And While We’re on the Subject of Dangerous Toys: Dan Akroyd!

Oh I am so glad a reader named Abe sent this in. A Saturday Night Live classic:

http://bit.ly/4Egetr

14 Responses to And While We’re on the Subject of Dangerous Toys: Dan Akroyd!

  1. morninglightmama December 16, 2009 at 10:39 pm #

    This has amused me year after year!!

  2. Tracey R December 16, 2009 at 11:24 pm #

    It’s hysterical! But sad: a lot of people today would say the phone’s not safe.

    This makes me wonder: I got in trouble when I was a kid because I shot a foam arrow at another child. Her elderly dad came out and yelled at me. It was FOAM. I think he may have awoken from falling asleep in front of the TV, seen this sketch, and thought it was true! Same timeframe.

  3. PaulB December 16, 2009 at 11:34 pm #

    Hey Lenore, is there a YouTube link for this clip? Those of us in Canada aren’t allowed to view the link at nbc.com.

  4. Amanda December 16, 2009 at 11:35 pm #

    I’ve never seen that before.

    It’s funny how a comedy sketch can make a person think. In reality, people can make ANYTHING seem dangerous and was shown in this sketch. If you think hard enough, just about every toy in this world could be considered unsafe in one way or another. Pretty sad if someone does think that way. What’s life if you constantly live in fear.

  5. Sky December 17, 2009 at 12:21 am #

    Funny stuff.

    Of course, now those corded play phones come with printed warning labels that they are strangulation hazards and only for ages 3 and up…

  6. EazieCheeze December 17, 2009 at 12:38 am #

    Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.

    http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/happy-fun-ball/229058/

  7. Jen Connelly December 17, 2009 at 1:04 am #

    I remember that sketch. Too funny.

    @tracey
    My son and a friend were playing with some of those new nerf guns that shoot those foam arrow things. I don’t normally let my son play with those things but the boys were having fun but they stopped me as I was walking to the store so I asked to see one of the guns. They showed me how to load the little foam darts and I pointed it at my son, not really aiming and ended up shooting him in the eye at point blank range.

    The foam arrows have a soft plastic tip. Luckily it missed his actual eye, hitting him in the eyebrow. The boys thought it was funny. I thought it a very good reminded to not point them at other people, especially near their faces. And I wasn’t aiming at his head. I had intended to hit him in the stomach to show him how much they could hurt and to be careful. Guess we both learned.

    But I didn’t have a fit like many parents today. I just handed the gun back to him and told him to be careful and not antagonize his sisters with it and off I went and they continued to play with no further injuries.

  8. Lisa December 17, 2009 at 2:37 am #

    How about water!? Hundreds of people die every year from drowning… I think we need to seriously limit people’s access to water… for their own safety!

    Bathtubs should be outlawed, showers should only dispense a non-lifethreatening amount of H2O per minute.

    Food, too, is quite dangerous… people choke on food.

    In fact, more people die every year from drowning and choking than they ever do from toys.

    GAH?!!

  9. Sheena December 17, 2009 at 3:57 am #

    Love it.

  10. Q December 17, 2009 at 4:23 am #

    For the younguns, Johnny Switchblade is a modified Fonzie doll–instantly recognizable when this skit was first aired!

    We still joke about Mainway products around here. “Whattya want for Christmas?” “Oh, Bag of Glass, Teddy Chainsaw Bear…”

  11. Ben December 17, 2009 at 1:50 pm #

    “We’re sorry, but the clip you selected isn’t available from your location.”

    In other words: if you’re not an American, stuff it. You won’t be allowed to see our work since we won’t release it on DVD or give you access otherwise.

    I’m a writer, so I’m all for copyright, as long as the material in question is actually available for people to get in some form. These restrictions drive me crazy and they don’t actually make more money …

  12. Into The Wild! December 18, 2009 at 3:10 am #

    OMG, I remember this, it was so funny! I sent it to my husband and he played it for our 19 and 21 year olds. They couldn’t believe it got passed the censors back then, with all the hoopla about dangerous toys and all. The funniest part for me was watching Candice Bergen trying to keep a straight face while working with Dan Akroyd.

    My son still has every original Lego he’s ever owned in a big steamer trunk, hoping no one would come and take them away from him because you could possibly swallow the tiny pieces. He can’t believe they still sell them today because of that supposed issue. AND he had all the Nerf (water and foam) guns, too! We had a really big yard when he was little and all his friends would come to our place on the weekends and have “Nerf Wars,” the parents thought it was way cool and didn’t have any problem with their kids playing with them. I kinda tricked them into wearing those halloween style GI Joe masks (Hey, your in a war, fellas, gotta wear your gear!) and those cheapo plastic helmets, but they thought it was all part of the fun and imagination of the game. I did insist on them wearing shoes due to them running and diving into the bushes alot.

  13. bequirox December 18, 2009 at 3:23 am #

    While we’re on the subject of Nerf guns, my husband and his friends used to play “Hunter and Hunted”. It involved chasing each other through the woods and shooting guns. One day his friend tried to jump out of a treehouse on a zip line while shooting, but he fell and broke his arm. What a fun memory! They still play about once a month, but they’ve upgraded to beebee guns. Boys will be boys.

  14. deegee December 20, 2009 at 2:19 am #

    for the reader who mentioned water, a fine parody and spin : http://www.dhmo.org/

    And another on tools : http://allmax.com/MILT/

    enjoy a good laugh