he stared at the bottle? But I poured some water from the jug into his glass. He was thirsty and he drank it. Helen is like me: she's a good manager, thrifty, plays the piano. She never asks to drink English beer. She's like our little daughter who drinks only milk and eats only porridge. It's obvious that she's only two. She's named Peggy. The quince and bean pie was marvelous. It would have been nice, perhaps, to have had a small glass of Australian Burgundy with the sweet, but I did not bring the bottle to the table because I did not wish to set the children a bad example of gluttony. They must learn to be sober and temperate.
She’s got a night shift at Fermilab.
The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab, is a high-energy physics research laboratory. It is located in Batavia, Illinois, about 45 miles from Chicago.
We was too late.
A line from the “Bishop” sketch on Monty Python’s Flying Circus, in which the Bishop is always just a little too late to stop a church official from getting whacked.
Hey, look, the musical stairs from the science museum.
Probably a reference to the Boston Museum of Science, which has a set of stairs that sound musical notes as you step on them.
Wow, he’s sneaking past Robert Fripp’s room.
Robert Fripp is a guitarist and one of the founding members of the rock group King Crimson.
Hey, would somebody get the cat off the Fender Rhodes, please?
Fender Rhodes is a brand of electric piano that made its mark in the 1960s and became extremely popular among musicians in the 1970s.
From there he looks like Skitch Henderson.
Skitch Henderson is a bandleader who played with Frank Sinatra for a number of years, but he is probably best known for his stints on the Tonight Show, first for Steve Allen and later for Johnny Carson.
[Sung.] Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’ …
A line from the Steve Miller song “Fly Like an Eagle.” Sample lyrics: “Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'/Into the future …”
[Sung.] Oh, what a lucky man he was …
A line from the song “Lucky Man” by Emerson Lake and Palmer. Sample lyrics: “He had white horses, and ladies by the score/All dressed in satin, and waiting by the door/Oh, what a lucky man he was …”
Oh, man, he got my Compuserve magazine and Computer Gamer Weekly!
Compuserve magazine was a monthly publication of Compuserve, the online community (similar to AOL, by whom it was eventually bought). I was unable to locate any references to a magazine called Computer Gamer Weekly, but there are any number of magazines with somewhat similar names.
The call is coming from within the laboratory!
This refers to an old urban legend about a babysitter who gets a threatening phone call from a mysterious man and eventually discovers that the call is coming from inside the house.
What a day—I invented Gainesburgers and I didn’t even mean to.
Gainesburger is a brand of soft, crumbly dog food that looks something like raw hamburger, only drier.
Blame it on the bossa nova.
A reference to the Eydie Gorme song of the same name. Sample lyrics: “Blame it on the bossa nova with its magic spell/Blame it on the bossa nova that he did so well/Oh, it all began with just one little dance/But then it ended up a big romance …”
I’m in love, Jim!
A reference to the Star Trek episode “This Side of Paradise.”
This is like Vanity Fair by Sam Peckinpah.
Vanity Fair is a satirical novel by William Thackeray about a scheming, socially ambitious young woman. Sam Peckinpah was a notoriously violent film director known for such movies as The Wild Bunch (1969) and Straw Dogs (1971).
Science!
From the Thomas Dolby song “She Blinded Me with Science.” Sample lyrics: “When I’m dancing close to her/Blinding me with science – science/I can smell the chemicals/Blinding me with science – science/Science!”
Duracell. The copper-top battery.
In a series of commercials for Duracell batteries, each commercial would end with an animation of the “copper top” swinging closed with a dramatic chinging noise.
Is it the Bangles? The Go-Go’s? The Lark Quartet?
The Bangles were a girl band during the 1980s who hit it big with songs like “Walk Like an Egyptian” and “Manic Monday.” The Go-Go’s were also a girl band during the 1980s with a punk/new wave sound. And the Lark Quartet is an all-female classical quartet regarded as one of the leading ensembles in the world.
No one’s going to tell you you need Clearasil.
Clearasil is an over-the-counter acne treatment. I believe this was an old tagline for a commercial, but I have been unable to confirm this.
Hey, a whole bottle of Sea & Ski!
Sea & Ski is a brand of sunscreen lotion.
Please phrase it in the form of a question.
On the television game show Jeopardy, contestants are admonished to phrase their answers “in the form of a question.”
“This is just a theory.” But I’m Coco Chanel.
