Barty Anderson

Barty Anderson is a fictional character portrayed by Byron Hussie, in a series of three short films and several later video blogs produced by Byron and his brother, Andrew Hussie, among numerous collaborators, including Cindy Dominguez, Nic Carey and Michael Firman. Andrew and Byron both play multiple roles across the films.

Barty is an outdoorsman, survivalist, and amateur cryptozoologist who always wears a balaclava and a thick (fake) moustache, and speaks in a strange falsetto. As explained in the second video, Barty hosts a cable access programme, of which the videos seem to be excerpts. He searches for and discusses cryptozoological creatures such as Bigfoot and the Yeti, and educates viewers on techniques for wilderness survival. Segments on the programme usually begin with Barty taking a moment to press ‘play’ on a recording of Jerry Goldsmith’s theme to the 1984 film Gremlins, then addressing the audience with a drawn-out, high-pitched “hiiiii” and introducing himself.

The videos were originally posted to Team Special Olympics, the now-defunct, pre-MSPA site run by Andrew, Cindy, and Byron, and have been posted to YouTube multiple times. The original YouTube uploads are possibly no longer available, but the first video is now available from Andrew’s account (where it is the only video that is not a Jandrew Edit), and all three of the original videos, as well as the newer video blogs, are now available from the dedicated Barty Anderson account.

Plot
As per his custom, Barty presses ‘play’ on his CD player and introduces himself, then gives an educational rant on Bigfoot. He invites the audience to accompany him on a Bigfoot hunt. During the hunt, Barty finds a flashlight from a previous hunt, but Bigfoot seems to be proving elusive. That is, until he pops out of nowhere and assaults Barty.

Later, apparently unharmed by the ordeal, Barty commences another segment of the programme. In preparation for another Bigfoot search, he attempts to give a short lecture on flashlights, but is unexpectedly interrupted by Bigfoot, who again assaults him. In the next segment, Barty is unable to complete even his introductory monologue before being assaulted by Bigfoot, and the video concludes amidst his protests.

Production
Almost nothing is known about the production of the first video. The identity of the person in the Bigfoot suit is unknown, though it is quite possibly Andrew. Perhaps ironically, this first video is the only one in which a Bigfoot appears.

The video is referred to with the title “Barty 1” by Andrew on the MSPA forums and in his YouTube account.

Plot
Barty takes the audience on a tour of Philadelphia Zoo; as he fumbles around on the Zoo’s Gorilla statue, the programme is interrupted by a voiceover from a man (Andrew) who introduces himself as parapsychologist Stewart Clammington. The man explains that he is searching for the remains of one Franklin Linklater, a former client of his who has a large quantity of gold concealed in his corpse, and that he has enlisted Barty’s tracking expertise to aid him in finding the gold. Clammington meets with Barty, and after some survival demonstrations, the two embark on their search.

Before long, Clammington’s motives begin to seem increasingly murky, and he soon separates himself from Barty, revealing to the audience that he intends to hunt Barty, the perfect prey, for sport. Barty quickly spots the ineptly hidden Clammington, who manages to lead Barty on for a short while longer, before revealing that he has already found the gold, and that he intends to kill Barty.

Clammington pursues Barty to an abandoned quarry, stalking him until Barty disarms him of his knife, and the two engage in a brutal fistfight. Clammington subdues Barty, and reveals the extent of his psychopathy, imitating Barty’s distinctive voice and claiming that, through Barty’s death, the two of them will become one. Clammington then draws a heretofore unseen revolver, and shoots Barty three times at point blank range, before unceremoniously dropping the gun on Barty’s crotch. The video ends with a dedication to Barty’s memory.

Production
At least two edits exist of the second video, as the video-length restrictions of YouTube forced Andrew to make a condensed edit that could be split into two ten-minute uploads. The original version was uploaded to Team Special Olympics, but, as the site is now defunct, that edit can be considered lost. The difference between the two versions seems to be mostly in the scene with Clammington’s voiceover, where he explains his background and the situation with Linklater’s remains. The currently-available YouTube upload is clearly truncated, and its audio track is inaudible under the voiceover. Andrew has stated that he feels the shorter edit improves the pacing of the video, and that the final fight scene is slightly tighter. The video suffers from severe interlacing artifacts; Andrew wished to rectify this with the YouTube upload, but the currently-available upload is still affected. Three false moustaches were used for the two lead characters, and Byron and Andrew swapped between them between scenes without any thought for continuity. Andrew has given this as a point in favor of a Fight Club interpretation of the plot, where Barty and Clammington are really the same person. The video’s ending was determined by chance: Andrew and Byron played rock-paper-scissors to determine which character would die at the finale. The weather during filming in the quarry was reportedly extremely cold, much to Andrew’s dismay, as his role involved being stripped to a t-shirt and repeatedly falling to the gravel.

