Spaced is 10. Fried gold!
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Sep 24, 2009 - 72 comments

The 1961 interview begins, "About four days ago, a plane landed at Idyllewild airport. The plane came from the Middle East bearing a man who claims to be 2000 years old. He's spent the last six days at the Mayo Clinic." The interviewer then goes on to pick the brain of the world's oldest man. [part 2, part 3, animated in 1975] This is considered by many to be one of the funniest comedy routines of all time -- Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks performing The 2000 Year Old Man. [ A 1961 TV clip of 2KYOM • Another • Similar, only it's an accountant instead of an old man • Origins of the words "cheese" and "egg" • Interview with Reiner & Brooks, late 1990's; Part 2 • Similar, only with Charlie Rose as the interviewer ]
posted by not_on_display on May 7, 2009 - 16 comments

In 2000, the British Film Institute voted Fawlty Towers number 1 on its list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. Perhaps an even greater tribute, numerous real-life lodgings have named themselves after it. Next month, Connie Booth - now a practicing psychotherapist in London - will break a 30 year silence about the show for a televised special. [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese on Apr 11, 2009 - 79 comments

[NSFW] It's almost time to Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys -- the final episode of the Trailer Park Boys aired in December, 2008. (As Bubbles says, "It's a dirty, sassy liquor. So sassy.") Producer Mike Clattenburg says that there will be a second movie, "Countdown to Liquor Day", to be released late in 2009. After that, though, the TPB franchise will buy the great double-wide in the sky. [pervyously, preevisilly or however th' fuck you say it.] [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Mar 11, 2009 - 58 comments

Deep in the Heart of Jersey you'll find "Uncle Floyd" Vivino, roaming the streets of various towns and cities, kibbitzing with the locals. In Belleville. Nutley. Bloomfield Avenue and Ferry Street in Newark. Kearny. Cliffside Park. Main Street, Paterson. An abandoned lot in Paterson. What, you never heard of Uncle Floyd? [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Jan 6, 2009 - 47 comments

"Wally Ballou here, reporting for the Matinob with Ray and Bob from the World Wide Internets..." Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding are better known as Bob and Ray. Spending over four decades on the radio, television, print, and Broadway, beginning in Boston in 1946, they pioneered absurdist, satirical, dry, improvisational sketch comedy, influencing a legion of future comics (and others). The duo was inducted into the NAB Hall of Fame in 1984. They last appeared on the radio in NPR's "The Bob and Ray Public Radio Show" from 1982-1987. [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Nov 17, 2008 - 27 comments

Mock the Vote: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert interviewed.
posted by Artw on Sep 25, 2008 - 41 comments

In the introduction to his close friend's "Best of" DVD, Jack Lemmon says, "Ernie Kovacs was the funniest, wildest, zaniest man I ever knew. Ernie thought so, too, and so did millions of happy people. Ernie was all over television on one network or another from 1950 until he died in 1962. He had an unpredictable and illogical view of the world. He played with the medium of television in a way no one ever had before. And he created a batch of cockeyed characters that have become classics. So, slow down your internal clock; it was a more leisurely time, you know. Here's Ernie Kovacs." [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Jul 15, 2008 - 16 comments

Thirty years of George Carlin specials. (Yep, NSFW. Duh.) [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Nov 12, 2007 - 49 comments

Ronnie Hazlehurst RIP. Who? Well if you've seen any of the BBC's sitcoms and light entertainment programmes from the 70s onwards, you would have probably heard his work... [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Oct 3, 2007 - 16 comments

The Smothers Brothers are a folk-singing comedy duo whose television show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour featured music, comedy, and political satire. CBS abruptly canceled the show in 1969 due to continued arguments about censorship. [more inside]
posted by oneirodynia on Sep 14, 2007 - 37 comments

Channel 4's Star Stories! exposes the truths behind the rising & falling of some of your favo(u)rite celebrities: Madonna, Simon Cowell, Britney Spears, George Michaels, Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta Jones, Posh and Becks, and Take That. Partial episodes: Brad/Jen/Angelina and Jude Law. Occasionally NSFW (language/simulated sex)
posted by miss lynnster on Aug 20, 2007 - 25 comments

