Episode 74 — Halloween III: Season of the Witch

[wyldride 285]

I guess they used a spinning table ala What Are Little Girls Made Of to create a duplicate Fembot ala Bionic Woman, but it was more like the type from Austin Powers that doesn't turn against you until you think you're safely out of danger. Also, Number Six from Battlestar Galactica, something, something.

[justsomeman 127]

Best Zouks line: "I didn't pay attention to the dumb words."

 

This has been my favorite thus far and it was from the Congo episode: "I feel like she [Amy] learned a game about being molested and was going to keep playing the game. Like she might as well have been like, 'Paint on my back?'

[brandenhaize 51]

1. Not only did Silver Shamrock pay for an insane amount of commercial ad time, they paid for a fleet of vans to drive through American neighborhoods (equipped with speakers) to remind kids to watch the 9:00 "Big Giveaway." In this universe, novelty items are the most profitable sales items in existence.

 

2. Doctor Drunk can't spend more than 30 seconds with his family before getting paged (and told to return to the hospital), but he's able to take a long, unscheduled vacation with Ellie Grimbridge? Shouldn't he be fired immediately?

 

3. When the bad guys capture Doctor Drunk, they slap a flimsy skull mask on his head, tie him to a chair, and lock him in a room with a TV set. The idea is that the TV will eventually melt the doctor's head (during the 9:00 "Big Giveaway"). But they're in the factory where they have the commercial ready to play at a moments notice! Why not melt Doctor Drunk's head immediately?

Also, Doctor Drunk would have had an easier time shaking the shitty mask off his head (than bouncing around in his chair and kicking the TV screen).

 

4. This is just a nitpick from a business standpoint: Why are the skull masks (which need to be mostly white) the only masks made of black latex? I guess the Silver Shamrock company doesn't care how much white paint they need to buy... it's a billion dollar company, apparently.

 

5. If Little Buddy's father is the most successful Silver Shamrock mask salesman, wouldn't you think Little Buddy would already own all three stupid masks? Why is he so excited to receive a free one at the factory?

 

6. Paul asked why the robot people were still chipping away at the Stonehenge block (even though the scheme is pretty much over). I'll go further and ask this: Why did they need to steal the entire block? They made all the masks they wanted (enough to ship all over the U.S.), and they had a warehouse full of extras. In addition to the extra (completed) masks, they had even more Shamrock badges in boxes that weren't being used... and yet they only chipped away at maybe 10% of the Stonehenge block! Wouldn't stealing only a small piece have been much, much easier?

 

7. Why was Marge Gutterman scratching at the computer chip inside the Silver Shamrock medallion? Give her a circuit board from anything (a computer, a remote control, whatever), and what she was doing wouldn't help her identify the chip's function!

 

8. There are a lot of extra Silver Shamrock masks going to waste inside that factory. If Conal Cockring wanted to sacrifice as many children as possible, why didn't he replace Marge's order immediately? Or why didn't he donate some of those masks to charity (so poor children could also die)?

 

Ugh... I'm thinking too much about this movie.

[PhillipMedoc 648]

I'm only 15 minutes in, so maybe they figured it out, but the character actor Jason is thinking of is definitely Stacy Keach -- whom I also thought was the lead in this movie.

 

Stacy Keach, Tom Atkins

 

And yeah, Stacy Keach has been in a million things, working nonstop since the early 1970s.

 

I hope the dramatic readings continue to be a regular feature -- June is great at these.

[ABee21 26]

I kind of liked the guest-less episode, and wouldn't mind having them more often. I remember seeing this movie on TV when I was maybe 11 or so. The only thing I remembered about it was the terrible song. My cousin (who was 4 at the time) was at my house when the movie was on and he was definitely traumatized by it - he sang that song for months afterward.

 

I want to have Jason saying "Everybody's an asshole" as my ringtone.

[jarrycanada 2483]

isn't this the same plotline from strange brew?

 

I liked the scene when the homeless guy asks the good doctor for a drink, he says I don't have any diseases but that bottle looks a little heavy can I have a drink. Ohh ya sure Mr homeless man go ahead have a swig, I don't mind at all. You clearly look like you've been doing some clean living and I haven't had a drink in like an hour.

[mutantchaos 12]

Do you think the commercials with in the movie are just actual commercials for the audience? Like the Michael Meyer's masks were and still are very popular were they looking for a new line of masks to sell in association with this movie? Children of the 80's: did they actually sell these masks? IRL?

