"Electric Company" Quicksand

[Boppinabe]

Perhaps this is a forlorn hope, but The Electric Company is up on Hulu.com. No sign of the elusive scene mentioned above, but they change the episodes and such from time to time, so who knows?

http://www.hulu.com/the-electric-company-1970s
Stay tuned!

This message has been brought to you by the letter "Q".

[water_bug_62208]

I always thought the gal who played Jennifer of the Jungle was the most sinkable and had the legs for a good "stuck in the mud struggle and slow sink" situation. I was quite pleased when she was the sinkee in the Quicksand Scene, although she did have a lot more clothes on. I did find the part where her arms were stuck and she strained to free them as the sound effects crew filled the air with squelching sounds to be quite intriguing. Maria on Sesame Street was quite sinkable as well.

[rickyj]

I remember seeing that scene as a kid. I never saw it again. If I recall the QS was like foam blocks or something, but then again I was like 5 years old so I dont remember it too well. What year was that, like 1980 or 1981?

[Boppinabe]

Older than that as the show went out of production in 1978, I think. As I recall it, she was in an evening gown, the "rescuer"('Here is my cane! Grab it!') was in a tuxedo, and the quicksand was what appeared to be a flexible mat with a hole cut in the middle. I think it might be time to go and buy some DVDs.

[water_bug_62208]

It was a skit where they were shooting a movie. They had the short brunette (the one who yells, "Hey you GUYS!" at the start of the show) in her director's outfit with Morgan Freeman as her assistant. "Jennifer" and the guy with the cane were dressed in late 19th Century fashion. The quicksand pit was "fed" buy a "quicksand making machine" that made her sink deeper as more quicksand was added.

Jennifer's line was, "Help, I'm in quicksand."

The guy with the cane line was, "Here, grab my cane!"

Jennifer was then supposed to say, "Closer, I can't reach it."

However, she kept botching that line such as saying, "Closer, I can't see it."

And the director would get mad, slap the cue card with her crop, and tell her to read her lines. But, Jennifer kept botching the line, the director would call, "CUT!", she would point out the line again, and have Freeman put more quicksand in the pit, which made Jennifer sink deeper.

Finally, when Jennifer said had her line down, she'd sunk chest-deep with her arms by her side. When the guy told her to grab his cane, she struggled because she could get her arms loose and blew her line again. As the director yelled at her, she went under. That's when the director began feeling bad because Jennifer had sank into the quicksand. Then Jennifer shows up from off to the side all wet and (I believe) sandy saying how she deserved a raise after the ordeal and so on. That's when the director in frustration throws herself into the quicksand and Freeman is trying to help her as she sinks away.

And, that's how it ended. Cool scene, especially the part with Jennifer struggling to free her arms.

[qs1966]

Happen to know the episode number?

[PM2K]

I vaguely remember the actress who played the director of that scene... was it Rita Moreno? For some reason, I think it was her... but maybe I'm imagining things. It was decades since I last saw that show.

[water_bug_62208]

I vaguely remember the actress who played the director of that scene... was it Rita Moreno? For some reason, I think it was her... but maybe I'm imagining things. It was decades since I last saw that show.

Yep, Rita Moreno did indeed play "Otto" the director during those skits. Also, Judy Graubart played "Jennifer of the Jungle" as well as the damsel in distress in the Quicksand Skit.

[Syke]

I really wanna see this scene now.What episode is it?

[Boppinabe]

Good question. All I remember was that the sound they were highlighting was either "ea" or, more likely, "ch".