Would you like to see a George-Wendt-bean-eating episode?
On 17 Nov 1993, the high-water-mark episode of Animaniacs aired. Called “Survey Ladies,” its premise was a Pynchonesque (Amazon.com, signin required), exhaustive mining of two ideas: bean-eating and George Wendt. “Do you eat beans? Would you like to see a new movie starring George Wendt? Would you like to eat beans with George Wendt? Would you like to see George Wendt eating beans in a movie? Do you eat beans at George Wendt movies? Would you like to see George Wendt in a bean-eating movie?” When I originally saw this episode, I couldn’t help but think to myself that yes, I would rather like to see George Wendt in a bean-eating movie. I might even eat some beans myself while watching a movie starring George Wendt eating beans.
So I had the TV on last night and on comes an episode of Cheers (#164, “What’s Up, Doc”, 30 Mar 1989). Rebecca and Woody have set up a contest where the object is guess the number of jellybeans in a jar, and Woody inadvertantly reveals the answer. Rebecca suggests adding more beans to the jar, but Norm (played by George Wendt), sitting at the bar, has already finished off the bag. Sadly, he has done so off-camera. Very sadly.
On the other hand, no George-Wendt-bean-eating is likely to live up to “George Wendt eating beans” as I have imagined it, so perhaps that’s merciful. Also, I had no beans to eat, and the disappointment of watching a Cheers episode featuring a bean-eating George Wendt in my beanless circumstance might have been more than I could bear.
Margie:
I couldn’t remember if this was Animaniacs or Tiny Toons. . . I feel Plucky Duck showed up on this episode and said, “Blue ball go down the hole.” Am I wrong? Thanks.
29 May 2006, 6:25 pmColin:
Plucky Duck did indeed send many things “down the hole” in an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures. Apparently, it was the episode aired 22 November 1991, “Henny Youngman Day.”
31 May 2006, 1:37 pmJill:
No, you’re write about Plucky in that episode. The kids (Y,W&D) are in the mall when the survey ladies attack them. Plucky is in an elevator of the mall doing “elevator go down the hole” and “my turn to push the button” whenever people got in it. It was just one of the crossover episodes!
5 July 2006, 6:49 pmJill:
Holy cow, can’t believe I spelled that wrong. I meant “right” haha
5 July 2006, 6:49 pmMillions of Us » Blog Archive » Media in Second Life:
[…] useful as an advertising platform — and I don’t really mean that in the “Would you like to take a survey?” commercial sense, but in the “Everyone ought to know this for his own good” […]
27 August 2007, 8:39 pm