Trivia
Updated 02-16-12
New entries (as well as
updated old entries) will now be
color-coded!
Newer entries towards the bottom! Enjoy.
New entries (as well as
updated old entries) will now be
color-coded!
Newer entries towards the bottom! Enjoy.
What's in a Name?
- Cast member Bethany Loberg has, through random name selection, played up to three characters whose names start with a "V": Virginia, Victoria, and Vinerita.
[Season 2 - Episode 10; Season 4 - Episode 25, 31]
The Postman Always Rings Twice
- Mailmen have unintentionally become
reviled as universally villainous throughout the C80 universe after being
referenced in the "Pos tbusters" series and the "Super Slow Reaction Man" series
as such. In Deficiency Boy 9, Noah utters something about "evil mailmen" when
confronting the Gorb Crafter and Confuzzler---this was due to the filming
location coinciding with where a scene from "Postbusters 2" was filmed. In the
final ironic piece, cast members Johännah Larsen, John Nielsen, Kyle Kertay, Joseph Chapman
and Will have all worked at the Willamette University mail
center, delivering and sorting mail.
[Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 3 - Episode 18, 24; Season 4 -
Episode 30]
Colorful Reference
- In "Mission: Implausible 3: Hunger for Power," Jeremy White as Agent A utters the line "Oooh, yellow," which was a hidden reference to a lasting in-joke of Joseph Chapman's stemming from C80's radio days.
[The Radio Years; Season 4 - Episode 28]
Gotcha!
- Cast members Rodger Fickel and Wendelin Mueller (as well as the guy who played "The Intelligent Sociopath" in SSRM 3.0) joined the group after being accidentally caught on camera during an episode; conversely, most people that get jumped by us (on purpose) on camera are a little harder to secure. Guess it's the luck of the draw!
[Season 1 - Episode 3, 8]
Checks and Balances
- Characters played by John Nielsen have
thrice uttered a variation of the line "The check is in the mail," in three
different features---sort of as a reference to his previous work. Sneaky, John.
Also, according to Anthony, in the film festival to which the C80 feature
"The Pants" was submitted, the award-nominated line from the film ("No running
in Canada!") was beat out by a line from another film. What was that line? "The
check's in the mail." So strange!
[Season 2 - Episode 11; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 5 - Preview Special]
WHERE??
- As you may or may not have noticed, the C80 catchphrase "Look! A distraction!" not only encompasses many different series over the years---it also never fails to distract. Interestingly enough, it has been most used against characters played by Manfred Mueller, though it has been said to everyone from Anthony to Jeremy White as well.
[Season 1 to 10 - various]
You Can See the Future
- The "Shard of Chewagumabar" necklace that gives Deficiency Boy his powers in the first episode of his SSRM-spinoff show actually appears several episodes earlier, worn by Joseph Chapman in an unrelated feature. Funnily enough, it appears during a movie review of "The Pants," which at the time of the review, wasn't made yet. This prop at some point lost, though it was later replaced in "Super Hero Saga"---for the interim, it was assumed as part of the plot that Deficiency Boy (John Nielsen) had accidentally ingested it.
[Season 2 - Episode 10, 12; Season 8 - Episode 64]
Oh, the Realism
- The prop for "Insta-Dog-in-a-Bottle"
contains actual hair from Joseph Chapman's late pet dog, Meatball,
to this day. The only prop to survive from the radio era of C80 to the present,
it is nine to ten years old. Just DON'T OPEN IT. Seriously! In addition, the new
prop for "Insta-Dog Deluxe" contains several locks of Joe's ponytail, which he
cut off to work at a bakery for a summer job. So hairy a tidbit!
[The Radio Years; Season 1 - Episode 1; Season 2 - Episode 11;
Season 6 - Episode 41]
Role Reversal
- During SSRM 4, John Johnson (Jeremy White) pulls Random Reporter Guy (Joey Cleary) out of a battle scene, proclaiming, "It's time for your meds, dear," to which Reporter Guy confusedly replies "Dear? I'm not a woman!" Years later, Joey, in the heat of improv, pulled Tom Howe out of a scene in Rear View 3 whilst proclaiming that same line John Johnson had uttered---and Starla Simmons (played by Jeremy) muttered to herself, "But he's not a woman." This unplanned little role-reversal-reference is quite easy to miss (especially with Starla's lisp). Coincidentally, both features also played during the finales of their respective seasons.
[Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 4 - Episode 32]
One is the Loneliest Number
- As of the premiere of Season 5, the only member of the Bonanza Family of adventurers to ever appear more than once was the original, Bonanza Bob (Nathan Clark). The other related Bonanza characters (Bill, Ben, Bridget, Bade, and Brian) had one feature apiece---causing several cast members to joke about a "Bonanza Curse." Also, all assistants of Bonanza characters possess names that end in "-inky": Twinky(1), Binky, Pinky, Twinky(2), Linky, Slinky, and Dinky. The character of Dinky was originally supposed to be an assistant to Bonanza Brian. He instead became the butler of Bonanza Bob upon Bob's return to the screen. Most recently, the supposed "Bonanza Curse" has been broken, as now three of the characters have appeared more than once: Bob, played by Nate Clark, Bade, portrayed by Alex Prescott, and Bad-Ass, played by Gabe Litz.
[Season 1 - Episode 2, 3; Season 2 - PDA 1; Season 3 - Episode 19; Season 4 - Episode 27, 31; Season 6 - Episode 41; Season 9 - Episode 66, 69]
Deficient of... Ratings?
- Super Slow Reaction Man 5, "Return of the Hero," was originally the pilot episode for a series starring Anthony's character, Captain Obvious (formerly Farm Lad), but these plans were scrapped after the episode was shot and it became SSRM 5, the last in the series. The last, that is, until the Deficiency Boy series was launched a bit later that season (due to the fact that John Nielsen, who plays the title character, would be more readily accessible in the future). However, this was not a problem, as both the Captain Obvious and Super-Slow Reaction Man characters have figured prominently in the DB series since its creation.
[Season 2 - Episode 9, 12]
We Never Learned to Count
- The Super Slow Reaction Man series has five numerical episodes, however, "episode three" was a self-contained trilogy (3.0, 3.5, and 3.75), putting the actual episode count for the series at seven episodes.
[Season 1 - Episode 1, 3, 6, 8; Season 2 - Episode 9]
Rising From the Ashes... it's Starla Simmons?
- C80's parody of "The View," entitled "The Rear View," debuted during Season 4 with wacky hostess Starla Simmons (played by Jeremy White). However, the original incarnation of the "Rear View" show was filmed during Season 2, and stuck more closely to the original multi-host format, starring Joey Cleary, John Nielsen, Kyle Kertay, and Jeremy, using personalities drawn from the oft-utilized "Improv 80" box. The personalities just didn't mesh, and the scenario was largely a disaster---and being judged to be so bad, the original Rear View never made it into an official episode. Funnily enough, the personality drawn by Joey, Mister Kittyface, is the only surviving bit of the tossed-out-segment, and he appeared as that character on the "official" incarnation of the Rear View with Starla Simmons in its first episode. One small clip of the original bit was thrown into "Return to Memory Avenue," the Season 4 Special Feature, which is the only place one can view the travesty. (Well, it WAS... until the Season 6 Special Feature "The Lost Episodes" was made---you can now view the train wreck in its entirety there).
