The Chronology of Buckaroo Banzai Across the TVCU

Long overdue.  I am going through older posts and adding links in an attempt to add a cross referencing element to the website, and in doing so, I realized I've yet to cover Buckaroo Banzai.  So now to alleviate that.

Of course, crossovers can be more subtle. Angel is in the same universe as Buckaroo Banzai and the Alien franchise because the fictional companies from those series are clients of the law firm from Angel. -- From What's a Crossover?

GLIMMERGLASS: THE CREATIVE WRITER’S ANNUAL, VOLUME 1 “THE BEAST” (STORY BY JOHN SMALL)

Release Date: October 15, 2009 (Setting is 1700s to Contemporary Times)

Series: King Kong (Original)

Horror Crosses: King Kong (2005 remake); War of the Worlds (novel); War of the Worlds (radio); The Mummy (remake film series); Jurassic Park (film series); Kong: the Animated Series; Jurassic Park (novel)

Non-Horror Crosses: Buckaroo Banzai; Tarzan; Flash Gordon; Tales of the Gold Monkey; Journey to the Center of the Earth; Tales of the Shadowmen; Doc Savage; Indiana Jones; Mighty Joe Young; A-Team; Fu Manchu

The Story: Author John Small discovers that the film King Kong was based on true events and gathers research on the true events of the film and the follow-up events that have happened since.

Notes: John Small uses a popular Farmerian method (named for Philip Jose Farmer) in which he places himself in the world of fiction, imagining that fictional stories are based on true events. Here, he melds together the original Kong story, and its sequels, prequels, and remakes, and makes them all fit into one coherent reality. Along the way, he throws in references to other fictional characters who must have been involved in such events based on their stature and the nature of the event. John Small makes official my conjecture that the 2005 film by Peter Jackson is the same events as the original film, just retold with dramatic license from Mr. Jackson. In explaining how the events of Kong could have happened in a world where most people are unaware of the supernatural and the extraordinary, he references other events that have later been covered up, despite their overly public exposure, such as the 1898 and 1938 Martian invasions from War of the Worlds, and the invasion of Mongo from Flash Gordon. DOC SAVAGE and TARZAN employ Denham to return to Skull Island to do documentary filming. Skull Island is said to be "the Menace of the Monsters". Joining in on the expedition were INDIANA JONES, Alex O'Connell (famous for taking down THE MUMMY), and Joshua Williams (from "Joshua Williams Breaks a Date"). (TARZAN couldn't make it due to events seen in TARZAN ALIVE). Roland Tembo is among the expedition as well. Tembo's CINEVERSE counterpart appears in THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK. SON OF KONG is a fictionalized version of events that actually happened during this expedition. In Kong Reborn, Dr. Jill Drake is involved in this incident. Jill discovers that BUCKAROO BANZAI has moved a clone of KING KONG to BANDUKI. It may be that the events of KONG: THE ANIMATED SERIES may be based on these events, which involve a female scientist who clones Kong then has to release him in a suitable environment. It was followed by KONG: KING OF ATLANTIS and KONG: RETURN TO THE JUNGLE. Among the crew that journeys to Skull Island in the first expedition is Jake Cutter (TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY). Kong is of the same species as seen in JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, TARZAN AT THE EARTH'S CORE, and TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN 3: DANSE MACABRE "The Ape Gigans". Mighty Joe Young is also connected to Kong and one of Denham’s grandsons is tied in as a villain on an episode of the A-Team. Fu Manchu is also said to be the villain secretly behind Jurassic Park.

1884--ATOMIC ROBO--"Knights of the Golden Circle"--According to John D. Lindsey, Robo, while stuck in the year 1884 after the events of the previous miniseries, says to Bass Reeves: "Old colleague of mine. He used to say "Wherever you go, there you are." I think it works for whenever, too."  As far as I know, that quote originates with Buckaroo Banzai.  West and Gordon from THE WILD WILD WEST also appear.  

