Fine Tuning 

Three high-school kids build an antenna that can catch signals from outer space. They learn that the aliens are big fans of 1950s American television and are coming to Hollywood to meet some of their favorite Earth stars.

Director:

Bob Balaban

Writers:

Steven Spielberg (developer), Joshua Brand (developer)

Stars:

Matthew Labyorteaux, Gary Riley, Jim Gatherum

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Labyorteaux	...	Andy (as Matthew Laborteaux)
Gary Riley	...	Jimmy
Jim Gatherum	...	George (as Jimmy Gatherum)
Milton Berle	...	Himself
Debbie Lee Carrington	...	Alien (as Debbie Carrington)
Daniel Frishman	...	Alien
Patty Maloney	...	Alien
Kevin Thompson	...	Alien
Vance Colvig Jr.	...	Vaudevillian #1 (as Vance Colvig)
Paul 'Mousie' Garner	...	Vaudevillian #2 (as Mousie Gardner)
Don Davis	...	Vaudevillian #3
Happy Hall	...	Vaudevillian #4
Jack Spoons	...	Vaudevillian #5
Whitey Roberts	...	Vaudevillian #6
Angelo Rossitto	...	Vaudevillian #7 (as Angelo Rossito)

Storyline

Three junior-high pals build a TV super antenna that can even pull in outer-space channels. The aliens seem to be huge fans of 1950s American television, especially comedy, since they've made their own versions of classic TV shows and sitcoms from the era. The kids also catch an alien newscast about the aliens' plans to sand a team of their astronauts to land in Hollywood in 1985 and meet their favorite stars and maybe even take them back to their home planet. The kids decide to find the aliens and help them achieve this dream.

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Plot Keywords:

cigar smoking | fan | hollywood | antenna | comedian | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

G

Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1985 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Entertainment, Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Bonanza (1959)

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Soundtracks

Bonanza
(uncredited)
Written by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston

User Reviews

At times cute but pretty much pointless and annoying as well.

This episode is yet another reason to dislike "Amazing Stories"--an anthology series that could be quite good but often (especially in the early episodes) just sucked. This is because the writer came up with an idea and just didn't know what to do with it. That combined with some annoying people make this one a chore to complete.

Some teenager makes an antennae for his TV and is able to pick up alien TV shows. The aliens, it seems, are in love with human TV and the teen and his friends learn that they're planning on visiting Hollywood. So, the boys go there and find the ultra-weird aliens and show them about town. Later, the boys help the aliens find talent to take back to their planet by signing a bunch of annoying no-talents to go with the aliens.

The idea of nice aliens coming is okay, though seems obviously geared to kids. Adults would probably soon tire of their antics. This combined with no real purpose make this episode a tough one to endure. Yuck.