The Unofficial Weird Al Show Home Page
Bad Influence
Episode #3603


Dates Aired

  1. September 13, 1997
  2. December 13, 1997
  3. March 14, 1998
  4. June 13, 1998
  5. September 12, 1998


Food of the Week

Hickory flavored asphalt and anchovie gelatin on whole wheat bread


Guests


Lesson of the Day

Don't follow people who can get you into trouble. Think for yourself.


Pictures


Song Lyrics


Sounds

  • WAV: Today's Lesson RealAudio: Today's Lesson Today's Lesson
  • WAV: Al: There's My Car Keys! RealAudio: Al: There's My Car Keys! Al: There's My Car Keys!
  • WAV: Al: I AM SO COOL! RealAudio: Al: I AM SO COOL! Al: I AM SO COOL!
  • WAV: Food of the Week RealAudio: Food of the Week Food of the Week
  • WAV: Al and Spike: Crime Fighters Are Lame RealAudio: Al and Spike: Crime Fighters Are Lame Al and Spike: Crime Fighters Are Lame
  • WAV: Fred Huggins: Water Is Wet, Part 1 RealAudio: Fred Huggins: Water Is Wet, Part 1 Fred Huggins: Water Is Wet, Part 1
  • WAV: Daycare by Pirates RealAudio: Daycare by Pirates Daycare by Pirates
  • WAV: Fred Huggins: Water Is Wet, Part 2 RealAudio: Fred Huggins: Water Is Wet, Part 2 Fred Huggins: Water Is Wet, Part 2
  • WAV: Pizza Quick RealAudio: Pizza Quick Pizza Quick
  • WAV: Al: Way Moby RealAudio: Al: Way Moby Al: Way Moby
  • WAV: Bobby the Inquisitive Boy: Scraped Knee RealAudio: Bobby the Inquisitive Boy: Scraped Knee Bobby the Inquisitive Boy: Scraped Knee
  • WAV: Safety and You RealAudio: Safety and You Safety and You
  • WAV: Al's Mailbag RealAudio: Al's Mailbag Al's Mailbag
  • WAV: Hooded Avenger: Tasty Chocolate Coating RealAudio: Hooded Avenger: Tasty Chocolate Coating Hooded Avenger: Tasty Chocolate Coating
  • WAV: Hooded Avenger: Sledgehammer of Justice RealAudio: Hooded Avenger: Sledgehammer of Justice Hooded Avenger: Sledgehammer of Justice
  • WAV: Al: Barenaked Ladies RealAudio: Al: Barenaked Ladies Al: Barenaked Ladies
  • WAV: Barenaked Ladies - RealAudio: Barenaked Ladies - Barenaked Ladies - "Shoebox"


Stunts

  • Harvey drives a race car.


27 References

  • The only reference occurs during the safety video. A paper on a billboard says, "Woodrow Wilson Elementary School. 27 days without a papercut."

Summary

This episode was the premiere of "The Weird Al Show" on CBS. The show started with Al talking about a new friend he had met who would be coming over shortly. In a few minutes, Spike arrives.

Spike says that some members of his club will be coming over shortly, to see if Al is cool enough to become a member. Throughout the show, Spike tests Al's "coolness" by seeing if Al'll do various things, such as tear off one of his pants legs, stick his arms in a vat of molten chocolate, and shave off his eyebrow.

Eventually, after shunning Bobby the Inquisitive Boy and breaking a lot of stuff, Spike's "club" arrives. It's just one guy and Al discovers that all the tests had just been made up. Bobby and The Hooded Avenger arrived and consoled Al, who is now starting to think for himself instead of following along with what other people think are cool.


Memorable Lines

Spike: Do you know what the really cool guys in my club do?
Al: No, what?
Spike: Now this is a kind of a secret club thing, but I'm gonna tell you anyway. They dip their arms in hot, melted chocolate.
Al: Well, hey! I've got a vat of hot, melted chocolate right here!

Al: Like I always say, "If you've got blacktop and you've got gelatin, you've got good eatin'!"