February 1944--THE AVENGER CHRONICLES--"Nightmare Destroyer"--Features Dr. Reno, a physicist working on an invisibility project for the Navy.  In Crossovers:  A Secret Chronology of the World, Win Scott Eckert claims that "Dr. Reno is clearly the father of Reno from Buckaroo Banzai".  Also in the story, an American branch of Cox and Co. is seen.  The London bank is where Dr. Watson kept his papers.  The Avenger mentions his friend, who is implied to be Doc Savage (lives in the Empire State Building and runs a college for societal rehabilliation.)

1950 - Buckaroo Banzai is born in London, the son of two scientists, Masado Banzai and Sandra Willoughby.

VINELAND (NOVEL BY THOMAS PYNCHON)

Release Date: 1990 (Setting is the 1960s and 1984)

Horror Crosses: War of the Worlds (Radio)

Non-Horror Crosses: Buckaroo Banzai

The Story: The story of a hippy commune being threatened by the government.

Notes: Ramon Raquello, the orchestra leader from the radio version of War of the Worlds is mentioned, and a band appears called Eddie Enrico and his Hong Kong Hotshots, which is actually meant to be Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers, minus the infringement of intellectual property, of course.

April 1 to May 1, 1974--THE ILLUMINATUS TRILOGY--Crossovers include: The Beatles; Lovecraft's Mythos, Conan, Kull, Lord of the Rings, and Buckaroo Banzai. According to Win Scott Eckert, the trilogy features a World Crime Syndicate which he feels is the same as the World Crime League from Buckaroo Banzai.

Before the movie--OF HUNAN BONDAGE--A two-issue prequel to the movie was released in early 2008 called Of Hunan Bondage. It was written by Rauch with art by Superman Returns storyboard artist Chewie.  In early 2009, Moonstone released Big Size, a special oversize one-shot comic, written by Rauch with art by Paul Hanley.

June 12-13, 1984--THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI:  ACROSS THE EIGHT DIMENSION--The events of the film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension, and novelization by Earl Mac Rauch.  Yoyodyne Systems originated in THE CRYING OF LOT 49.

After that--BUCKAROO BANZAI AGAINST THE WORLD CRIME LEAGUE--The credits mention a sequel, Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League, which was never produced: the film would have focused on the League and its leader, Hanoi Xan. MGM now owns the rights to the Banzai franchise (after being passed on from now-defunct Sherwood Productions and its successors), so any sequel or remake is at their discretion.  In 2016, director Kevin Smith stated that he would like to direct the sequel, if MGM is willing to let him.

1985--INTO THE NIGHT--This romantic comedy stars Jeff Goldblum, who also appeared in Buckaroo Banzai, makes his own sly reference to this movie. At one point he holds up his thumbs and yells, "Banzai!" In case it's not obvious enough, the movie also plays the three notes of the oscillation overthruster in the background.

1985--BACK TO THE FUTURE--Neil Canton (producer), Dennis Jones (production manager) and Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown) all worked on Buckaroo Banzai before working on Back to the Future, which may be why there are a lot of references to BB. The most well-known is the flux capacitor, which (with its triangular display and moving lights) closely resembles the lighted readout for the oscillation overthruster. The flux capacitor is even placed in the same location in the Delorean as the oscillation overthruster was in Buckaroo's jet car - over the left shoulder of the driver. The car also has to get up to 88 miles an hour, which is a frequently-used number in Buckaroo Banzai (because 88 looks like "BB").

1986--BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA--According to The Buckaroo Banzai Timeline, Billy Travers' (from Buckaroo Banzai) and Felicia Vasquez' marriage is annulled, and Felicia is last seen with trucker Jack Burton (from Big Trouble in Little China; click here for more information).  Big Trouble will later be covered in a separate post.

