Name That Trauma :: Reader Mike A. on a Close Encounter of the Spoof Kind

Hey guys, I got a trauma that falls on the humorous side that I've been trying to locate for a few years now without any luck. Back in the 1980s HBO used to play quick funny shorts in between movies (Bambi vs Godzilla, etc…) and one of these was a spoof of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (my scariest movie as a kid). I can only recall a few bits but I'm hoping someone will recognize it.

1st Bit: In the original all the appliances in the house go crazy turning on and off when the aliens arrive. In the spoof the vacuum cleaner follows the little boy around and gobbles him up. The next scene he's thrashing around in the vacuum bag yelling, 'Let me outta here!'

2nd Bit: The famous scene in the original that was parodied was when RICHARD DREYFUSS is parked on the highway looking at his map, the mail boxes shake and his truck goes crazy. In the spoof his radio deck turns to a polka station and suddenly bubbles and streamers shoot out of the dashboard. When he looks at the mailboxes, instead of shaking they begin to bob around and sing a Motown tune (from what I recall) and if I'm not mistaken Darth Vader pulls up on a motorcycle and yells, 'You have to use the force!' then drives off.

Now I did have a vivid imagination as a kid, so I might not be specific on all this, yet if anyone knows that would be swell.

Thanks!

Mike A.

AUNT JOHN SEZ: Mike, I got some good news and I got some bad news for you. The good news is I remember this exact short, and it is called CLOSET CASES OF THE NERD KIND. The bad news is that it is long out-of-print, and although it looks like someone did try to sneak a copy of it up on the YouTubes, it was yanked for copyright violations. If it's any consolation, here's the other short you mentioned: