Hey Dude Reference: External

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Real Life References

Alexander the Great: A very successful global conqueror and leader of ancient Greece. At his peak, he ruled most of the known world. Ted mentions him when citing the greatest winners in history, who have all been men (according to Ted). Later, Alexander died at the age of thirty, presumably from what is euphemistically referred to as a "social disease". [BotS]
Amarillo: A city located in the Texas panhandle. Mrs. Fleeman, she of the abandoned Baby Fleeman, also lost a dalmation puppy in Amarillo. Amarillo is a major stop along the fabled Route 66. [Baby]
Jim Bakker: A Christian televangelist, and head of the multi-million dollar Heritage USA ministry. When Melody gives the kids a personality quiz, the last question is whom would you want to be stuck with in an elevator? Jim Bakker is a choice, along with Pee Wee Herman and Hulk Hogan. Later, Bakker was exposed for just about every deadly sin outside murder. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison (Inmate 07407-058), and got divorced from his wife Tammy Faye. Worst yet, he made a celebrity of Jessica Hahn. [CE]
Batman: A famous comic book crimefighting superhero. He has no special powers, but he has a lot of money to develop gadgets and custom vehicles. When Ted rips on Brad for suggesting "Leslie" as a name for Baby Fleeman, Brad replies "Oh, and what do you want to call him? Batman?" [Baby]
Beauty magazine: Melody reads this magazine to learn useful things such as "how to keep passion alive in a marriage". [RfR]
Billabong: Ted wears a T-shirt that has this brand on it. Billabong, I believe, is a surfboard manufacturer. Very little surfing occurs in Arizona. The name is Australian in origin. [D1BN]
Bob & Doug McKenzie: Mr. Ernst breaks into an impression of the vintage Canadian SCTV characters while donning potential additions to the line of Bar None fashion accessories (in this case, a toque). Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas played Bob and Doug McKenzie, respectively. They starred in the 1983 film, Strange Brew. The two actors have recently reprised these roles in a national beer commercial. [RfR]
Bon Jovi: A rock band from the '80's, fronted by Jon Bon Jovi. When Danny is injured from his ladder fall, Melody and Brad lend him their cassettes to play in Mel's walkman. That being the case, he only has two choices: Bon Jovi or Bon Jovi. [PitN]
Borneo: A largely unexplored, large island in the South Pacific. Preparing for Brainbusters, Buddy asks Jake to name the great ape of Borneo, to which Jake correctly answers "orangutan." An expedition recently traversed the harsh, dense heart of the island, and the explorers ran into natives wearing Adidas shorts. It's a small world after all. [Supe]
Boston College: Melody wears a Boston College sweatshirt over her blue one-piece bathing suit, and whips it off in record time as she saves a drowning little girl. Mel has one brother in law school, and another in pre-med, so that may be the connection. Doug Flutie played at Boston College. [OLC]
Bozo the Clown: Next to Ronald McDonald and John Wayne Gacy, the world's most famous clown. Like Gacy, Bozo got his start in the Chicagoland area, broadcasting a children's variety show on WGN in 1960, then going national via satellite in 1978. Ted compares himself unfavorably to Bozo after his date with Brad. [Date]
Bill Buckner: A good hitting first baseman who played for the LA Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Boston Red Sox. Explaining away his own lousy fielding, Mr. Ernst mentions Buckner's similar play, when he let a groundball go through his legs in the 1986 World Series. The error perpetuated a rally that cost the Red Sox the championship. [DR]
Brady Bunch, The: The popular '70's TV series about a "blended" family. When Jake is about to arrive on the ranch, Buddy talks about how weird he is. Melody wonders if he's weird in "black dress shoes and shorts" kind of way, or weird in not knowing the entire cast of the Brady Bunch. The irony is pretty obvious here! [NKOTB]
Bud Lite: A reduced-calorie Budweiser brand beer, known for it's great taste. Less Filling! Great Taste! Anyway, when Buddy suggests they name Baby Fleeman "Buddy," Jake snickers, "Yeah. Bud and Bud Light!" [Baby]
"Bye Bye, Love": The Everly Brothers hit from 19??. (Sorry, if I can't find the answer in a one-minute web search, I give up.) While waiting for his ride to take him to summer school (and away from the Bar None), Ted strums his acoustic guitar and improvises a personal lament to this tune. [Date]
Julius Caesar: A very successful global conqueror and leader of ancient Rome. At his peak, he ruled most of the known world. Ted mentions him when citing the greatest winners in history, who have all been men (according to Ted). Later, Caesar was assassinated by his friend, Brutus. [BotS]