[Season 4 - Episode 27; S4 Special Feature - "Return to Memory Avenue"; S6 Special Feature - "The Lost Episodes"]
Disaster Dodged
- Episode 12 of Channel 80 News is entitled "Nearly Lost Episodes" due to the fact that Joseph Chapman's original camcorder broke after filming, nearly eating the tape and taking the episode with it. The next feature, PDA 1, was filmed on Kyle Kertay's digital camera, and similarly titled Episode 13, "The Lucky One," was filmed on Jeremy White's camcorder (titled as such because it too escaped the fate of being eaten by the old camera). Episode 14, "Ambush," was the first to be filmed on Joe's new camcorder, which is still the official recording medium for C80 to this day (though sometimes Jeremy's cam rides shotgun). Weirdly, twenty episodes after "the lucky one" dodged the bullet, Episode 33 earned the title "Nearly Lost Episode 2" due to an error on the tape that nearly robbed the footage of half of its recorded audio. This episode is equally lucky, as somehow when the footage showed up on Chapman's computer, despite retaining a slight error with the video in places, the audio was 98% restored. And, incredibly, ten episodes later exactly, Episode 43, "All Odds," suffered a momentary bout with the same audio problem, though it is only noticeable at the beginning of the episode. Finally, ten episodes later, Episode 53, "Spoofapalooza 3," escaped this phenomenon completely, breaking the curse!
[Season 2 - Episode 12, PDA, 13, 14; Season 5 - Episode 33; Season 6 - Episode 43; Season 7 - Episode 53]
It's Not Easy Being a Movie Star
- Though most members of the Channel 80 News cast are friends in real life, beyond just our appearances onscreen, sometimes it's those appearances onscreen that first forge the bond of friendship---whether we like it or not. Many cast members, in fact, met each other for the first time at filmings. Holly Janka once remarked that meeting Joey Cleary after seeing him in an episode was like "meeting a celebrity." Jeremy White met Holly, as well as cast members Will and Johännah Larsen at filmings---in fact, the first time he spoke to Johännah was in their first scene together. Countless others amongst the C80 crew have met one another in a similar fashion, and lasting bonds have come of it.
[Season 1 to 10 - various]
"I Keep Forgetting She's a Woman"
- Having borrowed a wig or two from Jeremy White's unintentionally cross-dressing-laden Plastico Classico Productions/Channel 586, Channel 80 News cast members were treated to their first cross-dressing performance in Episode 11's "The Pants." Not used to having female characters played by male actors, Bethany Loberg and Anthony continued to accidentally refer to Jennifer Jones (played by John Nielsen) initially as "he" before correcting themselves, throughout the feature. By Season 5, however, such a sight is slightly more commonplace, even at C80.
[Season 2 - Episode 11]
Unstable... Just Like Swiss Rolls
- The 'crooked house' that Swiss Rolls (played by Joey Cleary) lives in in the Channel 80 News world was declared structurally unstable after the first Swiss Rolls feature was filmed. While Swiss Rolls 2 was filmed at Willamette University for convenience sake, between the first and third features the house was removed and then rebuilt to look the same. By Swiss Rolls 3, the house appears the same, but is in fact the second crooked house built on that spot.
[Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22]
Lustfully Clean
- Super Slow Reaction Man 4, "Lustful City," gets its title from the fact that during The Silent Narrator's (Joseph Chapman) opening narration, he cut before he could finish his sentence, thus, the word "illustrious" was pared down to end at "-lust." Before the next scene opened, the joke had already been made off-camera, and was soon made in the show itself.
[Season 1 - Episode 8]
There's Blood on my Blood
- The inaugural characters of Joey Cleary, including Random Reporter Guy, were seen as bleeding from the ear. When Joey joined C80, he was also a member of the high school's video production class, and had that day filmed a parody of "American Idol" which involved using fake blood to have him bleed from the ear. When he came to the C80 filming after school that day, he retained the makeup. The presence of the blood on Dodge Neo in "The Linear Sequence" was explained right away, but viewers wanting an explanation for Random Reporter Guy had to wait a few years for the "Wizard Special" in Season 3, during which the C80 team used Kool-Aid to recreate the blood effects for flashbacks involving that character. Every other newly-generated flashback appearance of Random Reporter Guy thereafter also required Kool-Aid application again depending on which era he was appearing in. Tasty, no?
[Season 1 - Episode 6; Season 3 - Episode 21; Season 5 - Episode 39]
The Price is Right
- Though any number of varying dollar values have been assigned to the various products hawked in C80 commercials over the years, the most prevalent price tags (especially in the early years) were "twenty-ninety-ninety-nine" and "ninety-ninety-ninety-nine," the latter phrase being derived from the show ReBoot, of which Joseph Chapman is a rabid fan.
[Season 1 to 10 - various]
It Shakes, It Shakes
- Salt has made several unrelated appearances
throughout C80's history, and has now become something of an iconic prop/topic
of conversation. Super Slow Reaction Man's (Michelle Cunningham) alter-ego
in SSRM #3.0 is seen trying to sneak some salt from Farm Lad (Anthony).
Other notable appearances include the final scene of Deficiency Boy 7, in which
the Confuzzler (Will) eats a truckload of salt on-camera, and
perhaps one of the most infamous salt-ppearances, the Cave of Grrraaasssh Sale,
in which the Orb Crafter (Johännah Larsen) attempts to pay The Wizard (Joey
Cleary) in salt. What can we say, we like certain condiments. Bonus: In a
much-later episode of Bonanza Bob, the character Eduardo Bay (Anthony),
an online-auction mogul, comments offhand that he will no longer sell anything
to the Orb Crafter---this is a reference to the fact that she presumably paid
him in salt for her purchases as well.
[Season 1 - Episode 6; Season 3 - Episode 18, 22; Season 4 -
Episode 31]
Smoochy-Smoochy
- The first on-screen kiss in Channel 80 News was seen, ironically, in a feature detailing underage drunken disorderly behavior, during the Season 4 premiere. The lucky participants were real-life boyfriend and girlfriend Kyle Kertay and Johännah Larsen.
[Season 4 - Episode 25]
Typos = Inspiration
- The alter ego of Brian Wise's Capable Lad, "Meth Lad," was created after Joey Cleary sent an email with a typo in it to the group on an unrelated subject: instead of typing "meth lab," he typed "meth lad," and Joseph Chapman decided to make something of it.
