C80
Trivia
Updated 05-29-09

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What's in a Name?

- Cast member Bethany Loberg has, through random name selection, played up to three characters whose names start with a "V": Virginia, Victoria, and Vinerita.

            [Season 2 - Episode 10; Season 4 - Episode 25, 31]

 

The Postman Always Rings Twice
- Mailmen have unintentionally become reviled as universally villainous throughout the C80 universe after being referenced in the "Postbusters" series and the "Super Slow Reaction Man" series as such. In Deficiency Boy 9, Noah utters something about "evil mailmen" when confronting the Gorb Crafter and Confuzzler---this was due to the filming location coinciding with where a scene from "Postbusters 2" was filmed. In the final ironic piece, cast members Johännah Larsen, John Nielsen, Kyle Kertay and Joseph Chapman have all worked at the Willamette University mail center, delivering and sorting mail.
          
 [Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 3 - Episode 18, 24; Season 4 - Episode 30]

 

Colorful Reference

- In "Mission: Implausible 3: Hunger for Power," Jeremy White as Agent A utters the line "Oooh, yellow," which was a hidden reference to a lasting in-joke of Joseph Chapman's stemming from C80's radio days.

            [The Radio Years; Season 4 - Episode 28]

 

Gotcha!

- Cast members Rodger Fickel and Wendelin Mueller (as well as the guy who played "The Intelligent Sociopath" in SSRM 3.0) joined the group after being accidentally caught on camera during an episode; conversely, most people that get jumped by us (on purpose) on camera are a little harder to secure. It took us five years after flashing the camera at Laura Finch’s husband Chad to get him to play an actual role. Guess it's the luck of the draw!

            [Season 1 - Episode 3, 8; Season 6 - Episode 47]

 

 

Checks and Balances

- Characters played by John Nielsen have thrice uttered a variation of the line "The check is in the mail," in three different features---sort of as a reference to his previous work. Sneaky, John. Also, according to Anthony, in the film festival to which the C80 feature "The Pants" was submitted, the award-nominated line from the film ("No running in Canada!") was beat out by a line from another film. What was that line? "The check's in the mail." So strange!
              [Season 2 - Episode 11; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 5 - Preview Special]
 

WHERE??

- As you may or may not have noticed, the C80 catchphrase "Look! A distraction!" not only encompasses many different series over the years---it also never fails to distract. Interestingly enough, it has been most used against characters played by Manfred Mueller, though it has been said to everyone from Anthony to Jeremy White as well.

            [Season 1 to 8 - various]

 

You Can See the Future

- The "Shard of Chewagumabar" necklace that gives Deficiency Boy his powers in the first episode of his SSRM-spinoff show actually appears several episodes earlier, worn by Joseph Chapman in an unrelated feature. Funnily enough, it appears during a movie review of "The Pants," which at the time of the review, wasn't made yet. This prop was later lost, though as far as the plot of DB is concerned, Deficiency Boy still has it.

            [Season 2 - Episode 10, 12]

 

Oh, the Realism
- The prop for "Insta-Dog-in-a-Bottle" contains actual hair from Joseph Chapman's late pet dog, Meatball, to this day. The only prop to survive from the radio era of C80 to the present, it is nine to ten years old. Just DON'T OPEN IT. Seriously! In addition, the new prop for "Insta-Dog Deluxe" contains several locks of Joe's ponytail, which he cut off to work at a bakery for a summer job. So hairy a tidbit!
          
 [The Radio Years; Season 1 - Episode 1; Season 2 - Episode 11; Season 6 - Episode 41] 

 

Role Reversal

- During SSRM 4, John Johnson (Jeremy White) pulls Random Reporter Guy (Joey Cleary) out of a battle scene, proclaiming, "It's time for your meds, dear," to which Reporter Guy confusedly replies "Dear? I'm not a woman!"  Years later, Joey, in the heat of improv, pulled Tom Howe out of a scene in Rear View 3 whilst proclaiming that same line John Johnson had uttered---and Starla Simmons (played by Jeremy) muttered to herself, "But he's not a woman." This unplanned little role-reversal-reference is quite easy to miss (especially with Starla's lisp). Coincidentally, both features also played during the finales of their respective seasons.

            [Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 4 - Episode 32]

 

One is the Loneliest Number

- As of the premiere of Season 5, the only member of the Bonanza Family of adventurers to ever appear more than once is the original, Bonanza Bob (Nathan Clark). The other related Bonanza characters (Bill, Ben, Bridget, Bade, and Brian) had one feature apiece---causing several cast members to joke about a "Bonanza Curse." Also, all assistants of Bonanza characters possess names that end in "-inky": Twinky(1), Binky, Pinky, Twinky(2), Linky, and Dinky. The character of Dinky was originally supposed to be an assistant to Bonanza Brian. He instead became the butler of Bonanza Bob upon Bob's return to the screen. Most recently, the supposed "Bonanza Curse" has been broken, as now two of the characters have appeared more than once: Bob, played by Nate Clark, and Bade, portrayed by Alex Prescott.

            [Season 1 - Episode 2, 3; Season 2 - PDA 1; Season 3 - Episode 19; Season 4 - Episode 27, 31; Season 6 - Episode 41]

 

Deficient of... Ratings?

- Super Slow Reaction Man 5, "Return of the Hero," was originally the pilot episode for a series starring Anthony's character, Captain Obvious (formerly Farm Lad), but these plans were scrapped after the episode was shot and it became SSRM 5, the last in the series. The last, that is, until the Deficiency Boy series was launched a bit later that season (due to the fact that John Nielsen, who plays the title character, would be more readily accessible in the future). However, this was not a problem, as both the Captain Obvious and Super-Slow Reaction Man characters have figured prominently in the DB series since its creation.

            [Season 2 - Episode 9, 12]

 

We Never Learned to Count

- The SSRM series has five numerical episodes, however, "episode three" was a self-contained trilogy (3.0, 3.5, and 3.75), putting the actual episode count for the series at seven episodes.

            [Season 1 - Episode 1, 3, 6, 8; Season 2 - Episode 9]

 

Rising From the Ashes... it's Starla Simmons?

- C80's parody of "The View," entitled "The Rear View," debuted during Season 4 with wacky hostess Starla Simmons (played by Jeremy White). However, the original incarnation of the "Rear View" show was filmed during Season 2, and stuck more closely to the original multi-host format, starring Joey Cleary, John Nielsen, Kyle Kertay, and Jeremy, using personalities drawn from the oft-utilized "Improv 80" box. The personalities just didn't mesh, and the scenario was largely a disaster---and being judged to be so bad, the original Rear View never made it into an official episode. Funnily enough, the personality drawn by Joey, Mister Kittyface, is the only surviving bit of the tossed-out-segment, and he appeared as that character on the "official" incarnation of the Rear View with Starla Simmons in its first episode. One small clip of the original bit was thrown into "Return to Memory Avenue," the Season 4 Special Feature, which is the only place one can view the travesty. (Well, it WAS... until the Season 6 Special Feature "The Lost Episodes" was made---you can now view the trainwreck in its entirety there).

