This Was One Of The Strangest Sitcom Cameos Of A Post-Apocalyptic Movie Car: Cold Start

Cs Landmaster Top
ADVERTISEMENT

Remember Chris Elliot? Sure you do. I always liked Chris Elliot’s cocky moron sort of persona that I used to see on the old David Letterman show, and sure, even if “Chris Elliot” was just the product of mid-1980s animatronics and special effects, he was still hilarious in his own strange, surreal way. He also had a goofy and short-lived sitcom from 1990 to 1992 called Get A Life which was about Chris as a 30-something guy who still lived at home and had a paper route; the show seemed on the surface to be like a fairly normal sitcom, but was more of a parody of sitcoms and progressively got more and more unhinged. For example, here’s how Wikipedia describes an episode that was a sort of parody of the movie E.T.:

One of the more controversial episodes featured a character named Spewey the Alien (a parody of the films Mac and Me and E.T.), an extraterrestrial who secretes mucus from under his scales (which Chris proceeds to drink and call the “nectar of the Gods”) and projectile vomits when he becomes emotionally overwrought. At the end of the episode, Chris and Gus barbecued and ate Spewey, although the creature was resurrected inside their refrigerator.

You can see the whole thing right here, because all the episodes seem to be online now, thanks to I guess Fox assuming there’s zero value here. Anyway, it’s nice and strange. There’s an automotive reason I’m bringing all this up, of course: one episode featured a massive truck custom-built by famous car customizer Dean Jeffries (the man who pinstriped James Dean’s “Li’l Bastard” Porsche 550 Spyder, worked on the Batmobile, and made famous show rods like the Mantaray) which was built for a goofy 1970s post-apocalypse movie called Damnation Alley. Here’s the trailer!

That massive truck-like-thing that looks a bit like a more elegant Cybertruck is the Landmaster, and it’s really incredible because it’s about as fully functional as a movie prop fictional vehicle is likely to get. Built on an articulated truck military vehicle chassis, the 11-ton machine actually drove and could hit speeds of 55 mph thanks to its 6.4-liter Ford V8, The Landmaster used the rear ends of two commercial trucks, an Allison truck transmission, and, as is mentioned in the movie, as many off-the-shelf commercial truck parts as possible so repairs and scavenging parts will be easier. It was great at crawling over obstacles and jumping small holes, and it was even amphibious.

Cs Landmaster 1

I remember seeing this thing outside of Jeffries’ shop near Burbank when I lived in Los Angeles; I’d drive past it and wonder about just what the hell that thing was, especially the remarkable tri-wheel setup it sported, which allowed it a remarkable ability to traverse obstacles and rough terrain, and probably rocks or large, stubborn tortoises. It’s said to have survived a 25-foot jump with no damage!

After it was used in the movie, the Landmaster did manage to pick up a few small roles here and there, but I think the most fascinating one is when it got a starring role in an episode of Get A Life, where it played the Paperboy 2000, a sophisticated robotic newspaper delivery system that had been banned in Eastern Europe. The episode focuses on Chris Elliot and all the other paperboys being replaced by the Paperboy 2000, and the sort of John Henry-esque man-vs-machine struggle that follows.

Here, you’re already not working, you may as well watch the whole episode!

Not to spoil anything, but the episode does end with what seems to be the Paperboy 2000 killing Chris. Of course, Chris dies in about half the episodes anyway, so that barely matters.

I really like how little was done to alter the appearance of the Landmaster; the only changes involved were slapping a bunch of signs that read PAPERBOY 2000 on it and removing the side gun barrels, which were now newspaper-launching ports.

Cs Landmaster 2

The gag that this newspaper delivery robot is an 11-ton colossal, exhaust-spewing deathtruck I think works very well.

I’m not sure there’s another relatively famous hero vehicle that has gone from a grim and gritty Mad Max-type of movie to playing a role on an absurd sitcom other than the Landmaster, so you really have to admire the flexibility of this incredible machine.

Cs Landmaster 3

The Landmaster is still around; in 2016 it was bought by Gene Winfield’s Custom Shop and is now around Mojave, California, where it can be seen from the road by the shop. I don’t know if it still runs, but I wouldn’t be surprised. That thing is a beast.

Too bad it goes into murderous rampages when delivering newspapers.

About the Author

Mercedes Streeter

View All My Posts

77 thoughts on “This Was One Of The Strangest Sitcom Cameos Of A Post-Apocalyptic Movie Car: Cold Start”

  1. If there’s a cultural bellwether that affirmatively weeds out people I don’t want to hang out with, it’s Get a Life detractors and anyone who disparages Chris Elliott’s comedic talents.

    While I’m here, add Schitt’s Creek to that list.

  2. If there’s a cultural bellwether that affirmatively weeds out people I don’t want to hang out with, it’s Get a Life detractors and anyone who disparages Chris Elliott’s comedic talents.

    While I’m here, add Schitt’s Creek to that list.

  3. God bless Chris Elliott. His Cinemax special Action Family is a lost treasure:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dGRBv-js30&t=2s

    I remember seeing the Paperboy 2000 sitting in a parking lot, or gas station off of the 101 just north of Hollywood for several years like 20 or so years ago. I don’t know if that was Dean Jeffries’s shop, or its next home, but it sure had presence.