Candid Camera: A vintage hidden camera TV series hosted by Alan Funt. When Buddy shows Mel Trout the photographic evidence of him robbing the Bar None safe, Buddy snaps off another picture and mocks him with the TV catch phrase, "Smile, perfect father, you're on candid camera!" [PF]
Captain Ahab: The main character in Herman Melville's literary classic, Moby Dick. Ahab is obsessed with killing some whale that's managed to irritate him (it's a very thick book). I think "Moby Dick" is the whale's name. Mr. Ernst refers to himself as Captain Ahab as he prepares to go fishing. Unfortunately, Jake -- er, make that Jed -- has sunk his boat. [LoJ]
Chicago: The City of Big Shoulders, located in Illinois on the shores of Lake Michigan. When Mr. Ernst starts interrogating Buddy about Jed, the new employee hired by Lucy, Buddy tells him that Jed is from Chicago (where he was raised on a worm ranch). [LoJ]
Cincinnati: A city in southern Ohio, on the Kentucky border. Charlene, a girl Ted has his eye on, heads back home to Cincinnati before Ted ever gets a chance to talk to her. [PitN]
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: This was a 1977 movie directed by Steven Spielberg about human contact with aliens. Ready to confront some trapped "aliens", Danny tells Melody, "Come on, Melody, let's have a close encounter of our own." Danny's request could have been taken in another, ultimately more logical and primal, context, but by his actions he clearly meant it in reference to the film. [TMTYL]
Conan the Barbarian: The fantasy-adventure warrior king created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Conan was the subject of many novels, and several movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. While Mr. Ernst writes his murder mystery script, Danny stages an impromptu audition by storming in as Conan. Mr. Ernst mistakes Danny's Conan impression as one of Henry Kissinger. [MHW]
Tom Cruise: A major movie star. When Brad tells Melody that Bobby Rogers doesn't do anything for her, Mel jokes that Brad's not having a Hollywood wedding. But Brad tells her that she still has her eye on Tom Cruise. I'd approve, except that Tom Cruise is a Scientologist^®. [SS]
Ron Darling: A starting pitcher for the New York Mets and Oakland Athletics. While psyching up his Bar None Brawlers, Mr. Ernst mentions that Darling graduated from Yale with a degree in Chinese studies (and that's why Darling played baseball). [DR]
Leonardo DaVinci: The great Renaissance artist and inventor. The painter of the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and other seminal works. When Danny's success as an insulting cartoonist gets to his head, Lucy sarcastically refers to him as DaVinci. [Dude]
Def Leppard: Ted reads a teen magazine with this '80's rock band on the inside cover. [RfR]
The Defiant Ones: Lucy references this movie in good detail while attempting to calm an upset Brad, who happens to be unwillingly handcuffed to Ted. Brad isn't interested in "a moral lesson in tolerance and understanding." The Defiant Ones starred Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier. In that film, two handcuffed prison escapees, one balck and one white overcome their initial dislike of each other to become friends. [T&BGH]
Denver: The capital of Colorado. Mr. E has Melody penciled in for a swim meet there, after she wins the one in Flagstaff. Denver is known as the "Mile High City" because of its altitude, way up there in the Rocky Mountains. [OLC]
Albert Einstein: Mid-20th century physicist, synonymous with "genius." His most famous (though little understood) contribution to science are his theories of relativity, which demonstrate Newtonian laws of motion and gravity are only approximate when near the speed of light or strong gravitational fields. He developed science's most famous equation, e=mc^2, which states that energy and mass are conserved, or traded off. For the Brainbusters contest, Buddy asks Danny what the "c" in the equation stands for. Danny wryly answers "cupcakes," while Jake delivers the correct answer, which is "the speed of light." [Supe]
Fine Young Cannibals: A short-lived music act big during the turn of the decade. Melody likes the band, so Ted gives her their latest CD as a gift, in order to soften her up when he asks her out on a date. [DD]
Flagstaff: A city in northern Arizona. Mr. E has Melody penciled in for a swim meet there, then on to Denver. [OLC] The pilot that crash lands by the Bar None robbed a bank in Flagstaff. [CL] Flagstaff is in the high country, on the Colorado plateau, so it bears very little resemblance to Tucson. Flagstaff's original name is Flagpole.