            [Season 4 - Episode 27; S4 Special Feature - "Return to Memory Avenue"; S6 Special Feature - "The Lost Episodes"]

 

Disaster Dodged

- Episode 12 of Channel 80 News is entitled "Nearly Lost Episodes" due to the fact that Joseph Chapman's original camcorder broke after filming, nearly eating the tape and taking the episode with it. The next feature, PDA 1, was filmed on Kyle Kertay's digital camera, and similarly titled Episode 13, "The Lucky One," was filmed on Jeremy White's camcorder (titled as such because it too escaped the fate of being eaten by the old camera). Episode 14, "Ambush," was the first to be filmed on Joe's new camcorder, which is still the official recording medium for C80 to this day (though sometimes Jeremy's cam rides shotgun). Weirdly, twenty episodes after "the lucky one" dodged the bullet, Episode 33 earned the title "Nearly Lost Episode 2" due to an error on the tape that nearly robbed the footage of half of its recorded audio. This episode is equally lucky, as somehow when the footage showed up on Chapman's computer, despite retaining a slight error with the video in places, the audio was 98% restored. And, incredibly, ten episodes later exactly, Episode 43, "All Odds," suffered a momentary bout with the same audio problem, though it is only noticable at the beginning of the episode. Finally, ten episodes later, Episode 53, "Spoofapalooza 3," escaped this phenomenon completely, breaking the curse!

            [Season 2 - Episode 12, PDA, 13, 14; Season 5 - Episode 33; Season 6 - Episode 43; Season 7 - Episode 53]

 

It's Not Easy Being a Movie Star

- Though most members of the Channel 80 News cast are friends in real life, beyond just our appearances onscreen, sometimes it's those appearances onscreen that first forge the bond of friendship---whether we like it or not. Many cast members, in fact, met each other for the first time at filmings. Holly Janka once remarked that meeting Joey Cleary after seeing him in an episode was like "meeting a celebrity." Jeremy White met Holly, as well as cast members Will Mockry and Johännah Larsen at filmings---in fact, the first time he spoke to Johännah was in their first scene together.  Countless others amongst the C80 crew have met one another in a similar fashion, and lasting bonds have come of it.

            [Season 1 to 8 - various]

 

"I Keep Forgetting She's a Woman"

- Having borrowed a wig or two from Jeremy White's unintentionally cross-dressing-laden Plastico Classico Productions/Channel 586, Channel 80 News cast members were treated to their first cross-dressing performance in Episode 11's "The Pants."  Not used to having female characters played by male actors, Bethany Loberg and Anthony continued to accidentally refer to Jennifer Jones (played by John Nielsen) initially as "he" before correcting themselves, throughout the feature. By Season 5, however, such a sight is slightly more commonplace, even at C80.

            [Season 2 - Episode 11]

 

Unstable... Just Like Swiss Rolls

- The 'crooked house' that Swiss Rolls (played by Joey Cleary) lives in in the Channel 80 News world was declared structurally unstable after the first Swiss Rolls feature was filmed. While Swiss Rolls 2 was filmed at Willamette University for convenience sake, between the first and third features the house was removed and then rebuilt to look the same. By Swiss Rolls 3, the house appears the same, but is in fact the second crooked house built on that spot.

            [Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22]

 

Lustfully Clean

- Super Slow Reaction Man 4, "Lustful City," gets its title from the fact that during The Silent Narrator's (Joseph Chapman) opening narration, he cut before he could finish his sentence, thus, the word "illustrious" was pared down to end at "-lust." Before the next scene opened, the joke had already been made off-camera, and was soon made in the show itself.

            [Season 1 - Episode 8]

 

There's Blood on my Blood

- The inaugural characters of Joey Cleary, including Random Reporter Guy, were seen as bleeding from the ear. When Joey joined C80, he was also a member of the high school's video production class, and had that day filmed a parody of "American Idol" which involved using fake blood to have him bleed from the ear. When he came to the C80 filming after school that day, he retained the makeup.  The presence of the blood on Dodge Neo in "The Linear Sequence" was explained right away, but viewers wanting an explanation for Random Reporter Guy had to wait a few years for the "Wizard Special" in Season 3, during which the C80 team used Kool-Aid to recreate the blood effects for flashbacks involving that character. Every other newly-generated flashback appearance of Random Reporter Guy thereafter also required Kool-Aid application again depending on which era he was appearing in. Tasty, no?

            [Season 1 - Episode 6; Season 3 - Episode 21; Season 5 - Episode 39]

 

The Price is Right

- Though any number of varying dollar values have been assigned to the various products hawked in C80 commercials over the years, the most prevalent price tags (especially in the early years) were "twenty-ninety-ninety-nine" and "ninety-ninety-ninety-nine," the latter phrase being derived from the show ReBoot, of which Joseph Chapman is a rabid fan.

            [Season 1 to 8 - various]

 

It Shakes, It Shakes

- Salt has made several unrelated appearances throughout C80's history, and has now become something of an iconic prop/topic of conversation. Super Slow Reaction Man's (Michael Cunningham) alter-ego in SSRM #3.0 is seen trying to sneak some salt from Farm Lad (Anthony). Other notable appearances include the final scene of Deficiency Boy 7, in which the Confuzzler (Will Mockry) eats a truckload of salt on-camera, and perhaps one of the most infamous salt-ppearances, the Cave of Grrraaasssh Sale, in which the Orb Crafter (Johännah Larsen) attempts to pay The Wizard (Joey Cleary) in salt. What can we say, we like certain condiments. Bonus: In a much-later episode of Bonanza Bob, the character Eduardo Bay (Anthony), an online-auction mogul, comments offhand that he will no longer sell anything to the Orb Crafter---this is a reference to the fact that she presumably paid him in salt for her purchases as well.
        
[Season 1 - Episode 6; Season 3 - Episode 18, 22; Season 4 - Episode 31]

 

Smoochy-Smoochy

- The first on-screen kiss in Channel 80 News was seen, ironically, in a feature detailing underage drunken disorderly behavior, during the Season 4 premiere. The lucky participants were real-life boyfriend and girlfriend Kyle Kertay and Johännah Larsen.

            [Season 4 - Episode 25]

 

Typos = Inspiration

- The alter ego of Brian Wise's Capable Lad, "Meth Lad," was created after Joey Cleary sent an email with a typo in it to the group on an unrelated subject: instead of typing "meth lab," he typed "meth lad," and Joseph Chapman decided to make something of it.

            [Season 4 - Episode 26, 30]

 

Okay, So Our Reactions Were a Little Delayed Too

- Super Slow Reaction Man (played by Michael Cunningham) didn't actually exhibit super slow reactions onscreen until SSRM 3.75, "The Milkire Strikes Back."

            [Season 1 - Episode 6]

 

New Technology!

