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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank

324 statements
63 feature instances
27 referencing feature instances

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	type	TVTItem
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	label	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	page	OverdrawnAtTheMemoryBank
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	comment	In a Worldâ€¦ where oppressive MegaCorps rake in billions of ill-earned dollars while treating their workers like slaves... a Toronto production company decided to adapt one of John Varley's Eight Worlds short stories into a Made-for-TV Movie.Finding financing from New York PBS station WNET and somehow acquiring RaÃºl JuliÃ¡ as the lead along with Linda Griffiths, one of Canada's top stage actresses, they unleashed a production called Overdrawn at the Memory Bank in 1983. A low-budgeted affair, shot on video and making heavy use of chromakey effects, it was the third (and last, due to not being able to get funding for any more) in a series of films by PBS that were adapted from literary works of science fiction. The first two were 1972's Between Time and Timbuktu, an adaptation of several Kurt Vonnegut stories, and 1980's The Lathe of Heaven, based on the Ursula K. Le Guin novel of the same title.note The running theme between all three productions was an ordinary man put in extraordinary circumstances.In a future that is only marginally more dystopian than the present, Aram Fingal is a bored programmer working for Novicorp, and earns his superiors' ire by "scrolling up cinemas" at work, particularly Casablanca. The solution, of course, is "prophylactic rehab," a two-week (or two days, depending on the scene) vacation in which his consciousness is "doppelled" into a wild animal at a nature preserve. Under the supervision of Computech Apollonia James, Fingal experiences life as a decrepit old baboon until the animals on the preserve get trashed on ripe fruit and place his temporary body in danger, prompting him to activate an escape clause.Unfortunately, a little hellraising kid screws around with the label on Fingal's body, so the technicians supervising his little adventure have no idea where it is. Once this news leaks out via an industrial spy, the all-powerful Novicorp chairman orders that Fingal's mind be stored in the HX368 supercomputer, which runs everything from finances to the weather. Meanwhile, the technicians race to hunt down Fingal's body, since he only has a few hours real time before his mind starts to break down without it.At first Fingal creates a simulation of a typical workday, but he quickly grows bored and starts boinking a simulacrum of a hot co-worker. Once cybersex loses its charm (and greatly annoys Apollonia, who finds herself falling in love with him), Fingal builds his own version of Casablanca, complete with a Rick character that is his own digital double. Apollonia warns him not to cause too much trouble, but our Fingal is a little rebel, and starts messing around with Novicorp finances while inside the HX368, also causing catastrophic weather disasters around the globe in a fit of whimsy. Soon the Chairman is dispatching his own electronic agents to kill Fingal, while Apollonia sides with the renegade programmer as she tracks down his body.At a final showdown at Rick's bar, Fingal "interfaces" with the mainframe, orders the Chairman into a month of compulsory rehab, redistributes Novicorp shares to the downtrodden employees, and makes new Casablanca-themed identities for himself and Apollonia as he vows to fight the system. It's like if someone combined Fight Club, 1984 and The Matrix...For the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of the film, please go to the episode recap page.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	fetched	2024-04-16T09:14:32Z
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	parsed	2024-04-16T09:14:32Z
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	processingComment	Dropped link to TheBlueAngel: Not a Feature - ITEM
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	isPartOf	DBTropes
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_1282bf4f	type	No Celebrities Were Harmed
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_1282bf4f	comment	No Celebrities Were Harmed: Remember kids! You can't have Casablanca references without a Lorre Lookalike! And the Chairman's persona in the simulation copies Sydney Greenstreet's character from the same film. A Marlene Dietrich expy sings "Falling In Love Again" from The Blue Angel - in Rick's bar. Finally, we have Raul Julia himself Acting for Two as he impersonates Humphrey Bogart as Rick.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_1282bf4f	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_1282bf4f	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_1282bf4f
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_13d7a65e	type	The Artifact
