''The Firesign Theatre's Box of Danger: The Complete Nick Danger Casebook'' is a four- CD

boxed set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

of most recorded material by comedy group

the Firesign Theatre The Firesign Theatre (also known as the Firesigns) was an American surreal humour, surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program ''Radio Free Oz'' on station KPFK FM broad ...

containing their fictional character

Nick Danger Nick Danger is a fictional character created by the comedy group The Firesign Theatre, portrayed by Phil Austin. Danger is a parody of the hard-boiled detective, and is often announced as "Nick Danger, Third Eye", a parody of the term '' private ...

, portrayed by

Phil Austin Philip Baine Austin (April 6, 1941 – June 18, 2015) was an American comedian and writer, best known as a member of the Firesign Theatre. Early life and education Austin was born in Denver, Colorado and later grew up in Fresno, California, att ...

. Danger is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

of the

hard-boiled detective Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence ...

genre, and is often announced as "Nick Danger,

Third Eye The third eye (also called the mind's eye or inner eye) is a mystical invisible eye, usually depicted as located on the forehead, which provides perception beyond ordinary sight. In Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna (or brow) chakra. In ...

", a parody of the term ''

private eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

''. Danger stories involve stereotypical

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

situations, including mistaken identity, betrayal, and

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

s. Danger originally appeared on the 1969 album ''

How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All ''How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All'' is the second comedy album recorded by the Firesign Theatre. It was originally released in July 1969 by Columbia Records. Track listing Side one This side of the vinyl LP ...

'', and was reprised in various live shows, radio appearances and albums, including the 1979 '' Nick Danger: The Case of the Missing Shoe'', 1984 ''

The Three Faces of Al ''The Three Faces of Al'' is a 1984 comedy album by the group Firesign Theatre. It features the group members reprising their most popular characters from earlier collaborations, notably hard-boiled detective Nick Danger and his nemesis, Lieuten ...

'', and 2001 '' The Bride of Firesign''.

Disc one

''The Further Adventures of Nick Danger''

Danger debuts in a 28:11 track on side 2 of the 1969 album ''

''. This is an episode titled "Cut 'Em Off at the Past", of a mock radio program purportedly aired on December 6, 1941. Rocky Rococo comes to Danger's office and attempts to sell him the ring Danger gave Nancy back in college. Danger goes to the mansion where Nancy lives and meets her butler Catherwood. After knocking Danger unconscious, Catherwood and Nancy murder Rococo, who is blackmailing them. They attempt to frame Danger for their crime, but Danger forces Catherwood to reveal the truth, and solves his problem by some means we will never know; the show is interrupted by the news bulletin of President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

(Bergman) announcing the

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ju ...

''Young Guy Motor Detective''

On the 1972 live album ''

Not Insane or Anything You Want To ''Not Insane or Anything You Want To'' is the sixth album released by the Firesign Theatre on Columbia Records. It was released in October 1972 and includes some material that was recorded in the studio as well as some material that was recorded ...

'', the group presented a

self-parody A self-parody is a parody of oneself or one's own work. As an artist accomplishes it by imitating their own characteristics, a self-parody is potentially difficult to distinguish from especially characteristic productions. Self-parody may be us ...

of Nick Danger. This has Austin playing the title role as a Japanese detective Young Guy, Proctor as his Japanese girlfriend Miki, Ossman as the detective's robotic Japanese butler Rotonoto, and Bergman as American police Lieutenant Brad Shaw.

''School For Actors''

In 1976, while Proctor and Bergman went on sabbatical from The Firesign Theatre to produce a live show, Austin and Ossman produced a two-act live show, ''Radio Laffs of 1940''. Act one pits Danger against a cabal of Nazi spies conspiring to remake America by converting its radio drama to

dadaist Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Paris ...

surreal humor Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causality, causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical. Portrayal ...

. Bergman's absence forced the omission of Lieutenant Bradshaw, and Ossman voiced all the non-Danger roles, including several females.

Disc two

''The Case of the Missing Shoe''

In 1979, the Firesign Theatre produced five short (2:24) episodes of a prospective comic radio serial (similar to the 1960s syndicated '' Chickenman''). These were released by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

on a 12:00 EP record.

''Frame Me Pretty''

Part 1: "Straight Up"

Part 2: "With a Twist"

Part 3: "On the Rocks"

''The Case of the Missing General''

''Nick Danger Meets E.T.''

Disc three

''The Three Faces of Al''

This 1984 album was produced without David Ossman, who had temporarily left to produce shows for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

. This story is inspired by a line in the original "Cut 'Em Off at the Past" where Bradshwaw tells Danger, "You're lucky we didn't burn ya on the Anselmo

pederasty Pederasty or paederasty ( or ) is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pubescent or adolescent boy. The term ''pederasty'' is primarily used to refer to historical practices of certain cultures, particularly ancient Greece and anc ...

case." Bradshaw has realized his dream to become District Attorney, and gets his chance to prosecute Danger, who is the apparent suspect in the murder of mob boss Anselmo Von Pederazzi. Nancy and Rocky Rococo also appear.

''Back From the Shadows''

All four Firesigns reunited for their second wave in 1993 with a 25th anniversary reunion tour. On November 11, they gave a live performance of the original Nick Danger "Cut 'Em Off At The Past" at

Keswick Theatre The Keswick Theatre is a privately owned theater in the Keswick Village section of Glenside, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Horace Trumbauer designed the exterior in the Tudor Revival Style, which has remained essentially unaltered. When ...

in Glenside, Pennsylvania. This performance was originally released on the reunion tour album in June 1994.

''Shack Out On the Alien Highway''

In October 2001, the Firesign Theatre got a series on

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...

titled ''Fools In Space''. They produced seven serial Nick Danger episodes for this show, the first three broadcast on October 27, November 17, and December 15.

''Part 1: "Nick Begins the Case"''

''Part 2: "The Case Continues"''

''Part 3: "The Suspects Seque"''

Disc four

''Shack Out On the Alien Highway'' (continued)

The XM Satellite show ''Fools In Space'' continued through August 2002. Four more Nick Danger episodes were broadcast on January 26, February 23, April 27, and August 24.

''Part 4: "Shack-Out"''

''Part 5: "Shack-In"''

''Part 6: "Six Months Later"''

''Part 7: "Where Were We Now?"''

''All Things Firesign''

The Firesigns performed approximately once a month on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' news program from July 2002 to April 2003, released on a CD album in 2003. Two performances, on October 3 and December 24, featured Nick Danger. The Christmas Eve show featured a parody of the poem ''

A Visit from St. Nicholas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' i ...

''.

''Lucky Liability''

''A St. Nick Dangerous Christmas Eve''

''Snakehead Symphony''

''Scaled Down Danger''

Other appearances

Nick Danger also appeared on a track of the 2001 album ''

Bride of Firesign ''Bride of Firesign'' is a comedy album by the Firesign Theatre released in 2001 by Rhino Records. It is the third volume of the Firesign's Millenium Trilogy ''We're Doomed'', following ''Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death ''Give Me Immortali ...

'', the third installment of the ''We're Doomed'' trilogy. This was not included in the ''Box of Danger''. Nick Danger also appeared in the Sparks Media production "Down Under Danger" in which he tackles a case involving the missing continent of Australia.

References

Parodies of literature {{comedy-stub