Overdrawn at the Memory Bank 

The mind of a computer programmer forced to take a virtual vacation is removed by a totalitarian government and accidentally trapped in the virtual reality simulation. He must find a way out before he expires.

Director:

Douglas Williams

Writers:

John Varley (short story), Corinne Jacker (teleplay)

Stars:

Raul Julia, Linda Griffiths, Donald Moore

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Linda Griffiths	...	Computech Apollonia James
Raul Julia	...	Aram Fingal / Rick Blaine
Donald Moore	...	Novicorp Chairman / The Fat Man (as Donald C. Moore)
Wanda Cannon	...	Felicia Varley / Lola
Helen Carscallen	...	Dr. Darwin
Rex Hagon	...	Shuttle Passenger (as Rex Hagan)
Patrick Brymer	...	Nirvana Clerk
Chapelle Jaffe	...	Djamilla
Denise Pidgeon	...	Doppling Medico (as Denise Pigeon)
Bunty Webb	...	Teacher
Audra Williams	...	Desirée
Hadley Kay	...	Marco
Gary Farmer	...	Tooby
Arnie Achtman	...	Slavin
Maury Chaykin	...	Gondol

Storyline

Raul Julia plays Aram Fingal, a very intelligent computer programmer and a very bored man in the employ of Novicorp, a mega-corporation that exists somewhere in the future. When caught watching "Casablanca" at his desk, Fingal is required to undergo rehabilitation therapy called "doppling." Doppled patients find their minds transferred into the bodies of animals for a new outlook on life (and for a number of amusing nature documentary sequences narrated by Julia). However, Fingal's body is misplaced and he is transferred into a computer while the body is located. With the help of Appolonia James, a medical technician played by Linda Griffiths, Fingal manages to reprogram himself into a simulation of Casablanca and eventually gains access to Novicorp's financial computers, bringing the company to its knees. But Fingal's real problem is getting back into his body before his memory patterns are erased.

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Plot Keywords:

sci fi episode | programmer | casablanca | virtual reality | reference to the ten commandments | 

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Taglines:

Caught in a future world, his only escape is back in time.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Abandomoviez.net (Spanish)

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Archivio segreto

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

RSL,SFTV,WNET Channel 13 New York

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Part of a series of PBS's literary adaptations, which included The Lathe of Heaven (1980).

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Goofs

We see that for the six hours of real time, the equivalent of several months pass for Aram Fingal inside the computer. However, in numerous scenes, Appollonia (in the real world) speaks to Fingal at a normal pace. To Fingal, these few seconds should have seemed to stretch out for hours; he should not have been able to comprehend them as they were spoken.

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Quotes

Appollonia: Electrons don't dance, Fingal. They don't make love.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Future War (1999)

User Reviews

One of my favorite movies of all time!!!

I've shown this film to friends WITHOUT the MST3K commentary and they LOVED IT!!! There was a time when I watched this film over and over because I was so addicted to it.

Raul Julia really carries this film. His acting is charming and fun and it's probably my favorite performance by him! Yes the special effects are campy and the computer art is cheap but that only makes it better and more hilarious :)

The perfect made-for-TV camp Sci-Fi movie. I really love what people are able to accomplish with a little imagination on a budget, and I also love the cheap 80's vision of the future that makes me want to visit.

Love love love! This film also makes me want to read the short story it came from.

Seriously, I really love this movie and so do many of my friends :) PS. I like the MST3K version as well, but one of the reasons it's such a great episode is because this film already stands on it's own.