- The first use of split-screen effects in Channel 80 News occurred in Season 4, featuring a fantastically acted scene with two characters played by Johännah Larsen bantering back and forth. In the same episode, Jeremy White appeared in a similar (though, in his own opinion, less splendid by far) scene with two of his characters having a showdown. Within the Season 4 special feature "Return to Memory Avenue," in the Outtakes section, one can also view Brian Wise helping Jeremy time his scenes behind-the-scenes from that episode, as well as a hilarious practice bit featuring John Nielsen arguing with himself over his preferences for lunch.

            [Season 4 - Episode 26; S4 Special Feature - "Return to Memory Avenue"]

 

What Goes Around Comes Around

- The Orb Crafter (played by Johännah Larsen) was a character created initially out of necessity---after several varying explanations over the years, she was to be the final reason behind the various orbs and globes of power in the SSRM and DB series. She has, of course, blossomed into so much more since then---and is one of the most beloved characters of the series.

            [Season 2 - Episode 15; Season 3 - Episode 17, 18, 21, 22; Season 4 - Episode 26, 30; Season 5 - Episode 34, 37; Season 6 - Episode 43; Season 7 - Episode 50]

 

Their Deaths... Didn't Take

- At the end of SSRM 5, The Silent Narrator (Joseph Chapman) verbally killed off all the characters the camera was currently pointed at: Manfraud Dueller (John Nielsen), Gordo (Rodger Fickel), Mister Eye (Jeremy White), Ruthless Crueller (Joy Schneider), and Grodo (Nathan Gneckow). This was likely due to the fact that the latter scenes of the episode weren't being pulled off quite as planned.  Though seemingly a rash move, it is of note that every character "killed off" by the Narrator in that scene has since returned in some fashion (with the exception of Ruthless). In fact, John's character remarks in the pilot episode of his spinoff series that he's "sure glad he didn't die back there with everyone else." How's that for creative revision?

            [Season 2 - Episode 9, 12]

 

Hozopipopolus

- In the first episode of Deficiency Boy, Holly Janka plays the newly-villainous villainess, Hezedipapa. Due to the fact that no one else at the initial filming save Holly was willing to risk mispronouncing her character's name (which may have had an extra syllable, give or take, originally), she was given the alter-ego of "Non-Stealthy Ninja Girl." However, after about the second episode, everyone figured out how to say the name, and the "NSNG" moniker has been barely-used since.

            [Season 2 - Episode 12, 13]

 

See You Next Fall

- As the guy who is most often our cameraman, Joseph Chapman sometimes has to use some pretty creative footwork to dodge about on whatever terrain we're filming. He has done everything from walk backwards up stairs and through doors to trudge through the snow to get the right angle. Incidentally, Joe has only fallen down twice during C80's span, and both times he opted to continue filming---just because he liked the newfound angle. What a cameraman!

            [Season 1 - Episode 6; Season 4 - Episode 28]

 

We Likes Us Our Chowder

- Since Season 2, C80 has been fond of its ocean trips. While each trip has a varying destination on the Oregon Coast, one tradition remains: eating at Mo's seafood restaurant in Lincoln City, OR. And well it is that we continue to do so---Mo's has given much to Channel 80 News, and I don't just mean great chowder. The name of Kyle Kertay's character, Mo the Surfing Mystic, comes from the name of the restaurant. Not only that, but the props that became The Björn, The Anti-Björn, Lord Fluffy, and Lord Dibbs, were all purchased in Mo's gift shop on cumulative trips over the years.  Basically, everything bought from that gift shop has appeared prominently in C80 at some point. Most of the locations seen in Deficiency Boy 2 were also near Mo's parking lot.

            [Season 2 - Episode 13, 15; Season 3 - Episode 18; Season 4 - Episode 29; Season 5, PDA 3; Season 7 - Episode 54]

 

Riddle Me This

- The riddles cast forth by the Confuzzler (played by Will Mockry) in the DB series are more or less all invented by Will himself, sometimes right before a scene begins. Funnily enough, the Confuzzler has only repeated a riddle once ("what has eyes but can't see?---a potato"), and at least twice Anarchy Lad (Jeremy White) has guessed that the answer to a given riddle from the Confuzzler is their archnemesis, "Deficiency Boy."  Anarchy Lad has also never guessed the answer to a riddle correctly, despite receiving his villainous moniker due to one of Confuzzler's riddles.

            [Season 2 - Episode 15, 16; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 4 - Episode 26, 30; Season 6 - Episode 43]

 

Spin, But Don't Get Too Dizzy

- "The Adventures of Deficiency Boy" was the first spinoff series in Channel 80 News. It was spun-off from the "Super-Slow Reaction Man" series when the latter ended its seven-episode run. After a healthy fourteen-episode run itself, "The Adventures of Deficiency Boy" spun off into another similar show, titled "Super Hero Saga."

            [Season 1 - Episode 1, 3, 6, 8; Season 2 - Episode 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16; Season 3 - Episode 17, 18, 21, 22; Season 4 - Episode 26, 30; Season 5 - Episode 34, 37, 39; Season 6 - Episode 43; Season 7 - Episode 50, 54, 55]

 

Whatever It Is Possible Of

- The first instance of "worditis" (defined as when an actor intends to say one word but instead says a different word that sounds the same, but means something different) in Channel 80 News came from our fearless leader, Joseph Chapman, in the first episode, of course. Let me tell you, it didn't take long, and worditis in improv acting is inescapable. He was the first, but definitely not the last!

            [Season 1 - Episode 1]

 

You've Captured Their Stunt Doubles!

- The first significant risky stunt in Channel 80 News, though there were several close calls in Season 1, came in Season 2 when Anthony, despite calculating what he was doing, nearly fell into a stream without a change of clothes or a spare logo for his character. Luckily, he didn't actually fall in. Since then, of course, we have people charging up and downriver, taking part in fierce battle sequences, and doing all sorts of crazy things for the camera's sake. What did you start, Anthony?

            [Season 2 - Episode 9]

 

The Matrix... Recharges?

- The season 1 feature "The Linear Sequence" was so short due to, other than mere time constraints, low camcorder battery (thus why Nigel Weatherby mentions "budget cuts" in the final scene). Also, cast members Alex Parker and Manfred Mueller were both present during The Linear Sequence, and though they do not appear on camera, it was them that held the door shut so Dodge Neo (Joey Cleary) had trouble getting out of the classroom. Alex also played the toy guitar that is heard as the closer fades (when Nigel is punched out).  Similarly, the feature's eventual sequel, "Finding Neo Reloaded," was left unfinished (or, at least, unfinished compared to what was originally outlined) due to time constraints, and the dying battery on the laptop Joseph Chapman had at the time. Nonetheless, the Linear Sequence persisted in appearing here and there until the series finally got itself a bombastic final installment in Season 7---this time without battery troubles.

            [Season 1 - Episode 6; Season 2 - Episode 9, 10, PDA; Season 7 - Episode 53]

 

Iconic Glory

- Cast member Bryan Joseph waited three hours during the filming of "The Pants" to appear on camera. Though he only has one line in the entire movie, it's arguably one of the most famous. It was also his last C80 appearance to date.

