Dance of Doom

"Dance of Doom" is a segment in Episode 1. It was written by John P. McCann and directed by Ronaldo Del Carmen.

Synopsis

Cave Guy, on a reign of terror and unable to escape to the Hamptons, holds Harry Connick Jr. High School hostage during a dance celebrating Daylight Savings Time. Nerdy Dexter is home, having been unable to obtain a date; however, upon learning of the hostage situation, he turns into Freakazoid and saves the day.

Characters

• The Announcer
• Batman (cameo)
• Cave Guy
• Sergeant Mike Cosgrove
• Debbie Douglas
• Dexter Douglas
• Douglas Douglas
• Freakazoid
• Harry Connick High School Students
• Waylon Jeepers
• Jill
• Mr. Chubbikins
• Emmitt Nervend
• Steff
• Valerie

Trivia

• This episode introduces Cosgrove, Cave Guy, the Announcer, Steff, Douglas and Debbie Douglas, Waylon Jeepers, and Mr. Chubbikins.
• This was the first Freakazoid! segment written after Tom Ruegger's original pilot script, and was also the first recording session for the show. The audio was recorded in February 1995, seven months before the show aired.
• While this episode sets up a Betty & Veronica-type dynamic with Steff and Valerie, Valerie never appeared again in an episode, although she is featured in the main title.
• Paul Rugg auditioned for the role of Freakazoid by recording this entire segment. Tom Ruegger encouraged him to improvise extensively around McCann's written lines. Most of the dialogue of Freakazoid heckling Cave Guy, as well as the infamous "David Lee Roth" diatribe, is the original audio from Rugg's audition, improvised entirely in one take.
• The Announcer is presented in this episode as a marionette puppet operated by Freakazoid!
• The actors credited as appearing in Dance of Doom are: Leonard Rhombus, Kipton Tang, and Weena Mercator as the Hopping Woman.
• Freakazoid's inexpliable cry of "Pull the string!" references an equally inexplicable moment in Ed Wood's 1953 film about transvestism, Glen or Glenda, wherein Bela Lugosi yells this phrase. Before writing this segment, the Freakazoid! writers had just seen the Tim Burton-directed biopic Ed Wood, which recounts the making of this scene. Rugg is playing Freak impersonating Martin Landau impersonating Lugosi.
• The DVD is missing a brief shot. On television airings, when this segment returns from the break, the "Dance of Doom" letters have run together in an indecipherable mess during the three minutes of commercials.
• The narrator explains that the man the citizens need to save them "is on another network", showing a silhouette of Batman fighting a criminal over a giant full moon. This is a parody of Batman: the Animated Series, which was on Fox Kids instead of Kids WB.

Quotes

Jeepers creeps up to Freakazoid, chuckling sinisterly and holding an object under a cloth. He brings it up to Freakazoid's face.

Jeepers: Do you want to see something strange and mystical...?

Freakazoid: NOOO!!! GET OUTTA HERE WITH THAT WATCH! LAY OFF THE POOR BEAVERS, WILLYA!? SHEEEEEESH! GO AWAY! YOU'RE A CREEP! WE WERE HAVING A GOOD TIME 'TILL YOU SHOWED UP, JEEPERS! [GASP] GO HAVE SOME COFFEE! WITH CREAM! OR SOMETHING! BECAUSE I'LL TELL YOU SOMETHING, THIS IS A HAPPY PLACE!