Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 02:49, 25 December 2005

Gunk Land

Probable hoax. Purportedly it was a children's show that aired exactly one episode, in Wisconsin, in 1984; however, as is usual for hoaxes, mysterious circumstances seem to have conspired to put obstacles in the path of anyone trying to verify that the show actually existed: the lead actor "died under mysterious circumstances in 1989", the director/producer "remains anonymous to this day", and rumoredly "tried to destroy all of the props and footage after his show was cancelled." The external links claim to list the "Gunk Land Official Site" and "Gunk Land at the Internet Movie Database", but in fact "Gunk Land" has no listing at the IMDB. Neither does its supposed lead actor, Glen Thompson. The "official site" is actually a fan site, but out of its multiple subpages, only "About", "Characters" and "Video Clips" are anything but mere "Coming Soon" stubs. The video clips don't function, so they provide no evidence for the show's existence and the "Characters" pages list all character images as "coming soon". Then there's the show itself: this was supposedly a children's show, complete with educational content -- but the lead character, the little girl "Jane", is played by an adult male actor? There's "a giant phallic looking pink furry puppet named One Eye", who "has been known to spit a viscous fluid when pet under the chin"? "Poh Pie cuts off his arms to stop his urges from touching the TV set"? Who believes that anyone would have put this on the air as a kid's program in 1984, at the height of the Reagan era? This is a very full-featured hoax, and truth be told, I find these retroactive creations of shows that never existed rather intriguing, but they're not appropriate material for Misplaced Pages. -- Antaeus Feldspar 20:32, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

• Delete per own nom. -- Antaeus Feldspar 20:32, 24 December 2005 (UTC)
• Delete, per nom Tom Harrison 20:47, 24 December 2005 (UTC)
• Delete, I checked out the article before reading your full nomination, and concluded the same thing (though you went into more detail!). --Petros471 21:06, 24 December 2005 (UTC)
• Delete although kudos to the people who took the time to make such a hoax, I guess. -- MisterHand 23:17, 24 December 2005 (UTC)
• Keep Hello, I am the person who submitted the article Gunk Land, and while I am excited to think that people think I concocted this absurd story, I have to admit my own imagination is far too lackluster. I would like to petition to keep the info up as it is real. I distinctly recall seeing it sometime back in the mid 80s. Although I am not clear of the channel, and it could very well have been one of the local cable access shows. You have to keep in mind that while the story is potentially subversive - look at the much more successful Pee Wee's Playhouse. I distinctly recall much sexual innuendo between the puppets and the live characters such as Miss Yvonne. Also look at the subversive aspects of "You Can't Do That on Television" which aired during the Bush era. To say a show is a hoax because of its potent content is silly and short sighted. I can see your point about the "anonymous" director. I chalked that up to either shame or embarassment and the need for the artist to seperate him/herself from the failed project (aka Alan Smithee). Anyhow, I do hope you consider my petition to keep the article intact, and hope all of you have some Happy Holidays! Thank you for your consideration! :) -- Aidan_NY 23:40, 24 December 2005 (UTC)
  • Unfortunately, without sources you aren't making much of a case for the article. -- MisterHand 23:48, 24 December 2005 (UTC)
  • That's true MisterHand, I am not able to make as much a case for the article. It seems to be much harder to prove something exists especially when I am merely going by my memory here. The fan site is the only offering of confirmation that the show exists coupled with my memory I have of the media experience. I clearly remember this show, as well as the more popular Sid & Marty Kroft live action lineup of the late 70s. I also can't help but see humor and irony in the concept of an anonymous jury debating the validity of my memories and experiences. :P Anyhow, I have contacted the fansite creator but haven't heard back. I was hoping to contribute my memories of the show. I guess I'll keep looking. I'll see what I can find on IMDB. That seems to be another reputable source that exudates fact - thanks for the lead Francis Tyers!-- Aidan_NY 23:48, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

• Comment If it is a real show then you should be able to find some references somewhere. Try IMDB maybe? - FrancisTyers 23:48, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

• Delete as hoax per nom. Domain gunkland.com created 2005-12-17 by Skye Thorsenson, whose website according to Google (DMOZ) specializes in "Internet experiments". "Screenshots" on "official website" look like photoshop jobs, not something from 1984. In fact, the JPEGs have EXIF Software tag of "Adobe Photoshop CS2 Macintosh". --Quarl 01:15, 25 December 2005 (UTC)
• Comment: article creator is User:Aidan_ny (not User:Aidan_NY). If this AFD results in delete, also delete Gunkland and Gunk land. --Quarl 01:33, 25 December 2005 (UTC)
• Delete if only it was true :( - FrancisTyers 01:40, 25 December 2005 (UTC)