            [Season 2 - Episode 11]

 

Hello, Chaps! I'm Late

- Cast member Jeremy White's crossover character Safari Jim was created in 1999, for Jeremy's own film productions. However, he was always game to include Safari Jim in Channel 80 News. Infamously, Safari Jim was slated to appear in "Jugendherberge Unleashed" in Season 2 but due to prior engagements, Jeremy couldn't make it, and so the plot was rewritten to allow for his absence----however, the title screen for the feature still bears the name "Safari Jim," despite the fact that the character didn't appear in C80 until Episode 27 (and that was via his own show, a guest-feature, to allow a platform from which to launch the Bonanza Brian {Brian Wise} character). As a guest star in an actual C80 feature, Safari Jim didn't appear until Episode 31. After getting a firm footing, though, he did return at least once afterward to guest-star again.

            [Season 2 - Episode 10; Season 4 - Episode 27, 31; Season 6 - Episode 41]

 

Rewriting History

- For the filming of the historical extravaganza "The Wizard Special," cast member Lily Nisbet was due to play Joan of Arc, but due to scheduling conflicts, she notified the crew that she wouldn't be able to make it. For this reason, Will Mockry was recast as Joan, who became "Jim" of Arc instead. In a veritable hurricane of improvisation, Joey Cleary decided that his character (The Wizard) would still offer "Joan" a man as compensation to fight the English. Jeremy White decided to take it a step further and jumped into an interview scene in the spur of the moment, and Jim's man, "Fernando," was given life. The pair then appeared together in a later episode.

            [Season 3 - Episode 21; Season 4 - Episode 26]

 

Didn't I Just Talk to You?

- Deficiency Boy 8 is called "Duplicity" for more reasons than just the title character's alter-ego. In that episode, not just with the advent of split-screen but in most of the scenes in general, most of the actors had to pull double duty or more: Brian Wise played two character incarnations, John Nielsen played two character incarnations, Jeremy White played three characters, and Johännah Larsen played three characters, most of whom for her appeared in the same scenes together, requiring some very creative editing. Brian Wise also body-doubled for Will in one scene, allowing Will to also play two different characters.

            [Season 4 - Episode 26]

 

Insider [Trading] Info

- Channel 80 News doesn't limit itself to insulting mailmen. No, for quite a while Martha Stewart was a fair target in the C80 world herself. In fact, the closeup that features Johännah Larsen as Martha returning to prison, in Season 3, was actually the second incarnation of that feature. The original, which was accidentally recorded over by an episode of Cooking Corner (before "The Pants"), starred Bethany Loberg as Martha (before Stewart was arrested in real life, thus the plot merely involved a zealous cult), and also featured Manfred Mueller. Martha has only appeared once to date, but her cronies often pop up elsewhere, notably in the "Philadelphia Jones" feature.

            [Season 2 - Episode 11; Season 3 - Episode 23; Season 5 - Episode 35]

 

Thoopsy

- Cast member Alex Prescott made his official debut in Season 3, along with his brother Victor and friend Ben. However, his first unofficial C80 appearance was years before---in a split-second clip before Joseph Chapman unveiled the "Meaning of Life" segments. You can see him choking on a drink in the Episode 5 opener.

            [Season 1 - Episode 5; Season 3 - Episode 19]

 

What's in a Name? Part 2

- Michael Cunningham, Nathan Clark, Danny Clark, Stephen Glantz, Jeremy White, Kyle Kertay, Manfred Mueller, Anthony, and Will have all played characters whose names are, in one way or another, some form of the name "Jim." To date that makes at least eleven Jims in the character roster in some form. That's not even counting the number of Bobs, Billys, Johns, or Joes.

            [Season 1 to 8 - various]

 

A Man, A Bat, A Door

- Episode 21, "The Twenty First Day," had the foremost purpose of explaining the background of Random Reporter Guy, AKA The Wizard (played by Joey Cleary). The base plot for the episode was actually written by a sleep-deprived Joey himself, who came up with the backstory while house-sitting for his brother. Funnily enough, inspiration struck as he was watching Channel 80 News at 4 AM and got threatened by an irate neighbor with a bat who thought he was viewing pornography. Yes, you read that right. The Wizard's years of wandering the earth as amnesiac Random Reporter Guy were later expanded upon in a later episode, though in place of a strange man with a bat, put in hours of scouring Encarta Encyclopedia for historical notes and you have it.

            [Season 3 - Episode 21; Season 5 - Episode 39]

 

You're a Librarian... I'm Presuming You're Pregnant

- Cast member Joey Cleary has admitted on more than one occasion that he often doesn't remember what he says on camera, which adds all the more to his ever off-the-cuff dialogue. He is literally surprised to see what comes out of his mouth after the camera has stopped rolling. Another peculiar little tidbit would be the fact that both Joey and his sister Julia have referred (on camera and off) to the ground as "the floor."

            [Season 4 - Episode 29]

 

The Birth of a Detective

- The character Swiss Rolls (Joey Cleary) got his name from the snack food of the same name, which just happened to be sitting in front of Joey when the scene opened. Similarly, Swiss Rolls' original assistant, Zero (Anthony) got his name from the graffiti on the wall of the house (which can be seen beside him in the scene itself). The first Swiss Rolls feature, "Case of the Missing Plot," is not even named after Swiss Rolls, but rather after Death (Jeremy White), who co-starred with Rolls. It's of note that immediately after finishing the filming of "Missing Plot," the entire cast hated how it turned out (as it had no plot, which was the point)... and they certainly never thought a sequel would ever be made. However, in hindsight, "Missing Plot" was such a unique and strangely-worded feature, it was considered a hilarious gem---albeit an odd gem. Thus, the misguided feature became a series in Season 3 when the next two installments were made. Swiss Rolls' popularity exploded from there and he continued on to several more successful appearances---heck, he even impressed God. ;D

            [Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 5 - Episode 33, 40; Season 6 - Episode 44; Season 7 - Episode 52]

 

 

It's Like You Were Never Gone

- Due to a planned travel-spree across Europe, several of Holly Janka's C80 characters were temporarily written out of the major plot to allow for her absence. This included killing off her chief Holocron character, Beatrice, and stripping her DB villain, Hezedipapa, of her powers, allowing Anarchy Lad (Jeremy White), the Confuzzler (Will Mockry), and Mo the Surfing Mystic (Kyle Kertay) to step up as the main villains for the latter series. Interestingly enough, before she left, Holly recorded an abundance of voicework for Beatrice's sisters in Holocron, the Pilot Sisters---so much material, in fact, that Joseph Chapman didn't have a chance to use it all before she returned to Oregon.  Of course, with Holly's return came the return of Hezedipapa, as well as her other characters all over the C80 world.

            [Season 3 - Episode 17; Season 4 - Episode 26; Star Wars: Holocron - Episode 4, 5]

 

 

Take Off Your Pants and Kill Them

- The classic Channel 80 News feature "The Pants," a parody of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds," was conceived after Joseph Chapman and Jeremy White viewed Hitchcock's film together and couldn't resist making a mockery of it. Pants were chosen as the villain (initially) due to the fact that when whipped about, certain pairs of pants made a sound reminiscent of birds flapping their wings----that, and pants killing people was a concept too funny to pass up. The finished film was submitted by cast member Anthony to his college's amateur film festival that year, and was actually nominated for a couple of awards. The shot of John Nielsen's character drowning in a pool after being hit in the face by rabid pants was, in fact, used in promotional advertisements for upcoming film festivals at the college afterwards.

