World of Weird Al Yankovic

Mystik Tomato @ November 16, 2008 07:36 am wrote: Well, from what I heard, he had a bigger part in the original script (or even maybe the original cut) but they decided to change it around and make it much, much less.

As for him being on the cover, implying that he'll be in the movie, that's nothing. If you ever see commercials for Anchorman on Australian TV you'll see an even worse crime of that; remember Ben Stiller's cameo in Anchorman? Of course you don't. He's in the movie for lexs than a minute, but the way the ads go for it, they act like he's a major character!

WHo can forget that cameo? He's a Spanish Newsman. Awesome casting.

In all honesty, I watched Safety Patrol only because Leslie Nielsen and Al were advertised for it. I was then disappointed because Leslie only had like, 2-3 scenes in it.

Looks like this will be on Disney XD on Monday afternoon!

http://www.allthingsyank.com/

Yeah, I posted about that last week in "VCR Alerts" but apparently nobody noticed. Here, I'll copy/paste:

Of all the things to suddenly come back from the grave and reawaken my fear of everything, good god bloody SAFETY PATROL will be airing this month on Disney XD!

What's Safety Patrol, you ask? Safety Patrol was a made-for-TV Disney movie which first aired on ABC in 1998. It was directed by Al's friend Savage Steve Holland, and starred such luminaries as Bug Hall, Lanie Kazan, Curtis "Booger" Armstrong, Ed MacMahon, Leslie Nielsen, and yes, our pal Al. And not only did Al appear in it, HE WROTE AND RECORDED A NEW SONG FOR IT! He never released it on CD, but that's probably because the song's lyrics were so tightly wound around the movie's pitiful excuse for a plot.

Because, here's the thing: despite Al's involvement, Safety Patrol completely SUCKS! It's quite possibly the worst thing Al has ever appeared in, and that includes "The Winans' Real Meaning of Christmas." It's this horrible, generic, squeaky-clean too-many-kids-not-enough-had-acting-lessons alleged "comedy" with bad writing, worse acting, incompetent direction and a general sense of "why'd we even bother" sadness dripping from every pore. I knew this even when I first saw it over a decade ago, and back then I was a dumb eighth-grader! It's not even good enough for MST3K or Rifftrax, because they don't do comedies (every line winds up being some variation of "that wasn't funny"). "Safety Patrol" was never released on DVD, though it WAS briefly released on VHS...in 1999! In a year when EVERYTHING was starting to come out on DVD, "Safety Patrol" was only good enough for VHS! Honestly, if Disney knew what was good for them they'd have kept it buried forever in the dank, unpleasant corner of the Disney vault, alongside "Magic Journeys" and "The Black Hole." But for SOME peculiar reason, some exec at the new cable channel Disney XD has decided to dig it up, just so America can bury it all over again.

Don't believe me? The only YouTube'd clip from this movie is from one of its many tragically Al-less scenes, and it should give you a good idea of the kind of despair we're working with here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTTZcj1IdG0

So why am I telling you about this piece of crap in the first place? Because, Al is in it. OLD school Al, before he lost the glasses and moustache (in fact, this was his last televised appearance with the old look). And co-starring with Al is the giant Weird Al balloon that some of you may remember from the 1997 leg of the Bad Hair Tour - a balloon which plays a pivotal part in the film's not-terribly-exciting action climax. And, of course, this might just be your last chance to hear Al's original song "The Ballad of Kent Marlowe" (well, semi-original. The melody owes quite a bit to "I Was Only Kidding") without resorting to a bootleg - unless of course you buy a used copy on VHS from Amazon for upwards of $3.09. And who the hell has that kind of money in this economy?

Plus, who doesn't love train wrecks? If you love Weird Al and filmed train wrecks, you'll NEVER find a better combination than "Safety Patrol," a horrible train wreck of a movie featuring an extended cameo from Weird Al. (If I had found the tape in enough time, this would have made a PERFECT AL-Tube Friday entry). It airs next Monday, May 18, twice in a row, at 5PM ET/4 CT, and again at 7PM ET/6 CT, on Disney XD. It lasts two hours with commercials. If you don't think you can stomach the whole thing, Al first appears around the 80-90 minute mark (though he's mentioned - foreshadowed, if you will - a couple times beforehand), and reappears at various points. Just when you THINK you've seen the last of him in this movie he shows up again, so don't turn off your TV until at LEAST five minutes or so before the hour.

And don't say I didn't warn you, mm-bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-HAAAAA!

Thanks fred.I think may just pass on this or come to it towards the end of the movie then.

I remember seeing this when it was first on TV, and I taped it. Then, when I was about to transfer it to a DVD, the tape broke!

Anyway, it's good to get a chance to tape it again. Thanks for the info, Fred!

PixelDust @ May 18, 2009 10:14 pm wrote: I remember seeing this when it was first on TV, and I taped it. Then, when I was about to transfer it to a DVD, the tape broke!

Anyway, it's good to get a chance to tape it again. Thanks for the info, Fred!

EDIT: I take back what I said about uploading it in here, the Tape is copy protected, so when I try to make copies I get a big message on the screen "THIS PROGRAM CANNOT BE RECORDED"
or, u can buy a VHS of it off amazon, since u remended me, im gonna make a DVD copy of mine too, I think I paid around $35 for my whole VHS to DVD set-up, I found 2 JVC SVHS VCRs for around $7 each, and a DVD recorder for $15. I got a really good transfer of the Comic Releif 1986 performance, I think im gonna upload this one, if it isn't already on youtube, this time im just gonna upload the musical performances.

Where can you get a VHS-DVD machine thing Ben?!

My thoughts on the movie:

Wow I saw the part with Al and I am glad I didn’t sit through the whole movie! That thing was bad! I’m also glad I didn’t buy the VHS as well; I would have taken a hammer and smashed it. I did like Al’s part even though it was only for a couple of minutes. And I laughed at the part where the guy said he found Al's balloon and then Al says it was a bigger balloon.

I love the part where the kids just WALK UP TO AL, backstage at one of his own concerts, and get him to watch their tape.

I think we all know how well that works in real life...

Al's Homeboy @ May 19, 2009 05:39 am wrote: Where can you get a VHS-DVD machine thing Ben?!

My thoughts on the movie:

Wow I saw the part with Al and I am glad I didn’t sit through the whole movie! That thing was bad! I’m also glad I didn’t buy the VHS as well; I would have taken a hammer and smashed it. I did like Al’s part even though it was only for a couple of minutes. And I laughed at the part where the guy said he found Al's balloon and then Al says it was a bigger balloon.

f u want to spend money u can get a DVD or even a VHS to DVD record at walmart for like $100, or u could find one on ebay for cheaper, but since im a serious VHS watcher, I use "Super VHS" VCRs, that record and playback VHS tapes better then regular VCRs, but can cost u about 70% more then a brand new VCR.