[Season 4 - Episode 26, 30]
Okay, So Our Reactions Were a Little Delayed Too
- Super Slow Reaction Man (played by Michelle Cunningham) didn't actually exhibit super slow reactions onscreen until SSRM 3.75, "The Milkire Strikes Back."
[Season 1 - Episode 6]
New Technology!
- The first use of split-screen effects in Channel 80 News occurred in Season 4, featuring a fantastically acted scene with two characters played by Johännah Larsen bantering back and forth. In the same episode, Jeremy White appeared in a similar (though, in his own opinion, less splendid by far) scene with two of his characters having a showdown. Within the Season 4 special feature "Return to Memory Avenue," in the Outtakes section, one can also view Brian Wise helping Jeremy time his scenes behind-the-scenes from that episode, as well as a hilarious practice bit featuring John Nielsen arguing with himself over his preferences for lunch.
[Season 4 - Episode 26; S4 Special Feature - "Return to Memory Avenue"]
What Goes Around Comes Around
- The Orb Crafter (played by Johännah Larsen) was a character created initially out of necessity---after several varying explanations over the years, she was to be the final reason behind the various orbs and globes of power in the SSRM and DB series. She has, of course, blossomed into so much more since then---and is one of the most beloved characters of the series.
[Season 2 - Episode 15; Season 3 - Episode 17, 18, 21, 22; Season 4 - Episode 26, 30; Season 5 - Episode 34, 37; Season 6 - Episode 43; Season 7 - Episode 50; Season 8 - Episode 60]
Their Deaths... Didn't Take
- At the end of SSRM 5, The Silent Narrator (Joseph Chapman) verbally killed off all the characters the camera was currently pointed at: Manfraud Dueller (John Nielsen), Gordo (Rodger Fickel), Mister Eye (Jeremy White), Ruthless Crueller (Joy Schneider), and Grodo (Nathan Gneckow). This was likely due to the fact that the latter scenes of the episode weren't being pulled off quite as planned. Though seemingly a rash move, it is of note that every character "killed off" by the Narrator in that scene has since returned in some fashion (with the exception of Ruthless). In fact, John's character remarks in the pilot episode of his spinoff series that he's "sure glad he didn't die back there with everyone else." How's that for creative revision?
[Season 2 - Episode 9, 12]
Hozopipopolus
- In the first episode of Deficiency Boy, Holly Janka plays the newly-villainous villainess, Hezedipapa. Due to the fact that no one else at the initial filming save Holly was willing to risk mispronouncing her character's name (which may have had an extra syllable, give or take, originally), she was given the alter-ego of "Non-Stealthy Ninja Girl." However, after about the second episode, everyone figured out how to say the name, and the "NSNG" moniker has been barely-used since.
[Season 2 - Episode 12, 13]
See You Next Fall
- As the guy who is most often our cameraman, Joseph Chapman sometimes has to use some pretty creative footwork to dodge about on whatever terrain we're filming. He has done everything from walk backwards up stairs and through doors to trudge through the snow to get the right angle. Incidentally, Joe has only fallen down twice during C80's span, and both times he opted to continue filming---just because he liked the newfound angle. What a cameraman!
[Season 1 - Episode 6; Season 4 - Episode 28]
We Likes Us Our Chowder
- Since Season 2, C80 has been fond of its ocean trips. While each trip has a varying destination on the Oregon Coast, one tradition remains: eating at Mo's seafood restaurant in Lincoln City, OR. And well it is that we continue to do so---Mo's has given much to Channel 80 News, and I don't just mean great chowder. The name of Kyle Kertay's character, Mo the Surfing Mystic, comes from the name of the restaurant. Not only that, but the props that became The Bjorn, The Anti-Bjorn, Lord Fluffy, and Lord Dibbs, were all purchased in Mo's gift shop on cumulative trips over the years. Basically, everything bought from that gift shop has appeared prominently in C80 at some point. Most of the locations seen in Deficiency Boy 2 were also near Mo's parking lot. A visit to another coastal Mo's occurred much later for a C80 trip, though its presence did not feature on film.
[Season 2 - Episode 13, 15; Season 3 - Episode 18; Season 4 - Episode 29; Season 5, PDA 3; Season 7 - Episode 54; Season 10 - Episode 75]
Riddle Me This
- The riddles cast forth by the Confuzzler (played by Will Mockry) in the DB series are more or less all invented by Will himself, sometimes right before a scene begins. Funnily enough, the Confuzzler has only repeated a riddle once ("what has eyes but can't see?---a potato"), and at least twice Anarchy Lad (Jeremy White) has guessed that the answer to a given riddle from the Confuzzler is their archnemesis, "Deficiency Boy." Anarchy Lad has also never guessed the answer to a riddle correctly, despite receiving his villainous moniker because of one of Confuzzler's riddles.
[Season 2 - Episode 15, 16; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 4 - Episode 26, 30; Season 6 - Episode 43]
Spin, But Don't Get Too Dizzy
- "The Adventures of Deficiency Boy" was the first spinoff series in Channel 80 News. It was spun-off from the "Super-Slow Reaction Man" series when the latter ended its seven-episode run. After a healthy fourteen-episode run itself, "The Adventures of Deficiency Boy" spun off into another similar show, titled "Super Hero Saga."
[Season 1 - Episode 1, 3, 6, 8; Season 2 - Episode 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16; Season 3 - Episode 17, 18, 21, 22; Season 4 - Episode 26, 30; Season 5 - Episode 34, 37, 39; Season 6 - Episode 43; Season 7 - Episode 50, 54, 55; Season 8 - Episode 60, 64; Season 9 - Episode 72]
Whatever It Is Possible Of
- The first instance of "word-itis" (defined as when an actor intends to say one word but instead says a different word that sounds the same, but means something different) in Channel 80 News came from our fearless leader, Joseph Chapman, in the first episode, of course. Let me tell you, it didn't take long, and word-itis in improv acting is inescapable. He was the first, but definitely not the last!
[Season 1 - Episode 1]
You've Captured Their Stunt Doubles!
- The first significant risky stunt in Channel 80 News, though there were several close calls in Season 1, came in Season 2 when Anthony, despite calculating what he was doing, nearly fell into a stream without a change of clothes or a spare logo for his character. Luckily, he didn't actually fall in. Since then, of course, we have people charging up and downriver, taking part in fierce battle sequences, and doing all sorts of crazy things for the camera's sake. What did you start, Anthony?
[Season 2 - Episode 9]
The Matrix... Recharges?
- The season 1 feature "The Linear Sequence" was so short due to, other than mere time constraints, low camcorder battery (thus why Nigel Weatherby mentions "budget cuts" in the final scene). Also, cast members Alex Parker and Manfred Mueller were both present during The Linear Sequence, and though they do not appear on camera, it was them that held the door shut so Dodge Neo (Joey Cleary) had trouble getting out of the classroom. Alex also played the toy guitar that is heard as the closer fades (when Nigel is punched out). Similarly, the feature's eventual sequel, "Finding Neo Reloaded," was left unfinished (or, at least, unfinished compared to what was originally outlined) due to time constraints, and the dying battery on the laptop Joseph Chapman had at the time. Nonetheless, the Linear Sequence persisted in appearing here and there until the series finally got itself a bombastic final installment in Season 7---this time without battery troubles.
