Muppets, Starfighters and Other Nods in Episode One

By Scott Murray

As we make our way to Friday's episode of The Crimson Files, I thought it would be fun to point out something many of you might have noticed - 

I infuse tie-ins, nods and references to many things in this series.  I guess you could call them Audio Easter Eggs.  They're usually tied to something from my life or fandoms.  Here are some examples from the first episode:

LET'S CUT TO THE SAUCY FOOTAGE!
Slick Saucy can be a little over-the-top when he's hosting his show, and his obsession with The Crimson Crane catching on fire was no exception.  Did you notice how he constantly asked people if they had seen the footage and then showed it to them?  That was a nod to an old Saturday Night Live skit in which Ted Koppell kept asking people if they'd seen the footage of Buckwheat getting shot and then showing it to them.

Slick Saucy's name was inspired by two people.  When I was in high school, we had to record a fake newscast (using this thing called video tape) and a classmate (who had slicked-back hair) called himself Slick Blizer.  On Saturday Night Live, Phil Harman used to host a show about sassy things.  In it, he would frequently look at the camera and say, "SASSY!"

Slick Sassy didn't sound good enough.  So, I changed it to Saucy.

I CAN ONLY TAKE YOU AS FAR AS THE FRONT DOOR
I am a longtime fan of The Muppets, and they are a big part of my nostalgia.  So, when Jenna was speeding Wyatt to his work, she asked him what time he has to be there.  The script called for this exchange:

WYATT
I need to be in my boss’s office by 8 am sharp, and he’s on the 4th floor.

JENNA
Sorry.

WYATT
What?

JENNA
I can only take you as far as the front door.

That is a nod to my favorite Muppet movie.

WYATT'S ADDRESS
Jenna picked Wyatt up after he called for a driving service.  He told them that his address was ​900 Rogan Avenue, Apartment 84.

Alex ROGAN was the lead character in one of my favorite 80s movies - The Last Starfighter.  900 represented the 900,000 he hit as he broke the score record.  Finally APARTMENT 84 was a nod to the release date - 1984

OTHER NODS
Osborne Hudson - Over the last 20 years, I've infused the name Osborne, Hudson or Osborne Hudson into my productions.  He was my social studies, speech and theater instructor in middle school.  He was also one-of-a-kind.  He passed away while I was in high school, and inserting his name into scripts is a great way to acknowledge and remember him.  I was thrilled that his name was in the first scene of The Crimson Files.

Mr. Bill - I was voted "Most Witty" by my high school senior class.  One reason was because I accurately impersonated one of the school's math teachers - Bill Harvick.  The sound of Mr. Bill's voice, as well as the way he talks, is pretty accurate to the real person.  Yes, that includes his obsession with people "getting quiet".  

In high school I made audio stories starring Mr. Harvick doing badass things, like being a cop or a sheriff in the Old West.  In this podcast he gets to be a little more of himself and part of the show's comic relief.