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_13d7a65e	comment	The Artifact: Some of the things that make no sense in the movie are leftovers from the short story that aren't as well explained or just dropped in. For example, Apollonia appearing as Venus is basically because in the simulation, she was only able to really appear to Fingal through bizarre phenomena, and after he accidentally reroutes a bunch of finances by screwing with things she gets through to him in the most direct way possible: divine intervention. With this aspect removed, her appearance as Venus comes off as her making a joke.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_13d7a65e	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_13d7a65e	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_13d7a65e
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_1c3464e5	type	Klingon Scientists Get No Respect
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_1c3464e5	comment	Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: "Only a retard would want to be a medico!" Medical science has advanced to the point where it's actually very easy to fix up people's bodies. End result: amazing surgeons are treated with the same regard as greasy auto-mechanics, and paid about as well.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_1c3464e5	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_1c3464e5	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_1c3464e5
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_20f689e9	type	Adaptational Villainy
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_20f689e9	comment	Adaptational Villainy: The biggest change between the story and its adaptation is the treatment of Novicorp. In the story, Novicorp (aside from Apollonia) is barely a factor in the story, and to the extent they are they're trying to locate Fingal's body before he becomes trapped in the cyber world. In the movie, Novicorp is a nefarious, corrupt Evil, Inc., whose Chairman seeks world domination and tries to kill Fingal, albeit only after Fingal openly rebels against them by breaking into restricted files. Fingal himself counts, as in this version, he keeps trying to hack into the HX-386 (a supercomputer that seemingly controls everything), even though Apollonia warns him multiple times that it's having a bad effect on the real world, causing weather disturbances, and thus putting innocent people in danger. In the story, there is no HX-386, and while Fingal does try hacking to escape, the worst he does is almost delete some finance records, and he actually stops when Apollonia tells him to.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_20f689e9	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_20f689e9	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_234073a4	type	Your Mind Makes It Real
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_234073a4	comment	Your Mind Makes It Real: "It was eerie, watching Fingal create his own reality simulation around him! Especially since he didn't even know he was doing it!"
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_234073a4	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_234073a4	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_234073a4
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_38c119bc	type	Lorre Lookalike
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_38c119bc	comment	Remember kids! You can't have Casablanca references without a Lorre Lookalike!
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_38c119bc	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_38c119bc	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_38c119bc
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3aa2ac42	type	G-Rated Drug
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3aa2ac42	comment	G-Rated Drug: "Marula Fruit" (called "maruba" in the film, for some reason), which apparently makes the animals used by the doppelers drunk. note This is a leftover from Animals are Beautiful People, a nature documentary that the filmmakers used for the stock footage of the doppelers. The documentary made the claim that the fruits contained alcohol that intoxicated animals, which is a persistent, but disproven, myth.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3aa2ac42	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3aa2ac42	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3b39c254	type	Dystopia
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3b39c254	comment	Dystopia: A milder example. It's implied the world is run by three Mega Corps (TransCorp, LexiCorp, and NoviCorp) who control everything from the economy to the weather. However, all it takes is for one corp to leak one mistake from another for the media to near-instantly bankrupt that corporation, showing that they're not invincible institutions, and the physical/financial standard of living appears to be pretty good. The chairman gives the heroes plenty of chances before resorting to evil, and their escape to open up a small bar at the end is treated like an unquestioned happy ending, not a life as fugitives. In fact, if Marco never switched Fingal's card (the kid being traditionally mischievous without draconian repercussions), nothing bad would have even really happened in the story. Its strongest dystopian feature is the suppression of human empathy, creativity, individualism and other social concerns, symbolized by the ban on viewing "cinemas".