            [Season 2 - Episode 11]

 

Grandmother Knows Best

- The character that gets run over by the Postbusters in the first film's montage is not, in fact, Suck Vaccum (despite the fact that Joey Cleary wore nearly the same costume for it), but is, in fact, The Wizard's Grandmother. This isn't revealed until a few episodes later, during the "Wizard Special." It is also interesting to note that according to the official backstory Joey wrote for the Wizard... his "grandmother" was actually created after the Wizard himself was.

            [Season 3 - Episode 18, 21]

 

He IS Odd

- Swiss Rolls (Joey Cleary) only appeared during odd-numbered seasons up until his possible final episode, in which he characteristically broke the expected pattern just to spite us all. ;)

            [Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 5 - Episode 33, 40; Season 6 - Episode 44]

 

Viva la France

- Lisette Marceau, the French ambassador played by Johännah Larsen, spoke French during all her scenes, which were later subtitled with Johännah's help. All the other actors in the scene had no idea what she was saying, but responded (what they thought was) accordingly. Surprisingly, a lot of the conversation does make sense in the end, and regardless, it's humorous.

            [Season 5 - Episode 33]

 

Learning All About Our President(s)
- Though they originated in different mediums and for different purposes, technically Channel 80 News has had three presidents of the United States, all of whom were elected in 2004: George W. Bush (oft-referenced in news briefs), Robert E. Wee (Jordan White) of the Mission: Implausible series, and MOL (Manfred Online, who 'won' the presidential race in '04, beating out Bush, Linux, and Saddam Hussein). In 2007, a special feature focusing on a pre-preliminary debate for the '08 election also featured three candidates: incumbent Robert E. Wee and running mate Charlotte Keebler (Julia Cleary), 'Blindocrat' candidate Frank Marconi (Jeremy White), and JOL Beta, with running mate The Linear Sequence. In December of 2007, the final installment of the "Mission: Implausible" series revealed that Robert Wee does indeed go on to win the presidency again in 2008. As for a last amusing tidbit about our "candidates," the character of Frank Marconi was originally created by accident on the first episode of "The Rear View with Starla Simmons"---when Starla (Jeremy White) asked guest Mr. Kittyface (Joey Cleary) to tell her who he'd voted for, he mumbled "Marconi" due to not being able to think of any actual politicians at the time.
                [Season 1 to 8 - various; Season 2 - Episode 16; Season 4 - Episode 27; Season 6 - Presidential Pre-Preliminaries, Episode 45]

Set Your Ballots to 'Blindocrats'
- Inadvertantly, Channel 80 News sports not one, but two different blind mayors in various features. The first one is Mayor Seymour Gals (Anthony) of Dumbsville, who may not actually be blind but certainly is as far as the interview is concerned. The other is of course the Blind Mayor (Johännah Larsen) of the Village of Ted, seen in the latest installments of the Swiss Rolls series. Later, a third "Blindocrat," Frank Marconi (Jeremy White) was added to the ballot, though while he was also blind he wasn't mayor of anything.
                [Season 3 - Episode 20, 22; Season 5 - Episode 33; Season 6 - Presidential Pre-Preliminaries]

Typos = Inspiration Part 2
- The name of the soft drink "Frist," seen in the C80 feature "The Black & White Zone," was a reference to cast member Michael Cunningham's constant accidental mistyping of the word "first," and was conceived sometime in Season 1.
                [Season 2 - Episode 10]

Wardrobe (Mal)Function
- Anarchy Lad's (Jeremy White) overshirt is deliberately buttoned wrong in every scene he has ever appeared in (beginning with his transformation in the season 2 finale, during which the first thing he does is button his shirt... wrong.) Also, as the question has been frequently asked, it should be known that Anarchy Lad carries a disconnected phone with him purely because he can; preferring chaos, he also apparently prefers that his costume not make complete sense.
                [Season 2 - Episode 16; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 4 - Episode 26, 30; Season 5 - Episode 34]

Wardrobe (Mal)Function Part 2
- Capable Lad's (Brian Wise) logo, a magnifying glass focusing on a baby lemon, is meant to emphasize his ability to be capable of things even in situations where things might seem hopeless, or to find use in tools that may seem useless to others. However, it is amusing to note that none of the other characters other than Capable Lad understand this, thus, he can be found explaining its meaning on more than one occasion.
                [Season 2 - Episode 15, 16; Season 3 - Episode 17, 22; Season 4 - Episode 26, 30]

Wardrobe (Mal)Function Part 3
- Captain Obvious (Anthony) wears a Santa hat purely because the crew decided to make his return to the screen a festive one (due to Deficiency Boy 3 being filmed so near to Christmas). After the initial filming, however, he continued to wear the hat in all other appearances after that. Funnily enough, the hat often shows up without him (such as when the Wizard (Joey Cleary) tries to sell it at the Cave of Grrraaassh Sale, or when Anarchy Lad (Jeremy White) produces it after having defeated Obvious offscreen). He also has always carried a green lightsaber, as long as he has been Captain Obvious.
                [Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 2 - Episode 9, 14, 16; Season 3 - Episode 18, 22]

Retroactively Prequel'd
- The popular C80 feature "The Pants," a parody of Hitchcock's "The Birds," appeared in Season 2, Episode 11, "One Leg at a Time," and was filmed during the summer of 2004. However, since the episode was completed, the feature of The Pants itself was dated, mostly as a joke, "Decembuary 81st, 2007." It was recently agreed upon that due to this date, the events in The Pants have not occurred yet (and will not, until December of 2007). As such, beginning in Season 5 with the first episode of "Philadelphia Jones," features began making irony-laced references to The Pants, such as the appearance of John Nielsen as a member of the Jones family, as well as Bethany Loberg reprising her role from The Pants as Donna Martini, as well as remarks made by Jeremy White as Skinner, and Joey Cleary as Philly in "Philadelphia Jones." In March of 2008, as well, the feature "Lor Crawford: Tomb Checker" finally made reference officially to the events of "The Pants" having just happened recently, prior to that feature.
                [Season 2 - Episode 11; Season 5 - Episode 35; Season 6 - Episode 48]

We Need More References For Our Museum
- Though tie-ins are ever-present, the Season 5 feature "Philadelphia Jones" went above and beyond: Throughout, references are made to the first five seasons of Channel 80 News---Skinner (Jeremy White), the leader of the Martha Stewart Cult, is from Season 3, and mentions his cellmate the Genie (Joey Cleary), from the Season 1 feature "I Hallucinate of Jeannie." Many tongue-in-cheek references, as well as the character Donna Martini (Bethany Loberg), are from the Season 2 feature "The Pants," which when "Philly" occurs, hasn't happened yet. Lastly, Madam Palm Olive (Julia Cleary) mentions The Curator (Kyle Kertay), who appeared numerous times on the Season 4+ show "The Rear View."
                [Season 1 - Episode 8; Season 2 - Episode 11; Season 3 - Episode 24; Season 4 - Episode 27; Season 5 - Episode 34, 35]

