Fun Facts and Trivia Part 7: Ep. 19-22

Episodes 19/20:

Let’s deal with the Land of Really Big Stuff first. When I was younger, Irwin Allen fantasy adventure shows ruled the airwaves. “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”, “Lost in Space”, “Time Tunnel” and “Land of the Giants” all followed pretty much the same outline (people trapped in unusual times and places), had the same kind of characters and tried very, very hard to be Serious Television and usually failed miserably, being too formulaic and simplistic. The only two I really watched were “Land of the Giants” and “Lost in Space” (“Voyage” was too macho and we didn’t get “Time Tunnel” on our one channel). I liked “Lost in Space” until it became too silly even for me (and the unfortunate addition of a weird little alien chimp called “Debbie the Bloop” caused no end of teasing as my name is....yeah, you guessed it). “Land of the Giants” (1968-70) held my interest, though. Not for the predictable but unrelentingly dark and politically simplistic storylines (which held little interest for me), but for the props and sets. I was always fascinated by the giant safety pins and spools of thread and how the tiny characters used them! My “Land of Really Big Stuff” (LoRBS from here on in) is a place for all large things to live peacefully, but Yorick is fascinated by them. I might even consider a trip back there if there is ever a Season 2...we have unfinished business in LoRBS.

Anyway, he asks Ug-Dugug if they have a Paraceratherium or a Cotylorhynchus there. The former was a kind of hornless rhinoceros (now extinct), which is considered to have been one of the largest land mammals that ever existed. The Cotylorhynchus was an extremely large prehistoric creature.

A sock? I used to do half marathons and always got a chuckle out of sock companies trying to outdo each other with these supposed scientific breakthroughs in sock technology. Just had to throw that in there.

Be sure to play “Where’s the Large Stuff” as there are all kinds of out-sized things in the background in every scene – forks, light bulbs, chairs, etc., in addition to the flowers, plants and vegetables.

Episode 21:

Now for “Safety Drill”...which really needs no explanation if you’ve ever travelled by air. I have heard these safety outlines so many times and yet I still give them my attention and listen carefully...who knows – I might forget how to buckle my safety belt. The rest of the plane is usually paying no heed whatsoever, talking loudly and just generally carrying on while the poor stewards are trying their best. It’s like amateur night at a comedy club. Maybe I just listen because I feel sorry for the stewards. Some airlines have videos now to take the place of the live demonstration (I’m sure the stewards are relieved!), and some are animated and some are just plain creepy. Yorick’s is the height of animation by a skull, and very cutting-edge. 
[I also have to give a nod to James Hong's hilarious semi-pantomimed safety instructions to Alan Arkin in "The In-Laws" (1979); Hong later said he improvised most of it!]

Episode 22:

I always liked the idea of Hamlet and Yorick meeting up again, and a talk show seemed ideal. Thanks to Mike Ethier as the voice of Hamlet. The short film version of this episode (fairly different, but same idea) actually screened at the Shakespeare Centre in Stratford-upon-Avon in the UK, so Mike can truthfully say that he played Hamlet in Stratford!

The name of the musical guests (A Lover and His Lass) is based on a possibly bawdy song from “As You Like It” (it’s full of double entendres). There’s a great setting of it by Shakespeare’s contemporary Thomas Morley. The improv team (Bottom and Up) features the donkey-headed weaver, Bottom, from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

The macaroni western is there just because I always wanted to see Yorick as a tough, stubble-chinned drifter. And spaghetti westerns are sometimes called macaroni westerns in Japan!

The Yorick films playing at the cinema were two of the original four shorts on which this series is based, and did actually play in front of audiences!

And, of course, I just had to get a “something rotten in Denmark” joke in there, too.

Yorick’s parting speech is from “Julius Caesar” and seems appropriate here. Who knows if there will be a second season? We may or may not meet again, but our parting is well-made nonetheless.

And that ends our first season. It’s been an incredible amount of work but also incredibly fun sharing my strange little alternate universe with you!

Stay tuned here and on the FB page now and then for updates on possible new developments; you never know where Yorick might pop up! If you have a scenario you would absolutely love to see the Anachronauts in or just want to say hi, drop us a line with the contact form in the menu to the left.

And now our revels are ended – goodnight and adieu.