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FLASH FRIDAY: I'm Going Home! ROCKY HORROR Returns At Last, This Time On The Small Screen

By: Apr. 24, 2015
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This week we are celebrating the news of FOX's TV remake of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.

Absolute Pleasure

My, my, my! Unlike any other entertainment entity before or since, Richard O'Brien's outrageous, outlandish, off-the-wall and all over outré science fiction musical spectacular THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW has engendered itself with audiences around the world in a fiercely idiosyncratic and indelible manner - indeed, it is the biggest cult film of all time. Yes - ever. Owing to the fact that the film follows the travails of two young lovers caught in a storm with a flat tire seeking refuge at a remote castle late one evening, the subsequent plot of the gleefully bizarre and intentionally shocking tale that is presented could never be predicted - and, any production of the stage show is packed full of surprises. Yet, the film adaptation of the gritty West End hit and subsequent Broadway flop has impacted entire generations with its forward-thinking attitude celebrating the abandonment of sexual mores and saluting what is perceivably odd and/or inscrutable, while embracing all that just plain feels good. At the end of the day, like the iconic Transylvanian alien at the center of the story sings in his unforgettable Judy Garland-esque 11 o'clock showstopper "I'm Going Home" the resounding motto unquestionably is: "Give yourself over to absolute pleasure." And, a pointedly pleasurable and pleasing experience ROCKY HORROR as represented onstage and onscreen always reliably is - at least for the open-minded ones among us. The others? Well, my dear, this may not be the musical for you.

The legacy of the musical as seen onstage and experienced onscreen is wholly, deliciously one-of-a-kind - and, for anyone attending a live showing of the film (for the first or five-hundredth time) is in for the most jaw-dropping and jubilant film-going jaunt imaginable, owing to the famed audience participation element so prominent in the experience; there is simply nothing like it - now or ever. And, with news of a brand new small screen edition of the suddenly topical transgender-themed homage to 50s B-movies, proto-punk and free love coming to FOX in the near future as announced earlier this month (as BroadwayWorld reported here), along with a special re-release of the film in movie theaters later this year (as BroadwayWorld reported here), it is an ideal time to look back at what makes ROCKY HORROR a startlingly prescient and terrifically timely musical that nobody - absolutely nobody - could have ever foreseen would have had the cultural impact that it has had since its 1973 debut, nor the pop culture mainstay that it remains being to this very day, more than 40 years after its debut onstage. To quote the legendary "Time Warp" production number that acts as a central metaphor for the show itself and its various campy trappings, "It's astounding."

The Time Warp

So, let's review some of ROCKY HORROR's greatest moments as we look ahead to the new FOX musical presentation.

First up, Tim Curry's "I'm Going Home" at Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in 1973.

Tim Curry talks ROCKY HORROR in a candid vintage interview for the film adaptation.

Check out the trailer for the film adaptation, released in 1975.

A glimpse inside the audience participation element of the ROCKY HORROR experience.

Meat Loaf discusses the legacy of ROCKY HORROR.

Creator Richard O'Brien talks the legacy of the cult hit.

Go behind the scenes of the classic movie musical.

Countless homages to ROCKY HORROR have cropped up in pop culture over the years.

THE DREW CAREY SHOW famously paid tribute to the midnight movie sensation.

GLEE did a major paean to the show, as well, with THE ROCKY HORROR GLEE SHOW.

The 2000 ROCKY HORROR Broadway revival cast performs on THE ROSIE O'DONNELL SHOW.

A look at the recent 40th anniversary ROCKY HORROR SHOW UK tour led by Oliver Thornton.

Could the film sequel, SHOCK TREATMENT, be remade next? A stage version recently premiered, so...

Lastly, Richard O'Brien sings "Science Fiction, Double Feature".


What is your absolute favorite moment of pleasure from the incomparable history of ROCKY HORROR? Furthermore, do you prefer the stage version or the legendary feature film - or, better yet, participating in the encouraged talkback (and shout-back) at a midnight showing? With a history this startlingly singular, the potential for a new ROCKY HORROR especially made for 2015 to arrive like a perfectly planned spaceship landing is too rich to deny - and, like the title character himself, almost too perfect. Almost.

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