This web site requires use of the Macromedia Flash software for this feature.

Movie Summary  Movie: The Hellcats:  This morality play follows the adventures of a group of kids who are basically good au fond, but whom society has forced into doing loads and loads of speed, PCP, blue heavens, and yellow jackets. When not shooting heroin into their heart sacs, they run drugs from the Mexican border, or have beer-and-sex parties so wild, they'd be disallowed at the Spahn Ranch. Somewhere amid it is a plot that involves Ross Hagen going undercover to avenge his brother's death, though this is given rather short shrift in favor of the hallucinatory bacchanalias. Method actors to a fault, when the integrity of the scene called for their characters to be pig drunk and licking each other, none shrunk from their duties. Pound for pound, a good match for any of the Coleman Francis triumvirate. — Mike Nelson Host Segments  Prologue:  Joel and the 'Bots have bad colds. They're all grouchy and achy.  Invention:  Joel has invented a translator that converts voice into Sign Language. The Mads don't have an invention, they just ride motorcycles and say Nooooooo!  Segment 2:  Servo writes in his diary, recalling the time they used fake rubber hands on themselves and imitated Shatner.  Segment 3:  Crow flashes back to the "funny or not funny floating sketch."  Segment 4:  Joel writes a letter to Sandy, and flashes back to the many kinds of scopes that can be added to cameras.  Segment 5:  They all admit to each other that they keep diaries. The mad scientists share a tender moment and a hug.  Stinger:  Drenched fella screams inexplicably, sounds a little like Jodie Foster in Nell. Reflections The flashbacks, that we like to think of as our little tribute to Family Ties, came about because the entire staff was being flown to New York to meet the people at the Comedy Channel and our schedule was being cut short. As it turns out, it took just as long to write and shoot the introductory material as it would have to do an entirely new show. The Hellcats is one of those movies that makes one wonder how, with movie making being such a formidable task, requiring so much drive and vision, how could an individual choose to put so much ugliness up on screen. Only a portion of it is attributable to the fashion of the times. In retrospect, The Hellcats is one of those happy-mistake movies—it's one we really shouldn't have done, and yet it turned out funny, so I'm glad we did it. Unfortunately, we now all have to live with some very ugly images in our head. Sometimes I try to imagine my life the way it was before I saw Ross Hagen. — Mike Nelson