...in theeeeese United States
August 9, 2013 8:37 AM   Subscribe

 
I feel like this isn't going to go well for them.
posted by SharkParty at 8:51 AM on August 9, 2013


What is it with these comedian remakes of existing bits? I know that sounds like a Seinfeldian opening, but I'm genuinely curious where this line of humor (which I enjoy, btw) grows from. I'm thinking about stuff like the Simon & Simon/Hart to Hart credit remakes, numerous CollegeHumor shorts, and even to some extent Drunk History.

Is there an Ur bit that explains the origins of this? If so, will Scheer and Adam Scott recreate it?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:56 AM on August 9, 2013


The earliest I can think of is that time Al Sharpton stood up the Daily Show and Stephen Colbert stood in (danger: do not click link if you don't want to feel sorry for Colbert's, Stewart's, or your own aging) and that's 2001.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:00 AM on August 9, 2013


Al Sharpton was supposed to GM an RPG session, and Colbert played pinch hitter? Is there video of this?
posted by 256 at 9:10 AM on August 9, 2013 [1 favorite]


Sharpton is a crappy GM. He's telling all the players about social justice and standing up for what's right and I'm all this is bullshit when are we gonna kill some orcs?
posted by mcstayinskool at 9:49 AM on August 9, 2013 [2 favorites]


Seriously, his house rules are the worst. Who thinks a freaking track suit has a -5 AC?
posted by cmfletcher at 10:05 AM on August 9, 2013 [1 favorite]


Honestly, Celebrity D&D has long been a fantasy TV show of mine. I want Christopher Walken to DM and Owen Wilson to play maybe a halfling thief. There is no context-appropriate sentence I can imagine coming out of their mouths on this show that doesn't make me overload with delight.
posted by neuromodulator at 10:24 AM on August 9, 2013 [4 favorites]


Did somebody ask for Celebrity D&D?
posted by blurker at 11:49 AM on August 9, 2013


Yeah but basically nothing like that.
posted by neuromodulator at 12:00 PM on August 9, 2013 [1 favorite]


anyway.... back on topic.

I want to see Arsenio Hall DMing for Bill Clinton, Madonna, Seth Rogen, and Paul Scheer
posted by 256 at 12:20 PM on August 9, 2013


Honestly, Celebrity D&D has long been a fantasy TV show of mine.

I'd love a podcast with legitimately talented actors playing a campaign as if they're playing their characters in actual dramatic roles. I bet someone could get Patrick Stewart and like half of Joss Whedon's circle of friends to do it. In my mind, it would be a lot like the bit in Party Down where they act out Roman's rewritten script in Steve Gutenberg's house.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:29 PM on August 9, 2013


It's a little disingenuous for Scheer to label the Clinton "to script" interview as such. Compare Arnett's performance to Clinton's actual response and it's obvious Arnett improvises the line about being addicted to sexual liaisons.

So unlike the faithful Simon & Simon or Hart to Hart reenactments, these bits are not only edited down and modified in terms of pacing, presentation, and audience reaction for comedic effect, the actual dialog is changed as well and this defeats the purpose of having the scripted and improvised versions since there's only a difference of extent between the two.
posted by ooga_booga at 1:44 PM on August 9, 2013 [1 favorite]


Oh hey there hacky "Rosie O'Donnell is masculine" joke, what are you doing here in 2013 ?
posted by jason_steakums at 1:48 PM on August 9, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'd love a podcast with legitimately talented actors playing a campaign as if they're playing their characters in actual dramatic roles.

That would be awesome. My dream party would be ALF, Dale Cooper, Brenda Walsh, Al Swearingen, and Morris Day.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:56 PM on August 9, 2013


Morris Day is a bard, right?
posted by Area Man at 2:12 PM on August 9, 2013


That would be awesome. My dream party would be ALF, Dale Cooper, Brenda Walsh, Al Swearingen, and Morris Day.

I really want to see that too, but I think I worded my idea weird - I meant actors seriously acting out the campaign, wringing surprisingly good, well-acted drama out of goofy, increasingly bizarre beholder-slaying shenanigans, totally playing it straight as whatever character they're playing in the game. Making you connect with a ridiculous half-orc barbarian facing down an owlbear or whatever by sheer force of acting (the owlbear being played with equal skill by whichever actor is DMing, naturally).
posted by jason_steakums at 2:26 PM on August 9, 2013


Yeah, I know. That would be good too. :-*
posted by mrgrimm at 3:30 PM on August 9, 2013


Arsenio Hall's original show was double plus unfunny, at its best, and awkward, stiff, and pointing-at-cool-which-wasn't-really-very-cool a lot of the time. But jeez, the couple of these re-warmed re-creations of that awful original material are nowhere near as good as the original dreck on which I think they're trying to riff.

This is nails-on-chalkboard stuff, as far as I got, which, admittedly, was only a couple of links. But it was enough to make my funny bone hurt like it was broken in 5 places.
posted by paulsc at 12:52 AM on August 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


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