[Season 1 - Episode 6; Season 2 - Episode 9, 10, PDA; Season 7 - Episode 53]
Iconic Glory
- Cast member Bryan Joseph waited three hours during the filming of "The Pants" to appear on camera. Though he only has one line in the entire movie, it's arguably one of the most famous. It was also his last C80 appearance to date.
[Season 2 - Episode 11]
Hello, Chaps! I'm Late
- Cast member Jeremy White's crossover character Safari Jim was created in 1999, for Jeremy's own film productions. However, he was always game to include Safari Jim in Channel 80 News. Infamously, Safari Jim was slated to appear in "Jugendherberge Unleashed" in Season 2 but due to prior engagements, Jeremy couldn't make it, and so the plot was rewritten to allow for his absence----however, the title screen for the feature still bears the name "Safari Jim," despite the fact that the character didn't appear in C80 until Episode 27 (and that was via his own show, a guest-feature, to allow a platform from which to launch the Bonanza Brian {Brian Wise} character). As a guest star in an actual C80 feature, Safari Jim didn't appear until Episode 31. After getting a firm footing, though, he did return at least once afterward to guest-star again.
[Season 2 - Episode 10; Season 4 - Episode 27, 31; Season 6 - Episode 41]
Rewriting History
- For the filming of the historical extravaganza "The Wizard Special," cast member Lily Nisbet was due to play Joan of Arc, but due to scheduling conflicts, she notified the crew that she wouldn't be able to make it. For this reason, Will was recast as Joan, who became "Jim" of Arc instead. In a veritable hurricane of improvisation, Joey Cleary decided that his character (The Wizard) would still offer "Joan" a man as compensation to fight the English. Jeremy White decided to take it a step further and jumped into an interview scene in the spur of the moment, and Jim's man, "Fernando," was given life. The pair then appeared together in a later episode.
[Season 3 - Episode 21; Season 4 - Episode 26]
Didn't I Just Talk to You?
- Deficiency Boy 8 is called "Duplicity" for more reasons than just the title character's alter-ego. In that episode, not just with the advent of split-screen but in most of the scenes in general, most of the actors had to pull double duty or more: Brian Wise played two character incarnations, John Nielsen played two character incarnations, Jeremy White played three characters, and Johännah Larsen played three characters, most of whom for her appeared in the same scenes together, requiring some very creative editing. Brian Wise also body-doubled for Will in one scene, allowing Will to also play two different characters.
[Season 4 - Episode 26]
Insider [Trading] Info
- Channel 80 News doesn't limit itself to insulting mailmen. No, for quite a while Martha Stewart was a fair target in the C80 world herself. In fact, the Closeup that features Johännah Larsen as Martha returning to prison, in Season 3, was actually the second incarnation of that feature. The original, which was accidentally recorded over by an episode of Cooking Corner (before "The Pants"), starred Bethany Loberg as Martha (before Stewart was arrested in real life, thus the plot merely involved a zealous cult), and also featured Manfred Mueller. Martha has only appeared once to date, but her cronies often pop up elsewhere, notably in the "Philadelphia Jones" feature.
[Season 2 - Episode 11; Season 3 - Episode 23; Season 5 - Episode 35]
Thoopsy
- Cast member Alex Prescott made his official debut in Season 3, along with his brother Victor and friend Ben. However, his first unofficial C80 appearance was years before---in a split-second clip before Joseph Chapman unveiled the "Meaning of Life" segments. You can see him choking on a drink in the Episode 5 opener.
[Season 1 - Episode 5; Season 3 - Episode 19]
What's in a Name? Part 2
- Michelle Cunningham, Nathan Clark, Danny Clark, Stephen Glantz, Jeremy White, Kyle Kertay, Manfred Mueller, Anthony, and Will have all played characters whose names are, in one way or another, some form of the name "Jim." To date that makes at least eleven Jims in the character roster in some form. There's also a "Jim" referenced on the "Aliems" series who is never seen. That's not even counting the number of Bobs, Billys, Johns, or Joes.
[Season 1 to 10 - various]
A Man, A Bat, A Door
- Episode 21, "The Twenty First Day," had the foremost purpose of explaining the background of Random Reporter Guy, AKA The Wizard (played by Joey Cleary). The base plot for the episode was actually written by a sleep-deprived Joey himself, who came up with the backstory while house-sitting for his brother. Funnily enough, inspiration struck as he was watching Channel 80 News at 4 AM and got threatened by an irate neighbor with a bat who thought he was viewing pornography. Yes, you read that right. The Wizard's years of wandering the earth as amnesiac Random Reporter Guy were later expanded upon in a later episode, though in place of a strange man with a bat, put in hours of scouring Encarta Encyclopedia for historical notes and you have it.
[Season 3 - Episode 21; Season 5 - Episode 39]
You're a Librarian... I'm Presuming You're Pregnant
- Cast member Joey Cleary has admitted on more than one occasion that he often doesn't remember what he says on camera, which adds all the more to his ever off-the-cuff dialogue. He is literally surprised to see what comes out of his mouth after the camera has stopped rolling. Another peculiar little tidbit would be the fact that both Joey and his sister Julia have referred (on camera and off) to the ground as "the floor."
[Season 4 - Episode 29]
The Birth of a Detective
- The character Swiss Rolls (Joey Cleary) got his name from the snack food of the same name, which just happened to be sitting in front of Joey when the scene opened. Similarly, Swiss Rolls' original assistant, Zero (Anthony) got his name from the graffiti on the wall of the house (which can be seen beside him in the scene itself). The first Swiss Rolls feature, "Case of the Missing Plot," is not even named after Swiss Rolls, but rather after Death (Jeremy White), who co-starred with Rolls. It's of note that immediately after finishing the filming of "Missing Plot," the entire cast hated how it turned out (as it had no plot, which was the point)... and they certainly never thought a sequel would ever be made. However, in hindsight, "Missing Plot" was such a unique and strangely-worded feature, it was considered a hilarious gem---albeit an odd gem. Thus, the misguided feature became a series in Season 3 when the next two installments were made. Swiss Rolls' popularity exploded from there and he continued on to several more successful appearances---heck, he even impressed God. ;D
[Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 5 - Episode 33, 40; Season 6 - Episode 44; Season 7 - Episode 52]
It's Like You Were Never Gone
- Due to a planned travel-spree across Europe, several of Holly Janka's C80 characters were temporarily written out of the major plot to allow for her absence. This included killing off her chief Holocron character, Beatrice, and stripping her DB villain, Hezedipapa, of her powers, allowing Anarchy Lad (Jeremy White), the Confuzzler (Will), and Mo the Surfing Mystic (Kyle Kertay) to step up as the main villains for the latter series. Interestingly enough, before she left, Holly recorded an abundance of voicework for Beatrice's sisters in Holocron, the Pilot Sisters---so much material, in fact, that Joseph Chapman didn't have a chance to use it all before she returned to Oregon. Of course, with Holly's return came the return of Hezedipapa, as well as her other characters all over the C80 world.
