Who is this guy, and why was he falling in the first place? This guy is wearing a suit. Maybe he was in a business meeting, and this meeting was so boring, it ruptured the very fabric of time and space, causing this guy to blank out, be thrown upward into the stratosphere, start falling back to earth where he regains consciousness, where he then continues falling indefinitely.
We know we've been to business meetings like that.
If you have any theories on how Falling Guy started falling, write us and if it's good, we'll post it here.
"Gabriel to ground control...permission to buzz the tower..."
Isn't the idea of Gabriel having anything to do with flying an airplane really scary? "Hey, what does this button do?...Ooops..." Frankly, we'd feel safer as the guy who is falling and nearly collides with the plane than actually being in the plane that Gabriel is flying.
"Fine, Miss Stewardess. Bring the pilot someting to eat, and just ignore me. I'll just sit here and pretend I'm at my recording studio soundboard and start pushing buttons and levers around. Then maybe that will get your attention."
"Damn. I don't think my insurance covers this."
At the very least, having Gabriel as a co-pilot would be inconvienent, as in [passenger to stewardess] "This is supposed to be a two hour flight. It's been eight hours...what is going on? What do you mean we're making another stopover? What? What do you mean that one of the pliots wants to check out yet another destination that he finds more interesting right now?"
"We have clearance, Clarence."
"Roger, Roger. What's our vector Victor?"
"Tower's radio clearance, over!"
"That's Clarence Oveur! Over."
"Roger."
"Huh?"
"Roger, over."
"Damn bungy jumpers are at it again..."
"Hm. Although I'm about to become a permanent stain on the side walk, I find that this falling business gives my hair that desirable 'windblown' look."
Gosh, Gabriel was sure fast in getting from flying a plane to being a pedestrian on the street below. (Ha! Little joke...we used "Gabriel" and "fast" in the same sentence.)
"Oh, bother. They really need a 'Caution, Falling Zone' sign somewhere."
How come Gabriel seems quite surprised to see Falling Guy when he spots him from the airplane, but seems rather nonchalant when the guy crashes through the earth right in front of him? One suspects that after the crash, Gabriel merely shrugged, walked around the hole, and went merrily on his way.
One thing we love about this video is that it conforms to The Third Law of Cartoon Physics:
"Any body passing through solid matter will leave a perforation conforming to its perimeter."
What is that...thing, at the center of the earth? Did Falling Guy stumble upon Hell? Purgatory? The ancient D'ni civiliazation? The Solsbury Hill annual staff party? Coincidentally, we did book the center of the earth for this year's Summer Outing...
When the guy falls through the other side of the planet, where is coming out at? Australia? That would make sense if it were Australia..everything is all backasswards and upside-down there...:)
If in outer space, no one can hear you scream, how come we can still hear the song when Falling Guy is hurtling through outer space? However, the song does start to fade out at that point...maybe that's how PG's voice reacts in a vacuum.
Are we the only ones who feel sorry for Falling Guy? Guess he is doomed to fall through the Star Fissure forever. Can't form any meaningful releationships, can't pull over for a cup of coffee, and the only thing to look forward to is a merciful death.
Oh well. Even if he is destined to fall for infinity to the tenth power, the odds are still in his favor of landing somewhere in time for release party for Up.
<rimshot>
In conclusion, this video reminds us of a joke...
A first time sky diver jumps out of an airplane. After free-falling for a bit, he pulls the rip cord. Nothing happens. So he pulls the reserve cord. Nothing happens. Then he sees a guy flying up from the ground. As they pass each other, the sky diver shouts, "Hey, do you know anything about parachutes?" The other guy says, "No. Do you know anything about gas barbecue grills?"
Falling Guy's Rant
"I went through a lot of trouble to film this video. Falling for this long and crashing through to the other side of the earth is a lot harder than it looks. But do I get any recognition? No. No credits at the end, no mention of my name whatsoever. On Radio Real World and FurtherInTime.com, all it states that this video is 'Features Peter Gabriel'. What's up with that?! I did all the work here! Gabriel didn't do jack! I should've fell on him while I had the chance. I literally [see video] had to go through Hell to film this thing, and this is the thanks I get. I'm going to fire my agent, then I'm going to sue both Real World and AfroCelt. As soon as I figure out how to stop falling..."