Freddy: The maniac killer in the Nightmare on Elm Street series of slasher films. In an attempt to frighten Ted, Brad dresses up like a maniac killer. She uses the wardrobe and claw elements from Freddy, but uncovincingly combines it with elements from Jason and the guy in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I'm not up on the mythology here, but I understand that the deformed Freddy Krueger is the bastard son of a thousand serial killers (?). Director Wes Craven claims to have named Freddy Krueger after a kid who bullied him in school [GS]
George Gershwin: The great popular American composer, famous for works like "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Porgy and Bess". When Mr. Ernst catches Ted playing the handsaw in his office, the kids try to snow him. Ted bangs out a few random notes and Melody pretends to recognize it as "An American in Paris," another Gershwin work. [TT]
Godzilla: A famous Toho Productions sea monster that destroys Japanese cities. Danny suggests they name Baby Fleeman "Godzilla." [Baby]
Wayne Gretzky: Former NHL hockey player. One of the best ever. Played most of his career with the Edmonton Oilers, and later with the Los Angeles Kings. Mr. E mentions him while doing a Bob & Doug McKenzie schtick: "How 'bout that Wayne Gretzky, eh?". Gretzky, like Bob & Doug, is a Canadian. [RfR] Preparing for Brainbusters, Danny asks Jake to name hockey's "Great One," to which Jake incorrectly answers "Gretzky." He then rattles off Bobby Orr, Gordy Howe, Bobby Hull, and Phil Esposito. Danny informs him that the correct answer is "Wayne Gretzky," to which Jake sarcastically replies, "That's right, I meant Fred Gretzky!" [Supe]
Grosse Pointe: This is Brad's hometown, a toney suburb in Michigan. [HC]
Guns N' Roses: A heavy metal rock band popular during the early '90's. When Brad is given permission to stay at the Bar None instead of meeting her parents in France, Melody first guesses that Brad is happy because she gets to sing backup on the Guns n Roses tour. Thank God, no. Believe me, after a tour with Axel Rose, Brad would return as a tattooed, body-pierced, coke snorting skank. [TP]
Hardy Boys: The mystery-solving teen sleuths of the teen book series of the same name. Later generations may envision Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy, stars of the TV series version. Preparing for Brainbusters, Danny asks Jake to name the blond haired Hardy Boy, to which Jake correctly answers "Joe" (Shaun Cassidy). Frank was the other Hardy Boy. [Supe]
Harley Davidson Motorcycles: The Milwaukee-based manufacturer of high-powered motorcycles. When considering names for Baby Fleeman, Jake suggests "Harley," in honor of the most potent, heart-stopping, earth-shuddering instruments of power ever to hit the highway! [Baby]
Alfred Hitchcock: The world class film director, now deceased. Master of such classics such as Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds. While recovering from injuries filming the Bar None Promotional Video, Mr. E is just about to quote an inspiring aphorism from Hitchcock, when he is interrupted by Ted. [GBO]
Jaws of Life: A special hydraulic device used to separate mechanical wreckage from human survivors trapped inside it. It works like a backwards clamp that spreads irather than compress. When Buddy becomes paralyzed while shaking hands with Tawny Dawn, Danny jokingly reminds him that the firefighters needed the Jaws of Life to pry them apart. [Supe]
Indiana Jones: The adventure hero of the Lucas/Spielberg Raiders of the Lost Ark series of films, played by Harrison Ford. When Ted admits that he's afraid of snakes, he mentions that many people, including even Indiana Jones, are afraid of snakes. Ted is indeed correct. [PitN]
Jason: The maniac killer in the Friday the 13th series of slasher films. In an attempt to frighten Ted, Brad dresses up like a maniac killer. She uses the hockey mask element from Jason, but uncovincingly combines it with elements from Freddie Krueger and the guy in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I'm not up on the mythology here, but Jason is some deformed zombie kid that kills promiscuous teenagers with graphically explicit results.