December 1988--DOC SAVAGE VOLUME 2 # 1 - 6--"The Discord Makers"--Doc Savage performs a hypnotic technique he learned from The Shadow, using a girasol. Also, while in Washington, D.C., Monk Mayfair and Ham Brooks walk past a graffiti-painted fence which has the names of many rock stars and bands, including REM, Iggy Pop, Elvis, PIL, and Buckaroo Banzai.  The full name of the band is Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers. Thus, Buckaroo exists in The Television Crossover Universe. The Shadow reference is in issue 6; the graffiti scene is in issue 3.  Entries in blue originate from Win Scott Eckert's original crossover chronology found at http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Pulp.htm.  Used with permission under the agreement that any use of entries from his chronology provide a link back to the original source material.  

1980s--DICK TRACY--"The Resurrection of Abner Kadaver"--Crossovers include:  BUCKAROO BANZAI, POPEYE.  Thanks to Sean Levin's Crossover Universe for further information on this and other select entries on this page.

1980s--BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW--From the classy James Bojaciuk: I just watched Beyond the Black Rainbow. While there's much to say about this bizarre, strange movie, two points will suffice for now: 1) the credits quote Buckaroo Banzai's eternal maxim "No matter where you go, there you are." 2) Dr. Barry Nyle shows all the signs of a black oil infection (which began after he immersed himself in a vat of...hrmm...black oil. There's a point where vagueness becomes crossoverness.)

1992--LAST CALL--References Yoyodyne.  Also references William Ashbless.  

1995--THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE--In the movie parody of the original Brady Bunch TV show, the father Mike Brady often dispenses pearls of wisdom. At one point, he says, "A wise man once said, 'No matter where you go, there you are.'" That wise man is Buckaroo Banzai.

July 1995--GEN13 # 3--"The Magical Mystery Tour"--According to James Bojaciuk: Gen13 #3. "The Magical Mystery Tour." Written by Brandon Choi & J. Scott Campbell; Art by Alex Garner; inks by Joe Chiodo; colors by Richard Starkings.  The Gen13 crew sneaks out to hunt down their parents. Following clues, they arrive at the MacArthur Foundation, "a world-renowned philanthropic organization."  Take note of the portraits. In the second panel, we have a deadringer forBuckaroo Banzai.  In the first panel, we have Christopher Reeves (anyone who includes Wanted can use this as further evidence that Reeves is Superman). I have no idea who Lord Heisler is supposed to be.

1997--MEN IN BLACK--Another popular movie that referenced Buckaroo Banzai was the alien immigration sci-fi movie, Men in Black. At one point, Edgar the Bug calls Agent K, "monkey boy." This was also a derogatory term used by the Red Lectroids to refer to humans in Buckaroo Banzai.

1997--AUSTIN POWERS:  THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME--Buckaroo banzai quote in the second Austin powers film.

late 1998--BUCKAROO BANZAI:  ANCIENT SECRETS AND NEW MYSTERIES--In late 1998, the Fox Network tried to develop a Buckaroo Banzai TV series, entitled Buckaroo Banzai: Ancient Secrets and New Mysteries, but nothing ever came of it. The special edition DVD contains a short computer animated sequence; done by Foundation Imaging, that was made as a test reel for the series. Among other things, the clip depicts a Space Shuttle trying to land with broken landing gear. Dr. Banzai maneuvers his Jet Car under the Shuttle and uses it to take the place of the broken gear.  In May 2016, Kevin Smith announced he is adapting the film for television through MGM and that he and the company are in the process of shopping it around to a network.

late 1998--BUCKAROO BANZAI:  RETURN OF THE SCREW--In 2006, Moonstone Books began publishing comic books depicting earlier and further adventures of Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers. The first story, Buckaroo Banzai: Return of the Screw, was written by Buckaroo Banzai's creator, Earl Mac Rauch. The black-and-white preview edition of the comic was released in February 2006, featuring a behind-the-scenes article by Dan Berger regarding the transformation of the rejected Buckaroo Banzai television pilot script Supersize those Fries into the present comic book limited series. The three issues of this comic have been collected into a trade paperback.  In December 2007, Moonstone released a new Banzai comic story, "A Christmas Corrall," in the Moonstone Holiday Super Spectacular compilation, also written by Rauch and drawn by Ken Wolak.  

