Fat Is Beautiful (rough Draft)

Chapter 1 - (intro)

This is another story with a basis in nostalgia. The central idea comes from an episode of the short-lived Sid & Marty Krofft TV series THE LOST SAUCER--not to be confused with another and far better-known Krofft show, LAND OF THE LOST, which drew its thinly veiled inspiration from Jules Verne's JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, and which was rebooted as a TV series in the early '90s, and later got the big-screen "reimagining" treatment as a Will Ferrell vehicle in 2009. But The Lost Saucer stayed...well, lost.

As with all the Krofft series--and there were at least a couple dozen of 'em!--THE LOST SAUCER obviously was produced on a shoestring budget and probably was doomed to obscurity from the get-go. Would you expect anything less of a kids' show starring Ruth Buzzi and Jim Nabors (who was basically playing Gomer Pyle as an android)? The simple premise of the show (revealed in the opening credits) is that a kid named Jerry and his babysitter Alice make the fateful decision to investigate a U.F.O. that lands in the backyard. The U.F.O.--a time-traveling flying saucer, no less!--is piloted by two friendly androids, Fi and Fum (Buzzi and Nabors, respectively), who have an alien pet called the Dorse (because it's part dog and part horse). The androids usher the kids inside the craft, demonstrate some of their far-out futuristic technology, and whoops, go figure, there's some kind of malfunction. The saucer takes off with the kids on board, and they're all whisked off into outer space. The series follows the gang as they wander aimlessly from future year to future year while Fi and Fum try their best to return the kids to their proper time and place on Earth.

Anyway, there was one episode called "Fat Is Beautiful," in which the saucer lands near a futuristic city called Fatropolis, where everyone is fat. In fact, being thin is illegal there. So the Mayor of Fatropolis tells the kids that they have to eat until they each weigh 500 pounds, but not to worry, a handy-dandy food-making computer will whip up whatever they desire. I distinctly remember the kids sitting at a table with sundaes (or something) in front of them. The younger kid Jerry says something like, "If he thinks we're going to eat all this food...he's dynamite right!" His babysitter Alice smiles and nods, and they dig in.

I only saw that episode once, in re-runs. I think it's a relic that's well and truly lost forever. There was a reissue of a few episodes of the show on VHS years ago, but I don't think "Fat Is Beautiful" was included. The episode evidently was posted on YouTube a couple of years ago, but it was removed due to copyright infringement. I only found the dead-end video after it had been taken down, so I never actually got to see the episode again.

In any case, I remember that the episode was pretty disappointing, to say the least. I'm not sure whether there even was any depiction of weight gain. The actor who played the Mayor was heavyset, but that's about it. I think the extras just had pillows stuffed underneath their costumes. And at the end of the episode, something happens to wreck the Mayor's plans. As I recall, the Mayor had been feuding with his polar-opposite brother (who was fit), but by the end of the episode, the two siblings finally resolve their differences. So the Mayor decrees "Stout is out, and thin is in!" And he's shown jogging around while holding a tennis racquet or something to that effect. I promise there will be none of that in my story!

In fact, I'm going to jettison pretty much everything except for the core idea and the setting. And I'm giving it a bit of the Barbarella treatment, with dashes of Heavy Metal ambience (the illustrated magazine, that is--although this story isn't illustrated) and other retro-futuristic sci-fi touches. I don't consider this story pure science-fiction by any stretch of the imagination, and neither should you. It's WG fiction against a space backdrop.

After I first started working on this story a few years ago, I discovered that an author named Tracey L. Thompson wrote a book called FATROPOLIS: A NOVEL, which I haven't read, except for snippets of whatever excerpts are available on Amazon, but I'm 90% sure her book also liberally borrowed from this episode of THE LOST SAUCER and was similarly re-purposed (although hers seems to be more of a BBW/FA storyline, while mine is decidedly WG-oriented). I find it endlessly fascinating, though, that what was obviously designed to be silly disposable entertainment managed to leave an unexpectedly huge and unintended impression on certain members of its target audience.

As stated in the title, this story is currently in a rough-draft form, so please check back as I add new content and modify existing content.
30 chapters, created 7 years , updated 2 years
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Comments

Derp666 1 year
Love this story! Please though, i'm begging you, Daesti needs a chapter!
Tobbyrea 2 years
Thank you for the story
Tobbyrea 2 years
I enjoyed the new installment. Please can we have another soon
The Augmentor 2 years
New installment posted!
The Augmentor 5 years
Tobbyrea and Lyn: Thanks for the good words! And thanks for your patience between installments!
Tobbyrea 5 years
Love the story looking forward to the next chapter
Tobbyrea 6 years
Love the story keep up the good work looking forward to the next chapter
Knightorder 6 years
This story is amazing! Shame a city like this doesn't actually exist. Hope to see more parts soon!
Waxer 6 years
Although I'm not sure my soul can take another wait like the last one. smiley Not that I want you to rush to give an abridged finish, keep up the amazing work, but Is there anything we can do to help?
Waxer 6 years
My heart did a flip when I saw this with new installments Keep up the amazing work!
The Augmentor 7 years
Absolutely! I should have the next installment ready to post sometime in early December, so please keep checking back. Glad you're enjoying the story so far.
TalulahJay 7 years
are you gonna keep going with this one? I’m a big fan
Eponymous 7 years
Nice to see this on here again. I've been keeping up with it on DA for a while now. I love the slow pace and the attention paid to the setting. It's got a wonderful sort of pulpish, comic book sci-fi feel to it. Kinda reminds me of the old Dirty Pair anim
Rickeb 7 years
I know there are many more chapters after they reach minimum regulation weight to become optimum weight. I look forward to them becoming the pride of Fatropolis!
Rickeb 7 years
great story so far. I for one would like to know what the minimum regulation weigh is to leave the Fattenarium,and how fat they have to become to reach optimum weight as estimated by WIDE-AS?
The Augmentor 7 years
Thank you for the kind words! Glad you're enjoying the story.
Karenjenk 7 years
I love this. It is my new favorite story here. I love the delayed growth... or domination. At the same time you give us the very thing that we come here for her.

11 out of 10

;-)
The Augmentor 7 years
All parts are posted now, right up to the current installment. Please keep checking back for more. Enjoy!
The Augmentor 2 years
Well, after nearly three years, I've finally got a new installment posted!