OMG! Is Gilliam trying to redefine Quixotic? I thought that project ended when he released Lost in LaMancha in 2002.
Why the one night release? My best guess is that has something to do with having to show the movie for legal reasons. If he does not release the movie, he may be eyeballs deep in debt for the next century. The movie may not be allowed release on DVD/Blu-ray or streaming sites without a theatrical release.
Hopefully someone will show up and it will make more money than Zyzzyx Road.

Was a bowl of petunias found nearby?

At its peak of popularity in the 1950s, there were more than 4000 drive-ins. Currently, there are just over 300 left in the United States.
Several factors have been cited for the demise of the drive-in. They were no longer"Passion Pits." The 1960s and the sexual revolution made the "alternate" reason for going to the drive in less appealing. Mall multiplex theaters made it easier to go to the movies. The purpose built movie theaters downtown also fell out of fashion.
The spread of cable TV made movies more available at home, a development enhanced by video recorders.
For many of the marginally surviving drive-ins, the final nail in their coffins was the shift away from film to digital projectors. A feature movie on 35 mm film cost $1500 to print. Shipping cans of film reels to individual theaters adds to the cost. In 2014, Paramount shipped its last 35 mm film print movie; "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues." Most studios and distributors followed suit. Digital movies are cheaper to distribute. However, marginally profitable drive-ins could not afford the $50,000 to $80,000 necessary to be able to show digital movies. And as a result many closed permanently.
There are some survivors. Here is a good source to find one near you. http://www.driveinmovie.com/

"Have a look at some incredibly garish and maybe glamorous visions of the Old Vegas."
Are you trying to imply Las Vegas isn't incredibly garish now?
I guess it is a matter of scale. When I first visited in the late 1960s Vegas was a small city with a strip of casinos along the main drag through town. It was a pretty tacky place then--lots of neon lights and bright signs. Want to see what it was like? Watch Ocean's 11 (Sinatra/ rat pack version--not the Clooney/Pitt abortion) and you'll see what I mean.
My last visit was 5 years ago. It has redefined garish. Possibly the most tasteless pile of tackiness in the planet.

And what, exactly, are you getting at Critter Chitter? Do you see some sort of connection?

One item the article neglected to mention; The archaeologists also found a note from the landlord, John de Flete, promising to have the plumber come by next Thursday to fix the toilet

Fireball XL-5 was a great series. However, I would not call it a "cartoon." Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation was something different.
I must dispute the IMDb assertion that Fireball XL-5 " was the first to depict a space fleet of patrol ships monitoring our quadrant of space, a concept used in Star Trek TOS a few years later."
Fireball XL-5 aired in 1962-63.
Tom Corbett — Space Cadet (featuring cadets at the Space Academy as they train to become members of the Solar Guard) aired on TV from 1950 to 1955.
Space Patrol, A series about an "intergalactic space police and military force charged with keeping the peace," also aired from 1950 to 1955.
Planet Patrol (originally called "Space Patrol" in The UK) was another TV series featuring marionettes. Produced by Roberta Leigh in 1962 and broadcast in 1963. Leigh used to work for the Andersons, and much of her program reflected their influence. In this series, Earth, Mars and Venus form the United Galactic Organization, and Space Patrol is it's military wing. The series follows the actions of this interplanetary force.
Safe to say, when Gene Roddenberry produced Star Trek, it had a fairly substantial ancestry.

If it is not the worst movie ever, it is in the running. More bad company: "Plan 9 From Outer Space;" "Manos: Hands of Fate;" or "Teenagers From Outer Space."

Far side is more accurate. However, the Chang’e 4 probe has not yet reported if the lunatics are on the grass.

There are 3.1 million teachers in the United States. And even if all those stories were real, the vast majority of teachers are not idiots. That being said, there were some pretty funny anecdotes there.

From your title, I am guessing the Neatorama demographic is assumed to be under 50.
Part of what killed the movie was Pal's "high camp" approach in (a la the Batman TV series). It also premiered in June 1975, the same time Jaws was released. Jaws pretty much buried every other movie that year.
By the way, if you're going to lift someone else's title, maybe you shouldn't link the article.
https://theconversation.com/meet-doc-savage-the-most-famous-superhero-youve-never-heard-of-47745

Or the seeds landed on the ground, sprouted, and grew in the family plot. Finely maintained graveyards and cemeteries are a 20th century thing.

Accident & Emergency.
Hogmanay, is the Scots celebration of the New Year. However, the Viking torch parade is more associated with Up Helly Aa, the Shetland Islands fire festivals that usually run from late January to Mid March (depending on the community)
The biggest celebration is claimed by Lerwick, the main port, and largest town--all 6000 or so.

https://www.shetland.org/things/events/culture-heritage/up-helly-aa