AUTHOR: Dave Sypniewski DATE: Thursday, June 30, 2005 ----- BODY:
Orson Welles Originally uploaded by grimbillyandmandy.

It's a good thing that television broadcasts were scarce and could only be viewed by "The Elite" who were the only ones that could afford a set back in the day. Welles did a good job scaring the poop out of people without appearing on Larry King, Entertainment Tonight, or jumping up and down on Oprah's couch. "War of the Worlds" was supposed to be funny when it first was broadcast however, the majority of the people packed up and ran for the hills. That shows how this society has progressed. If that broadcast were to air today on the radio, very few people would hear it, and those who did would immediately pick up on the fact that it was a hoax. Considering it aired on Halloween, that should have been another clue that something was fishy. I guess the aliens have October 31st circled on their calender. Some people are willing to believe just about anything. I remember visiting a friend about 20 years ago who's parents were seated in the living room watching Cinemax. All of a sudden the picture got fuzzy and there was a "news bulletin" from the "Independent Network News" telling us that there was a security breach in Russia and terrorists got a hold of launch codes for nuclear weapons aimed at the U.S. The "newscaster" told everyone watching that there's nothing we can do but wait 20 minutes for the warheads to arrive and then that's it for all of us. My friend's parents went into a tizzy and trying to figure out where to hide, as if hiding in the basement under the stairs would keep them safe. While all the mayhem was going on, neither one of them bothered to put on one of the networks or CNN. "Alf" was airing on channel 5 and I guess the end of the world wasn't as important as that orange alien! Yes, what we were viewing on cable was a movie. After realizing this, my friend's parents were STILL convinced we were all going to die. That must have been the same feeling that listeners of Orson Welles' broadcast must have had.

What would Mr. Welles have to say about the movie version of "WOTW?" He'd probably first slap Tom Cruise for making a mockery of things. Sometimes it's best to leave the past in the past. As for this movie, all the hoopla that overshadowed it's release is about to backfire. Why is Tom Cruise all over my TV set? Is he promoting a new movie or his proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes? In any event, I'll wait for the DVD on this one and try and put those two screwballs on the back burner. You wouldn't see Orson Welles jump on Oprah's couch...considering his size when he died, there would be springs flying through the audience.


-------- Squealing Pig WORLDWIDE!: Orson Welles did it right...without making a jackass of himself in the process!

Squealing Pig WORLDWIDE!

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Orson Welles did it right...without making a jackass of himself in the process!

Orson Welles Originally uploaded by grimbillyandmandy.

It's a good thing that television broadcasts were scarce and could only be viewed by "The Elite" who were the only ones that could afford a set back in the day. Welles did a good job scaring the poop out of people without appearing on Larry King, Entertainment Tonight, or jumping up and down on Oprah's couch. "War of the Worlds" was supposed to be funny when it first was broadcast however, the majority of the people packed up and ran for the hills. That shows how this society has progressed. If that broadcast were to air today on the radio, very few people would hear it, and those who did would immediately pick up on the fact that it was a hoax. Considering it aired on Halloween, that should have been another clue that something was fishy. I guess the aliens have October 31st circled on their calender. Some people are willing to believe just about anything. I remember visiting a friend about 20 years ago who's parents were seated in the living room watching Cinemax. All of a sudden the picture got fuzzy and there was a "news bulletin" from the "Independent Network News" telling us that there was a security breach in Russia and terrorists got a hold of launch codes for nuclear weapons aimed at the U.S. The "newscaster" told everyone watching that there's nothing we can do but wait 20 minutes for the warheads to arrive and then that's it for all of us. My friend's parents went into a tizzy and trying to figure out where to hide, as if hiding in the basement under the stairs would keep them safe. While all the mayhem was going on, neither one of them bothered to put on one of the networks or CNN. "Alf" was airing on channel 5 and I guess the end of the world wasn't as important as that orange alien! Yes, what we were viewing on cable was a movie. After realizing this, my friend's parents were STILL convinced we were all going to die. That must have been the same feeling that listeners of Orson Welles' broadcast must have had.

What would Mr. Welles have to say about the movie version of "WOTW?" He'd probably first slap Tom Cruise for making a mockery of things. Sometimes it's best to leave the past in the past. As for this movie, all the hoopla that overshadowed it's release is about to backfire. Why is Tom Cruise all over my TV set? Is he promoting a new movie or his proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes? In any event, I'll wait for the DVD on this one and try and put those two screwballs on the back burner. You wouldn't see Orson Welles jump on Oprah's couch...considering his size when he died, there would be springs flying through the audience.


posted by Dave Sypniewski at Thursday, June 30, 2005

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