Trivia / Mad Cows From Planet Moo

• Actor-Inspired Element:
  • Brian Matthews Murphy brought the glasses along on the first filming day and suggested wearing them for Gordie.
  • Brian also decided to mix up a fake bit of cow excrement for his first scene, using Weetabix and coffee grinds. The scene as written was just him stepping in something off camera.
  • Dana Lee Al Qattan suggested that Ricky and Suzie would be dancing when Gordie comes into the house at the start.
  • Janet's joke about changing her name to Tallulah was inspired by Liana K's appreciation of Tallulah Bankhead.
• Directed by Cast Member: Bobby Calloway directed and played Ricky, as well as writing the script. Brian Matthews Murphy was the intended director but opted to just focus on his role as Gordie, while instead acting as producer.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Brian Matthews Murphy usually has a thick beard and shaved it off for the role. He also grew his hair out slightly longer.
• Fake American: Aside from Zeke Weldon, who supplies the voice of the radio announcer...
  • Brian Matthews Murphy (Gordie) is Irish. As are Jack McKenna (Benny) and Sheenagh Shannon (Sharon).
  • Bobby Calloway (Ricky) is Anglo-Irish.
  • Liana K (Janet) is Canadian.
  • Dana Lee Al Qattan (Suzie) is German-Kuwaiti. While her natural voice isn't too different from Suzie's, she does affect a light southern accent for the role.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Suzie idolises Frankie Avalon and Squees over a chance to meet him. This was written in specifically because Bobby Calloway and Dana Lee Al Qattan had watched Beach Party, and the latter had despised Frankie and repeatedly ranted about the character.
• Orphaned Reference: The characters talking about Beach Party and Frankie Avalon so much is a holdover from an early idea where Suzie would be dressed as Annette Funicello for Halloween. Dana Lee Al Qattan however preferred the Audrey Hepburn look.
• Playing Against Type: Brian Matthews Murphy was frequently cast as homeless men, drunks or bartenders. The role was written specifically to give him something different to do; as a strait-laced office worker who gets an Adrenaline Makeover. It was also one of the few roles he's ever performed without his beard.
• Real Life Writes the Hairstyle:
  • Bobby Calloway had been growing his hair out to look like James Dean, but the planned shooting date was cancelled and he had it cut shorter. A week later, they were able to use their original location after all, and he didn't have time to grow it out again. He compromised by getting a very tight skin fade on the sides to make the top look longer, and joked that it helped sell Ricky as The Ditz who couldn't even get the hair right for his costume.
  • Suzie's hair comes down when the two flee from the aliens when they realised Dana Lee Al Qattan's hair was too short to fully achieve the complicated Breakfast at Tiffany's updo, which was also tricky for her to maintain.
  • Benny wears a baseball cap because Jack McKenna's hair was seen as too contemporary for the 60s.
• Throw It In!:
  • The exchange of Suzie questioning why they would see Beach Party for Halloween and Ricky's line "because Frankie Avalon is scarier than any alien" was thought up right before filming, and Bobby Calloway improvised tapping Dana Lee Al Qattan's nose on the third take.
  • Dana is turn improvised slapping Ricky with her glove after the "Suzie Anne" joke. The "oh hell no" in response to Ricky suggesting they just let the Russians take over was also an improv from her during a table read that was left in.
  • On the morning of the shoot, Bobby Calloway realised they might need something to serve as 'milk' for what Gordie has on his cloth. Initially trying to find white paint, he decided to grab shaving foam. Art director Fiona Aryan also tested out yoghurt before they went with the former.
  • Dana Lee Al Qattan following on from the above decided to cover the baseball bat in foam and put some on herself for the final sequence where Suzie has been fighting the cows.
  • The blood-stained t-shirt was a prop Bobby Calloway had left over from another film and decided to use it for when Ricky and Suzie run back inside.
  • Bobby was intending to just look shocked when Ricky finds Suzie beating the alien to death. But Dana Lee Al Qattan proved so hilarious that he came close to Corpsing, and decided to play it that Ricky was impressed.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The Sharon character wasn't in the script, and Bobby Calloway offered musician Sheenagh Shannon a cameo, knowing she was a lover of 60s fashion and was keen to try acting as well. The character was named after Sharon Tate, of whom she's a big fan.
  • The opening shots showing a crash site weren't in the script. Brian Matthews Murphy came across the place while location scouting for another project, and suggested using it.
  • The Lipstick-and-Load Montage was thought up midway through pre-production by Brian Matthews Murphy, including Suzie applying lipstick before preparing to fight the cows.