| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa: West |
| Riot in Sierra Leone Over Midget No-Show |
| 2003-12-07 |
| I’ve always said, where there’s dwarf comedians...there’s trouble. Thousands of fans rioted at Sierra Leone’s national stadium Saturday when authorities substituted two local dwarf comedians for a widely anticipated out-of-town midget duo. Police arrested 30 people, amid damage and dozens of injuries. It’ll now be remembered in Freetown as the famous Midget Riots of ’03. Daylong radio ads had whipped up excitement and ticket sales for Friday night’s scheduled performance by the two Nigerian entertainers, Aki and Paw Paw. Must not take much to get them excited in Freetown... although it is Aki and Paw Paw... The Nigerian performers failed to show by early morning. Organizers put the two local dwarf comedians on the stage instead. Hey, they’re midgets, they’re comedians...who’s gonna know? Fans rioted, throwing projectiles and smashing windows, light fixtures and hundreds of chairs. Your hardcore midget comedian fans! That’s who’s gonna know! Witnesses said police fired tear gas. Authorities said 30 people were arrested, including eight who allegedly had tried to steal the stadium’s seats. What were they gonna do, sell them on Ebay? Dozens of show-goers were reported injured in the melee. Saturday, blood splattered parts of the stadium. Acting President Solomon Berewa, filling in while President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah is at a Commonwealth summit in Nigeria, toured the riot site Saturday and condemned the violence. Guess they’ll have to ban midget comedy shows..."How many more must die, Mister Speaker!?"... Sierra Leone’s National Stadium was built as a gift from China. The stadium was under repairs for damage from the West African nation’s devastating 10-year rebellion, ended in January 2002. Looks like they haven’t lost their touch. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #13 I believe Plan 9 made the list. Here are a few others I remeber: Che, Gengis Khan (John Wayne's worst- filmed in an Arizona nuke test site - and all the stars died of cancer) , Hurry Sundown, That Hagen Girl (Ronald Reagan and Shirley Temple), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Trotsky, Egahh, Dondi .... |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-12-7 9:49:10 PM |
| #12 Yes! A remake of Plan 9... and this time we do it right! Get out the upscale gorilla suits. I see my mission in life. Perhpas I'll do the whole thing as a flash project... |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-12-7 4:45:18 PM |
| #11 "When Worlds Collide" probably wouldn't be on the list simply because it had (for its time) pretty decent special effects -- and was produced by George Pal. And was also pretty true to the book... Why aren't they remaking this, instead of "The AbsentMinded Professor", "Planet of the Apes", and "Psycho"? Because they're idiots... |
| Posted by: snellenr 2003-12-7 4:35:05 PM |
| #10 No, "Manos: the Hands of Fate" was worse than TTTT and Plan 9. MHF was worse than TTTT and Plan 9 back to back. It was really bad. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-12-7 3:24:15 PM |
| #9 OP, I don't remember that title from the list. The book is dated - from the late 70's. The guys who put it together now put out an annual award book called the Golden Turkeys. It is worth a read if you can find a copy. It gives you a plot summary, dialog examples, sample reviews and some great insight on the production and marketting of these disasters and cult classics. I recommend it to anyone who has wondered what the phrase, "bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia," meant. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-12-7 12:50:30 PM |
| #8 SH, is "When World Collide" on that list? It's considered so bad it's good. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-12-7 12:31:19 PM |
| #7 Shipman, my father used to teach a filmaking course at the high school he still teaches at so he had plenty of film books around the house. I pilfered a Medved book called The 50 Worst Movies of All Time. The book is a classic and provides insights like: TTTT was filmed with a troop of little folk named Jed Buell's Midgets. You have got to wonder if Jed locked his munchkins in the basement. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-12-7 12:09:30 PM |
| #6 I knew you were a man of taste SH... TITT consider perhaps the worst movie ever made... with the possible exception of Plan 9. Legend has it that TITT was made concurrently with the Wizard of Oz since they had all the talent already at knee. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-12-7 11:52:23 AM |
| #5 They should have quelled the crowd with a screening of The Terror of Tiny Town. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-12-7 11:43:32 AM |
| #4 "Hey, they shorted us on the midgets!" |
| Posted by: Mike 2003-12-7 10:38:40 AM |
| #3 These people need the gift of Bingo. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-12-7 8:10:11 AM |
| #2 A couple years from now it will be the comedy duo of Kerry and Dean. Then they'll riot because the two actually do show up. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-12-7 3:20:34 AM |
| #1 Thank god we have 'bait and switch' laws here. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-12-7 1:24:55 AM |