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3b39c254	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3b39c254	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3b39c254
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3eee0728	type	Captain Obvious
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3eee0728	comment	Captain Obvious: A lot of Apollonia's narration consists of stating stuff that's blatantly obvious, and recapping things that we've seen just moments ago. Even Mike and the Bots get annoyed by this pretty early on.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3eee0728	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3eee0728	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3fca462c	type	Deus ex Machina
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3fca462c	comment	Deus ex Machina: The climax, wherein Fingal "interfaces" to defeat the Chairman... none of it is explained or built up at all, so it just comes off as this.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3fca462c	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3fca462c	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_3fca462c
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4856ac40	type	Stock Footage
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4856ac40	comment	Stock Footage: The footage of Daisy the baboon is reused in the James Uys nature documentary Animals Are Beautiful People. The first twenty seconds or so of the opening credits to Casablanca also appear frequently in the film.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4856ac40	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4856ac40	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4a59e6f7	type	One Nation Under Copyright
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4a59e6f7	comment	One Nation Under Copyright: Much is made of the powerful Novicorp and its rival Lexicorp; the only mention of actual governments is an offhanded reference to the British Parliament.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4a59e6f7	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4a59e6f7	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4f3c14ca	type	Go Mad from the Isolation
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4f3c14ca	comment	Go Mad from the Isolation: After what from his perspective are weeks or months stuck with only projections of his own mind for company (and after he gets bored living out his sex fantasies, obviously) Fingal hacks the computer his personality is stored in and starts screwing with Novicorp and entire planet just for something to do.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4f3c14ca	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_4f3c14ca	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_51300dbf	type	Fat Bastard
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_51300dbf	comment	Fat Bastard: The Novicorp Chairman.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_51300dbf	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_51300dbf	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_51300dbf
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_55ec42d7	type	Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_55ec42d7	comment	Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: When Apollonia appears as Aphrodite, she speaks in a hybrid of anachronistic English and modern slang.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_55ec42d7	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_55ec42d7	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_55ec42d7
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5663a595	type	Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5663a595	comment	Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: Due to a lot of things being changed from the original story, many plot points don't make much sense. For one, why would a company punish people who slack off at work by putting their brains into animals? In the book, this isn't the case. Instead, doppelling is basically like a vacation, and Fingal does so because he's gotten really bored with life. The movie also doesn't explain very well why he needs to stay in contact with Apollonia the whole time. In the story, it's because if she loses contact with him he will risk being Driven to Madness due to being trapped in the computer, as the whole simulated world is basically being created for him by Apollonia to help him keep his sanity.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5663a595	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5663a595	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5663a595
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5ca80293	type	Pragmatic Villainy
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5ca80293	comment	Pragmatic Villainy: In a scene deleted from the MST version, The Chairman decides to immediately terminate Fingal and send his family a telegram and a bouquet, but he's talked into retrieving Fingal instead when Apollonia points out that letting someone die as a result of doppelling would shake consumer confidence in NoviCorp's products so severely that it could bankrupt the company.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5ca80293	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5ca80293	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5cc0e633	type	Mind-Reformat Death
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5cc0e633	comment	Mind-Reformat Death: Fingal nearly experiences this. The technicians only have a few hours to find Fingal's body and reunite it with his mind before that degrades within the supercomputer.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5cc0e633	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5cc0e633	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_5cc0e633
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_6563a3f2	type	Cyberspace
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_6563a3f2	comment	Cyberspace: The HX368, while not the internet, is seemingly connected to just about everything.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_6563a3f2	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_6563a3f2	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_6563a3f2
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_71748a39	type	Named by the Adaptation
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_71748a39	comment	Named by the Adaptation: In the original short story, we never learn Fingal's first name. Various other minor characters have names in the movie version, too, and Apollonia's last name is now James instead of Joachim.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_71748a39	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_71748a39	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_71748a39
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_743437c4	type	Chroma Key
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_743437c4	comment	Chroma Key: Used for most of the special effects. Since the movie was not actually shot on film, and was instead videotaped, this results in lots of pixelation artifacts in the footage (though given a large portion of the film takes place within the computer, this actually is appropriate).
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_743437c4	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_743437c4	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_743437c4
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_776c56ec	type	The Burlesque of Venus
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_776c56ec	comment	The Burlesque of Venus: Apollonia randomly appears to Fingal in the simulation by descending from heaven dressed as Aphrodite (complete with giant seashell). She intones the advice, "Thou shalt not screw around with things thou dost not understand."
