NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Shock Treatment

Shock Treatment is a musical comedy film from 1981 and a follow up to the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. While not an outright sequel, the movie does feature several characters from the movie portrayed by different actors and several Rocky Horror actors portraying new characters. Shock Treatment is a reality entertainment documentary shown in 2005 on Sky One in the UK and Fox Reality in the U.S. It stars Rutger Hauer as the fictional Dr. John Templeton. ... Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as electroshock, is a controversial psychiatric treatment in which seizures are induced with electricity for therapeutic effect. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Jim Sharman was born 12 March 1945 in Sydney, Australia, as James David Sharman. ... Richard OBrien (born Richard Timothy Smith on March 25, 1942 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England) is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. ... Jim Sharman was born 12 March 1945 in Sydney, Australia, as James David Sharman. ... Jessica Harper Jessica Harper (born October 10, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actress and producer, as well as a singer and author of childrens music and books. ... Cliff de Young is an American actor and musician, born Clifford Tobin DeYoung in Los Angeles, California on February 12, 1945. ... Richard OBrien (born Richard Timothy Smith on March 25, 1942 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England) is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. ... Quinn with Richard OBrien and Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. ... Little Nell Campbell (born Laura Elizabeth Campbell, May 24, 1953) is an Australian actress and singer. ... Richard Michael Rik Mayall (born 7 March 1958) is an English comedian and actor. ... Charles Gray (August 29, 1928 - March 7, 2000) was an English actor, born Donald Marshall Gray in Bournemouth, Hampshire, (now Bournemouth, Dorset) Charles Gray as Ernst Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever Donald Gray attended Bournemouth School along side Benny Hill, whose school had been evacuated to the same buildings, during... Ruby Wax (born Ruby Wachs on April 19, 1953) is an American comedienne who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s. ... John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE (born 17 February 1934 in Camberwell, Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian comedian, satirist and character actor best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife, and Sir Les Patterson, Australias foul-mouthed cultural attachÃ© to Britain. ... Richard OBrien (born Richard Timothy Smith on March 25, 1942 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England) is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. ... Richard Hartley (born July 28, 1944) is a British composer. ... Related articles FOX Television Network Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Entertainment Group List of Hollywood movie studios List of movies Variant of current 20th Century Fox logo External links 20th Century Fox Movies official site Twentieth Century Fox is also the punning title of a song by The Doors on their... is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 musical comedy film that parodies horror films, based on the British musical stage production The Rocky Horror Show, with the screenplay written by Richard OBrien and Jim Sharman. ... The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. ... Comedy film is genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humor. ... // January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. ... The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 musical comedy film that parodies horror films, based on the British musical stage production The Rocky Horror Show, with the screenplay written by Richard OBrien and Jim Sharman. ...

Plot

Continuing from The Rocky Horror Picture Show are the characters of Brad and Janet Majors (portrayed by Cliff De Young and Jessica Harper, respectively), now married. Cliff de Young is an American actor and musician, born Clifford Tobin DeYoung in Los Angeles, California on February 12, 1945. ... Jessica Harper Jessica Harper (born October 10, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actress and producer, as well as a singer and author of childrens music and books. ...

The film takes place in the fictional town of Denton USA, which has been taken over by fast food magnate Farley Flavors (also played by De Young).

The town of Denton is entirely encased within a television studio for network DTV (Denton Television). Residents are either stars and regulars on a show, cast and crew, or audience members. Brad and Janet, while seated in the audience are chosen to participate in the game show Marriage Maze, by the blind and kooky host Bert Schnick (Barry Humphries). As a "prize", Brad is imprisoned on Dentonvale, a soap opera that centers around the local mental hospital run by brother and sister Cosmo and Nation McKinley (Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... â€œQuiz showâ€ redirects here. ... John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE (born 17 February 1934 in Camberwell, Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian comedian, satirist and character actor best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife, and Sir Les Patterson, Australias foul-mouthed cultural attachÃ© to Britain. ... A psychiatric hospital (also called a mental hospital or asylum) is a hospital specializing in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ... Richard OBrien (born Richard Timothy Smith on March 25, 1942 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England) is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. ... Quinn with Richard OBrien and Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. ...

Janet is given a taste of show-biz as Farley Flavors molds her into a singing diva superstar in an attempt to take her away from Brad. Her compliance is assured through the use of drugs supplied by the McKinleys. This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ...

Betty Hapschatt (Ruby Wax) and Judge Oliver Wright (Charles Gray) investigate Farley and other people involved in DTV, eventually discovering that Cosmo and Nation are not doctors, but merely character actors, and Farley Flavors is Brad's jealous, long-lost twin brother, seeking to destroy Brad and take Janet for himself. Ruby Wax (born Ruby Wachs on April 19, 1953) is an American comedienne who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s. ... Charles Gray (August 29, 1928 - March 7, 2000) was a British actor, born in Bournemouth, Dorset. ... A character actor is an actor who predominantly performs supporting parts, often in similar roles throughout the course of a career. ...

The pair rescue Brad from Dentonvale and have Brad confront his twin on his show Faith Factory. Farley imprisons the three and Janet but they manage to escape in a car along with a local band.