[Season 3 - Episode 17; Season 4 - Episode 26; Star Wars: Holocron - Episode 4, 5]
Take Off Your Pants and Kill Them
- The classic Channel 80 News feature "The Pants," a parody of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds," was conceived after Joseph Chapman and Jeremy White viewed Hitchcock's film together and couldn't resist making a mockery of it. Pants were chosen as the villain (initially) due to the fact that when whipped about, certain pairs of pants made a sound reminiscent of birds flapping their wings----that, and pants killing people was a concept too funny to pass up. The finished film was submitted by cast member Anthony to his college's amateur film festival that year, and was actually nominated for a couple of awards. The shot of John Nielsen's character drowning in a pool after being hit in the face by rabid pants was, in fact, used in promotional advertisements for upcoming film festivals at the college afterwards.
[Season 2 - Episode 11]
Grandmother Knows Best
- The character that gets run over by the Postbusters in the first film's montage is not, in fact, Suck Vaccum (despite the fact that Joey Cleary wore nearly the same costume for it), but is, in fact, The Wizard's Grandmother. This isn't revealed until a few episodes later, during the "Wizard Special." It is also interesting to note that according to the official backstory Joey wrote for the Wizard... his "grandmother" was actually created after the Wizard himself was.
[Season 3 - Episode 18, 21]
He IS Odd
- Swiss Rolls (Joey Cleary) only appeared during odd-numbered seasons up until his final episode, in which he characteristically broke the expected pattern just to spite us all. ;)
[Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 5 - Episode 33, 40; Season 6 - Episode 44]
Viva la France
- Lisette Marceau, the French ambassador played by Johännah Larsen, spoke French during all her scenes, which were later subtitled with Johännah's help. All the other actors in the scene had no idea what she was saying, but responded (what they thought was) accordingly. Surprisingly, a lot of the conversation does make sense in the end, and regardless, it's humorous.
[Season 5 - Episode 33]
Learning All About Our President(s)
- Though they originated in different mediums and
for different purposes, technically Channel 80 News has had three presidents of
the United States, all of whom were elected in 2004: George W. Bush
(oft-referenced in news briefs), Robert E. Wee (Jordan White) of the
Mission: Implausible series, and MOL (Manfred Online, who 'won' the presidential
race in '04, beating out Bush, Linux, and Saddam Hussein). In 2007, a special
feature focusing on a pre-preliminary debate for the '08 election also featured
three candidates: incumbent Robert E. Wee and running mate Charlotte Keebler (Julia
Cleary), 'Blindocrat' candidate Frank Marconi (Jeremy White), and JOL
Beta, with running mate The Linear Sequence. In December of 2007, the final
installment of the "Mission: Implausible" series revealed that Robert Wee does
indeed go on to win the presidency again in 2008. As for a last amusing tidbit
about our "candidates," the character of Frank Marconi was originally created by
accident on the first episode of "The Rear View with Starla Simmons"---when Starla (Jeremy White) asked guest Mr. Kittyface (Joey Cleary) to tell her
who he'd voted for, he mumbled "Marconi" due to not being able to think of any
actual politicians at the time.
[Season 1 to 10 - various; Season 2 - Episode 16; Season 4 - Episode 27; Season 6
- Presidential Pre-Preliminaries, Episode 45]
Set Your Ballots to 'Blindocrats'
- Randomly, Channel 80 News sports not one,
but two different blind mayors in various features. The first one is Mayor
Seymour Gals (Anthony) of Dumbsville, who may not actually be blind but
certainly is as far as the interview is concerned. The other is of course the
Blind Mayor (Johännah Larsen) of the Village of Ted, seen in the latest
installments of the Swiss Rolls series. Later, a third "Blindocrat," Frank
Marconi (Jeremy White) was added to the ballot, though while he was also
blind he wasn't mayor of anything.
[Season 3 - Episode 20, 22; Season 5 - Episode 33; Season 6 - Presidential
Pre-Preliminaries]
Typos = Inspiration Part 2
- The name of the soft drink "Frist," seen in the
C80 feature "The Black & White Zone," was a reference to cast member Michelle
Cunningham's constant accidental mistyping of the word "first," and was
conceived sometime in Season 1.
[Season 2 - Episode 10]
Wardrobe (Mal)Function
- Anarchy Lad's (Jeremy White) over-shirt is
deliberately buttoned wrong in every scene he has ever appeared in (beginning
with his transformation in the season 2 finale, during which the first thing he
does is button his shirt... wrong.) Also, as the question has been frequently
asked, it should be known that Anarchy Lad carries a disconnected phone with him
purely because he can; preferring chaos, he also apparently prefers that his
costume not make complete sense.
[Season 2 - Episode 16; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 4 - Episode 26, 30;
Season 5 - Episode 34]
Wardrobe (Mal)Function Part 2
- Capable Lad's (Brian Wise) logo, a
magnifying glass focusing on a baby lemon, is meant to emphasize his ability to
be capable of things even in situations where things might seem hopeless, or to
find use in tools that may seem useless to others. However, it is amusing to
note that none of the other characters other than Capable Lad understand this,
thus, he can be found explaining its meaning on more than one occasion.
[Season 2 - Episode 15, 16; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 4 - Episode 26,
30]
Wardrobe (Mal)Function Part 3
- Captain Obvious (Anthony) wears a Santa
hat purely because the crew decided to make his return to the screen a festive
one (due to Deficiency Boy 3 being filmed so near to Christmas). After the
initial filming, however, he continued to wear the hat in all other appearances
after that. Funnily enough, the hat often shows up without him (such as when the
Wizard (Joey Cleary) tries to sell it at the Cave of Grrraaasssh Sale, or
when Anarchy Lad (Jeremy White) produces it after having defeated Obvious
off-screen). He also has always carried a green lightsaber, as long as he has
been Captain Obvious.
[Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 2 - Episode 9, 14, 16; Season 3 - Episode 18, 22]
Retroactively Prequel'd
- The popular C80 feature "The Pants," a parody of
Hitchcock's "The Birds," appeared in Season 2, Episode 11, "One Leg at a Time,"
and was filmed during the summer of 2004. However, since the episode was
completed, the feature of The Pants itself was dated, mostly as a joke, "Decembuary 81st, 2007." It was
agreed upon that due to this date, the events in The Pants had not occurred yet
(and would not, until at least December of
2007). As such, beginning in Season 5 with the first episode of "Philadelphia
Jones," features began making irony-laced references to The Pants, such as the
appearance of
John Nielsen as a member of the Jones family, as well as Bethany Loberg
reprising her role from The Pants as Donna Martini, as well as remarks made by
Jeremy White as Skinner, and Joey Cleary as Philly in "Philadelphia
Jones." In March of 2008, as well, the feature "Lor Crawford: Tomb Checker"
finally made reference officially to the events of "The Pants" having just
happened recently, prior to that feature.