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_776c56ec	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_776c56ec	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_776c56ec
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_82fc5bdf	type	Bratty Half-Pint
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_82fc5bdf	comment	Bratty Half-Pint Marco. All it takes is him switching some patients' tags around to nearly cause The End of the World as We Know It.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_82fc5bdf	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_82fc5bdf	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_830343d8	type	We Will Use WikiWords in the Future
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_830343d8	comment	We Will Use WikiWords in the Future: "Reconst," "flavo-fibes," "identicubes". "Medico," surprisingly, is an informal term for doctor or med student recognized by Microsoft Word and Firefox.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_830343d8	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_830343d8	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8426d2ac	type	Inherently Funny Words
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8426d2ac	comment	Inherently Funny Words: The filmmakers seemed to think it was "anteaters." It's the only explanation for the constant anteater bashing. In the real world viewers thought it was constant use of the words "Fingal," and "doppel," which the MST3K crew gets a lot of mileage from in their treatment of the movie.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8426d2ac	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8426d2ac	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8b68d9a7	type	Stalker with a Crush
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8b68d9a7	comment	Stalker with a Crush: Felicia, a co-worker with whom Fingal is smitten, thinks of him as this. She's pretty much right about him too, especially given how he treats the VR Simulation of her he creates later in the movie.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8b68d9a7	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8b68d9a7	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8b68d9a7
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8bb316cf	type	Video Inside, Film Outside
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8bb316cf	comment	Video Inside, Film Outside: Thanks to the stock footage of Daisy coming from an old documentary.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8bb316cf	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8bb316cf	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8bb316cf
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8f0dc93c	type	Dangerous Forbidden Technique
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8f0dc93c	comment	Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Computer/Identicube Interface becomes this once Apollonia watches a video on it and learns that it is highly possible for the person inside the Identicube and the person manning the computer to lose their minds, rendering them vegetables.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8f0dc93c	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8f0dc93c	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8f10ec79	type	Weather-Control Machine
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8f10ec79	comment	Fingal himself counts, as in this version, he keeps trying to hack into the HX-386 (a supercomputer that seemingly controls everything), even though Apollonia warns him multiple times that it's having a bad effect on the real world, causing weather disturbances, and thus putting innocent people in danger. In the story, there is no HX-386, and while Fingal does try hacking to escape, the worst he does is almost delete some finance records, and he actually stops when Apollonia tells him to.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8f10ec79	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8f10ec79	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_8f10ec79
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_93c04c8a	type	Future Food Is Artificial
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_93c04c8a	comment	Future Food Is Artificial: With a name like Flavo-Fibes, you just know they taste like plastic.note "Fibes" seems to indicate a fibrous snack, so maybe something akin to Frosted Mini-Wheats Not to mention Reconst, a drink whose name just screams "I'm made of faecal matter!" note It's likely just pseudo-futuristic jargon for reconstituted orange juice.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_93c04c8a	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_93c04c8a	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_93c04c8a
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_95b7c400	type	Faux Affably Evil
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_95b7c400	comment	Faux Affably Evil: In his "Fat Man" guise within the computer, the Chairman is generally charming and reasonable in his encounters with Fingal, trying to persuade him to cooperate with Novicorp willingly rather than using force. In the real world, though, he's an arrogant, domineering bully who barely hides his disdain for his subordinates.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_95b7c400	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_95b7c400	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_95b7c400
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_99ddfcec	type	Unwitting Instigator of Doom
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_99ddfcec	comment	Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Bratty Half-Pint Marco. All it takes is him switching some patients' tags around to nearly cause The End of the World as We Know It. Fingal's saying, "Here's looking at you, kid," to Apollonia somehow screws up some of the programs in the HX-368. The first time he accesses it on purpose he inadvertently (and unknowingly) causes a series of severe weather events around the world.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_99ddfcec	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_99ddfcec	featureConfidence	1.0
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Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9a0870ae	type	Screw Yourself
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9a0870ae	comment	Screw Yourself: As Apollonia says, when Fingal has sex with a simulated version of his Felicia (from his own head, mind you), "Now he's started playing around with himself!"
