The Earth Day Special
{{short description|1990 American television special}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2013}}
{{Infobox television
| image = The Earth Day Special.png
| image_upright =
| image_size = 250
| image_alt =
| caption =
| genre =
| writer = Armyan Bernstein
Richard Baskin
Various Writers
| director = Dwight Hemion
James Burrows
Gerry Cohen
Ted Haimes
Jim Henson
Terry Hughes
Terry Lennon
Jay Sandrich
Dick Schneider
Dave Wilson
| creative_director =
| starring = Bette Midler
Danny DeVito
Rhea Perlman
| voices = Jeff Bergman
| narrated =
| theme_music_composer =
| opentheme = "Somewhere," performed by Barbra Streisand
| endtheme =
| composer = Patrick Williams
| country = United States
| language = English
| executive_producer = Armyan Bernstein
Richard Baskin
Paul Junger Witt
Lorne Michaels
| producer =
| location = Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, California, U.S.
| editor =
| camera =
| runtime = 120 minutes
| company = Warner Bros. Television
| budget =
| network = ABC
| released = {{Start date|1990|04|22}}
}}
The Earth Day Special is a television special revolving around Earth Day that aired on ABC on April 22, 1990. Sponsored by Time Warner, the two-hour special featured an ensemble cast addressing concerns about pollution, deforestation, and other environmental ills.
Several cutaways are made to famous fictional characters watching events unfold and discussing what can be done to save the planet.
This special was one of Jim Henson's final performances as Kermit the Frog prior to his death later that year, as well as one of Jeff Bergman's first as Bugs Bunny following the death of Mel Blanc the year prior.
Plot
{{More plot|date=April 2013}}
The episodic narrative, consisting of several individual skits threaded together, focused on an ailing Mother Earth, who falls from the sky and faints, and is rushed to the hospital where she is attended to by Doogie Howser and two other doctors. This special is watched by a married couple named Vic and Paula, and features a host of contemporary celebrities and characters, including Bugs Bunny, The Muppets, Emmett "Doc" Brown, and E.T.
Cast
- Bette Midler as Mother Earth
- Danny DeVito as Vic
- Rhea Perlman as Paula
- Dan Aykroyd as Vic's Buddy
- Mary Kay Bergman as Allison
- Mayim Bialik as Kid
- Jonathan Brandis as Doug
- Dante Basco (uncredited)
- James Brolin as Doctor
- Chevy Chase as Vic's Buddy
- Kevin Costner as Bartender
- Rodney Dangerfield as Bachelor #3 (Dr. Vinny Boombatz)
- Geena Davis as Kim
- Dana Delany as Doctor
- Rick Ducommun as Hospital Security Guard
- Jane Fonda as Helen
- Nika Futterman as Giulia
- Morgan Freeman as Walter Samson
- Dan Gauthier as Bachelor #2
- Edan Gross as Kid
- Dustin Hoffman as Everylawyer
- Dom Irrera as Fan
- Michael Keaton as Charles McIntyre
- Jack Lemmon as Coach Stewart
- Rick Moranis as Vic's Buddy
- Edward James Olmos as Hospital Director
- Pat Riley as Bachelor #1
- Meryl Streep as Concerned Citizen
- Robin Williams as Everyman
- Robert Wuhl as Fan
=TV and Movie characters=
==[[Back to the Future]]==
==[[Cheers]]==
==[[The Cosby Show]]==
- Tempestt Bledsoe as Vanessa Huxtable
- Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable Kendall
- Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable
- Keshia Knight Pulliam as Rudy Huxtable
- Phylicia Rashad as Clair Huxtable
- Raven-Symoné as Olivia Kendall
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theo Huxtable
==[[Doogie Howser, M.D.]]==
==[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]==
==[[Ghostbusters]]==
- Harold Ramis as Elon Spengler (brother of Egon Spengler)[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-mK907DpKU YouTube clip of Wastebusters]
==[[The Golden Girls]]==
==[[Married... with Children]]==
- Christina Applegate as Kelly Bundy
- Amanda Bearse as Marcy Rhoades
- David Faustino as Bud Bundy
- Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy
- Katey Sagal as Peggy Bundy
==[[Murphy Brown]]==
==[[Saturday Night Live]]/[[SCTV Channel]]==
=Appearing as themselves=
=Muppet performers=
- Kevin Clash as Alligator
- Dave Goelz as Elderly Frog
- Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog
- Jerry Nelson as Robin the Frog
- David Rudman as Iguana
=Voices=
- Jeff Bergman as Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Tweety
- Don Pardo as Weekend Update Announcer (uncredited)
References
External links
- {{IMDb title|255132}}
{{Back to the Future}}
{{Bugs Bunny in animation}}
{{Cheers}}
{{E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial}}
{{Ghostbusters}}
{{The Golden Girls}}
{{Married... with Children}}
{{The Muppets productions}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Earth Day Special}}
Category:1990 in the environment
Category:1990 television specials
Category:1990s American television specials
Category:Back to the Future (franchise) mass media
Category:Environmental television
Category:E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Category:Looney Tunes television specials
Category:Married... with Children
Category:The Muppets television specials
Category:Television episodes with live action and animation
Category:Television shows about time travel
Category:Television episodes directed by James Burrows