1999--FIGHT CLUB--In the post-existential comedy about an ordinary man who starts a bare-knuckles fighting group, we hear a PA announcement for a phone call for John Bigboote. John Bigboote is one of the evil Red Lectroids in Buckaroo Banzai. Just don't pronounce it "John Bigbooty." He hates that.

1999 to 2006--A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS--Again, from James:  The books crossover with everything. Just off the top of my head: The Maltese Falcon, Buckaroo Banzai, The Crying of Lot 49, The Plague (which Win brought in with his one Doc Ardan story), The Moonstone (which was brought in by a Holmes story), The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd, Moby Dick, The Great Gatsby, the Grimm fairy tale "The Boots of Buffalo Leather," Oliver Twist, The Detective Dupin stories of Edgar Allen Poe, Madame Bovary, Mrs Dalloway, John Dos Passos' The U.S.A. Trilogy, "The Vane Sisters," and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

2000--THE CHRONICLE--"Here There Be Dragons"--David Lo Pan is a respected businessman in Chinatown (New York) who also controls its underworld. Although Lo Pan warns them to stay away, several reporters for the World Chronicle become involved in the search for New York's underground subway dragons.  The David Lo Pan character is played by James Hong, who also played David Lo Pan in the feature film Big Trouble In Little China. Although he displays no supernatural powers, it is the same actor, the same character name, and the same type of role. We may speculate that David Lo Pan survived the finale of Big Trouble in Little China and simply relocated to New York City. It is generally accepted that the events of Big Trouble in Little China and Buckaroo Banzai take place in the same universe. Since Buckaroo Banzai exists in the TVCU, so do The Chronicle and its characters.

2003--NOTHING--When Dave goes to work, two announcements can be heard over the PA. The first, "John Whorfin, line 2. Line 2." and the second, "John Bigboote, please call reception."



 ANGEL (TELEVISION SERIES)

SEASON 5 EPISODE 9 “HARM’S WAY”

Release Date: January 14, 2004 (Contemporary Setting)

Horror Crosses: Alien

Non-Horror Crosses: Buckaroo Banzai

The Story: Harmony finds it difficult adjusting to working at Wolfram and Hart.

Notes: In an orientation video, three of the evil law firm’s top clients are said to be Weyland-Yutani, Yoyodyne, and NewsCorp. Weyland-Yutani is the company from the Alien series. Yoyodyne is from Buckaroo Banzai. Newscorp is the company that produces Angel.

July 2005--STARGATE SG-1--"Origin"--Cameron: "'Wherever you go, there you are.' I think that's Buckaroo Bonzai."

2006

Undoctored photo of Caeric, Ivan,
and Henry at Elmwood Cemetary

Unidentified creepy dead girl

MAY - Ivan joins journalist Henry Covert and Caeric Arclight (of the Blue Blaze Irregulars) on an investigation of strange deaths occurring around Elmwood Cemetery in Charlotte NC. The common denominator turns out to be a videotape which nearly kills Caeric and Henry (Ivan is immune, likely due to either the Anti-Logic or the strange Mythos Beer he drank), but they manage to trap the malign videotape spirit by adding footage of the television showing the spirit climbing from a well to the tape, so that she is trapped in a visual loop. They surmise that the unidentified girl is connected to similar curses reported in Tokyo and Seattle. Ivan sends the tape to Peter Fitzhume in Ripton MA for storage.

Mythos Beer

The Blue Blaze Irregulars are associated with the film THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION (1984). The cursed girls from Tokyo and Seattle first appeared in the films RINGU (1998) and THE RING (2002), respectively. Henry Covert and Caeric Arclights are characters created by their real world counterparts. Peter Fitzhume is the creation of Kevin Heim, but is related to Emmet Fitz-Hume from  the 1985 film SPIES LIKE US. Ripton is a fictional town in Massachusetts created as a hoax by a University of Massachusetts professor. The Mythos Beer is a reference to Lovecraft'sCthulhu Mythos, but is also a real(ly bad) beer.

