Coneheads

The Coneheads are a fictional family of extraterrestrials with bald conical heads, created for a series of recurring sketches on Saturday Night Live (SNL). They first appeared on the January 15, 1977 episode hosted by Ralph Nader (episode 35: season 2 episode 11). They are portrayed by Dan Aykroyd as father Beldar, Jane Curtin as mother Prymaat, and Laraine Newman as daughter Connie. In 1993, they appeared in a feature film with Michelle Burke substituted as Connie. Summary The Coneheads are natives of the planet Remulak, stranded on Earth. Their distinguishing feature is the tops of their heads, shaped like large, bald cones. The father's name is Beldar; his wife is Prymaat, and their teenage daughter is Connie. Beldar and Prymaat sometimes use the pseudonyms Fred and Joyce. Beldar states his occupation as "timekeeper of Remulak"; this means he is a spy tasked with alerting his home planet to the optimum time for an invasion of Earth, which he fails to do. Connie is assimilating with Earthlings through association with her peers at school, and some family stress is caused by her desire to live as a typical Earth teenager. Beldar gives his family a cover story to explain their strange behavior by saying that they are "from France". Physiology The Coneheads speak in a very fast, nasal monotone. Their speech is characterized by the failure to understand idioms used by native English speakers, and their unnecessarily formal use of the language. They refer to food as "consumables", and say "I summon you" when asking to speak to another person. The adults refer to Connie as "the young one" and themselves as her "parental units". They will say "Maintain low tones!" (one of their catchphrases) when voices rise in heated family discussions. They use the word "Mebs!" as an expletive when highly upset.