After Kad & Olivier sign off and the Satisfaction production logo fades, viewing audiences are oftentimes treated to a cold open of an empty talk show set... one that quickly becomes the impromptu dance floor for a shameless Frenchman making an absolute giddy fool of himself while lip-syncing pop songs alongside a menagerie of...
wait, *what*?! That's right.
The Late Late Show's Craig Ferguson appears to have
a not-so-secret French admirer -- one who's not above ripping off both his opening titles and
his signature dance sequences (including
the iconic animal puppets):
"ABC" by The Jackson 5,
"Flashdance" by Irene Cara,
"On the Floor" by Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull,
"Waka Waka" by Shakira,
"Men in Black" by Will Smith,
"Let's All Chant" by the Michael Zager Band,
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!,
"It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls, and
"Vive Le Vent (Jingle Bells)" by Tino Rossi.
Luckily, Ferguson's sense of showmanship is
more prodigious than litigious -- he responded to Arthur's "
homáge" by booking a pair of translatlantic crossover shows, with Arthur visiting LA that week and Ferguson flying out to Paris just last month. Video of both shows (plus lots more) inside!
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posted by Rhaomi
on Jul 11, 2011 -
12 comments
EXT. STREET -- TWILIGHT. A dreary day in 1971. Wearing a trilby hat and a hideous overcoat, a LONE CROCODILE stands on the rain-slicked sidewalk.
Singing in tune with the plangent sounds of the concertina he clutches in his claws, he tells the viewers that today, of all days, is his birthday. This scene presages the appearance of
one of the most emblematic characters in Soviet animation.
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posted by Nomyte
on May 7, 2011 -
24 comments
After a viral pandemic struck the world a few years ago, scientists had to scramble to stop the spread of the virus but they could do nothing for those who had already been infected. Now those who were exposed face their biggest challenge yet....
High School. [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue
on Dec 2, 2010 -
10 comments
The puppets Pat and Mat are beloved everywhere their Rube Goldbergian antics have been shown on TV. A couple of inventive handymen they consistently solve simple problems in outlandish fashion. Pat and Mat traveled far afield from their Czechoslovakian origins thanks to their short running time and silence, which made translation unnecessary. Considered ideologically impure by Czech authorities, creators Lubomír Beneš and Vladimír Jiránek were allowed to make around 30 episodes by the Slovakian arm of the state television corporation. They continued making new episodes after Communist rule ended and production was kept going after they passed away. First, let me present my sentimental favorite,
Wallpaper. Below the cut are all the episodes I could find online.
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posted by Kattullus
on Sep 7, 2009 -
27 comments
It's Comcastic! Manipulate and record messages with digital flash-based puppets. All the fun of real marionettes, but without the pesky strings. (The site also features some dexterity tests/games for your mad mousing skillz)
posted by Robot Johnny
on Oct 27, 2005 -
22 comments
Lejo is perhaps the greatest actor I've ever seen perform, and he does it all without dialogue. Click on "videos" (or
"filmpjes"). Jim Henson would be proud.
posted by Robot Johnny
on Feb 17, 2005 -
14 comments
Welsh call for ban on Australian genitalia show Morley and Friend also performed a private show at the Christmas party of an exclusive South Kensington jeweller. Guests in his handpicked audience included supermodel Naomi Campbell, U2 frontman Bono, actor Hugh Grant, England soccer captain David Beckham and his Posh Spice wife Victoria, and Elton John and his boyfriend. The two men perform their "dick tricks" dressed only in running shoes, accompanied by a pianist, a lighting show and big-screen close-ups of the action.
posted by LAM
on May 30, 2001 -
14 comments