[imhatch 271]

i didnt think they sold any irl but wikipedia says they were available for sale

 

As part of a merchandising campaign, the producers requested Don Post to mass-produce the skull, witch, and jack-o'-lantern masks. Producers had given exclusive merchandising rights to Post as part of his contract for working on the film, and Post Studios had already successfully marketed tie-in masks for the classic Universal monsters, Planet of the Apes (1968), Star Wars (1977), and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Post used the original molds for the masks in the film to mass-produce masks for retail sale. He speculated, "Because the masks are so significant to the movie, they could become a cult item, with fans wanting to wear them when they go to see the movie." Post also gave mask-making demonstrations for a Universal Studio tour in Hollywood. The masks retailed for $25 when they finally appeared in stores.^[6]

[imhatch 271]

tho im going to be honest calling the masks a "cult item" and then saying ppl may wear them while watching the movie i just...idk if this is them being oblivious to the message of the movie or if it is just a fuck you to the movie

[PhillipMedoc 648]

They're on ebay for $150.

 

[robinsbruce 4985]

They're on ebay for $150.

 

 

 

Man those masks are pretty cool, and quite scary! Only $50 dollars a piece you say???

 

Vomiting witch-face is my favorite.

 

[mutantchaos 12]

yeah, right. The 80's were all about product placement. Transformers: The Movie "check out all the new toys". Halloween III stands for "3 new costumes"

 

I'm new to the internet, it didn't occur to me to google that.

[Somebody 12]

I would watch the shit out of Evil Mastermind Shark Tank with Jason and Paul as the sharks.

[PrestonBJThomas 3]

I always wondered why "How Did This Get Made?" had a guest every single week in the first place. You're supposed to be 3 funny people, right?! With some exceptions it's usually you 3 talking and the guest saying something dumb once in a while, anyway.

[PhillipMedoc 648]

With some exceptions it's usually you 3 talking and the guest saying something dumb once in a while, anyway.

Hey now, to be fair, Howard Kremer has only made one appearance on HDTGM.

[JustinL 216]

I'm a little surprised no one *cough*June*cough* proposed that Ellie had ALWAYS been a robot from the beginning. The thought crossed my mind. Granted, it makes no sense whatsoever.

 

But if they had just turned Ellie into a robot or built her from scratch in that (maybe) two-hour period, why would they have the robot tied down on a gurney in that room? Maybe she was always a robot, got too into her character, needed to be re-programmed and the straps were a precaution in case it didn't take.

[DeathToMikeyBay 130]

What about A Bay Of Blood? That pre dates Halloween and has a group of teenagers running of the have sex only to be slaughtered.

 

Halloween is what popularized the formula and was what everyone was trying to rip off.

 

Bay of Blood was Pitfall Harry. Halloween was Super Mario Brothers.

[brandenhaize 51]

But if they had just turned Ellie into a robot or built her from scratch in that (maybe) two-hour period, why would they have the robot tied down on a gurney in that room?

 

I assumed that Conal tied Robot Ellie down (to help build upon the illusion that she was real)... that way, if Daniel managed to escape his cell and find her, he'd "rescue" her (and end up dead by her hands).

[JustinL 216]

 

I assumed that Conal tied Robot Ellie down (to help build upon the illusion that she was real)... that way, if Daniel managed to escape his cell and find her, he'd "rescue" her (and end up dead by her hands).

 

See now, I considered that, but that would be fuckin' crazy just to give Daniel the option of thinking that was true and then to assume he would even be able to find her! Robot or not, why show him she's alive at all? Maybe we can chalk it all up to Conal's pranksterism? Messing with people just to mess with them?

[brandenhaize 51]

Maybe we can chalk it all up to Conal's pranksterism? Messing with people just to mess with them?

 

Yeah, I think that was Conal's intent, just to mess with Daniel's mind. Otherwise, there's no good reason why Conal didn't just kill Daniel the moment he caught him. Instead, Conal showed Daniel his entire plan and then set up that poor attempt to melt Daniel's head.

 

There's no telling how long it took Daniel to find Robot Ellie. For all we know she was in the cell right next door to Daniel's. In any event, I guess Conal didn't particularly care if Daniel escaped from the factory (???). Conal didn't need his robot army anymore at that point (so he didn't mind that Daniel destroyed them all, hence the slow, evil golf-clap). Conal knew the media was already set to air his "Big Giveaway" commercials (and kill a ton of children).

 

Conal probably thought, "Eh, let Daniel think he foiled my plan and escape with Robot Ellie. Once he's out of the factory, he'll foolishly let his guard down, and Robot Ellie will kill him." There are only two problems:

 

1. Conal didn't expect to get hit with a rogue laser beam at the end (which I guess killed him)?

 

2. Conal had no clue that Daniel would call (the Marines) and have the television stations shut down.

[JacobCrites 4977]

A top 10 contender, this ep. The gang should do guest-less episodes more often. It gave them more opportunities to break into weird tangents and bits.

[Joe Lerini 7329]

[seanotron 2307]

 

[KevenWright 1]

I was surprised they didn't mention when the robots forced the homeless man to blow some robot's dick before decapitating him.

[notmyname 1]

A top 10 contender, this ep. The gang should do guest-less episodes more often. It gave them more opportunities to break into weird tangents and bits.

 

 

I second this