Firesign Theatre Presents 'Hot Shorts'

20 years before MST3K there was Firesign Theatre, an avant guard comedy group out of LA. They were a staple of the underground radio comedy scene and turned out several good albums, my favorite being "Don't Kill that Dwarf, Hand Me the Plyers.

Hot Shorts is the only FT video I'm aware of. In this the group overdubs a collection of 30s and 40s Saturday matinée serials with their own dialog, many of which, to those familiar with their work, are as memorable as any MST3K riff.

"Hot Shorts" was released on VHS sometime in the 80s; we were lucky enough to buy a used copy from a rental store. I'm not sure what its availability is today, but if you should be fortunate enough to run across it, buy it!

Woody Allen probably started all this with "What's Up, Tiger Lily" back in 1967, when he overdubbed an Asian spy thriller for comedic effect, but the Firesign boys take it to whole 'nother level.

If you liked J-Men Forever, you'll love this set of stories. Instead of one fused-together story like JMF, its broken into several short stories of about 10 minutes each, hence "Hot Shorts". Some cuts are familiar to JMF, but with new dialog. Others are totally different.

The story lines run the gamut from Canadian Mounties fighting herpes outbreaks at the Israeli border to rioting New Yorkers yelling "White Castle Boigas!" as a rallying cry as they storm Heaven. You gotta be there, it does make sense in a strange way. At least that's kinda they way I remember it.

Too bad it's not on DVD, but I did manage to find a VHS tape of it on EBay, though it's seen better days. I personally think some of these gems are better than JMF, but it's a matter of taste. (My wife hates it.)

Look for it in an old VHS rental store, and STEAL it, watch it, and put something on this list to get it on DVD. It'll be worth the late fee.