With Apologies To Lore Fitzgerald Sjoberg…
Rating Things You Can Buy On TV
The HoverDisc - What kid isn’t infatuated by UFOs? With the HoverDisc, you get what’s ostensibly a cross between a balloon and a giant Frisbee, but all dressed up like a UFO. They make it look like a lot of fun in the commercials, kinda like those guys in the mall kiosks that throw that big Styrofoam plane for loops all day long. Of course, I think they fill the HoverDisc with helium for good effect on TV, so I’m sure it’s not as fun as it looks. Also, the first time it dings a tree branch, a jagged rock, or is chased and caught by the family dog, I’m sure the Mylar repair kit (sold separately) combined with your mom giving the damaged HoverDisc a half-assed repair job will ensure your HoverDisc’s home in the back of your closet for years to come.
Grade: C-
Natural Bra - “The soft gel strapless bra that increases your cup size.” Let’s get one thing straight right off the top. I love big jugs. And anything that can make them look bigger should frankly be standard issue in a girls-only senior year assembly in every high school in the country. You know what else is cool about this product? If you’ve seen the commercial, you can see that these are essentially latex rubber cups that glue on to the front and underside of the breast. Anything that resembles Hollywood monster mask makeup, and can make me feel just a little like Rollie Tyler from “FX,” is cool by me.
Grade: A
Micro-Touch Personal Groomer - Here’s my question to the makers or the Micro-Touch Personal Groomer: If you’re going to manufacture a hair cutting system that only removes a swath about 1/8” wide at a time, and extremely slowly at that, to what crowd are you appealing? Those of us who find the whole concept of “scissors” just too puzzling? The heavily partisan anti-razor faction? My favorite part of the commercial is when they use the groomer to remove the hair from the overly hirsute big toe. That has got to be a special effects shot, or perhaps we now have proof that Sasquatch walks among us.
Grade: C
Ronco Rotisserie Grill - Ron Popeil is a genius. If he ever invented anything earth-shattering, beyond the Pocket Fisherman of course, he might very well go down as the Thomas Edison of the late 20th Century. If I had the Ronco Rotisserie Grill though, and my kitchen was putting together their high school yearbook, the Rotisserie Grill and my rice maker would probably be neck-and-neck to become “Most Likely To Be Used Less Than The Breadmaker.” However, if my fourth grade teacher was grading the infomercial, she’d give me a “check-plus” for the whole “Set it and forget it” mantra. Still…
Grade: C-
The Ultimate Chopper - Chef Tony, where have you been all my life? I don’t know anything about your credentials as a chef, but I would guess that you’ve sold a used Buick or two in your time. No matter, I just wanted to pay a compliment to your infomercial for The Ultimate Chopper. Anything you can crush concrete into a finely powdered pile with sounds like fun to me. How useful could that possibly be though? Can you reconstitute powdered concrete with a little water back to cement? Why not just buy a bag of cement? Maybe I’m thinking too much about this.
Grade: B+
Turbo Cooker - Now! You too can cook your salmon! Potatoes! Vegetables! And chocolate cake! In the same pan under the same lid all at the same time? That is, if you don’t mind a chocolate flavored piece of salmon, and a salmon flavored piece of chocolate cake. Who could possibly find good use out of this product unless their sense of smell was rendered completely ineffective in a bizarre accident? Then, everything tastes the same, so why even bother getting a second pan dirty?
Grade: D