Hulk Hogan: A professional wrestling superstar. When Melody gives the kids a personality quiz, the last question is whom would you want to be stuck with in an elevator? Hulk Hogan is a choice, along with Jim Bakker and Pee Wee Herman. Later, Hulk Hogan lost to the Ultimate Warrior, then testified in court about steroid abuse in pro wrestling. Today, Hogan is running for President of the United States. [CE]
Davey Johnson: The Major League baseball manager and ex-player. While psyching up his Bar None Brawlers, Mr. Ernst mentions how Johnson, playing for the Baltimore Orioles, made the last World Series out against the '69 New York Mets (the "Miracle Mets"). Then, ironically, Johnson managed the '86 Mets when they won the World Series. Later, Johnson had a rough go of managing the Orioles, and now manages the Los Angeles Dodgers. [DR]
Henry Kissinger: The former U.S. Secretary of State during the Nixon Adminstration. When Mr. Ernst is subjected to Danny's Conan impersonation, he mistakes the dour, thick German accent for Henry Kissinger's. Understandable. [MHW]
Felix Leiter: A minor character in the James Bond film series. Leiter is an American agent in the CIA. Leiter's name comes up when Buddy reads sample questions from the Brainbuster game show tour: "Jack Lord, best known as Steve McGarrett on TV's Hawaii 5-0, played what character in the James Bond film Doctor No?" Leiter later becomes a black man when Bernie Casey plays him in Never Say Never Again. Continuity was never a strong suit of the James Bond movies. [Supe]
Sergio Leone: The popular Italian film director, most famous for his Clint Eastwood "Man with No Name" spaghetti westerns. The episode titled "The Good, the Bad, the Obnoxious" [GBO] is in obvious reference to Leone's epic classic, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Actually, the original Italian title is Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattiva. In "Employee of the Week", Ted and Melody face off in a tribute to the stylized gunfight showdowns Leone's films often featured. But David Lascher and Christine Taylor are a little too babyfaced to let you forsake Clint and Lee Van Cleef. What the scene really needs is some authentic Ennio Moriconne music. [EotW]
Jack Lord: A major TV star of the '70's, playing Steve McGarrett on yhe cop show, Hawaii 5-0. Prior to that, he appeared in numerous films, including the James Bond flick, Doctor No, in which he played Felix Leiter. [Supe]
Mademoiselle magazine: Melody reads this magazine to learn useful things such as "the dangers of dating your boss". [RfR]
Yngwie Malmsteen: A lightning fast, heavy metal guitar virtuoso. Danny gets off on "I Am A Viking", one of Malmsteen's pieces. [Supe]
Miss America: The world's quintessential beauty pageant. When Mr. E orders a crown for his Employee of the Week scheme, he receives a Miss America-type beauty queen tiara instead. [EotW]
Joe Montana: A very successful NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, now retired. At his peak, he led the 49ers to four Super Bowl victories during the '80's. Ted mentions him when citing the greatest winners in history, who have all been men (according to Ted). The QB Joe Montana replaced when he was a rookie, Steve DeBerg, is still playing for the Atlanta Falcons! [BotS]
Love, American Style: A sketch comedy series from the 1970's, satirizing the lusty side of American culture. Jake mentions this when Buddy enlists the gang's help in getting his divorced parents back together. [EXS]
Morse Code: A signal code developed for telegraph use, consisting of dot and dash patterns. After Ted returns from his date with Brad, Buddy asks Ted if their kisses were long or short ones, and starts guessing at combinations. "Or was it Morse code?" Danny quips, rolling his eyes. [Date]
Mr. Clean: While impersonating the theft victim, Hank Sears calls Mel Trout "Mr. Clean." Obviously, he calls him this because both Mel and Mr. Clean are completely bald. Mr. Clean is a trademark mascot of some household cleaner, and looks like Yul Brynner on steroids. [PF]
Napoleon: A very successful conqueror and leader of France. He ruled most of Europe. Ted mentions him when citing the greatest winners in history, who have all been men (according to Ted). Later, Napoleon failed to take Russia, surrendered to Cornwallis, and was exiled to the island of Elba. [BotS]