Production

The film was shot entirely in a sound studio. The original intent had been to shoot the film in realistic locations in the USA, but a 1979 Screen Actors Guild strike froze the production funds. Jim Sharman suggested possibly doing the production as a London stage show and filming it in a theatre, which gave Richard O'Brien the idea to rework the locations as a giant TV studio using a film studio in England, trimming the budget and reviving the project. ^[1] Although several Rocky Horror cast members returned for this movie, only Jeremy Newson reprised his role as Ralph Hapschatt. Tim Curry was offered the roles of Brad Majors and Farley Flavors, but declined because he didn't think his American accent would be convincing. Barry Bostwick was unable to reprise his role as Brad due to other filming commitments, and Susan Sarandon wanted half a million dollars to play Janet again. ^[2] Cliff De Young had been director Jim Sharman's original choice for Brad in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as Sharman had worked with De Young off-Broadway in the play "Trials of Oz" in 1972. De Young had been unavailable then, as he was appearing on the television show "Sunshine" in California. Cast now as Brad and Farley, De Young modeled his performance of Brad Majors after David Eisenhower, and modeled Farley Flavors after Jack Nicholson. ^[3] Shock Treatment's original working title was The Brad and Janet Show. Founder and long-time president of The Rocky Horror Picture Show Fan Club, Sal Piro, has a cameo role as the man using the payphone during the opening sequence. Several of the costumes and props from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, including Frank's throne (painted red), can be seen in Shock Treatment. Jim Sharman was born 12 March 1945 in Sydney, Australia, as James David Sharman. ... Richard OBrien (born Richard Timothy Smith on March 25, 1942 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England) is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. ... Timothy James Curry (born April 19, 1946) is an English actor, singer and composer, perhaps best known for his role as mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). ... Barry Knapp Bostwick (February 24, 1945[1]) is an American actor and singer. ... Susan Sarandon (born October 4, 1946) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. ... The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 musical comedy film that parodies horror films, based on the British musical stage production The Rocky Horror Show, with the screenplay written by Richard OBrien and Jim Sharman. ... Dwight David Eisenhower II (born 1948) is the grandson of the supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and the 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower. ... Nicholson as Wilbur Force in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). ... Fan club president Sal Piro Movie poster for the motion picture Fame Sal Piro has been the president of The Rocky Horror Picture Show Fan Club since 1977. ...

Reactions

Shock Treatment had its American debut at the UA Cinemas, Fresno, in August 1981. Although still not in general release, the movie was also tested later in two other markets. Unlike Rocky Horror, Shock Treatment had its general release straight to the midnight circuit hoping to catch on with the cult phenomenon. The film never reached the popularity of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but there are theaters that "Shadowcast" the movie in the same way audiences have been acting out The Rocky Horror Picture Show for decades. ^[4]

The idea of a town as one large TV studio was far more unusual in 1981, when reality TV had not yet hit the ascendancy it found in later years, but audiences in 1998 more readily accepted this premise in The Truman Show and Pleasantville. In the twenty-first century, the reality TV craze has made the film seem prescient: in 1981 it would seem improbable that a wife would have her husband committed for television ratings - in the early 21st century, it would seem rather plausible in light of reality television stunts in recent times. The year 1998 in film involved some significant events. ... The Truman Show is a 1998 film directed by Peter Weir, written by Andrew Niccol, and starring Jim Carrey and Ed Harris. ... Pleasantville DVD cover Pleasantville is a film first released in Canada on September 17, 1998 starring Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, and Jeff Daniels. ... Reality television is a genre of television programming in which the fortunes of real life people (as opposed to fictional characters played by actors) are followed. ...

Now that the DVD has been created for audiences all around the world, there is a progressing rise in fans, fan clubs and websites. This progression ranges from the countries Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom among others.^{[citation needed]} A few years ago there was even talk about arranging a Shock Treatment convention. This did not come about but the convention idea is still 'up in the air' and is very possible in the near future.^{[citation needed]}

DVD releases

In early 2006 fan-site The Shock Treatment Network reported that they had been in touch with 20th Century Fox and the film was actually back-listed for release in their catalogue.^{[citation needed]} The first official release for Shock Treatment on DVD was announced for release in Italy February 28, 2006, but is now unavailable as quoted on www.unilibro.it .^[5] The first English language DVD release is as a double movie edition with The Rocky Horror Picture Show released in the UK on May 22, 2006.^[6] Shock Treatment was released on DVD in Germany on January 8, 2007. This Release is actually in English with German subtitles as quoted on the German Amazon site.^[7] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ...

A Special Edition DVD was released in the United States, on September 5, 2006. Included is a 1:85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround 2.0, and Spanish Mono audio tracks, with Spanish, French and English subtitles. Bonus materials include audio commentary with fan club presidents Mad Man Mike & Bill Brennan, a making-of featurette, a music retrospective featurette, and domestic and international trailers.^[8] is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the film format, see anamorphic format. ... Dolby Digital is the marketing name for a series of lossy audio compression technologies by Dolby Laboratories. ... Sign for Dolby Surround Dolby Surround was the earliest consumer version of Dolbys multichannel analog film sound format Dolby Analog SR (Spectral Recording). ... Label for 1. ...

Songs and soundtrack

Shock Treatment is the soundtrack to the 1981 film Shock Treatment, the sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. ...

Contents

Plot

Production

Reactions

DVD releases

Songs and soundtrack

See also

References

External links