Comedy Central: Sadness Knows No Limits

[Billy's Girl]

Originally posted by Cantus Rock
LoL...okay I won't get mad.

I dunno if you have it in NZ, but here in the states (land of OPTIONS!) we have a slogan "friends don't like friends drive drunk." I thought it was international by now, but I could be wrong. I was just playin' around with that saying.

-Matt

In NZ we say -

"if you drink and drive you're a bloody idiot"

We also have TV ads where you watch little kids getting their necks broken in Car accidents because of speeding. The ads are always graphic and make you feel quite sick but they do tend to work.

 

[GWGumby]

Originally posted by Jeffrey Gray
GWGumby: AFAIK, the earliest episodes they run are the 1989-90 episodes...when did you last see a mid-80s SNL on CC?

Good question. It's been a long time since I've been up sleepless in the middle of the night with only old episodes of CC's SNL reruns to keep me company. It's probably been over a year or so. I know they've recently lost the rights to some of the SNL episodes. I think the most recent ones are being rebroadcast on another station and the early classic ones are on E!. Where the 80s eps are, I don't know. 6 years ago that's all they played.

 

[Drtooth]

Originally posted by Jeffrey Gray
Drtooth: Actually, they cancelled TV Funhouse and took it off.

GWGumby: AFAIK, the earliest episodes they run are the 1989-90 episodes...when did you last see a mid-80s SNL on CC?

Crud!! Now there's no reason to watch SNL!! Even Mad tv is getting crummy! Except for the new Public School House rock segments! And why the heck can't they show any good episodes from before that time frame? For the longest time I thought Sherri O'Terri was the twin girls on the Simpsons....now I wish it just was!! BLEEECH!!!

 

[Sunshineboz]

Matt! YOU LIKE UCB!? I thought no one else even heard of them! They were so freakin' funny! I had the good fortune of seeing them at the Punchline Comedy Club during the UCB era and they were so hilarious I had to see them again the next night!

It was sad because I talked to the (don't kill me for lack of knowing the names) guy with floppy, curly hair and he told me, "Yeah they picked us up for another season". But it didn't last...WAAAAHHHH!!! *crying very hard*

I love random shows like that and CC doesn't completely do it for me. I loved Strangers with Candy and TV Funhouse too! Gone Gone!
Glad they have Conan but that's totally recycled and not so original. They need to give the good random shows a chance and for longer than one season!

 

[GWGumby]

I'm a huge fan of great sketch comedy, and sadly the best only see a season or two on TV. Most of the time I don't even see them when they originally air since they are gone so quickly. The problem with most comedy ensembles is that one has to get a chance to familiarize themselves with the cast before one can appreciate the humor. I remember hating MTV's "The State" when I first saw it, but after a while it grew on me and now I think it was one of the best comedy programs since (dare I say it?) Monty Python. I also found Christopher Guest's improvised ensemble movie "Waiting For Guffman" unfunny the first time I saw it, but once I became more familiar with him, the cast, and "This Is Spinal Tap," I thought it was hilarious on second viewing. I absolutely loved "Best In Show" when it came out, but other friends who weren't familiar with his other movies hated it.

So I can see why these programs can disappear as quickly as they do. One must become comfortable with them before one can really enjoy them and TV these days doesn't allow shows to grow their audience. They've got to get it from the start and keep it.

Anyway, since most of these series are so short, I've been able to collect quite a few of them in avi/mpg formats. I've got most or some of "The State", "The Ben Stiller Show", "Upright Citizens Brigade", "Mr. Show", "Stranger's With Candy." I'm happy CC is giving "The Ben Stiller Show" another chance, and it sounds like it might be coming to DVD soon. Hopefully other classic sketch series might follow. I'm crossing my fingers.

Speaking of Ben Stiller, did anyone here ever see the bootleg version of the failed Stiller-produced TV pilot "Heat Vision & Jack" with Jack Black and the voice of Owen Wilson? Man, talked about a missed opportunity. People wonder why TV shows lately are so weak when great stuff like this gets passed over. It doesn't make any sense.

 

[Lu775]

Originally posted by grail
heh...that reminds me of the joke about adding two little words to the fortune in your cookie to come up with your true fortune...don't know why but i found it funny

So that would make it....
Friends don't let friends drink diet coke...in bed


hee hee. Yeah, it's always funny.

 

[towels]

What? The Ben Stiller Show is coming back?
Wow! That's great. Ben, Jeanine, Andy, and that other guy...
I've gotta tape these!!!

Tell me more, tell me more!

 

[Cantus Rock]

Originally posted by Sunshineboz
Matt! YOU LIKE UCB!? I thought no one else even heard of them! They were so freakin' funny! I had the good fortune of seeing them at the Punchline Comedy Club during the UCB era and they were so hilarious I had to see them again the next night!

Heh, yeah Chele...I have every episode on tape. Email me for info!

-Matt

 

[grail]

*raises hand* i liked the UCB too...i just didn't get much chance to see it...

 

[GWGumby]

Originally posted by towels
What? The Ben Stiller Show is coming back?
Wow! That's great. Ben, Jeanine, Andy, and that other guy...
I've gotta tape these!!!

Tell me more, tell me more!

It was actually part of the news that started this thread, though Cantus just shared the announcement of the animated series that were coming back which didn't have the biggest news that it was replaying The Ben Stiller Show.

So just to clear things up: CC has the rights and will be rebroadcasting The Ben Stiller Show episodes sometime either this fall or by January. It's not new episodes.

By the way, "that other guy" was Bob Odenkirk who went on to do Mr. Show. I could never remember him either.