Anyone remember Candid Camera? I used to love it when I was a kid. (This was back when Alan Funt was the host.)
Tonight I happened upon Just For Laughs: Gags on CBUT. No dialogue; just music. Pretty funny stuff.
Anyone think it’s about time for another renewal of Candid Camera?
There are some “candid camera” type shows out there… I’m thinking Taxicab Confessions for example. With privacy being on everyone’s mind, I’m not sure a true Candid Camera would be a success. People tend to get oogy when they discover they’re being watched, even for humor.
No, I’ve never heard of it.
:dubious:
This type of show is sort of hit-or-miss, somewhat like sketch comedy. They do a lot of stuff that doesn’t entertain me much, but there’s always a couple that I really enjoy.
Candid Camera did one way back that I still think of every time I go shopping. They put their cameras in the produce section of a supermarket. There were three plastic bag dispensers, on which they’d put their own customized rolls. On one, the bags were open on both ends; the second, open on neither end, and the third had one end open and one end sealed like a normal bag, except that each one was 5 feet long. For some reason, I really liked watching those people struggle with the increased annoyance-factor on something we’re all annoyed by at some point.
I don’t believe it could work. All the recent shows of that type have been nasty and mean-spirited.
The original was just perplexing or bewildering situations with a sense of fun.
Just wait until someone invents YouTube.
You might enjoy Trigger Happy TV - a UK show from a few years ago, CC-ish with hip editing & music. Here are my favourite characters, the Squirrel Gang…
http://www.takeazap.com/video/340/Trigger-Happy-TV--Squirrel-Gang
I love Just For Laugh gags. I always watch them when I’m flying JAL or Singapore Airlines. They are pretty funny, but some of them make you wonder if they would be lawsuit-worthy if filmed in sue-happy America instead of Canada.
They did something more recently with Peter Funt, the son (?) of the original host. It was mean-spirited though, and IIRC led to a lawsuit or two.
There was a British show that did this sort of premise extremely well. They’d do things like get someone to wear a blindfold for a taste test, then take away the table and set up a firing squad. Or a guy would go up to a old couple in the park, and tell them he’s going to steal a woman’s purse, and if they’d distract the police, he’d split the money with them. