Stay Tuned (1992)

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

Directors:

Peter Hyams, Chuck Jones (uncredited)

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:

profanity | rap music | mouse | cartoon mouse | cat versus mouse | 

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Taglines:

Something weird's on the air.

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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:

Ba Ma Bemanid

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,532,540, 16 August 1992

Gross USA:

$10,736,401

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,736,401

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point while switching channels inside the Hell TV world, Roy (John Ritter) ends up on the set of Three's Company (1976).

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Goofs

When Crowley is in the suit of armor and goes to cut the chandelier support rope, the device that tips over the piece of leg armor (that he leaves behind) is visible.

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Quotes

[as a cartoon mouse, Roy is trapped in a donut while Robocat is shooting at him]
Roy Knable: My doctor was right. Doughnuts will be the death of me.

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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

Referenced in Last Action Hero (1993)

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Soundtracks

The Mic Stalker
Performed by Dr. Ice
Courtesy of Zomba Music Recording Corp.

User Reviews

I just LOVE this movie!!!!

A very long time ago i saw a trailer of this movie when i was on vacation in the US and i said that one day i´d get to see this movie, some years went by and on my first trip to California i went into a Suncoast store bought some movie souveniers and asked for this film, I found it with a regular price and bought it,at this time i had just seen the trailer, not read any reviews or nothing, i just knew i had to have it cause it looked cool on the trailer, I was so right in buying it, this movie is great, being myself a couch potato i can relate to George Knable (Played wonderfully by the recently deceased John Ritter) and the stuff that happens to him when hes sucked inside his new satellite dish with his wife into a programming of 666 channels into alternative horror versions of classic shows and movies,Theres even an MTV kind of video with Salt N Pepa that is so cool i had to buy the soundtrack of this movie, i love that sequence when theyre all dancing, To me this film rocks and its a must see, John has passed away just 2 days ago and i feel this movie as being his best movie of all because he is the main character and he does a great job at being funny, I will always remember John Ritter.