Harlem Variety Revue. Pre-rock & roll TV show featuring swing from Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway, and Sarah Vaughan. Rhythm & blues from Amos Milburn, Ruth Brown, Joe Turner, Martha Davis and Larry Darnell. Jazz & calypso from Nat Cole. Ballad by Dinah Washington. Doo wop from The Clovers. Harmony from the Larks and the Delta Rhythm Boys (complete with exciting choreography). Comedy provided by Nipsey Russell & Mantan Moreland, tapdancing by Coles & Atkins and Bill Bailey (check out that 1955 Moonwalk at the end!) Hosted by Willie Bryant.
posted by andihazelwood on Jun 16, 2007 - 12 comments

Judd Apatow's Family Values A look inside the comedic mind that brought us "Freaks and Geeks", "Undeclared", and "The 40 Year Old Virgin". Apatow’s childhood hero was Steve Martin. On a summer trip to L.A., Apatow persuaded his grandparents to drive by Martin’s home until Apatow spied his hero in the driveway. Martin wouldn’t give him an autograph, so Apatow wrote him an angry letter saying it was his patronage of Martin’s projects that allowed him to live the high life. A few weeks later, Martin sent Apatow a copy of his book “Cruel Shoes” with an apology: “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was speaking to the Judd Apatow.” Also: Judd and Seth Rogen at play.
posted by ColdChef on May 27, 2007 - 33 comments

Tom Poston, RIP... Everybody give it up for one of America's finest comedic talents...
posted by lilboo on May 2, 2007 - 51 comments

Andy Barker, P.I. is a new comedy series starring Andy Richter, former Conan O'Brien sidekick and star of the brilliant but cancelled Andy Richter Controls the Universe. The series also features Tony Hale (Buster in Arrested Development), Harve Preshnell (from a lot of things, such as Fargo) and Clea Lewis (Audrey in Ellen). NBC is streaming all six episodes on its website. The last episode, featuring Amy Sedaris and Ed Asner, will not be shown on NBC, but is only available online. Pretty much everyone thinks it will be cancelled. The first episode, written by series co-creator Conan O'Brien, can be downloaded for free from iTunes. Finally, here's an interview with Richter and series co-creator Jonathan Groff and a New York Times article about the series.
posted by Kattullus on Mar 16, 2007 - 29 comments

The new series of the Gervais/Merchant sitcom "Extras" can be streamed from the BBC's website. This series is really excellent. There are two quality settings and Windows Media/Realplayer streams are available. Shows are only available for a few weeks after broadcast but there is still much to enjoy!
posted by mokey on Oct 6, 2006 - 33 comments

Adult Swim Fix. Streaming full-length Adult Swim episodes twenty-four hours a day online. Seven archival episodes will be available at all times, while premieres will continue to debut on Fridays, two days before they appear on-air.
posted by ND¢ on Apr 27, 2006 - 24 comments

Public Service Announcements from the staff of NBC's "The Office."
posted by ColdChef on Mar 31, 2006 - 41 comments

Dave Chappelle Comes Clean On 'Oprah' "Chappelle said he left the show, months after signing a $50 million deal for its third and fourth seasons, because he felt manipulated by the people around him."
posted by jne1813 on Feb 3, 2006 - 50 comments

Subverting childrens television shows isn't exactly new, but when did it become mainstream?
posted by tighttrousers on Jul 28, 2005 - 15 comments

Kenneth Williams on television The overall feeling is of a medium trying and failing to find a way of capturing an extraordinary talent.
posted by feelinglistless on Feb 4, 2005 - 1 comment

Peep Show. Ah, now that's lurid-sounding. What it is, however, is a comedy from BBC that's way, way funnier than The Office. Reviewers chatter about the Herman's Head-like gimmick -- you hear the characters' thoughts -- but the better gimmick? Excellent writing.
posted by mimi on Nov 22, 2004 - 26 comments