Family Ties
- Jennifer Jones (John Nielsen), the woman who is killed while folding laundry in "The Pants," is considered to be the aunt of Philadelphia "Philly" Jones (Joey Cleary). Also, given his somewhat accident-prone nature, Airman Tupok Jones (also John Nielsen), from the space-age parody "Aliems," is implied to be related as a descendant to some branch of the ill-fated Jones family.
                [Season 2 - Episode 11; Season 5 - Episode 35; Season 7 - Episode 51; Season 8 - Episode 57, 58]

Dijon Vu: The Same Mustard As Before
- Episode 36 is composed of many different short features, filmed at different times over a couple of months. Amusingly enough, however, two completely different characters, in different sketches, filmed at different times, but both played by Kyle Kertay, utter the line "It's like water, but not really"---used in completely different context, to boot---in the same episode.
                [Season 5 - Episode 36]

Touring Memory Lane
- The 11th episode of Deficiency Boy, "Split Difference," is a whirlwind of C80 references from the get-go. For one, many aspects of the episode resemble the first Deficiency Boy episode, "Chewagumabar," such as Private Mountain Maybe (Jordan White), the 'brother' of the character he played in DB#1. Hezedipapa (Holly Janka) is also the villainess again, and the subplot deals once again with Duplicity Man (John Nielsen) and requires the assistance of Lawful Good (Jeremy White). In addition, it features the juicy return to the screen of villains Gordo (Rodger Fickel) and Grodo (Nathan Gneckow) and original hero Super Slow Reaction Man (Michael Cunningham). The crown jewel? During the training montage in the episode, our heroes DB, SSRM and Lawful Good return to iconic locations featured in SSRM episode 1 ("The Phantom Milkness"), 2 ("Milkish Freakyness"), 3.5 ("A New Dope"), 3.75 ("The Milkire Strikes Back"), 4 ("Lustful City"), and 5 ("Return of the Hero"), as well as from Deficiency Boy #3 ("Mystic Mix").
                [Season 1 - Episode 1, 3, 6, 8; Season 2 - Episode 9, 12, 14; Season 5 - Episode 37]

You'll Cry Yourself to Death
- The "emo" character called SadSadBoy76 (Joey Cleary) featured in PDA3's EMObile commercial, who is known only by his MySpace handle, actually has a MySpace (maintained by cast member Jeremy White). Check it out! It contains several references to C80 features. The compilation album introduced by Cobblepot (Joey Cleary) in the beginning of Episode 36 is also named for the same character. The character's Myspace blog also occasionally references events occuring at the same time in C80 canon.
                [Season 5 - PDA 3, Episode 36]

New Technology! Part 2
- The first use of bluescreen technology in C80 is in Episode 36, "The Episode Made Entirely of Small Things," and the first use of bluescreen with live actors (Holly Janka, Johännah Larsen, and Chris Steere) was Episode 39, "Hearing Problems."

                [Season 5 - Episode 36, 39]

 

They Got Clipped
- The C80 clip-shows (Season 2’s “Memory Avenue XP” and Season 4’s “Return to Memory Avenue”) have traditionally featured segments showing off C80’s Heroes, Villains, etc., with intros from various fitting characters. Ironically, both villains who introduced those segments (Hezedipapa [Holly Janka] for Avenue XP and Anarchy Lad [Jeremy White] for Return to Memory Avenue) were deposed from power one season later.
            [Season 2 - "Memory Avenue XP," Episode 12, 16; Season 3 - Episode 17; Season 4 - "Return to Memory Avenue"; Season 5 - Episode 34]
 

Round, Round Tires
- Season 1, 3, and 6 are the only C80 seasons not to include a car commercial or fictional car model appearance, to date (Season 2 had the 2004 Amuck, Season 4 featured both the Buick and 2006 Universal, Season 5 showed us the wonders of the 1984 EMObile as well as the more generic "Mister Eye's Car Spree," Season 7 gave us a passing glimpse of the 2008 Maroon, and Season 8 revealed to us the green living of the 2009 Enviro).
            [Season 2 - Episode 10; Season 4 - Episode 27, 31; Season 5 - PDA3, Episode 36; Season 7 - PDA4; Season 8 - Episode 59]


New Technology! Part 3
- The first instance of a C80 shot receiving advanced special effects (from Adobe Aftereffects) was in Episode 43, “All Odds,” during the fight in Deficiency Boy featuring actors Joey Cleary, Kyle Kertay, and Julia Cleary. The man responsible for those wonderful effects was none other than cast member Michael Cunningham.
            [Season 6 - Episode 43]


Wardrobe (Mal)Function Part 4
- The shirt worn by The Wizard (Joey Cleary) was originally a brilliant gold… and according to the plot, God (Kyle Kertay) changed the color of the shirt to silver so He could look at the Wizard “without cringing.” In reality, the shirt, when washed with “earth safe” soap, lost all its gold, but stayed somehow shiny and silver instead. Oh well, it seems to have worked out in the Wizard’s favor anyway, seeing how God told him later that “because his jacket was silver” he could have almost all of his powers back.
            [Season 3 - Episode 21; Season 4 - Episode 26; Season 5 - Episode 39]


Puppet Mastery
- While the second installment of the Salem Gypsy series used a different stuffed animal to represent the Gypsy, the third and final installment of the series features the original puppet used in the first installment, and to boot, is controlled by the hands of both the same character and actor as before (Michael Cunningham).
            [Season 1 - Episode 5; Season 2 - Episode 12; Season 6 - Episode 42]

Can't Believe Everything You See on TV
- The “Season 5 Preview Special” featured both gag promos for shows we never intended to produce, such as SINRS Bachelorish: Sleeping Booty, and shows we DID intend to produce, such as "Aliems." Ironically, despite a promo for Aliems playing in the preview of Season 5, not only did Aliems not make it into Season 5, but it didn't appear until Season 7---and then in an extended preview trailer that for most intents and purposes was considered something of a precursor episode. "Aliems" finally got its glorious, actual-episode debut during the Season 8 Premiere. Better late than never, we say.
            [Season 5 - Preview Special; Season 7 - Episode 51; Season 8 - Episode 57]

 

Photoshop

- In “Mission: Implausible 3: Hunger for Power,” the protagonist Agent Laticia (Holly Janka) once again encounters her stalker of an ex-boyfriend, Ned Farious (Anthony). Ned spends a good deal of the film snapping semi-lecherous photos of Laticia. What you might not know is that for a portion of the time, Anthony was actually taking photos, as he had a working camera in hand. Points for realism, Anthony… points for realism.