Nic Carey and Cindy Dominguez were the camerawomen for the video, and they make a brief appearance during the trash-scavenging scene (walking away so that they would not be linked to the embarrassing spectacle by other passers-by). Byron also makes a cameo in a second role, as a “Dracula” who punches Clammington out during the montage that plays through his introductory voiceover.

In addition to the Gremlins theme, Barty also plays John Williams’ theme to Jurassic Park in several sequences. Both of these tracks come from an album of soundtrack covers called Music from Scary Movies, which, oddly, features a surprising amount of music from movies that are not scary. The upbeat song featured during Barty and Clammington’s ‘teamwork’ montage is Teamwork, from the children’s TV programme LazyTown.

The video is referred to with the title “Barty 2: The Legend of the Skeleton’s Curse”, or just “Barty 2”, by Andrew on the MSPA forums.

Plot
Barty attempts to begin this video in his usual way, but the events of the previous video have left him paralyzed and barely able to speak, and he has to be assisted by his foul-mouthed brother, Cash Anderson (Andrew). Cash explains that Barty’s spine was damaged, and that he is now aiding in his brother’s rehabilitation.

During a birthday celebration, Barty expresses a wish to search for the yeti, in order to resume his former cryptozoological activities, and the two brothers soon set out, with Barty strapped to a makeshift “flotilla”. After some time without progress, Cash believes he sees a Yeti, and gives chase, leaving Barty propped against a tree. Cash’s “yeti” turns out to be non-existent, and the chase results only in Barty falling over.

As a result of the unsuccessful expedition, Cash realizes that it is time to put Barty through a regimen of physical therapy, in order to restore him to a non-crippled state. The therapy proves successful, and Barty is soon able to make a triumphant return to his traditional monologue, where he announces his intention to continue the search for the yeti.

The brothers prepare to set out yet again, this time by car, but Barty insists that, before they depart, he must check the car’s tyre pressure as a safety precaution. While he is behind the car, Cash mistakenly reverses and runs Barty over. Upon realizing what he has done, Cash flees the scene, leaving Barty lying motionless where he was hit. The video concludes with another memorial to Barty.

Production
The biggest obstacle to the production of the third video, according to Cindy Dominguez, was convincing Byron to return to the lead role for a third time, and this meant it is likely to be the last entry in the series (although Cindy said this prior to the release of the video blogs).

Fans have noted that each of the videos seems to take place in a different house; the theory that Barty is homeless and uses other people’s houses has been proposed as an explanation. The theory would also explain Barty’s penchant for trash-diving, revealed in the second video. Byron has expressed implicit support for the theory, saying that Barty could have learned his survivalist skills as a result of being “homeless and completely unemployable”. Alternatively, the different settings are explained by the years-long spans between the productions of the videos, Byron and the others likely having moved multiple times during these periods.

The Gremlins theme returns during Barty’s monologues, while, elsewhere, use is made of two tracks commonly used in montage sequences: “Yakety Sax” plays during Cash’s chase after the imaginary Yeti, while Joe Esposito’s “You’re the Best” plays during Barty’s exercise montage.

The video is referred to with the title “Barty 3: The Myth of the Yeti’s Legend”, by Andrew on the MSPA forums.

Video blogs
In 2011, Byron decided to update Barty’s web presence, giving him social media accounts on twitter and tumblr, and posting new videos to the Barty Anderson YouTube account. Three of these are video blogs, where Barty addresses his audience on various topics. The first invites audience members to join Barty in the quest to finally prove the existence of cryptozoological creatures, by becoming a “Barty Scout” (a term he just then made up). The second video blog is a rumination on whether the Illuminati and the Freemasons control the Hip Hop industry. In the third, Barty shows off his new Bigfoot tattoo, and admits that he doesn’t have much else going on. The next, and so far latest video, contains Barty’s tips on boat safety, given from the back of a kayak.