Conan follows John Stewart: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog conducts interviews in Spin Alley.
posted by Tlogmer on Oct 22, 2004 - 27 comments

Although such records weren’t kept prior to 1968, it is widely accepted that had they been, Uncle Tonoose would be the hands down leader in the category of "most spit takes caused."
It's The Top 10 Uncles in TV Comedy History, guaranteed to bring back TV memories (including many justifiably repressed ones). Regrettably, with one glaring omission that any MeFite should notice. But hey, what about an equivalent list of notable TV Aunts? Or are there any beyond Aunt Bee (or as most Mayberry residents pronounced it, Aint Bee)?
posted by wendell on Sep 5, 2003 - 8 comments

The greatest TV show you will probably never see: Aunty Jack, a ten-foot tall, boxing-glove wearing, motor-cycling, moustached cross-dresser, was the star of The Aunty Jack Show, which ran for thirteen episodes in 1972-73 on the Australian Broadcasting Commission TV network (and was the first show broadcast on Australian TV in colour). Many of the original episodes have been lost (but records of them exist). Re-release on video or DVD of the remaining episodes is tangled up in copyright issues. The 1974 album Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong was re-released on CD, and still seems to be available. It includes such classics as 'Fish Milkshakes' and 'Teenage Butcher' and the song 'Farewell Aunty Jack', which was a number 1 hit in Australia. Some samples can be found here. There were spinoffs from Aunty Jack, most notably the Norman Gunston Show, with Norman playing the prototypical terrrible interviewer and inspiring the much later Ali G, Dennis Pennis and many others. I was two years old when the series aired: Aunty Jack's threat at the end of each episode, that: 'If you don't watch next week, I'll rip your bloody arm off!' meant that I never, ever, missed it.
posted by chrisgregory on Jan 30, 2003 - 33 comments

"Normally I wear protection, but then I thought, 'When am I gonna make it back to Haiti?' -- Bad Idea."
Just a taste from my favorite new web site.
posted by uftheory on Apr 5, 2002 - 13 comments

Am I the only one who notices that Scrubs is the best new show on television? Great writing and a great cast make me wonder who is Watching Ellie and putting the Seinfeld Curse at 3 for 3 with 2 RBI's and a double. If you haven't seen Scrubs, check it out. If you have, tell other people to watch it. Don't let quality television go off the air because of a bad time slot! (Tue. at 9:30 Est on NBC)
posted by McBain on Mar 8, 2002 - 41 comments

A bit late, but I found the first new episode of Absolutely Fabulous to be fairly lackluster. Seemed forced and disjointed. Should Jennifer Saunders have left well enough alone?
posted by juniper on Nov 13, 2001 - 18 comments

Is American TV funnier than British TV? Who watches both? I really don't know but describing American comedies as "machine-tooled one-liners" is pretty damn accurate. (via boingboing.net)
posted by skallas on Aug 25, 2001 - 38 comments

Contrary to what you may have heard, the new Brass Eye is indeed about paedophiles. And it's got Phil Collins wearing a "Nonce Sense" t-shirt.
posted by Mocata on Jul 19, 2001 - 20 comments

Last night's Brass Eye special was mysteriously pulled from the schedules, seemingly because it concerned "an army of paedophiles". Apparantly, this is not the case
posted by Grangousier on Jul 6, 2001 - 15 comments

Comedy Central airs an episode of South Park where the characters say "shit" 168 times, unbleeped. Trey Parker and Matt Stone prove once again that they aren't afraid to take American television where everybody else has already been.
posted by RylandDotNet on Jun 20, 2001 - 28 comments

That's My Bush! - Premiers tonight on Comedy Central. From Matt and Trey, the creators of South Park. This is either gonna be really great or reeeeeaaaallllyyy bad.
posted by radio_mookie on Apr 4, 2001 - 23 comments

Great news! Channel 4 to re-screen Brass Eye - with restored footage.
posted by Mocata on Mar 23, 2001 - 6 comments