Summer 2008--PHINEAS AND FERB (Episodes 105 - on)--Another summer of adventures.

• There is a film within the series that is a crossover between True Blood and Teen Wolf (and clearly spoofing Twilight).  In the TVCU, Teen Wolf is based on true events, whereas True Blood is fictional.  

 

• Space Invaders - The holographic aliens descend from the sky in rows, just like they do in the game Space Invaders. This is also alluded to by Doofenshmirtz shouting "You're being invaded! From Space! By invaders! From space!"
• The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Lawrence mentioned: "Invading force from Planet 10", this was the planet from which the Aliens came in "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension".
• The Honeymooners - The Sewer Repairman pays tribute to the Ed Norton character on the classic Jackie Gleason series, The Honeymooners. Norton, portrayed by Art Carney, nearly always wore the same outfit--White T-Shirt, Unbuttoned Vest, and Pork-pie Hat. Norton worked for the New York City Sewer Department. (One must wonder if this is indeed Buzsla?)
• Futurama - The professor in the endangered animals meeting is called Professor Herbert Farnsworth Weatherman Jones, giving a resemblance to Futurama's mad scientist, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth. Farnsworth may refer to Hubert's ancestor, Philo T. Farnsworth, in real life, one of the inventors of television.
• Asteroids - The "Asteroid Warning" sign on the space station features an asteroid which resembles those from the 1980 Atari video game.
• The Big Bang Theory - During a song in "Bullseye!", there is an evil scientist resembling Dr. Sheldon Cooper.(!!!)
• Ghostbusters/The Real Ghostbusters - The devices used by the kids to investigate the haunted house closely resemble the PKE Meters used by the Ghostbusters.
• Ozzy Osborne - One of the zombies in the Russell's underground river has the appearance of a zombie Ozzy.
• Mr Bean and Friends - At some point, Doofenshmirtz gets his head stuck in a cooked turkey. This is an allusion to what happens to Mr. Bean in the Christmas episode, and to Joey and Monica from Friends in the episode The One with All the Thanksgivings. Doofenshmirtz lampshades the allusion, by saying, "It can't be the first time someone's got their head stuck in a turkey".  (Most of my info stolen, er, borrowed from the Phineas and Ferb Wiki.)

September 2008--THE MIDDLEMAN--"The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome"--Includes:  Beryllium Spheres (GALAXY QUEST), Oscillation Overthruster (BUCKAROO BANZAI), Polydichloric Euthimal (RELIC, OUTLAND, TERMINATOR 2), Phased Polarons (STAR TREK).

December 2014--THE LIBRARIANS--"And the Apple of Discord"--The World Crime League is mentioned as a faction that sent a representative to the supernatural conclave.  Also mentioned is the O2STK (Organization To Secret To Know) from the MIDDLEMAN.  Also, this from Sean Lee Levin's Crossover Universe:  "Jenkins, the group's caretaker, refers to the amendment to the Wold Newton bylaws at a prior conclave. The conclave involving the Wold Newton bylaws may have been part of a larger conclave that happened in Wold Newton, Yorkshire on December 13, 1795, as originally revealed by Philip José Farmer in Tarzan Alive, and elaborated on by Win in “The Wild Huntsman.” "

May 2015--SILICON VALLEY--"Adult Content"--Dinesh said he interviewed at Yoyodyne