            [Season 4 - Episode 28]

 

Never the Twain Shall Meet

- In “Mission: Implausible 5: The Way the Cookie Crumbles,” a briefing scene takes place during which time the President (Jordan White) idly asks the other agents “Who’s Randy?” This was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that President Wee and Randy (Will Mockry) have never been in a scene together due to their characters wearing the same coat. Likewise, in Swiss Rolls 4, MacGunda (Julia Cleary) is conspicuously absent from a scene containing the president due to the very same coat-sharing.

            [Season 5 - Episode 33; Season 6 - Episode 45]

 

Benchmark Performance

- There is at least one scene featuring one or more characters hiding behind a bench to spy on various other characters in every installment of the “Mission: Implausible” series. Four out of five times, it is the same bench. Agent Laticia (Holly Janka) is also the only character to appear in every installment of the series.

            [Season 2 - Episode 12, 16; Season 4 - Episode 28; Season 5 - Episode 38; Season 6 - Episode 45]

 

Don’t Worry, He’s on the Level

- In the second episode of “Securitiez,” which featured an undercover drug bust, the character played by Kyle Kertay refers to his drug supplier as “Doctor Chaz.” Unbeknownst to most of the cast at the time, he was in fact referencing his own father, Charlie, an actual doctor (though obviously not an actual drug dealer ;D).

            [Season 6 - Episode 46]

When in Rome, er, Spain
- In "The Puce Panther 2: Defective Detectives," Inspector Jeu le Deu (Jeremy White) and his sidekick MacGunda (Julia Cleary) make reference to a Spanish villa owned by MacGunda, with the inspector even going so far as to say that she shouldn't own a villa in Spain, because she's French. This is a direct reference to a dream that Joseph Chapman once had, in which he saw MacGunda's inexplicably Spanish villa and found himself thinking the very same thing.   
              [Season 7 - Episode 52]

Fifty Six Ways to Create a Memorable Character
- The character Fifty-Six (Julia Cleary) has a winding and wacky history prior to ever appearing onscreen in C80. As a high school senior in 2007, Julia found herself applying to universities she wished to attend after graduation, and with her impeccable GPA at her side, got several offers back from said schools as to how much they'd be willing to give her in scholarships. Suffice to say that the moniker 'fifty-six' (or, as we like to pronounce it, 'fitty-six') was thrust upon Julia by her sister and future cast member Megan in relation to one of those offers, and thanks to the persistence of the rest of the cast in annoying her with it, she was never able to escape it. First mentioned in passing in a video Joey Cleary submitted to C80 and then referenced in a commercial for a rap album in one of Jeremy White's productions, eventually Joseph Chapman persuaded Julia, by bribing her with the wonders of bluescreen, to finally appear as the notorious Fifty-Six in person. The rest is history, though for one last ironic ending, Julia did end up choosing to go to the same university whose offer was responsible for the character's birth.
            [Season 6 - Episode 47; Season 7 - Episode 51]

What's in a Name? Part 3
- To the delightful confusion of all, cast member Jordan White has played three completely different characters in the Swiss Rolls series whose names all sport the initials "D.D.": Derek Dyrex (aka Doorstop), Donnie Darkham, and Dingorius "Ding Dong" Dongway.
            [Season 3 - Episode 17; Season 5 - Episode 33, 40; Season 6 - Episode 44; Season 7 - Episode 52, 56]

Linear... Like it Goes in a Straight Line Or Something
- Each successive installment of the "Matrix"-spoof series "The Linear Sequence" appears in a "Spoofapalooza" episode: The original being in "Spoofapalooza," the sequel "Finding Neo Reloaded" being in "Spoofapalooza 2," and the final installment years later appearing in, naturally, "Spoofapalooza 3." That being the mainstream features, anyway... the Linear Sequence as a character has been known to sneak into other episodes, elsewhere...
            [Season 1 - Episode 6; Season 2 - Episode 9; Season 7 - Episode 53]

Perhaps We Should Have Solved the Case Sooner
- In "The Puce Panther 2," the plot involves a remarkably rare gem being stolen. The prop jewel featured was actually purchased sometime in 2006 with the intention of using it in one or more features; ironically, it was intended that the prop be used to portray the reforged "Moon Sapphire" in the superhero series, but when it came time for the gem to appear, it was missing in action, thus a clay replacement was quickly and skillfully crafted by Joseph Chapman. The prop resurfaced later, and, with its screen appearance still ahead of it, was chosen to portray the French gem instead (having missed its chance to play the Wizard's favorite toy).
            [Season 5 - Episode 39; Season 6 - Episode 43; Season 7 - Episode 52]

Alter-Egos with Altered States of Mind
- The character of Questionable Santa (Jeremy White), who appears in several "Drinking Problem of the Ages" features, shows up in the third "Drinking" and bemoans to the college slacker pals Paul (John Nielsen), Koby (Kyle Kertay), and Olga (Johännah Larsen) that he has been forced to come hang out with them again despite having moved on to "bigger and better things" due to his 'other' friends being arrested. It was implied that his other friends were the drug addict characters Minto (John Nielsen), Swiss (Kyle Kertay), and Angeline (Johännah Larsen) featured in a recent prior episode---who are of course played by the same three people.
            [Season 6 - Episode 46; Season 7 - PDA4]

We Need More References For Our Museum Part 2

 - The Season 6 finale, "Lor Crawford: Tomb Checker" was deliberately made to tie together a great deal of past C80 features to go along with the rest of the season's sort-of-'theme' of retro references. Past features referenced include "The Rear View" (Seasons 4-8), "Misplaced" (Season 4), "Philadelphia Jones" (Season 5), "The Pants" (Season 2), "The Adventures of Deficiency Boy" (Season 5 and 6 in particular), "Postbusters" (Season 3), "The Salem Gypsy" (Season 6 in particular), Bonanza Family Adventures (Seasons 4 and 6 in particular), "The Weirdest Link" (Season 5 in particular), and "Visually Impaired Date" (Season 6 in particular). Convoluted? Yes. A crowd-pleaser anyway? We think so. What can we say... we like our C80 universe.

        [Season 6 - Episode 48]


We Fight For Freedom
- In Channel 80 News, we take inspiration from whatever we can, and of course often this inspiration leads to commercials for various products. The very first episode was filmed in the high school history classroom of several of the cast members, and a certain prop---a stick with a yellow sign soon christened "Freedom on a Stick"---was found in the classroom and made its way into one of the first product commercials in C80. Years later, after the original North cast had graduated, several of the younger cast members such as Ryan Wheeler, Jordan White, Ashley Wright, and Julia Cleary were at North High. Having a class in that same classroom with the same history teacher who was on the eve of his own retirement, Jordan set to work (in secret) wearing that teacher, Bill Deister, down, until he agreed to relinquish Freedom on a Stick to Jordan, who in turn surprised C80 founder Joseph Chapman with it. For a couple years more, Freedom on a Stick hung around a bit until the perfect time to commemorate the original commercial arose, and thus, Freedom on a Stick finally returned to Channel 80 News in Season 7. As a bonus, in both commercials, the stick is used to hit "Osama bin Laden," played both times by a plainclothes Michael Cunningham, who, of course, looks nothing like Bin Laden. Fun, no?
      