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9a0870ae	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9a0870ae	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9a0870ae
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9b0f37de	type	Contemplate Our Navels
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9b0f37de	comment	Contemplate Our Navels: Taken quite literally in one scene:
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9b0f37de	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9b0f37de	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9b0f37de
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9fbf8969	type	Cut Lex Luthor a Check
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9fbf8969	comment	Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Apollonia mentions that Fingal has an amazing talent with computers. Indeed, considering he managed to wreak havoc on HX368 and Novicorp with minimal training, one wonders what Fingal would have been able to do if the Chairman decided instead to hire Fingal as a programmer or a security expert (or other more nefarious Novicorp-sponsored positions that are surely there) and then trained him to do things properly. Heck, if he'd simply given Fingal the okay to watch movies at home in his off-hours, a lot of grief might have been avoided.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9fbf8969	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9fbf8969	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_9fbf8969
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_a3509d95	type	The Password Is Always "Swordfish"
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_a3509d95	comment	The Password Is Always "Swordfish": Or, in this case, "IY479" (the name of the computer, HX368, with each character incremented). It gets worse. Once the Chairman learns Fingal knows the password, he changes it to something extremely stupid:
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_a3509d95	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_a3509d95	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_a3509d95
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_a62dca03	type	Year Inside, Hour Outside
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_a62dca03	comment	Year Inside, Hour Outside: Although several days (maybe even months, according to onscreen graphics) seem to pass within Fingal's simulation, only a few hours pass in the real world. This is, in fact, a plot point: they have only eight hours to find Fingal's body before the computer can no longer maintain his personality.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_a62dca03	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_a62dca03	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_a62dca03
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_ad22fa80	type	Apocalyptic Log
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_ad22fa80	comment	Apocalyptic Log: Apollonia sees a report describing the danger of a CompuTech staying in contact with a decaying Identicube. The tech is seen staring vacantly into the camera, having had their brain fried. Or possibly just having drunk a 40-oz. of Steel Reserve.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_ad22fa80	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_ad22fa80	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_ad22fa80
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_af2547c9	type	Informed Flaw
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_af2547c9	comment	Informed Flaw: The dystopian nature of the world isn't established too well. Yes, the chairman of a mega-corp effectively runs the world and entertainment options for the average person are limited. However, no one besides Fingal seems to really mind and there is no indication they're being brainwashed or controlled into feeling that way. On the other hand, when an employee is caught goofing off instead of doing his job, he's not suspended or fired, he's sent for "compulsory rehab" to change his behavior. We're also told that, if he doesn't essentially have his mind reprogrammed, he won't be allowed to get a job anywhere. No one seems troubled by this form of punishment, which suggests that mental reprogramming is very common and may in fact have been used on his acquaintances to make them more compliant as well.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_af2547c9	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_af2547c9	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_af2547c9
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_aff1ee2e	type	Small Reference Pools
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_aff1ee2e	comment	Small Reference Pools: Fingal's Casablanca simulation comes complete with a Peter Lorre character who hangs around for almost the whole movie before he helpfully sacrifices himself to buy time for Fingal. In Casablanca, Lorre's character Ugarte is a One-Scene Wonder who shows up, gives Rick the Macguffin and then dies off screen. Likewise, in Casablanca the Sydney Greenstreet character (who the Chairman is expying here) is actually a sympathetic one—he tells the Lazlos to go to Rick for the letters of transit, and buys Rick's bar from him at a lavish price so he can join the resistance. The film seems to muddle a lot of details of Casablanca with those of Maltese Falcon. Though there is also a Shout Out to The Blue Angel in the bar, and characters quote On the Waterfront and All About Eve. So it's possible Fingal just likes old movies in general and is blending several together, with Casablanca just the most prominent.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_aff1ee2e	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_aff1ee2e	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_aff1ee2e
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_b53ba00f	type	Easy Sex Change
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_b53ba00f	comment	Easy Sex Change: One of the staples of Varleyverse; people are actually considered a bit weird if they don't at least try out both genders at least once, and it only takes a few hours to complete. So Fingal's really, REALLY lucky he got his body back unchanged...
