The TV Comedy Thread!

[Looney]

I can't say this is one of my favorites, but I didn't want to start a new thread for this post and folks reading this thread enjoy comedy. Thanks to the wonders of the internet and hulu I just found a show called Strange Calls. Has anyone else seen it? I proved that advertising works by giving the show a try after seeing many ads for it on HuluPlus. I can't say it is laugh-out-loud funny, but it is pretty enjoyably weird.

[Everlovin]

Oh, my. Let me remember....

Night Court
Evening Shade
Major Dad
Northern Exposure (does that count?)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (also not quite sitcom, but fall down funny)
Cosby Show - both versions

[BruTak]

Ok, what's the most obscure and/or just plain weird comedy show you guys have watched?

[Amara D'Angeli]

Oh, my. Let me remember....

Night Court
Evening Shade
Major Dad
Northern Exposure (does that count?)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (also not quite sitcom, but fall down funny)
Cosby Show - both versions

I'd say so! I'd forgotten about Night Court and Major Dad, too. Love those! I've been known to sit around and watch a couple hours worth of Whose Line on Youtube...

[BruTak]

Night Court was fantastic. But it was on really late on the BBC when I was a kid.

I can remember a gag where Bull the bailiff chased a fleeing suspect out into the street, but lost the guy when the entire crowd scattered because he was such a big scary looking dude.

And of course, actor Richard Moll went on to voice Harvey Dent/Two Face and the Batcomputer in "Batman: The Animated Series".

[min min light]

Ok, what's the most obscure and/or just plain weird comedy show you guys have watched?

Not obscure but enjoyably weird: Black Books

Obscure, weird and also a cartoon: Cow and Chicken

[Looney]

Most obscure: Who Knows? a little improv comedy pilot I worked on back in 2000. Most obscure because unless you were part of the crew you didn't see a minute of that show because it never aired anywhere.

TAKE THAT ! ! ! ! I DECLARE MYSELF THE WINNER OF THE MOST OBSCURE COMEDY TV SHOW YOU'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE CONTEST ! ! ! ! WOOO-HOOO ! ! !

If she had been a star at the time Melissa McCarthy (BOOM! NAME DROP!) would have been the star. The only other notable name I can remember is Chris Farley's brother John Farley (BAM! 2ND NAME DROP!). There was also a guy who was on MadTV at the time, but I don't recall his name and he was only on MadTV very briefly (Puh, 3RD NAME DROP FAILURE). The show was also a little weird. It was a lot of fun . . . for the crew. The performers really had to work to try to milk something out of the concept, but that's improv for ya!

(And no I do not work in that business anymore and most of name drop abilities are limited to 1997-2001.)

[BruTak]

Anyone but me a fan of "The Wrong Door"?

[Gatefan1976]

Morcombe and Wise?
Open all hours?
Porridge??
F Troop?
The Goodies??

[Sparky She-Demon]

I've heard of F Troop!

[min min light]

Most obscure: Who Knows? a little improv comedy pilot I worked on back in 2000. Most obscure because unless you were part of the crew you didn't see a minute of that show because it never aired anywhere.

You do win the obscure award, it's hard to beat liking a show that never aired. Melissa McCarthy must have gone on to Gilmore Girls pretty soon after that.

[BruTak]

How about "Chelmsford 123", or "Bootle Saddles" for obscure British sitcoms?

[Looney]

You do win the obscure award, it's hard to beat liking a show that never aired. Melissa McCarthy must have gone on to Gilmore Girls pretty soon after that.

That she did. And I am sure she forgot all about little ole me and the fact that we went to the same school. That's Hollywood for you. One day you're doing improv for a pilot television series while some weird pony-tailed crew member is trying to share stories about things you've missed the past couple years at a college you went to for a little while; the next day you're landing a recurring role on a TV series that keeps you employed for one hundred and fifty three episodes. (I just looked that up on IMDB. I've never seen one minute of that show, but I am sure she was great.)

[min min light]

So much of who succeeds and who doesn't in television is just a huge crapshoot, or so it seems to me looking in from the outside. Right place, right time, right part, right timeslot ... there are so many actors and actresses I completely adore and yet for some reason they've never been "big," or broken out of their original genre, or gotten work on more than one show. And yet the mere fact that I know about them means they're a success on some level. Just not on a "steadily employed and filthy rich" level.

[BruTak]

*Blows dust off thread* Anybody there?