The Powers That Be was a short-lived, irreverent sitcom about a dim US Senator (John Forsythe, in his last major starring role on television) and his dysfunctional family, that aired on NBC between 1992 and 1993. Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, who would go on to create
Friends, the show co-starred David Hyde Pierce (pre-
Frasier) as the Senator's
suicidal son-in-law.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Dec 25, 2011 -
21 comments
In 1979, the producers of "Taxi" were hot, and got carte blanche to make another sitcom for ABC. So they adapted John Jay Osborn's novel "The Associates"*, his follow-up to "The Paper Chase" (which, as a TV series, had just been cancelled by CBS) about young lawyers at a prestigious New York firm. It starred a very young Martin Short as a very young (and surprisingly normal) Junior Associate, Wilfred Hyde-White as a very old Senior Partner and some other folks you may or may not recognize. It bombed. But the next-to-last episode to be aired before the plug was pulled was something you would never expect any broadcast network in 1980 (or maybe even now) to show, in which young lawyer Short represented a network against a rebellious producer, titled
"The Censors". And yes, that is John Ritter as a Hollywood actor in character.
Bonus content: "The Associates" pilot episode in
two parts.
via the world-class blog by Ken Levine of M*A*S*H, Cheers and the Seattle Mariners
* TOTALLY not related to John Grisham's "The Associate"
posted by oneswellfoop
on Aug 3, 2011 -
15 comments
Two and a half years ago, we explored
the early history of Cartoon Network... but it wasn't the only player in the youth television game.
As a matter of fact,
Fred Seibert -- the man responsible for the most inventive projects discussed in that post -- first stretched his creative legs at the network's
truly venerable forerunner:
Nickelodeon.
Founded as Pinwheel, a six-hour block on Warner Cable's innovative
QUBE system, this humble channel struggled for years before Seibert's innovative branding work transformed it into a national icon and capstone of a media empire.
Much has changed since then, from the mascots and game shows to
the versatile orange "splat." But starting tonight in response to popular demand, the network is
looking back with
a summer programming block dedicated to the greatest hits of the 1990s, including
Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Double Dare, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Legends of the Hidden Temple, and
All That.
To celebrate, look inside for the complete story of the early days of the network that incensed the religious right, brought doo-wop to television, and slimed a million fans -- the golden age of Nickelodeon.
(warning: monster post inside) [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jul 25, 2011 -
116 comments
I always loved the Quincy Jones-composed theme song to 70s sitcom Sanford and Son, but up until a few minutes ago I'd never heard the entire piece: three minutes and six seconds of delightfully infectious, playfully bright instrumental pop-funk. It's called
The Streetbeater, and its creative and ever-changing arrangement includes snippets of the rarely heard bass harmonica. The piece is just a hella lotta fun.
[more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite
on May 6, 2011 -
70 comments
The Ward (
Part 1 -
Part 2 -
Part 3) is a silly little Lovecraftian sitcom from the folks who bring us the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast. (previously:
1,
2,
3,
4) The guys Lackey and Fifer are also writing a graphic horror novel set in the Jazz Age,
Deadbeats.
posted by JHarris
on Apr 9, 2011 -
11 comments
Most people don't realize that Betty White was
awesome nearly 60 years ago. In 1952, she was already TV's first female talk show host, and she became the first woman on TV to star AND co-produce her own sitcom (without being married to one of the other producers),
"Life With Elizabeth", and the show is (IMO) a Lost Classic. (less lost now, with the help of YouTube; MLYT follows...)
[more inside]
posted by oneswellfoop
on May 8, 2010 -
24 comments
Make an independent sitcom? These guys did. On a shoestring budget, a collection of very funny folk have created a 22-minute-long pilot episode of Break a Leg. Heavily influenced by Arrested Development, I found it funnier than most sitcoms I see on TV. The next episode is apparently a few months away.
posted by Wataki
on Dec 1, 2006 -
35 comments
Let's Go To the Mall!! Could
Robin Sparkles be the patron saint of
Black Friday?
Ok, so maybe her myspace page is just marketing for a CBS sitcom, but her video is one of the funniest, most accurate (and too damned catchy for its own good!) 80's video parodies in recent memory.
The show's not bad, either. Probably the best comedy not on NBC right now.
posted by ericbop
on Nov 22, 2006 -
41 comments
Fred and Ethel resurrected as corporate shills "Through the magic of Hollywood, famously tightfisted Fred (William Frawley) and his irascible wife, Ethel (Vivian Vance), are brought back to life in a series of entertaining vignettes," California-based PacifiCare said in a release about its new television advertising campaign.
Using body doubles, voice impersonators and computer-generated imagery, the national TV ads that will premiere in mid October will enable the two long-dead actors to "speak" once more. And, oddly enough, they'll be talking about PacifiCare's new drug plan.
posted by Artifice_Eternity
on Oct 10, 2005 -
40 comments
Oh Rob! What it was like to be in the studio audience of
The Dick Van Dyke Show. Nice essay from Mark Evanier.
posted by braun_richard
on Aug 5, 2004 -
8 comments
"It could be a sitcom or something completely different" What is it? A new show on Fox, based on the Sims video game by EA's Maxis studio. Will Wright, the creator of the Sim line of games, has signed on to help create the show, which is being described as "blending puppetry with animation" and "set in feudal Japan but dealing with modern-day suburban situations".
If that's not "orignial", then I don't what is.
posted by Hackworth
on Jun 3, 2003 -
7 comments
Oh my lord. The
Guess the Dictator/Sit-com character site works by asking a series of questions about a person you have to think of. I selected an obscure sit-com character, Chris Elliot from Fox's ill-fated "
Get a Life" series. If you would have asked me to bet money on it before proceeding, I would have gladly put $20 on the site not figuring it out. After about 15 questions, it guessed right. This is scary stuff. [via
rebeccablood]
posted by mathowie
on Feb 26, 2000 -
15 comments