Announcer: You don't want to pay a lot for daycare by pirates. But you expect the superior quality and experience that only pirates can provide. That's why pirate daycare is the number one daycare provider for children in the entire tri-state area. Our staff of highly trained, dedicated daycare professionals is there to serve all your child's daycare needs. We also have a softcare program for toddlers. Call now. Operators are standing by.

Bobbie: So can I get a Band-Aid or something?
Al: Bobbie, Bobbie, Bobbie, prevention is the best medicine. Why don't I show you this short educational film? And then maybe you'll think twice before you decide to hurt yourself again.

Announcer: Safety is everyone's business. We can all stay out of harms way just by following a few simple rules.

  • When you're out in public, always check to make sure no spies are following you.
  • If you find a spider on your shirt, roll, roll on the ground. Spiders are icky.
  • And if you lose a pantsleg, call home right away, so your friends won't beat you up for looking like a dork.
  • Don't let your parents drive backwards in the rain. It's just not safe.
  • If Dad needs to take a nap, tell him to do it in the bed. That's what they're made for.
  • And never, ever let your dog drive the car.

Al (reading letter): Dear Al, Do you have any brothers or sisters who aren't just cheap camera tricks? Signed, Curious. Well, I do have my brother Alex, the 8-inch tall savage warrior. I love him very much, but alas, he is nothing but a cheap camera trick. It makes my Mom really sad.

The Hooded Avenger: Someday the sledgehammer of justice will fall upon his big toe.

Al: Hey, look! It's barenaked ladies!


Plot and Review


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Al is fortunate enough to be befriended by Spike, a member of a cool, exclusive club. In order to be initiated into said club, Al does all sorts of stupid things, including shaving off one of his eyebrows, coating his arms in melted chocolate, and wearing bunny ears. Later Al learned, much to his chagrin, that Spike's club consisted of just one other, rather loserly-looking fellow, and that the initiation rites had been lies Spike had used to amuse himself.

I found this to be an odd show with which to start the season because it was so under-impressive. Rather than empathizing with Al about the perils of peer-pressure, I found myself thinking, "Geesh, this Al guy sure is naive. This is embarassing to watch." The episode as a whole struck me as obvious, preachy, and not particularly educational. It was much less than I expected from Al.

Harvey the Wonder Hamster was a refreshing character, with no social- consciousness tied to him. Having a hamster of my own, I particularly enjoyed his stunt. I imagined my own critter flying through the air, and it made me laugh. Of course, we didn't try it at home. The Al show would do well to make Harvey a bigger part of the action.

The Hooded Avenger also appeared in this episode, though not early enough for my tastes. This typical super-hero is the only character we've seen so far who has any right to be as preachy as he is. Oddly, he was the main source of comic-relief. Amazing. The Great Mr. "Weird Al" Yankovic in a room, and its the Hooded Avenger who's the comic relief.

Bobby the Inquisitive Boy made his debut on this first episode, and I must say that I thoroughly agree with the idea of his character because it provides education in a subtle way, a direct affront to the general nature of this program. (BTW, congratulations to Bobby on his role as the Domino's boy. Though he didn't have any lines in the commercial I saw, his smile said it all.)

Speaking of education, what is the deal with the Lesson of the Day? The announcer starts the show shouting about thinking for yourself, as if to imply that the message will be so deeply embedded in the characterization that only literary geniuses on the level of Shakespeare will be capable of discerning it. Quite the contrary. This message was not just in my face, but painted bright orange with chartreus polka dots.

In this area, THE WEIRD AL SHOW should take a lesson from its predecessor, PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE: children are capable of learning by example. What if Al had been approached by Spike, eventually tempted, and reluctantly pursuaded to join the exclusive club? During the rites, he would have listened to his conscience that was telling him that he was doing wrong by his real friends. Or what if it had been Bobby or some other character that was snubbing his friends and Al could have helped him resist the peer-pressure? Voila! Same message in a real-life, and much less embarassing to watch, form.

I do not think that THE "WEIRD AL" SHOW is a bad program, but I do think that it is a product of the E/I programming requirement, complete with network approved lines and stifled creativity. With any luck the CBS people will get tired of mandating it, and Al will be free to form plots, characters, etc., without hinderance. When that happens, not only will this be a more entertaining program, but it will also be more educational.


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