[Season 2 - Episode 11; Season 5 - Episode 35; Season 6 - Episode 48]
We Need More References For Our Museum
- Though tie-ins are ever-present, the Season 5
feature "Philadelphia Jones" went above and beyond: Throughout, references are
made to the first five seasons of Channel 80 News---Skinner (Jeremy White),
the leader of the Martha Stewart Cult, is from Season 3, and mentions his
cellmate the Genie (Joey Cleary), from the Season 1 feature "I
Hallucinate of Jeannie." Many tongue-in-cheek references, as well as the
character Donna Martini (Bethany Loberg), are from the Season 2 feature
"The Pants," which when "Philly" occurs, hasn't happened yet. Lastly, Madam Palm
Olive (Julia Cleary) mentions The Curator (Kyle Kertay), who
appeared numerous times on the Season 4+ show "The Rear View."
[Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 2 - Episode 11; Season 3 - Episode 24; Season 4 -
Episode 27; Season 5 - Episode 34, 35]
Family Ties
- Jennifer Jones (John Nielsen), the woman
who is killed while folding laundry in "The Pants," is considered to be the aunt
of Philadelphia "Philly" Jones (Joey Cleary). Also, given his somewhat
accident-prone nature, Airman Tupok Jones (also John Nielsen), from the
space-age parody "Aliems," is related as a descendant to some
branch of the ill-fated Jones family.
[Season 2 - Episode 11; Season 5 - Episode 35; Season 7 - Episode 51; Season 8 -
Episode 57, 58]
Dijon Vu: The Same Mustard As Before
- Episode 36 is composed of many different short
features, filmed at different times over a couple of months. Amusingly enough,
however, two completely different characters, in different sketches, in two
different languages, filmed at
different times, but both played by Kyle Kertay, utter the line "It's
like water, but not really"---used in completely different context, to boot---in
the same episode.
[Season 5 - Episode 36]
Touring Memory Lane
- The 11th episode of Deficiency Boy, "Split
Difference," is a whirlwind of C80 references from the get-go. For one, many
aspects of the episode resemble the first Deficiency Boy episode, "Chewagumabar," such as Private Mountain Maybe (Jordan White), the
'brother' of the character he played in DB#1. Hezedipapa (Holly Janka) is
also the villainess again, and the subplot deals once again with Duplicity Man (John
Nielsen) and requires the assistance of Lawful Good (Jeremy White).
In addition, it features the juicy return to the screen of villains Gordo (Rodger
Fickel) and Grodo (Nathan Gneckow) and original hero Super Slow
Reaction Man (Michelle Cunningham). The crown jewel? During the training
montage in the episode, our heroes DB, SSRM and Lawful Good return to iconic
locations featured in SSRM episode 1 ("The Phantom Milkness"), 2 ("Milkish
Freakyness"), 3.5 ("A New Dope"), 3.75 ("The Milkire Strikes Back"), 4 ("Lustful
City"), and 5 ("Return of the Hero"), as well as from Deficiency Boy #3 ("Mystic
Mix").
[Season 1 - Episode 1, 3, 6, 8; Season 2 - Episode 9, 12, 14; Season 5 - Episode
37]
You'll Cry Yourself to Death
- The "emo" character called SadSadBoy76 (Joey
Cleary) featured in PDA3's EMObile commercial, who is known only by his
MySpace handle, actually has a MySpace (maintained by cast member Jeremy
White).
Check it out! It contains several references to C80 features. The
compilation album introduced by Cobblepot (Joey Cleary) in the beginning
of Episode 36 is also named for the same character. The character's
Myspace blog
also occasionally references events occurring at the same time in C80 canon.
[Season 5 - PDA 3, Episode 36]
New Technology! Part 2
- The first use of blue screen technology in C80 is
in Episode 36, "The Episode Made Entirely of Small Things," and the first use of blue screen with live actors (Holly Janka, Johännah Larsen, and
Chris Steere) was Episode 39, "Hearing Problems." The first use of
a green screen was in Episode 65, "Inventive Journalism."
[Season 5 - Episode 36, 39; Season 9 - Episode 65]
They Got Clipped
- The C80 clip-shows (Season 2's "Memory
Avenue XP" and Season 4's "Return to Memory Avenue") have traditionally featured
segments showing off C80's Heroes, Villains, etc., with intros from various
fitting characters. Ironically, both villains who introduced those segments
(Hezedipapa [Holly Janka] for Avenue XP and Anarchy Lad [Jeremy White]
for Return to Memory Avenue) were deposed from power one season later.
[Season 2 - "Memory Avenue XP," Episode 12, 16; Season 3 - Episode 17; Season 4
- "Return to Memory Avenue"; Season 5 - Episode 34]
Round, Round Tires
- Season 1, 3, and 6 are the only C80
seasons not to include a car commercial or fictional car model appearance, to
date (Season 2 had the 2004 Amuck, Season 4 featured both the Buick and 2006
Universal, Season 5 showed us the wonders of the 1984 EMObile as well as the
more generic "Mister Eye's Car Spree," Season 7 gave us a passing glimpse of the
2008 Maroon, Season 8 revealed to us the green living of the 2009 Enviro, and
Season 9 compared John Nielsen's somewhat decrepit van to a larger, more
impressive vehicle nearby).
[Season 2 - Episode 10; Season 4 - Episode 27, 31; Season 5 - PDA3, Episode 36;
Season 7 - PDA4; Season 8 - Episode 59; Season 9 - Episode 68]
New Technology! Part 3
- The first instance of a C80 shot receiving
advanced special effects (from Adobe After Effects) was in Episode 43, "All
Odds," during the fight in Deficiency Boy featuring actors Joey Cleary,
Kyle Kertay, and Julia Cleary. The man responsible for those
wonderful effects was none other than cast member Michelle Cunningham.
While we had a couple of people juggling effects duties for a time, these days
most special effects are crafted by Joseph Chapman.
[Season 6 - Episode 43]
Wardrobe (Mal)Function Part 4
- The shirt worn by The Wizard (Joey Cleary)
was originally a brilliant gold... and according to the plot, God (Kyle Kertay)
changed the color of the shirt to silver so He could look at the Wizard "without
cringing." In reality, the shirt, when washed with "earth safe" soap, lost all
its gold, but stayed somehow shiny and silver instead. Oh well, it seems to have
worked out in the Wizard's favor anyway, seeing how God told him later that
"because his jacket was silver" he could have almost all of his powers back.