2015--OCT 21 - BACK IN THE FUTURE - Emmett "Doc" Brown gathers several organizations that have benefitted from his technological breakthroughs, including the Ghostbusters, in Hill Valley CA to prepare for the arrival of Doc's 1985 self. He arranges the town to reflect the skewed version of 2015 he and Marty McFly visited so that the events he has previously lived through will still take place Marty will still temporarily alter the past by letting Biff steal the time machine, and Doc and Marty will wind up in the year 1885, since any deviation from what has gone before could be disastrous (Emmet met his wife in 1885, an event that never would have occurred if Biff didn't force Marty and Doc to return to 1955). Among the organizations represented to help Doc Brown with this project (and that have benefited from exclusive research from him) are the Banzai Institute, Ghostbusters International, On the day Marty McFly and Doc Brown are set to arrive from 1985, a series of protocols have been set into place to ensure Marty still experiences the same things he did originally, but Ivan, who is mostly performing crowd control to ensure no one interferes, accidentally tries to stop Biff from taking the DeLorean, and winds up being sent back in time to 1942 (without the car) when his Anti-Logic interferes with the time circuits.

Marty McFly. Doc Brown, Hill Valley, and their time machines are from BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985) and its sequels. Arkham Asylum reflects both the BATMAN franchise and the Cthulhu Mythos. Ghostbusters is from the 1984 filmGHOSTBUSTERS. The Banzai Institute is from the 1985 film THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION.

December 2015--DOCTOR WHO--Andrew Brook reports:  Town motto of Jackson, Nevada (in which part of tonight's "Doctor Who" was set) is (I think) a quote from Buckaroo Banzai

2040--PHANTOM 2040--"Dark Orbit"--In this tale of the 24th Phantom, Guran, speaking to Kit about a crimelord named Gordo, says "...and she will spread her tentacles world wide, like Hanoi Xan before her...."  Hanoi Xan was the arch-nemesis of adventurer Buckaroo Banzai. Of Hanoi Xan and Hanoi Shan , Matthew Baugh writes:  Hanoi Shan, described in H. Ashton-Wolfe's "Warped in the Making: Crimes of Love and Hate" is, according to Farmer, an earlier identity of the man we know as Fu Manchu. [See The Fu Manchu Chronology.]  Could Fu Manchu/Hanoi Shan and Hanoi Xan be one and the same? There are a couple of reasons it doesn't quite work. The first is that the personalities of the two characters are rather different. Xan is a demented sadist who delights in calling himself "evil" while Fu Manchu sees himself as the benefactor of humanity and has a strangely noble character.  More telling though is ancestry. Fu Manchu is (as his nom-de-guerre indicates) a Manchu. The manchus were a Northern peoples who conquered China and ruled for several centuries as the Ch'ing dynasty. They knew that China had a long history of absorbing her conquerors and, to prevent this, they were very strict about preventing intermarriage with the Chinese. The rank of mandarin (which Fu held) was only open to pure blood Manchus.  Xan on the other hand was a pure-blooded Mongol and boasted of being a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. With this "foreign taint" he would never have gotten very far with the racial politic of Ch'ing China.

The Future--MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME--In the post-apocalyptic movie Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Max is captured and imprisoned. There, he meets a fellow prisoner nicknamed Pigkiller. At one point, Pigkiller says the line, "No matter where you go, there you are." That's a famous philosophical quote from Buckaroo Banzai himself.



22nd to 24th centuries--STAR TREK FRANCHISE--There are way too many Star Trek/Banzai references to list them all, so I've only included a small sampling.  

November 2153--STAR TREK:  ENTERPRISE--"Chosen Realm"--A callsign is used that was the same call sign "HB88" used when Bonzai tested the jet car in 1984.

2258--BABYLON 5--In the classic TV series set around a space station, there was an unspoken battle againstStar Trek. Star Trek made numerous references to Banzai. Not to be outdone, Babylon 5 had its own homage to Buckaroo Banzai. It shows up in an episode where G'Kar hands Mr. Garibaldi an engine piece from his Starfury. The piece is none other than the oscillation overthruster.

2293--STAR TREK VI:  THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY--Spock refers to Sherlock Holmes indirectly as his ancestor.  A plaque on the Excelsior is actually a quote from BUCKAROO BANZAI which reads "No matter where you go, there you are."