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was a fashion designer who ruled Parisian fashion for almost sixty years. She was known for her innovative designs, which included bell-bottoms, turtlenecks, trench coats, and the famous “little black dress.”
John Lilly called for the prescription.
John Lilly is a scientist who pioneered the isolation tank and did a great deal of work with dolphins. He also experimented with LSD and other drugs and ultimately—like Timothy Leary--abandoned the mainstream scientific community to explore altered states of consciousness.
I’m Coco Chanel!
See above note.
Inconceivable!
A line from the 1987 movie The Princess Bride, spoken by actor Wallace Shawn.
[Sung.] John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt/That’s my name too/Whenever I go out/The people always shout/There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt! La-la-la-la-la-la-la …
A paraphrase of the old scouting song “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.” Actual lyrics: “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt/His name is my name too/Whenever we go out/The people always shout/There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt/Dah dah dah dah, dah dah dah …”
[Sung.] Whenever I go out/The people always shout/There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt! La-la-la-la …
See previous note.
And in Econoline vans.
Econoline is a model of van manufactured by the Ford Motor Company.
Johnny Carson!
See above note.
Jackie O?
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, popularly known as Jackie O, was the wife of President John F. Kennedy. After his assassination in 1963, she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, a longtime family friend, in 1968. He died in 1975.
Oh, this is like It Happened One Night, except it makes me want to kill myself.
It Happened One Night is a 1934 romantic comedy starring Claudette Colbert as a runaway heiress and Clark Gable as the man who falls for her.
Luckily the Schwan’s guy came.
Schwan’s is a gourmet frozen food delivery service; you can see their trucks on the road at various places throughout the nation.
Tom Arnold, road repair.
Tom Arnold is a writer, producer, and actor. He is perhaps best known, however, for his stormy marriage to comedian Roseanne Barr, whose show he worked on as a writer, and whose demands on the network helped to get his failed sitcoms on the air.
Dear Easy Rider magazine: I never believed your stories were true!
Easyriders magazine is a motorcycle magazine that, in addition to motorcycles and busty babes, feature “true tales of the road.”
Beetle Bailey: The Motion Picture.
Beetle Bailey is the eponymous star of a comic strip that is syndicated to some 1,800 newspapers. He first appeared in 1950.
“There’s over five million people in the city.” And this is one of them.
A reference to the famous tag line from the TV series The Naked City: “There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them.”
A string and a picture of Eve Arden.
Eve Arden (1908-1990) was an actress best known for her title role in the TV series Our Miss Brooks, which aired from 1952-1956.
You like Jell-O with fruit suspended in it?
Jell-O is a sweetened gelatin dessert made by General Foods Corporation. It is often made with grapes, slices of banana, or other fruits mixed in.
Reykjavik.
Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland. As of 2000, its population stood at just over 100,000.
Hey, it’s the Good Humor cop!
Good Humor is a brand of ice cream treats first marketed in 1920. The “Good Humor Man” became an American institution, as kids across America lined up during the summers to buy ice cream from the men who drove the trucks with the tinkling bells.
Mmm, Dreamsicles.
A Dreamsicle is a frozen treat on a stick consisting of ice milk surrounded by a sherbert shell.
Abbott and Costello in Buck Privates.
Buck Privates is a 1941 film starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello as a couple of guys who enlist in the army in order to avoid prison.
“Became a huge tomb.” Like St. Paul?
St. Paul, Minnesota, is one of the Twin Cities; the other is Minneapolis.
But right now we’ll join the auto show at McCormick Place.
McCormick Place is an events center in Chicago.
Isaac Hayes is Truck Turner.
Truck Turner is a 1974 film starring blaxploitation actor Isaac Hayes in the title role as a bounty hunter who accidentally kills the man he’s been sent to hunt down, resulting in a price being put on his head.
Watch out for the first draft.
Probably a reference to the 1991 movie Backdraft, about two brothers who are Chicago firefighters.
Darkness on the edge of town.
A reference to the Bruce Springsteen song “Darkness on the Edge of Town.” Sample lyrics: “Well if she wants to see me/You can tell her that I’m easily found/Tell her there’s a spot out `neath abram’s bridge/And tell her there’s a darkness on the edge of town.”
Hey, Outer Limits is starting!
The Outer Limits was a sci-fi/horror anthology show, similar to The Twilight Zone, that aired from 1963-1965. In 1995 a new version of the show began airing; it ran until 2002.