New Kids on the Block: The lame-o music group that somehow hit in big during the Hey Dude era. Anyway, Mel and Brad look at swimsuit fashions in a magazine that is cleary a New Kids fan rag. Who knows, maybe the New Kids were modeling bikinis or sumptin. Check out the link. The webmaster proudly displays web awards he has won: "Piece O' Shit" and "100% Certified Dumb Web Site." Unfortunately, these two sanctioning bodies lead to now-dead links, so the Hey Dude site will have to look elsewhere for similar accolades. [OLC]
New York: Buddy's mother (Mr. Ernst's ex-wife) lives in New York, where she works as a successful real estate agent. Presumably, during the school year, Buddy lives with her there. [EXS]
New York Mets: National League baseball team. Buddy wears a Mets baseball cap as part of his daily garb. It's not the good, wool, fitted kind. Instead it's the el cheapo nylon mesh one-size-fits-all but still too big type. The Mets were formed as an expansion team in 1962, and that inaugural team, managed by Casey Stengel, is regarded as one of the worst clubs of all time. While psyching up his Bar None Brawlers, Mr. Ernst mentions Davey Johnson and Ron Darling, two key components of the 1986 World Champion Mets team. [DR]
Olympics^®: The international sports competetion held every four years, where nations gather in brotherhood and compete in the friendly spirit of peace and understanding. It used to be a hell of a lot better when the commies were around and we took it to 'em. USA! USA! Oh...Melody gets a chance to compete for the US Olympic swim team when Coach Daniels spots her swimming at the Bar None. [OLC]
Navy SEALs: US Navy commandos (SEa-Air-Land). Ted takes a few exercises from their training manual while preparing for the Capture the Flag tournament. He ties a 20 lb. barbell around Melody's ankle, saying that it'll be easier swimming the quarter mile than with the prescribed 50 lb. weight. Ted also says that instead of jumping out of an airplane at 30,000 feet, they'll take it easy and jump off the bell tower instead. Blindfolded, of course. [War]
Paula Abdul: A pop music singer popular at the time, and a former Laker girl. When Buddy enlists the gang to help him get his divorced parents together, Jake volunteers his Paula Abdul tapes. I don't know if he's serious or not. Paula Abdul gained unwanted notoriety when one of her videos was vertically stretched to mask some alleged weight gain. [EXS]
Pee Wee Herman: A popular comedian and children's program host. When Melody gives the kids a personality quiz, the last question is whom would you want to be stuck with in an elevator? Pee Wee Herman is a choice, along with Jim Bakker and Hulk Hogan. Later, Paul Reubens, the actor who played Pee Wee, was arrested in an adult theater doing unsavory things in public. Today, Reubens has returned to acting, but he has permanently abandoned the Pee Wee persona. [CE]
Phoenix: The biggest city in Arizona, about a two-hours drive north of Tucson. When Jake looks for a way out of fighting Roy Bigelow, the kids but him a bus ticket here, where Danny's aunt lives. [JF]
Rob Schneider: A regular on NBC's Saturday Night Live during the Hey Dude era. Scheider had a popular skit where he'd play a low level office employee whose desk was by the copy machine. Whenever a co-worker would use the machine, Schneider's character would riff on catchy variants of the person's name. For instance, "Ted...the Tedster..Tederino..." etc. When the gang makes up Jed, Danny goes off in a similar manner: "Good ol' Jed. My main man! Jed-arooni! The Big J! Jed." [LoJ]
Snake Plissken: Kurt Russell's character in John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981), whom Jake correctly identifies while preparing for Brainbusters. In the near future (1997, ha), Manhattan Island has been converted into a maximum security prison. Snake Plissken is a rebellious ex-special forces soldier sent in the rescue the president (Donald Pleasance), who has crash landed into the prison. [Supe]