[Season 3 - Episode 21; Season 4 - Episode 26; Season 5 - Episode 39]
Puppet Mastery
- While the second installment of the Salem Gypsy
series used a different stuffed animal to represent the Gypsy, the third and
final installment of the series features the original puppet used in the first
installment, and to boot, is controlled by the hands of both the same character
and actor as before (Michele Cunningham).
[Season 1 - Episode 5; Season 2 - Episode 12; Season 6 - Episode 42]
Can't Believe Everything You See on TV
- The "Season 5 Preview Special" featured both gag
promos for shows we never intended to produce, such as SINRS Bachelorish:
Sleeping Booty, and shows we DID intend to produce, such as "Aliems."
Ironically, despite a promo for Aliems playing in the preview of Season 5, not
only did Aliems not make it into Season 5, but it didn't appear until Season
7---and then in an extended preview trailer that for most intents and purposes
was considered something of a precursor episode. "Aliems" finally got its
glorious, actual-episode debut during the Season 8 Premiere. Better late than
never, we say.
[Season 5 - Preview Special; Season 7 - Episode
51; Season 8 - Episode 57]
Photoshop
- In "Mission: Implausible 3: Hunger for Power," the protagonist Agent Laticia (Holly Janka) once again encounters her stalker of an ex-boyfriend, Ned Farious (Anthony). Ned spends a good deal of the film snapping semi-lecherous photos of Laticia. What you might not know is that for a portion of the time, Anthony was actually taking photos, as he had a working camera in hand. Points for realism, Anthony... points for realism.
[Season 4 - Episode 28]
Never the Twain Shall Meet
- In "Mission: Implausible 5: The Way the Cookie Crumbles," a briefing scene takes place during which time the President (Jordan White) idly asks the other agents "Who's Randy?" This was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that President Wee and Randy (Will) have never been in a scene together due to their characters wearing the same coat. Likewise, in Swiss Rolls 4, MacGunda (Julia Cleary) is conspicuously absent from a scene containing the president due to the very same coat-sharing.
[Season 5 - Episode 33; Season 6 - Episode 45]
Benchmark Performance
- There is at least one scene featuring one or more characters hiding behind a bench to spy on various other characters in every installment of the "Mission: Implausible" series. Four out of five times, it is the same bench. Agent Laticia (Holly Janka) is also the only character to appear in every installment of the series.
[Season 2 - Episode 12, 16; Season 4 - Episode 28; Season 5 - Episode 38; Season 6 - Episode 45]
Don't Worry, He's on the Level
- In the second episode of "Securitiez," which featured an undercover drug bust, the character played by Kyle Kertay refers to his drug supplier as "Doctor Chaz." Unbeknownst to most of the cast at the time, he was in fact referencing his own father, Charlie, an actual doctor (though obviously not an actual drug dealer ;D).
[Season 6 - Episode 46]
When in Rome, er, Spain
- In "The Puce Panther 2: Defective
Detectives," Inspector Jeu le Deu (Jeremy White) and his sidekick
MacGunda (Julia Cleary) make reference to a Spanish villa owned by
MacGunda, with the inspector even going so far as to say that she shouldn't own
a villa in Spain, because she's French. This is a direct reference to a dream
that Joseph Chapman once had, in which he saw MacGunda's inexplicably
Spanish villa and found himself thinking the very same thing.
[Season 7 - Episode 52]
Fifty Six Ways to Create a Memorable Character
- The character Fifty-Six (Julia Cleary)
has a winding and wacky history prior to ever appearing onscreen in C80. As a
high school senior in 2007, Julia found herself applying to universities she
wished to attend after graduation, and with her impeccable GPA at her
side, got several offers back from said schools as to how much they'd be willing
to give her in scholarships. Suffice to say that the moniker 'fifty-six' (or, as
we like to pronounce it, 'fitty-six') was thrust upon Julia by her sister and
future cast member Megan in relation to one of those offers, and thanks
to the persistence of the rest of the cast in annoying her with it, she was
never able to escape it. First mentioned in passing in a video Joey Cleary
submitted to C80 and then referenced in a commercial for a rap album in one
of Jeremy White's productions, eventually Joseph Chapman persuaded
Julia, by bribing her with the wonders of bluescreen, to finally appear as the
notorious Fifty-Six in person. The rest is history, though for one last ironic
ending, Julia did end up choosing to go to the same university whose offer was
responsible for the character's birth.
[Season 6 - Episode 47; Season 7 - Episode 51]
What's in a Name? Part 3
Perhaps We Should Have Solved the Case Sooner
Alter-Egos with Altered States of Mind
We Need More References For Our Museum Part 2
- The Season 6 finale, "Lor Crawford: Tomb Checker" was deliberately made to tie together a great deal of past C80 features to go along with the rest of the season's sort-of-'theme' of retro references. Past features referenced include "The Rear View" (Seasons 4-8), "Misplaced" (Season 4), "Philadelphia Jones" (Season 5), "The Pants" (Season 2), "The Adventures of Deficiency Boy" (Season 5 and 6 in particular), "Postbusters" (Season 3), "The Salem Gypsy" (Season 6 in particular), Bonanza Family Adventures (Seasons 4 and 6 in particular), "The Weirdest Link" (Season 5 in particular), and "Visually Impaired Date" (Season 6 in particular). Convoluted? Yes. A crowd-pleaser anyway? We think so. What can we say... we like our C80 universe.
[Season 6 - Episode 48]
We Fight For Freedom
Stirring Social Commentary
Belting Out Another Hit
Today's Horoscope Reveals Greatly Increased
Productivity
- One never knows going into a C80 feature
filming how long exactly it will take to complete. Depending on actor
availability, weather, and other real life factors, filmings for some
features could be stretched across months before getting that final bit of
needed footage. Some days, however, the heavens smile down on our productivity.
April 17th and 18th are apparently a couple of those days---get this: Principal
filming for the main feature of Episode 38, "Bomb Voyage", Mission:
Implausible 4, was filmed on April 17th, 2007, and the VERY next day,
principal filming for the main feature of Episode 39, "Hearing Problems,"
Deficiency Boy #12, was recorded almost in its entirety---effectively
netting us two episodes on back-to-back days, which is nearly unheard of in C80.
If that wasn't enough, on April 18th, 2009, the primary filmings for both
Episode 57, "Strange New World," and Episode 59, "Travel Companions," were also
completed on the same day. April 17th-18th, folks... it has strange
magic. As a kooky bonus, Episode 33, "Nearly Lost Episode 2," was filmed
(coincidentally) exactly one year to the day before Episode 43, "All Odds."
