The Earth Day Special (1990)

An Earth Day special about pollution's effects on the Earth. Numerous celebrities have guest appearances whether as themselves, or as characters for whom they're best known.

Directors:

Dwight Hemion, James Burrows

Writers:

Armyan Bernstein, Richard Baskin

Stars:

Dan Aykroyd, Candice Bergen, James Brolin

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dan Aykroyd	...	Vic's Buddy
Candice Bergen	...	Murphy Brown
James Brolin	...	Doctor
Downtown Julie Brown	...	Herself
Jeff Bergman	...	Bugs Bunny / Porky Pig / Tweety (voice)
Chevy Chase	...	Vic's Buddy
Kevin Costner	...	Bartender
Rodney Dangerfield	...	Dr. Vinny Boombatz
Geena Davis	...	Kim
Dana Delany	...	Doctor
Danny DeVito	...	Vic
Michael Douglas	...	Himself
Jane Fonda	...	Hellen
Morgan Freeman	...	Walter Samson
Will Smith	...	Himself (as Fresh Prince)

Storyline

It's been 20 years since the first Earth Day and all is far from well. Pollution is still a huge problem and global warming is becoming an issue as well. Bugs Bunny arrives by mistake at the Earth Day festival and shares his worries about the state of the environment. Well-meaning Everyman then arrives and holds a speech to try to calm down the worried festival-goers. Suddenly, Mother Earth appears and announces that things are actually as bad as everyone fears and that she's dying. She's quickly taken to hospital and nursed by two doctors as well as Doogie Howser. Hospital Director is suspicious that her condition might not be as bad as she's portraying it. Newswomen Murphy Brown and Downtown Julie Brown report in front of the hospital on Mother Nature's condition. Popular astronomer Carl Sagan talks about the greenhouse effect. Game show Jeopardy! has a special Earth Day edition. Ghostbuster Egon Spengler's twin brother, wastebuster Elon Spengler, shows up to stop heavy smoker and ...

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Plot Keywords:

pollution | hospital | environmentalism | environment | everyman | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Music

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 April 1990 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 16, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beacon Communications,Richard Baskin Inc.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film cast includes eight Oscar winners: Meryl Streep, Robin Williams, Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Morgan Freeman, Geena Davis, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, and Kevin Costner; and eleven Oscar nominees: Candice Bergen, Will Smith, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Dan Aykroyd, Quincy Jones, Bette Midler, Woody Harrelson, Jim Henson, Edward James Olmos, and Queen Latifah.

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Quotes

Mother Earth: I remember the first Earth Day, it was a Sunday just like this one. Everyone was so excited. Then... Monday. People forget.

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Crazy Credits

Bugs Bunny, E.T., The Muppets, Porky Pig, and Tweety Bird are listed among the cast in the opening credits.

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Connections

References Cheers (1982)

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Soundtracks

Somewhere
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Performed by Barbra Streisand (uncredited)

User Reviews

rappers?

I'm surprised that the IMDb credits leave out the rappers who were on this show. There was Will Smith as Fresh Prince, Heavy D, Tone Loc, Queen Latifah, and Ice T doing some old school environmental rap. I showed the video of this to my 7th grade classes this year. They were able to overlook the big hair and shoulder pads mostly, and learned a lot. They were blown away by how young Raven was, lol. They didn't enjoy Barbra Streisand, but I did, and there were enough stars who are still famous enough that even 7th graders recognized them. I'm hoping they will be touched enough to get a recycling program going at our school for the polystyrene trays our cafeteria uses, or at least to discourage their families from dumping their oil changes on the ground.