Ronald Reagan: US President from 1980-1988. During the Brainbusters practice game, Mr. Ernst cites Reagan in the question, "Former President Reagan once stated that this cow product was responsible for more pollution than any American industry. What cow product was he referring to?" The accepted answer is "burp gas," though the actual byproduct is methane (the other gas). [Supe]
Redington: This is where Mr. Ernst meets Lucy to buy fifteen new horses for the ranch. It's an Arizona town about thirty miles east of Tucson. By the looks of it on a map, there's can't be much there but horses. [IRTA]
Mr. Rogers: As in Fred Rogers, the longtime, sweater-wearing host of a tepid children's program on PBS, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. When TV teen star Bobby Rogers visits the ranch, Mr. Ernst greets him. "Mr. Rogers, won't you be my neighbor?" Mr. Ernst chuckles at his own little joke. [SS]
Kurt Russell: Contemproary movie star that successfully transitioned from leads in Disney flicks to action-adventure hero. Preparing for Brainbusters, Buddy asks Jake to name Kurt Russell's character in Escape from New York, to which Jake correctly answers "Snake Plissken." [Supe]
Sabino Canyon: A popular riparian hiking trail in Tucson, nestled in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Brad leads a breakfast ride here. [BotS] Melody, vying for Employee of the Week honors, leads a small group of hikers there. [EotW]
San Francisco Giants: The Major League baseball team from California. Karl Vleck wears a beat up Giants cap. In 1989, the Giants played in the World Series, which was interrupted when an earthquake shook up Candlestick Park just before Game Three was set to start.
Scottsdale: A toney suburb of Phoenix. The Scottsdale police briefly detain the Great Zamboni, but he escapes custody again. There are plenty enough resorts in Scottsdale to disappear to. [T&BGH] Mr. Ernst believes that "Bar None Sparkling Horse Water" sounds sophisticated. Enough that it might even attract the equestrian crowd from here. [NKOTB] Scottsdale is the baseball spring training home of the San Francisco Giants.
Sicily, Invasion of: An island off the "toe" of Italy. While gung ho Ted trains the Red Team for the Capture the Flag tournament, Melody tells him that it's just a game, not the invasion of Sicily (Operation HUSKY). Patton's Seventh Army invades Sicily in 1943, covering Montgomery's landing and flank to the east. Despite the secondary nature of his assignment, Patton beats Monty to Messina, the campaign objective. [War]
Smith & Wesson: Gun manufacturers, most notable of high powered revolvers. When Jake and Buddy play their nefarious characters in the murder mystery, Jake suggests they use two of his friends: Smith and Wesson. Jake then reveals a nickel plated revolver. [MHW]
St. Louis Cardinals: The Major League baseball team from Missouri. While playing sandlot baseball, Melody wears a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap. I think she picked it for the red color. [DR]
Star Search: A semi-popular and often mocked competitive variety show hosted by Ed McMahon. When Danny fakes the violin for Mr. Ernst and his ex-wife, Mr. Ernst hands him a dollar and tells him to try Star Search instead. [EXS]
Star Trek: The TV series that ran for three seasons from 1966-1969. It featured an alien crew member from the planet Vulcan. Vulcans greet each other with a hand signal that looks like a "V", except that the split is between the middle and ring fingers. It means, "Live long and prosper." Danny sneaks in this sign while starring in Mr. Ernst's Bar None Promotional Video. [GBO] Again, Danny flashes this sign when he finds two "aliens" trapped in the Bar None's defensive perimeter. [TMTYL] Danny likes Linda, a female guest, in part because she can make the Vulcan hand sign. [NNMNG]
Superman: A virtually invincible comic book superhero, who has also been translated with varying degrees of success to TV and film. Ted mentions him when citing the greatest winners in history, who have all been men (according to Ted). There has never been an attempt to scientifically explain how Superman generates thrust during flight. [BotS]
Sylvester Stallone: When Buddy practices his lines for the murder mystery play, he uses a quasi-Mafiosi type accent. Critical, Jake tells him he sounds like "Rambo with a nasal condition!" Buddy replies, "Hey, it worked for Stallone!" Stallone, of course, played disgruntled Vietnam vet and all-around super soldier John Rambo in three films during the eighties. [MHW]