[Season 5 - Episode 33, 38, 39; Season 6 -
Episode 43; Season 8 - Episode 57, 59]
Wardrobe (Mal)Function Part 5
- After several trials and tribulations
with other options, eventually it was none other than cast member Johännah
Larsen who sewed and created the striped uniform shirts worn by the
characters of "Aliems," with a red stripe indicating either cadet
(beta-badge, badgeless, or black badge) or command (matching red badge)
status, green stripe indicating a vocation in science or medicine, and the
yellow stripes indicating several other fields including engineering and general
ship members. Joseph Chapman created the matching com-badges worn on the
uniforms out of clay, and in fact, created a "beta" set of badges before
settling on the ones seen in the official premiere episode in Season 8.
Following a two-episode plot arc that altered the timeline of the canon of the
series, blue striped uniforms (made by a business in West Salem) supplanted
green as science/medical (to accomodate the use of green screen), and green
uniforms became the color of choice for Conglomeration admirals (as they would
be seen less, relegating their appearances to blue screen.) If that wasn't
enough of a rainbow for you, civilian bartender Loopi (Julia Cleary) is
seen with a pink badge.
[Season 5 to Season 8 - various; Season 7
- Episode 51; Season 8 - Episode 57; Season 10 - Episode 73, 74, 76]
You've Captured Their Stunt Doubles! Part 2
- Since the first season of C80, stunts of
varying degrees of skill and seriousness have run rampant from feature to
feature. They are not without their themes, however. If you pay close attention,
you might notice that cast member Joey Cleary ends up entering bodies of
water (of varying shapes and temperatures) so many times (a minimum of eight)
over his tenure in the film group that members of his own family eventually
began to assume, when told the group was filming with Joey, that he would
inevitably end up soaked no matter how much we tried to tell them this wasn't
necessarily so! Perhaps it's not surprising that one of his major characters,
The Wizard, is responsible for a worldwide flood of biblical proportions.
[Season 2 - Episode 10, 12; Season 3 -
Episode 18; Season 4 - Episode 26, 29; Season 5 - Preview Special, Episode 35,
39]
Too Dumb 2 Die? Yes!
- While the character known as Fifty-Six (Julia
Cleary) had gained rapper-like infamy before ever appearing physically in
Channel 80 News, the wicked ways behind her occasionally forced continuing
appearances would reach new heights in the Season 7 finale (which was, of
course, Episode 56, appropriately titled "Fitty-Six!"). The feature in mind was
a parody of "CSI," and thus, to entice Julia into appearing as her most-hated
character again onscreen, she was promised that Fitty would be killed off as
part of the feature's plot and her murder subsequently investigated. However, as
a prank, Julia was the only person involved in the filming who was unaware that
through insidious editing, her character would actually remain very much alive
at the end of the movie. To everyone's credit, they kept it under their hats
during filming and all went to plan... Fitty appeared dead, but at the
end was alive and well. The beans were spilled to Julia a few days later, after
it was too late for her to do anything about it. All in good fun, Fitty-Six.
[Season 7 - Episode 56]
On the Road Again
- Channel 80 News is centered in Salem,
Oregon, but we definitely try to get out when we can. The various cast members
of C80 have made road trips of varying length in order to utilize semi-exotic
and awesome locations or sometimes just to reach occasionally far-flung cast
members. Most often these trips take us to areas located on the Oregon coast,
but the two expeditions furthest from Salem would have to be the trip to Tacoma,
Washington to film with Kyle Kertay and Johännah Larsen, with the
trip(s) to Glendale, Oregon to film with Alexander and Victor Prescott
coming in second.
[Season 3 - Episode 19; Season 6 - Episode
41; Season 8 - Episode 57, 59]
Sing For Your Supper
- The songs performed by the "Toxic
Mayonnaise" and "Fajita Demon" bands in the "Battle of the Bands 2007" feature
were all made up entirely on the spot, as the camera was rolling. While the
grand majority of all C80 dialogue is generated this way, it is somewhat more
remarkable to try doing it while playing an instrument and singing! Kudos to
cast members Alex Prescott, Victor Prescott, Joey Cleary, and Michelle
Cunningham.
[Season 6 - Episode 41]
In the Future, Time Travel is Easy... Maybe
- Given that the difficulty in jumpstarting
the "Aliems" series resulted in its first appearances occurring rather near the
point when cast member Kyle Kertay would graduate from Willamette and
cease living in Salem, the question arose of what would be done with him, as
he'd already been cast as the ship's captain, Charles Chewkotay. The same
question applied to the character of Dr. Linda Coy (Johännah Larsen), as
the actress portraying her would face exactly the same dilemma. The decision was
made to write them out in a way that, if possible, they could return at a later
date to reprise the roles, however, the first episode hadn't even been shot at
that point. As the filming for the true debut of Aliems approached a year later,
it was assumed that Kyle and Johännah's roles would be recorded sometime in the
future and then shown as flashbacks in the second or third episode... thus, the
episode featuring Tylor Stepp as the replacement captain, Clark Lurk, was
shot first. However, the footage was lodged in post-production for so long due
to the advanced effects required that the feature with the original crew was
shot before either were finished... and thus, Kyle's episode ended up being the
first shown after all, with Tylor's episode airing second, to avoid the somewhat
chronologically muddled earlier plans for introducing the characters. This is
the reason why the dates on Episodes 57 and 58 seem out of order---it was no
mistake: 58 was, in reality, the first one filmed.
[Season 5 -
Preview Special; Season 7 - Episode 51; Season 8 - Episode 57, 58]
Gettin' a Facelift for all the Ladies
- In Season 9, the long-silent "Germs Band"
franchise received a flashy update... and, incredibly enough, actual closure to
its promise of a plot "to be continued" that hung unanswered for roughly eight
years (and sixty episodes), in the opening scene. For a parody of a James Bond
film, "Band" also had the boon of several unexpected ladies showing up to film
that day: Wendelin Mueller, Emily Loberg, and the debut performance of
Siri Collins.
[Season 1 - Episode 7;
Season 9 - Episode 67]
Hear a Bomb, Take a Suicide Pill
Wide Load
Rebooting Your Face
You Can't Retire After All
Fool Me Once, Be in a Movie, Fool Me Twice... Be in a
Movie
The Circle of Battery Life
We Just Can't Keep Away From That Container Store
A Hallowed Ho Ho Ho
The Reforging of the Thing
Wardrobe (Mal)Function Part 6: We Just Keep Getting More
Professional (I Think)
One Cannot Merely Walk Into Dordor
B Minus For Attendance, A+ For Language Arts
They're Kind of Everywhere
A Teleportation Spell Gone Right
Concussion Grenades, Now With Amnesia
The Creepy Tree Face: A History
Accurate Geography
Take Off Your Pants and Kill Them Part 2
Wardrobe (Mal)Function Part 7
No Passing Lane Ahead
The Weaker Link
What's In a Name? Part 4 - "C" You Around
What's In a Name? Part 5 - Some 'Splaining To Do
New Technology! Part 4
We're Campy Like That
Filling in the Space... Travelers
Macabre Realism
That Familiar Tune
Intro to Intros
Here's to Streaking
It Was a Special Case