The Cheers conspiracy
March 22, 2018 6:47 PM Subscribe
Before there was the place where everybody knows your name, there was Park St. Under, an eerily similar local sitcom. Did it quietly serve as the basis for the most famous TV show about Boston ever made?
An interesting idea, but, after reading the article, I am far from convinced anything untoward happened. And, even if it had, the greatest part of Cheers' appeal was the cast they put together, so even then they had something without the bar theme. And I don't see anyone poiinting at It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia here either.
posted by Samizdata at 7:44 PM on March 22, 2018
posted by Samizdata at 7:44 PM on March 22, 2018
Oh, that reminded me of another WCVB classic: Jabberwocky, a local kids' show I have very early but strong memories of, for its psychedelic vibe.
posted by not_on_display at 7:52 PM on March 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by not_on_display at 7:52 PM on March 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Is there any chance that the Park St. Under creators visited the Bull & Finch bar as well, and that there's a common source of inspiration there?
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:01 PM on March 22, 2018
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:01 PM on March 22, 2018
My take would be that it probably did inspire Cheers, because this is what TV does, it endlessly recycles concepts. I don't see why a network that knew about a show that had a local following and a good storyline setup concept wouldn't reuse it. But it's also clear that it was nowhere near as good. It doesn't sound like a lost treasure.
posted by Miko at 8:53 PM on March 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Miko at 8:53 PM on March 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
not_on_display, please make an FPP about Jabberwocky sometime. I can't stop watching.
Why did people think kids would love their LSD-inspired animation artwork? I grew up with that stuff and it still gives me the creeps.
posted by Miko at 8:55 PM on March 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
Why did people think kids would love their LSD-inspired animation artwork? I grew up with that stuff and it still gives me the creeps.
posted by Miko at 8:55 PM on March 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
I don't have much to say about Park St. Under, but the intro to Jabberwocky is all kinds of groovy, dripping with that Terry Gilliam/Victor Moscoso vibe that feels so linked to that era.
Why did people think kids would love their LSD-inspired animation artwork? I grew up with that stuff and it still gives me the creeps.
Speaking of Victor Moscoso, when I was a kid, I saw a very odd show on L.A. PBS station as a kid in the early 70s that simultaneously fascinated and creeped me out. The Fine Art of Goofing Off, which featured some collaboration with Moscoso, was a collection of short, mostly animated snippets leading pretty much nowhere. I saw it one day after Sesame Street and all the kid shows finished, and proceeded to blow my mind. For decades, trying to describe this show to others usually ended up with me sounding insane, and feeling maybe they're right. Alas, I eventually was vindicated! Now, will someone please loosen this straightjacket?
posted by 2N2222 at 9:34 PM on March 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Why did people think kids would love their LSD-inspired animation artwork? I grew up with that stuff and it still gives me the creeps.
Speaking of Victor Moscoso, when I was a kid, I saw a very odd show on L.A. PBS station as a kid in the early 70s that simultaneously fascinated and creeped me out. The Fine Art of Goofing Off, which featured some collaboration with Moscoso, was a collection of short, mostly animated snippets leading pretty much nowhere. I saw it one day after Sesame Street and all the kid shows finished, and proceeded to blow my mind. For decades, trying to describe this show to others usually ended up with me sounding insane, and feeling maybe they're right. Alas, I eventually was vindicated! Now, will someone please loosen this straightjacket?
posted by 2N2222 at 9:34 PM on March 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Why did people think kids would love their LSD-inspired animation artwork?
You've heard of Sid and Marty Krofft, right?
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:31 PM on March 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
You've heard of Sid and Marty Krofft, right?
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:31 PM on March 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
They called it Lidsville!
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:22 AM on March 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:22 AM on March 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
From the first link:
...an inspiration for the NBC sitcom Cheers, which was also set in a fictional Boston bar (above ground),
Above ground? What do they mean here? That the fictional bar was above ground?
posted by NoMich at 4:32 AM on March 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
...an inspiration for the NBC sitcom Cheers, which was also set in a fictional Boston bar (above ground),
Above ground? What do they mean here? That the fictional bar was above ground?
posted by NoMich at 4:32 AM on March 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I think they mean above ground, not like the Cheers bar which was underground.
posted by parki at 4:34 AM on March 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by parki at 4:34 AM on March 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Now that Sid and Marty have been mentioned...
posted by parki at 4:35 AM on March 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by parki at 4:35 AM on March 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Growing up on the wrong side of 495, I recall Park Street Underground seeming like a Boston thing I couldn't begin to understand. Also, the Community Auditions talent show on Sunday mornings, with the endless 8 year olds belting "To Dream the Impossible Dream" and "Annie" or tap dancing in tutus.