Listen. Billy Pilgrim has become unstuck in time.
See note on Billy Pilgrim, above. In the novel Slaughterhouse Five, Billy is “unstuck in time,” traveling back and forth between his birth and death and all points between.
Ladies and gentlemen! KMOJ radio presents Bootsy Collins!
KMOJ is a radio station in Minneapolis. Bootsy Collins is a funk bassist and singer who backed up James Brown and played with Parliament/Funkadelic before launching a solo career in the 1970s. His most successful song was probably 1978’s “Bootzilla.”
It’s Major Dad.
Major Dad was a TV sitcom that aired from 1989-1993. It starred Gerald McRaney as a no-nonsense, hard-headed Marine.
They finally realized that the monster had tickets to see Loggins and Messina at the Arie Crown Theater.
Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina had eight albums together as a successful duo in the 1970s before starting their own solo acts. In 2005 the two reunited for another tour. The Arie Crown Theater is a performance space in Chicago, Illinois.
Oh, they’re stopping at the Billy Goat for a cheezeborger.
The Billy Goat Tavern is a famous restaurant in Chicago, Illinois. It was immortalized in the “cheezeborger, no fries” skits on Saturday Night Live during the 1970s.
Coke? No, Pepsi.
In the Billy Goat Tavern skit on Saturday Night Live (see previous note), "No Coke. Pepsi" was a recurring gag.
Laszlo Kovacs, my butt! This is great photography!
Laszlo Kovacs is a cinematographer whose credits include Easy Rider, Paper Moon, and, oddly enough, Show 812, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies.
[Sung.] There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt!
See above note.
Ripped off The French Connection train sequence from this movie.
The French Connection is a 1971 crime flick about a couple of narcotics detectives in New York who stumble on an international drug smuggling operation. There is a famous sequence in the movie in which Gene Hackman chases after a train in a car.
Yep, my kind of town, Chicago is. Now, Chicago, that’s the Windy City, right? It’s the city by the lake, the city of big shoulders, or the city that works?
Chicago, Illinois, is a city of many nicknames. It earned the sobriquet the Windy City not for its weather but for its insufferable boosterism in the late 1800s. “The city by the lake” refers to its position on the shores of Lake Michigan. “City of big shoulders” comes from the Carl Sandburg poem “Chicago” (in which he also dubbed Chicago the less-flattering “Hog Butcher for the World”). “The city that works” presumably refers to its legendary reputation for industry, but I was unable to trace its origin.
Yeah, every time I aim a Wham-O Air Blaster at a sidewalk, I get scared.
The Wham-O Air Blaster was a toy gun popular during the 1970s that shot a burst of compressed air (or, if you were of an experimental bent, whatever you shoved into the barrel before pulling the trigger).
Laverne and Shirley in the National Guard.
See note on Laverne and Shirley, above.
The Bookmobile is called in. –Oh, I hope they still have Curious George.
Curious George, an inquisitive monkey, is the hero of a series of children’s books by H.A. Rey.
My brother and I look like woodticks ready to pop.
A paraphrase of a line from the 1983 movie A Christmas Story. The actual line: “My kid brother looked like a tick about to pop.”
[Sung.] There’s a little hotel called the Shady Rest at the Junction …
A line from the theme song to the TV series Petticoat Junction. Sample lyrics: “There's a little hotel called the Shady Rest at the junction/(Petticoat Junction)/It is run by Kate, come and be her guest at the junction/(Petticoat Junction).”
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Amen.
This is the Latin version of the Catholic Benedictus. Translated, it reads “Blessed who comes in the name of the Lord.”
You know, in the director’s cut they eliminated the narration.
A reference to the 1982 film Blade Runner. Director Ridley Scott later released a director’s cut version in which he eliminated the voiceover narration by Harrison Ford that had been added at the studio’s insistence to help keep audiences from being confused.
It’s American Gothic on a rampage.
American Gothic (1930) is a well-known painting by American artist Grant Wood (1892-1942). It depicts a salt-of-the-earth couple standing in front of their Midwestern home, the man holding a pitchfork. The painting has become an icon of hardscrabble Americana.
Turned out to be an alien snipe hunt—go figure.
See note on snipe hunts, above.
Phil Silvers tries to flee the set.
Phil Silvers is a comic actor, the veteran of many a TV series and film, but he is probably best known as con master Sergeant Ernie Bilko on The Phil Silvers Show, which aired from 1955-1959.
