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Biography
dablink|For the 1993 movie, see Coneheads (film) . For the insects named "conehead", see Conocephalus , or Protura . The Coneheads is a sketch comedy|sketch on Saturday Night Live which originated on the Saturday Night Live season 2|January 15, 1977 episode, and starred Dan Aykroyd as father Beldar, Jane Curtin as mother Prymaat, and Laraine Newman as daughter Connie.
Summary
The Coneheads are an alien family, natives of the planet Remulak, who find themselves stranded on Earth.The Coneheads' most distinguishing feature is that the tops of their heads are shaped like large cone (geometry)|cone s.
Conical Skulls Go Unnoticed
When questioned by Earth neighbors as to their strange behavior, they inevitably reply that they are from France . Yet they are never suspected of being extraterrestrial aliens by anyone who encounters them, even when accidentally referring to their neighbors as "Earthlings". A lot of the humor is derived from this. Even their unearthly appearance is never strongly questioned. The only time the shape of their head has ever come into question is in Coneheads (film)|the film (by Tom Arnold (actor)|Tom Arnold in a quick cameo).
Strange Behaviors
Consume Mass Quantities
Coneheads have much larger appetites than average humans. They eat large amounts of food during meals, announcing "Consume Mass Quantities!". They drink entire six pack s of beer at once, and smoke whole packs of cigarette s at a time. They also consume foods that are inedible to humans (cleaning fluid, pencil shavings and insulation during the movie).
Conespeak
The Coneheads have a very fast, nasal, monotone speech and humorously odd language patterns, using needlessly technical dialogue. They refer to food as "consumables", and say "I summon you" to ask to speak to another person. The somewhat popular term "parental unit" also comes from the sketches.
Romance
Coneheads rub their cones together as a sign of affection ("honing their cones") at which point a bizarre, theremin -like noise is emitted, presumably from the cones themselves. They also play a game involving tossing "senso-rings" over each other's cones, which is somehow sexual in nature, and is considered taboo for the underaged Connie to play.
Conceptual Origins
Dan Aykroyd said he developed the idea for the Coneheads based on the Moai , the mysterious and ancient stone statues of Easter Island , which have similarly conical heads, and the people of the land of Points from Harry Nilsson's The Point! .
Music
Frank Zappa wrote a song based on the sketches, titled "Conehead". It appeared on his 1981 album You Are What You Is . When he hosted SNL , Zappa also appeared in a Coneheads sketch as a man dating Connie, where he makes note that he prefers Frenchwomen.cite web |url= http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/lyrics/You_Are_What_You_Is.html#Conehead |title="Conehead". You Are What You Is |accessdate=2007-05-12 |last=Zappa |first=Frank |authorlink=Frank Zappa |date=September 23, 1981 |publisher= Barking Pumpkin Records
Non-Television Formats
The concept was turned into a Rankin/Bass animated special, The Coneheads , in 1983,imdb title|0224782 and a movie, Coneheads (film)|Coneheads , in 1993, with Aykroyd and Curtin reprising their roles in both. Michelle Burke took over the role of Connie in the film, with Newman appearing as Connie's aunt on Remulak. Marvel Comics produced a comic book limited series, with all original stories set after the events of the film. The feature film was licensed to Playmates Toys and a line of action figures were created, designed by the development team from Pangea Corporation .
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/77/77nconeheads.phtml Transcript of SNL sketch, Season 3, Episode 14
Saturday Night LiveLorne Michaels Category:Saturday Night Live sketches Category:Science fiction television characters Category:Fictional immigrants to the United States Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1977
Copyright Citations
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