September 2363 to Unknown--STAR TREK:  THE NEXT GENERATION--Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D.  The ship's impulse engines are powered by Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems, another connection to BUCKAROO BANZAI.  Yoyodyne also appears in ANGEL and THE JOHN LARROQUETTE SHOW.

2365--STAR TREK:  THE NEXT GENERATION--"Up the Long Ladder"--This is just full of BUCKAROO BANZAI crossover goodness.  There is a ship called the S.S. Buckaroo Banzai.  It's captain is John Whorfin.  The ship's mission is at Planet 10 in Dimension 8.  Another ship, the S.S. Mariposa is powered by Yoyodyne pulse fusion.

STAR TREK:  DEEP SPACE NINE (LIVE ACTION SERIES)

Release Date:  January 3, 1993 - June 2, 1999 (Setting is 2369 - 2375)

Series:  Star Trek:  Deep Space Nine

Animated Series Crosses:  Jetsons

Other Crosses:  Star Trek; Star Trek:  The Next Generation; Buckaroo Banzai; The First Men in the Moon; The Man From UNCLE; Dick Tracy (comic strip); The Forbin Project; Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; Mystery Science Theater 3000

The Story:  After the Bajorans have freed their planet from Cardasian rule, the Federation occupies space station Deep Space Nine to help the Bajorans in their transition, while also maintaining a strategic military position near a newly discovered wormhole.

Notes:  There is lots of evidence that a version of Star Trek does exist in the Cartoon Universe.  This series was a spin-off of the Next Generation, which was a spin-off of the original series.  Among the regular shops seen on Deep Space Nine throughout the series is Spacely Sprockets, which is where George Jetson had once worked in the 21st century.  Other shops seen throughout the series tie to other crosses listed above, meaning that those series must exist within the Cartoon Universe as well.  There have been other crossovers within the series in specific episodes, but they are not relevant to this animated series specific reference guide.  

October 2375--STAR TREK:  VOYAGER--"Relativity"--The plaque on the 29th century time-vessel Relativity reads:  "The only reason for time is so everything doesn't happen at once."  It's clear that Buckaroo Banzai may be legendary in our time, but clearly by the 24th century, he is considered one of the greatest men of history, and this must continue on even until the 29th century.  (I don't know of any 30th/31st century references...yet.)  The timeship is a Wells class ship, named for H.G. Wells, who chronicled the lives of many amazing people, and had his own amazing adventures as well, as did his sister.

Alternate Versions:  Yes, even this character has counterparts in other realms.

Bonus.  Horror Crossover Universe! --Pretty much everything that happened to Buckaroo would qualify,.  

LIFE AQUATIC--Lots of BB fans have noticed similarities to Buckaroo Banzai in Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic. Zissou has a team of experts called Team Zissou, much like Buckaroo had his Team Banzai.  Jeff Goldblum appears in both movies, and wears a cowboy outfit in both. But the undeniable similarity comes in the closing credits, where the cast of the movie comes together and walks along the docks in time with the music. According to Wes Anderson, this was a direct reference to the closing credits ofBuckaroo Banzai, where the cast does the same thing.

SKITLANDIA--In 1985, John Lithgow reprises his role as Dr. Federico on Saturday Night Live.

There seems to be some confusion about the phrase "No matter where you go, there you are." It's true that Buckaroo Banzai did not originate the expression. It's based on a quote by Confucius. While it's possible that other movies are referring to Confucius instead of Buckaroo Banzai, it's unlikely. First of all, the original quote from Confucius is, "Wherever you go, there you are." Whenever anyone uses the phrasing "No matter where you go, there you are," they're quoting Buckaroo Banzai, whether they know it or not. Second of all, the phrase had never appeared in American cinema before Buckaroo Banzai in 1984, followed by its second appearance in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdomein 1985, just one year later. Coincedence? I think not.

Also, from Buckaroo Bojaciuk:  Yoyodyne is actually from Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49, though the references in Buckaroo Banzai popularized it. 

It's amazing that a single film could have this many crossovers, right?