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: An cult classic horror film (exceeded in tastelessness only by its sequel -- it's the only film I ever had the urge to walk out on! -- Editor). In an attempt to frighten Ted, Brad dresses up like a maniac killer. She uses the chainsaw element from this film, but uncovincingly combines it with elements from Freddy Krueger and Jason. Actually, Brad comes in with a handsaw, with Buddy supplying chainsaw sound effects from a little boombox. [GS]
Tombstone: The quintessential old west city, located in the frontiers of southern Arizona. Melody says this is where the headless cowboy was decapitated for murders he didn't commit. It's also the signal word for Danny and Buddy to start the spooky sound effects while she tells the ghost story to Ted. Tombstone is most famous for the shootout at the OK Corral, where the Earps and Doc Holliday took out the Clanton gang. [GS]
Tucson Toros: The Pacific Coast League (AAA) baseball team. Flash, Mr. Ernst's ringer, shows up in a Tucson Toros road uniform. At the time, the Toros were the AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are now the Sidewinders, and are affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks. [DR]
Tulsa: The capital of Oklahoma. The handcuffs Ted uses to chain himself to Brad are not trick cuffs belonging to the Great Zamboni. Actually, they are real Tulsa Police Department restraints. The city overnights the keys to the ranch, but not before Brad and Ted share a trying day and night cuffed together. [T&BGH]
Mike Tyson: A very successful heavyweight championship boxer. Ted mentions him when citing the greatest winners in history, who have all been men (according to Ted). Later, Tyson was convicted of rape, served jail time for the crime, then returned to the ring only to lose by DQ after biting off portions of Evander Holyfield's ear. He's back in jail for assaulting a motorist. [BotS]
University of Arizona: During the water crisis, Ted the Ranch Water Marshall carries a water bottle emblazoned with the U of A Wildcats logo. [Rain] Presumably, when Coach Daniels invites Melody to the regional swim meet at the University, he means here. [OLC] Picking up a deflated soccer ball out of the trash, Ted pretends to be a star player on the Arizona basketball team. [TT] The U of A is located in Tucson. It's one of the big schools in Arizona, and the Wildcats are consistent PAC-10 powerhouses in football and basketball.
John Wayne: Western film star, now deceased. Mr. Ernst has a large pencil portrait hanging in his office. Inspired, he adjusts it while telling Danny and Ted that they need to "ride out and search for opportunity...to make your fortune", instead of asking for pay advances. So the guys rifle through the couch Mr. E was napping on and scrounge $0.90. "That's a start," says Danny. [OLC]
Oprah Winfrey: A talk show host and actress. When the kids try to convince Mr. Ernst that he's a real cowboy, he derisively responds that Oprah Winfrey is the Queen of Greece. Today, Oprah is the world's richest woman. By the way, Greece has no queen. [CE]
Wolverine: Ted reads this Marvel comic book. Wolverine is one of the X-Men, superhero mutants of the Marvel universe. [RfR] When the kids play "win, lose, or draw," Danny mistakes Ted's Tryanasaurus Rex for a wolverine (the animal type). [GS]
Woodstock: A town in upstate New York, known for the counter-culture concert held their in the late '60's. When Homer scolds Jake about playing "hippie music" drums on the back of his hay truck, Jake tells him it was "tribal poly-rhythms from Woodstock". [NKOTB]
Yale University: The prestigious Ivy League university. While psyching up his Bar None Brawlers, Mr. Ernst mentions that Ron Darling graduated from Yale with a degree in Chinese studies. He could've also mentioned that President George Bush played first base for the Yale baseball team. [DR]
Yuma: A border town in Arizona. On his way to the Bar None, Jake tags along with a busload of nuns here, then hitches a ride with a crop duster. Yuma is a little out of the way if Jake's coming from Los Angeles. [NKOTB]