 Tomatoes have been a central part of our diets for centuries. We love to have them on salads, pizza, and sandwiches. Let's not forget that we love to throw them at our politicians and comedians. But what would happen if one day, the tomatoes decided to attack? Happy Halloween! I'm Shannon Corthwaite and this is Come Again History and Origins. Across this great nation, almost everyone has been affected in one way or another by this terrible tomato onslaught. Mrs. Williams, I understand your husband is missing. You think he's dead? Will you miss him? Will you marry again? He'll be playing in a ditch somewhere like with both his leg bones calling your name. You will have to find another man, you know. You're no spring chicken. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is a parody film created in 1978 by Stephen Pease and John DeBello as a B-movie spoof which led to three sequels in an animated series which premiered on Fox Kids in 1990 as well as a video game and a series of toys. In the original film, after a wave of reports of mysterious attacks involving people and pets being eaten by tomatoes, a special government task force is established to investigate the attacks and stop them. The team is made up of Lieutenant Wilbur Finletter, played by Stephen Pease, who never goes anywhere without his sword and parachute. Greg Colbom, an underwater expert who's never out of his scuba gear, Sam Smith, a master of disguise, Greta Attenbaum, an Olympic swimmer, and Mason Dixon, a special agent who leads the task force. The original film had a budget of $100,000 and received a $567,000 return at the box office. In the film, it's revealed that the Tomatoes can't stand the song Puberty Love, which is how the world manages to defeat them. The completed film contains a scene where a helicopter crashes, making the audience believe that the Tomatoes were the cause. However, the scene was the result of a real helicopter crash. The Hiller aircraft UH-12E, which had been rented for the film, was supposed to have landed on a tomato patch behind a number of police officers. However, during the landing, its rotor were hit the ground and caused the craft to spin out of control near the ground. It then rolled and burst in the flames with the pilot escaping without any serious injuries. In the film, it's stated that the copter was hit by a kamikaze tomato. Though the film didn't receive very good reviews, it did spawn an entire franchise with a cult following. In 1988, a sequel set 10 years after the original was produced, where Tomatoes have been outlawed, people have had to find creative new ways of getting by without them, such as Finletters Pizzeria, where Wilbur produces tomato-less pizzas of a wide variety. Wilbur's nephew Chad works for him as a delivery boy. Chad's roommate Matt Stevens also takes a central role in the film as a suave ladies man, played by a very young George Clooney. Though George credits this film as his worst, I'd have to say it's a lot better than Batman and Robin. Also joining the cast was John Aston, who played Professor Mortimer Gann Green and his assistant Igor, played by Steven Lundquist, as the villainous duo who unleashed another wave of killer tomatoes in order to conquer the world. Gann Green developed a way to transform ordinary tomatoes into replicas of human beings, one of them being that of Tara who falls in love with Chad and defects to the side of good. Just as with the first, the film was critically panned, however it did produce two more sequels in an animated series back to back. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, the animated series, followed the events of Return of the Killer Tomatoes, the second film in the franchise. The Professor in the series, however, was renamed to Putrid T. Gann Green and was played by the returning John Aston. The reason the animated series and the sequel were made wasn't so much to do with the popularity of the original movie, but because of the Muppet Babies episode The Weirdo Zone, where Fawzi talks about how he once faced an attack of silly tomatoes, which used scenes from the movie. The episode was one of the more popular among the series and thus caused Marvel Productions to approach the producers of the films about making a sequel in an animated series. Following Return of the Killer Tomatoes and the series, the 1990 film Killer Tomatoes Striked Back, followed by Killer Tomatoes Eve France, were produced. John Aston returned in both as the evil Doctor Mortimer Gann Green. In 2008, a remake of the original film was announced, however it never saw the light of day. The most memorable part of the entire franchise was the theme song, which was written by film creator and director as well as star John DeBello, which describes the tomatoes rampages through the world. If you have a chance and haven't seen the films, I strongly suggest giving them a watch. If you enjoyed that video, make sure you hit the subscribe button right there so you can stay up to date on all things geek culture. Also, go ahead and check out one of these two playlists on the side for more videos just like the one you just watched. I'm Shannon for Comic-Con TV, the only place on YouTube where all geek culture collides. Take care, Geeks!