| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 723.1 | | ISWSW::VILAINMI | The Cooking Lady is Back! | Fri Dec 09 1988 15:28 | 19 |
| Yes, it was shown some years ago at a revival house in LA with Hans
Conried (of Fractured Flickers and The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T fame) and
the director discussing the film afterward.
It was based on on a Louie Plaggett (sp) short story that originally
had the Twonky as a record player. The director had other ideas about
using this new-fangled thing called a TV and making it into an allegory
about this "box" taking over our lives, which was what the twonky
did in the story. Strange how its almost coming true these days.
Sadly, Conried died a few months later, but I still remember that
film. True, it was so bad in places it was good. But what it said
about the potential of TV to affect our lives still holds true.
I think it was Harlan Ellison that said that television had the
greatest ability to educate and they hand it to the purveyors of
hemiroid ointments.
/MeV/
|
| 723.2 | | FACVAX::BOYAJIAN | Millrat in training | Fri Dec 09 1988 18:33 | 5 |
| re:.1
The author was "Lewis Padgett", who was in reality Henry Kuttner.
--- jerry
|
| 723.3 | | LEZAH::BOBBITT | recursive finger-pointing ensued | Mon Dec 12 1988 11:00 | 6 |
| I loved the short story - I got it in a collection of early SF.
I thought it was incredibly clever, but I didn't see the movie
(guess I'm glad, at that...)
-Jody
|
| 723.4 | Of Time and Twonkies | BOMBE::BORSOM | | Mon Dec 12 1988 12:58 | 7 |
| I never saw (nor heard of) the movie, though I would like to. It
was based on a short story by (I believe) Henry Kuttner. I think
it was a radio that was inhabited in the original story. If the
story were written today, I suppose a PC would be inhabited.
I have a copy of the story. Drop me a line if you're interested.
|
| 723.5 | | EST::EDECK | Never Moon A Werewolf! | Mon Dec 12 1988 14:12 | 8 |
|
Ayup, remember it well, especially the TV perambulating unsteadily
on a pair of rubbery legs...and the beam that came out of the screen...
Got a copy of the original story kicking around somewhere.
Ed E.
|
| 723.6 | I miss Hans Conreid | FLASH1::KALLIS | Anger's no replacement for reason. | Mon Dec 12 1988 16:50 | 23 |
| Re .above:
<Sigh> The Twonky (note spelling) was disguised as a console radio
set. For the newcomers, in the olden days before television, some
radio sets were virtual works of art, looking vaguely like bureaus,
sometimes (as in this case) equipped with phonograph players.
The Twonky came into being because a worker in a factory from the
future came back in time with an impaired memory; he landed in a
radio manufacturing plant. As he completed his Twonky, his memory
returned. He said, "Great Snell! I ran into a temporal snag!"
Then he felt around, pulled himself up so he was sitting in midair,
and vanished.
Hand Conried was a guest on the David Brudnoy talk show some years
ago, and I called in and told him I enjoyed him in several pictures.
When I included _The Twonky_, he said, "Oh. I get it. This is
a put-on, right?" When I explained that I was serious, and where
the story for the film came from, he said, "Well, you'd know more
about that than I," and changed the subject. Evidently, he didn't
care to be associated with it.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
| 723.7 | not surprising | EAGLE1::BEST | R D Best, sys arch, I/O | Mon Dec 19 1988 23:58 | 11 |
| > Hand Conried was a guest on the David Brudnoy talk show some years
> ago, and I called in and told him I enjoyed him in several pictures.
> When I included _The Twonky_, he said, "Oh. I get it. This is
> a put-on, right?" When I explained that I was serious, and where
> the story for the film came from, he said, "Well, you'd know more
> about that than I," and changed the subject. Evidently, he didn't
> care to be associated with it.
Hollywood has rarely seemed interested in science fiction for it's thought
provoking aspects. Also, science fiction (frequently emphasising idea over
personality) is probably not an attractive medium for most actors.
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