[Season 1 - Episode 1; Season 7 - Episode 54]


Stirring Social Commentary
- The commercial for the faux-social-networking website "Myface," seen in Episode 54, was created using a temporary mixture of the source code from other such sites, and was edited for originality and humor. It also happens to be pumped full of C80 references! Look closely to see mentions of the Linear Sequence, Gordo (Rodger Fickel), Grodo (Nathan Gneckow), Lawful Good (Jeremy White), Martha Stewart (Johännah Larsen), and SadSadBoy76 (Joey Cleary)... as well as the fact that many current and past cast members and friends are visible in photos.
      
[Season 7 - Episode 54]

Belting Out Another Hit
- The belt bearing the word "Sagittarius" in sparkly lettering, seen being worn by Agent A (Jeremy White) in Mission: Implausible 3: Hunger for Power and by Sequence Agent Geo (Kyle Kertay) in The Linear Sequence: Renovations is not only the same belt, but merely the day-to-day belt of Johännah Larsen, who lent it to her male co-stars for a comical touch and to hold up their pants, respectively.
       
[Season 3 - Episode 28; Season 7 - Episode 53]


Today's Horoscope Reveals Greatly Increased Productivity
- One never knows going into a C80 feature filming how long exactly it will take to complete. Depending on actor availability, weather, and other real life factors, filmings for some features could be stretched across months before getting that final bit of needed footage. Some days, however, the heavens smile down on our productivity. April 17th and 18th are apparently a couple of those days---get this: Principal filming for the main feature of Episode 38, "Bomb Voyage", Mission: Implausible 4, was filmed on April 17th, 2007, and the VERY next day, principal filming for the main feature of Episode 39, "Hearing Problems," Deficiency Boy #12, was recorded almost in its entirety---effectively netting us two episodes on back-to-back days, which is nearly unheard of in C80. If that wasn't enough, on April 18th, 2009, the primary filmings for both Episode 57, "Strange New World," and Episode 59, "Travel Companions," were also completed on the same day. April 17th-18th, folks... it has strange magic. As a kooky bonus, Episode 33, "Nearly Lost Episode 2," was filmed (coincidentally) exactly one year to the day before Episode 43, "All Odds."
       
[Season 5 - Episode 33, 38, 39; Season 6 - Episode 43; Season 8 - Episode 57, 59]


Wardrobe (Mal)Function Part 5
- After several trials and tribulations with other options, eventually it was none other than cast member Johännah Larsen who sewed and created the striped uniform shirts worn by the characters of "Aliems," with a red stripe indicating either cadet or command status, green stripe indicating a vocation in science or medicine, and the yellow stripes indicating several other fields including engineering and general ship members. Joseph Chapman created the matching comm-badges worn on the uniforms out of clay, and in fact, created a "beta" set of badges before settling on the ones seen in the official premiere episode in Season 8.
       
[Season 5 to Season 8 - various; Season 7 - Episode 51; Season 8 - Episode 57, 58]


You've Captured Their Stunt Doubles! Part 2
- Since the first season of C80, stunts of varying degrees of skill and seriousness have run rampant from feature to feature. They are not without their themes, however. If you pay close attention, you might notice that cast member Joey Cleary ends up entering bodies of water (of varying shapes and temperatures) so many times (a minimum of eight) over his tenure in the film group that members of his own family eventually began to assume, when told the group was filming with Joey, that he would inevitably end up soaked no matter how much we tried to tell them this wasn't necessarily so! Perhaps it's not surprising that one of his major characters, The Wizard, is responsible for a worldwide flood of biblical proportions.
       
[Season 2 - Episode 10, 12; Season 3 - Episode 18; Season 4 - Episode 26, 29; Season 5 - Preview Special, Episode 35, 39]


Too Dumb 2 Die? Yes!
- While the character known as Fifty-Six (Julia Cleary) had gained rapper-like infamy before ever appearing physically in Channel 80 News, the wicked ways behind her occasionally forced continuing appearances would reach new heights in the Season 7 finale (which was, of course, Episode 56, appropriately titled "Fitty-Six!"). The feature in mind was a parody of "CSI," and thus, to entice Julia into appearing as her most-hated character again onscreen, she was promised that Fitty would be killed off as part of the feature's plot and her murder subsequently investigated. However, as a prank, Julia was the only person involved in the filming who was unaware that through insidious editing, her character would actually remain very much alive at the end of the movie. To everyone's credit, they kept it under their hats during filming and all went to plan... Fitty appeared dead, but at the end was alive and well. The beans were spilled to Julia a few days later, after it was too late for her to do anything about it. All in good fun, Fitty-Six.
       
[Season 7 - Episode 56]


On the Road Again
- Channel 80 News is centered in Salem, Oregon, but we definitely try to get out when we can. The various cast members of C80 have made road trips of varying length in order to utilize semi-exotic and awesome locations or sometimes just to reach occasionally far-flung cast members. Most often these trips take us to areas located on the Oregon coast, but the two expeditions furthest from Salem would have to be the trip to Tacoma, Washington to film with Kyle Kertay and Johännah Larsen, with the trip(s) to Glendale, Oregon to film with Alexander and Victor Prescott coming in second.
       
[Season 3 - Episode 19; Season 6 - Episode 41; Season 8 - Episode 57, 59]


Sing For Your Supper
- The songs performed by the "Toxic Mayonnaise" and "Fajita Demon" bands in the "Battle of the Bands 2007" feature were all made up entirely on the spot, as the camera was rolling. While the grand majority of all C80 dialogue is generated this way, it is somewhat more remarkable to try doing it while playing an instrument and singing!
       
[Season 6 - Episode 41]


In the Future, Time Travel is Easy... Maybe
- Given that the difficulty in jumpstarting the "Aliems" series resulted in its first appearances occurring rather near the point when cast member Kyle Kertay would graduate from Willamette and cease living in Salem, the question arose of what would be done with him, as he'd already been cast as the ship's captain, Charles Chewkotay. The same question applied to the character of Dr. Linda Coy (Johännah Larsen), as the actress portraying her would face exactly the same dilemma. The decision was made to write them out in a way that, if possible, they could return at a later date to reprise the roles, however, the first episode hadn't even been shot at that point. As the filming for the true debut of Aliems approached a year later, it was assumed that Kyle and Johännah's roles would be recorded sometime in the future and then shown as flashbacks in the second or third episode... thus, the episode featuring Tylor Stepp as the replacement captain, Clark Lurk, was shot first. However, the footage was lodged in post-production for so long due to the advanced effects required that the feature with the original crew was shot before either were finished... and thus, Kyle's episode ended up being the first shown after all, with Tylor's episode airing second, to avoid the somewhat chronologically muddled earlier plans for introducing the characters. This is the reason why the dates on Episodes 57 and 58 seem out of order---it was no mistake: 58 was, in reality, the first one filmed.
        [Season 5 - Preview Special; Season 7 - Episode 51; Season 8 - Episode 57, 58]