  4. God bless Chris Elliott. His Cinemax special Action Family is a lost treasure:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dGRBv-js30&t=2s

    I remember seeing the Paperboy 2000 sitting in a parking lot, or gas station off of the 101 just north of Hollywood for several years like 20 or so years ago. I don’t know if that was Dean Jeffries’s shop, or its next home, but it sure had presence.

  7. Chris Elliott is the unfunniest funnyman Ive ever seen, cannot stand the guy. He always comes across as the earnest guy who doesn’t get how unfunny his attempts at humour are. First time I saw him was the guy under the stairs on Letterman. Saw Damnation Alley, bad, just bad.

  8. Chris Elliott is the unfunniest funnyman Ive ever seen, cannot stand the guy. He always comes across as the earnest guy who doesn’t get how unfunny his attempts at humour are. First time I saw him was the guy under the stairs on Letterman. Saw Damnation Alley, bad, just bad.

  11. I tried to watch the episode linked but it was too cringey for me. The acting was atrocious.

    And something about laugh tracks make old shows unbearable for me. Way to ruin Seinfeld. They should remaster all the old sitcoms without the laughs. Even if it’s a live audience I hate it.

  12. I tried to watch the episode linked but it was too cringey for me. The acting was atrocious.

    And something about laugh tracks make old shows unbearable for me. Way to ruin Seinfeld. They should remaster all the old sitcoms without the laughs. Even if it’s a live audience I hate it.

  13. Get a Life is an incredible show. As a millennial I think of it as the best gen x humor, unhinged satire on old sitcom tropes without being smug about it (and Brian Doyle Murray’s in it). Chris Elliott and his dad (famed comedian Bob Elliott) also wrote a book called “Daddy’s Boy” that’s one of the funniest sendups of the tell all memoir. It’s usually a couple bucks used on Amazon.

  14. Get a Life is an incredible show. As a millennial I think of it as the best gen x humor, unhinged satire on old sitcom tropes without being smug about it (and Brian Doyle Murray’s in it). Chris Elliott and his dad (famed comedian Bob Elliott) also wrote a book called “Daddy’s Boy” that’s one of the funniest sendups of the tell all memoir. It’s usually a couple bucks used on Amazon.

  17. Yeah! Get A Life was hilarious…the best episode by far was the toolbelt fight! (If you haven’t seen…watch it) Also, the 1st episode when they get stuck upside down on a roller coaster. I have fond memories of watching this show w/ my brothers. The Paperboy 2000/LandMaster is awesome
    Also, the Cabin Boy movie was so stupid that it was funny (just like this show!)

    2. Personal fav is the one where they find radioactive waste under his place, becomes super-intelligent, proceeds to try striking rich by winning spelling bees.

    3. I loved it too! I remember watching Cabin Boy in the theater. 5 people total in the theater. So stupid its funny is the best description. I felt the same way about Zoolander when I saw it in the theater.

  18. Yeah! Get A Life was hilarious…the best episode by far was the toolbelt fight! (If you haven’t seen…watch it) Also, the 1st episode when they get stuck upside down on a roller coaster. I have fond memories of watching this show w/ my brothers. The Paperboy 2000/LandMaster is awesome
    Also, the Cabin Boy movie was so stupid that it was funny (just like this show!)

    2. Personal fav is the one where they find radioactive waste under his place, becomes super-intelligent, proceeds to try striking rich by winning spelling bees.

    3. I loved it too! I remember watching Cabin Boy in the theater. 5 people total in the theater. So stupid its funny is the best description. I felt the same way about Zoolander when I saw it in the theater.

  19. If you spell pants with the letter “k” that means you watched Get a Life. Or if you remotely recall the community theater show Zoo Animals on Wheels. What a great show.

  20. If you spell pants with the letter “k” that means you watched Get a Life. Or if you remotely recall the community theater show Zoo Animals on Wheels. What a great show.

  21. You gotta love a show with a laugh track. Try watching any comedy from the late 70’s to the mid 90’s and it’s all canned laughter. Makes it a tough watch for me.

    1. hey now, there were some “taped in front of a live studio audience” too.

      It’s funny though – if i watch something i’ve never seen a show before, the laugh track (audience?) is distracting, but if i’m rewatching the shows i grew up watching (TBNS, AITF, MASH, Cheers for examples), i don’t even notice unless the actors have to stop a beat to let the audience settle down.

      Sometimes you couldn’t tell if Newhart was pausing a line for the audience to calm down, for Suzanne Pleshette to calm down, or because he was hadn’t decided on his next line.

  22. You gotta love a show with a laugh track. Try watching any comedy from the late 70’s to the mid 90’s and it’s all canned laughter. Makes it a tough watch for me.

    1. hey now, there were some “taped in front of a live studio audience” too.

      It’s funny though – if i watch something i’ve never seen a show before, the laugh track (audience?) is distracting, but if i’m rewatching the shows i grew up watching (TBNS, AITF, MASH, Cheers for examples), i don’t even notice unless the actors have to stop a beat to let the audience settle down.

      Sometimes you couldn’t tell if Newhart was pausing a line for the audience to calm down, for Suzanne Pleshette to calm down, or because he was hadn’t decided on his next line.

      1. “Prince Paul and Automator made me the best model on the runway in all the Balkan countries put together” – Father Guido Sarducci

      1. “Prince Paul and Automator made me the best model on the runway in all the Balkan countries put together” – Father Guido Sarducci

Leave a Reply