Jabberwocky though, that's bringing on the hauntology, as I was younger and more impressionable. There was a lot of kids programing that had a psychedelic flourish, as I'm sure that's what the 23 year old production assistants were choosing to reach the kids. When I first listened to Achim Reichel a few years ago I felt certain I'd heard this music backing test-pattern filler during the educational blocks on WGBH.
posted by bendybendy at 5:06 AM on March 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Jabberwocky though, that's bringing on the hauntology, as I was younger and more impressionable. There was a lot of kids programing that had a psychedelic flourish, as I'm sure that's what the 23 year old production assistants were choosing to reach the kids. When I first listened to Achim Reichel a few years ago I felt certain I'd heard this music backing test-pattern filler during the educational blocks on WGBH.
posted by bendybendy at 5:06 AM on March 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
An interesting idea, but, after reading the article, I am far from convinced anything untoward happened.
I don't understand the "but" in this sentence - isn't that the conclusion the author comes to as well?
something something Betteridge's Law
posted by solotoro at 6:35 AM on March 23, 2018
I don't understand the "but" in this sentence - isn't that the conclusion the author comes to as well?
something something Betteridge's Law
posted by solotoro at 6:35 AM on March 23, 2018
Great article, thanks. Would be interesting to watch, since they have the tapes. If there were a kickstarter to fund digitisation, I'd back it out of sheer curiosity.
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 6:51 AM on March 23, 2018
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 6:51 AM on March 23, 2018
Miko: "Why did people think kids would love their LSD-inspired animation artwork? I grew up with that stuff and it still gives me the creeps."
There's a bit in Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (the Rankin-Bass one) where Jessica has a solo over LSD-type animation. It was always cut out of the broadcasts I saw as a kid; when I finally saw the uncut version a few years ago, I nearly did a spit take. Deeply bizarre, and totally out of character with the rest of the movie.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:06 AM on March 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
There's a bit in Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (the Rankin-Bass one) where Jessica has a solo over LSD-type animation. It was always cut out of the broadcasts I saw as a kid; when I finally saw the uncut version a few years ago, I nearly did a spit take. Deeply bizarre, and totally out of character with the rest of the movie.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:06 AM on March 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Being familiar with neither the show or really any part of the MBTA layout other than Back Bay and the Worcester commuter stop, I was parsing the title as "Park Saint Under" which is even more semantically puzzling than the actual name.
I don't understand the "but" in this sentence - isn't that the conclusion the author comes to as well?
As contrasted with the notional "conspiracy" of the title, I suppose. But I also immediately wondered if it was written by J. Michael Straczynski, so.
posted by cortex at 8:50 AM on March 23, 2018
I don't understand the "but" in this sentence - isn't that the conclusion the author comes to as well?
As contrasted with the notional "conspiracy" of the title, I suppose. But I also immediately wondered if it was written by J. Michael Straczynski, so.
posted by cortex at 8:50 AM on March 23, 2018
There's an episode stored at UGA's library, for those who can access it.
posted by zenwerewolf at 12:33 PM on March 23, 2018
posted by zenwerewolf at 12:33 PM on March 23, 2018
The bar in Cheers was under ground, or at least garden level - there was the nicer bar/restaurant upstairs, yeah? The "actual" Cheers, which you should never ever visit, is definitely basement level.
posted by maryr at 3:51 PM on March 23, 2018
posted by maryr at 3:51 PM on March 23, 2018
The fancy restaurant upstairs was Melville's.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:16 PM on March 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 4:16 PM on March 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Big Lebowski was based on Don Gillis's Candlepin Sportscasts
posted by not_on_display at 9:21 PM on March 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by not_on_display at 9:21 PM on March 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
« Older "... but the price, we think the price is worth... | Happy 50th Birthday, Damon Albarn, collaborator... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by not_on_display at 6:53 PM on March 22, 2018