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_b53ba00f	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_b53ba00f	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_b53ba00f
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_c8db76f6	type	And You Were There
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_c8db76f6	comment	And You Were There: Not only is Fingal trapped in a virtual reality, but Apollonia and the Novicorp Chairman are in there as well, fighting to save/kill him respectively.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_c8db76f6	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_c8db76f6	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_c8db76f6
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_cbe687ab	type	Corrupt Corporate Executive
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_cbe687ab	comment	Corrupt Corporate Executive: Novicorp's Fat Chairman, who is willing to allow Fingal to die for no apparent reason (and ignoring the fact that Fingal's death, attributed to Novicorp's product, would likely send the company into fiscal ruin). Of course, once Fingal starts screwing around with HX368, all bets are off.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_cbe687ab	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_cbe687ab	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_cbe687ab
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_cc427069	type	Hard Work Hardly Works
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_cc427069	comment	Hard Work Hardly Works: Zig-zagged. To pass the time, Fingal takes a computer programming course. Since time is accelerated for him, it takes only hours in the real world, but felt like six months of effort to him.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_cc427069	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_cc427069	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_cc427069
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d1cedb73	type	Slap-Slap-Kiss
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d1cedb73	comment	Slap-Slap-Kiss: Although the actual kiss comes sometime after the slap, the mood does go romantic immediately after the slap. This is lampshaded when shown on MST3K, as after Apollonia slaps Fingal after he tells her that she wasn't "his kind of woman", Crow retorts "Well, now you kinda are..."
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d1cedb73	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d1cedb73	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d1cedb73
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d332bf54	type	Lampshaded
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d332bf54	comment	This is lampshaded when shown on MST3K, as after Apollonia slaps Fingal after he tells her that she wasn't "his kind of woman", Crow retorts "Well, now you kinda are..."
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d332bf54	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d332bf54	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d332bf54
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d39e327f	type	What the Hell, Hero?
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d39e327f	comment	What the Hell, Hero?: Apollonia gives Fingal a verbal thrashing when she catches him using his "powers" to have virtual sex with the image of his attractive co-worker Felicia.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d39e327f	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d39e327f	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d39e327f
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d7a92919	type	Indecisive Parody
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d7a92919	comment	Indecisive Parody: Accounts for most of the more bizarre moments, for example, the Creepy Children who almost get mustard on someone's exposed brain.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d7a92919	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d7a92919	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_d7a92919
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_dd0c5d58	type	Acting for Two
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_dd0c5d58	comment	Finally, we have Raul Julia himself Acting for Two as he impersonates Humphrey Bogart as Rick.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_dd0c5d58	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_dd0c5d58	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_dd0c5d58
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_dded28f2	type	Playful Hacker
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_dded28f2	comment	Playful Hacker: Fingal just wants to watch old movies when he should be working.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_dded28f2	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_dded28f2	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_dded28f2
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_e2d457	type	The Ditz
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_e2d457	comment	The Ditz: Tooby the "Short-Bus Techie" as he's called, speaks with an odd cadence as if he has a mental problem, at least over the two-way. He speaks normally in person, but whether the actor was trying to simulate a bad connection over the two-way or simply forgot he was supposed to be reading his lines like that isn't known. The Medico who talks with Apollonia in a few scenes also comes across as rather ditzy.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_e2d457	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_e2d457	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_e2d457
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_e70127	type	The Mole
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_e70127	comment	The Mole: Apollonia's shift replacement Djamilla is apparently a Lexicorp spy, since she breaks the story of Fingal's misplacement to the public.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_e70127	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_e70127	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_e70127
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_eb8ec7c8	type	Jerkass
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_eb8ec7c8	comment	Jerkass: Slavin, who is more concerned the Fingal incident might cost him his promotion than a routine doppel possibly costing a man his life. The Novicorp chairman was ready to just let Fingal die rather than spend the money storing him in the HX368 and searching for his body. It's only when he's told the backlash against the company could bankrupt it that he changes his tune. Slightly.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_eb8ec7c8	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_eb8ec7c8	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_eb8ec7c8
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f0e85546	type	Unbuilt Trope
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f0e85546	comment	Unbuilt Trope: The film is not very well made, but it's way ahead of its time regarding virtual reality stories. What appears clichÃ© to anyone who's seen The Matrix was much fresher in 1984, cheesiness aside. Likewise, with its themes of basing a virtual reality environment on someone's favorite pop culture, and going "inside" a movie, it is effectively the precursor of Ready Player One (2018). May also constitute Early-Installment Weirdness for its entire genre.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f0e85546	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f0e85546	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f0e85546
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f32d85ab	type	20 Minutes into the Future
