Stay Tuned (1992)

A husband and wife are sucked into a hellish TV and have to survive a gauntlet of twisted versions of TV shows they find themselves in.

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers:

Tom S. Parker (screenplay), Jim Jennewein (screenplay)

Stars:

John Ritter, Pam Dawber, Jeffrey Jones

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Ritter	...	Roy Knable
Pam Dawber	...	Helen Knable
Jeffrey Jones	...	Spike
David Tom	...	Darryl Knable / Narrator
Heather McComb	...	Diane Knable
Bob Dishy	...	Murray Seidenbaum
Joyce Gordon	...	Sarah Seidenbaum
Eugene Levy	...	Crowley
Erik King	...	Pierce
Don Calfa	...	Wetzel
John Destry	...	Sackler (as John Blackwell Destrey)
Susan Blommaert	...	Ducker
Maurice Verkaar	...	Another Buyer
Ken Douglas	...	Skeletal Worker
Gerry Nairn	...	Newscaster

Storyline

The Knables are having marriage problems: Roy is a lousy plumbing supplies salesman by day and couch potato by night, and his wife, Helen, is a successful senior product manager for a vitamin company. Roy watches too much TV every night and Helen just cannot stand it. Then one night, Helen offers Roy a night to save their relationship: a romantic getaway without phones, their children, and especially no TV. Unfortunately, when Roy's hooked on the big screen, there's no going back. This frustrates and angers her and Helen decides to smash the family console with one of Roy's trophies as a wake-up call to reality. A heartbroken-to-disoriented Roy then hears the doorbell and finds out that it's a mysterious salesman named Spike who offers him the "ultimate getaway" from all the hate, frustration, and failures: a new remote controller and a new state-of-the-art satellite TV. Roy accepts the new TV by signing a free trial contract not knowing that he just sold his soul to the devil himself...

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Plot Keywords:

television | wrestling | reference to led zeppelin | zombie | movie reality crossover | 

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Taglines:

A comedy adventure.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some off-color humor and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Höllische Spiele

Filming Locations:

Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$10,736,401 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Productions, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Eugene Levy had previously starred on a TV series called Stay Tuned (1976).

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Goofs

The tarpaulin that covers the dynamite disappears and reappears.

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Quotes

Jay: ...And, of course, win or lose, every contestant takes home a set of the Encyclopedia Satanica.

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, the HVTV Fall Lineup is shown, including:

• I Love Lucifer



• The Golden Ghouls



• Murder She Likes



• David Dukes of Hazard



• Facts of Life Support



• Beverly Hills, 90666



• Fresh Prince of Darkness



• Unmarried with Children

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Connections

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Soundtracks

Taste
Performed by Auto & Cherokee
Courtesy of Morgan Creek Records

User Reviews

Yes, The Devil Made Me Watch This!

This was a clever and funny movie, much better than I anticipated. Most of the humor involves takeoff or parodies of television programs and movies. Being familiar with most of them, I enjoyed the humor. The takeoff involved having the devil take charge of some of these programs.

John Ritter and Pam Dawber play husband-and-wife "Roy and Helen Knable" who get sucked into buying a TV dish package straight from The Devil. After the purchase, which comes complete with 666 channels, mayhem ensues. There were a number of spots in here I just laughed out loud. Knowing a lot of the TV programs that were being spoofed helps a lot, of course, but there is a lot of good material in this film. The special-effects were pretty good, too, especially for a film that really never got a lot of exposure nor, I assume, had a huge budget.

Jeffrey Jones and Eugene Levy, two guys who are usually pretty funny, supply some good humor here, too. I looked at this strictly for laughs even though I know the devil is somebody to take seriously, but this film was anything but played for seriousness. As a bonus, we even got a Chuck Jones cartoon in the middle of the story.

This is one wacky movie and I'd like to see it on widescreen DVD. I last saw it on tape. This is recommended to those who enjoy dark humor.