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f32d85ab	comment	20 Minutes into the Future: What we see of "the Future" world looks like your average shopping mall or industrial park, albeit with floating computer screens everywhere.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f32d85ab	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f32d85ab	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f32d85ab
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f3cbaf48	type	Misapplied Phlebotinum
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f3cbaf48	comment	Misapplied Phlebotinum: In this future world, they apparently have the technology to remove someone's mind and transfer it to other bodies, and nobody is using it for immortality or life-saving procedures. Instead it is being used to place people's minds into animals for brief periods of time because they got a bad performance review at work. In the other stories set in the same universe, Varley describes this being done routinely. The tension of the story comes from the problem that the process for doppelling between bodies normally uses a storage unit not designed for long-term storage of a personality; when Fingal's body turned up missing when they went to copy him back, just letting the unit sit would quickly result in the image turning to garbage, 'killing' him (based on other stories in the universe, he would have had an archived copy he could be restored from, although many people blow off making regular backups, even though everyone was entitled to an annual backup and as many more as they wanted to pay for, so his last backup could have been years out of date). They had to hook Fingal's memory unit into the Novicorp computer to keep it active so it wouldn't start degenerating. None of this appears in either the short story or the film, so it's one more of the unexplained aspects of the world of the film.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f3cbaf48	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f3cbaf48	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f3cbaf48
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f3d5d15f	type	Creepy Child
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f3d5d15f	comment	Creepy Child: Marco. He's probably meant to be a horny young teenager, but the way he fondles a woman's unconscious body, insults the staff, and messes around just for fun, makes him seem more like a hellspawn.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f3d5d15f	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f3d5d15f	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f3d5d15f
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f50c4557	type	Viewer-Friendly Interface
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f50c4557	comment	Viewer-Friendly Interface: Complete with what looks like a 72-point screen font.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f50c4557	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f50c4557	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f50c4557
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f6507695	type	Everything Is Online
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f6507695	comment	Everything Is Online: This is how Fingal, trapped in the HX368, is able to muck around with virtually every single computer system in the world.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f6507695	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f6507695	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f6507695
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f8b3482c	type	Stop Trick
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f8b3482c	comment	Stop Trick: Used on occasion whenever something/one appears or vanishes from the VR simulation.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f8b3482c	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f8b3482c	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f8b3482c
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f9f2c33	type	Running Gag
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f9f2c33	comment	Running Gag: Anteaters are mocked with regularity.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f9f2c33	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f9f2c33	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_f9f2c33
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_ff934825	type	Evil, Inc.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_ff934825	comment	The biggest change between the story and its adaptation is the treatment of Novicorp. In the story, Novicorp (aside from Apollonia) is barely a factor in the story, and to the extent they are they're trying to locate Fingal's body before he becomes trapped in the cyber world. In the movie, Novicorp is a nefarious, corrupt Evil, Inc., whose Chairman seeks world domination and tries to kill Fingal, albeit only after Fingal openly rebels against them by breaking into restricted files.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_ff934825	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_ff934825	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_ff934825
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_name	type	ItemName
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_name	comment
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_name
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / int_name	itemName	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Absurdly Ineffective Barricade / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Brain Uploading / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Contemplate Our Navels / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Dangerous Forbidden Technique / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Fan of the Past / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Fat, Sweaty Southerner in a White Suit / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Future Food Is Artificial / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Ham and Cheese / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Holodeck Malfunction / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Inside a Computer System / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Last-Second Word Swap / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Lorre Lookalike / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Mind-Reformat Death / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Money, Dear Boy / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	One Nation Under Copyright / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Reality Warping Is Not a Toy / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Review Ironic Echo / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Saw "Star Wars" Twenty-Seven Times / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Silly Love Songs / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Stock Footage / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	The Burlesque of Venus / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	The Operators Must Be Crazy / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	The Password Is Always "Swordfish" / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	We Will Spend Credits in the Future / int_16c6bff
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	We Will Use WikiWords in the Future / int_16c6bff
overdrawnatthememorybank	sameAs	Overdrawn at the Memory Bank
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank	hasFeature	Cool People Rebel Against Authority / int_16c6bff

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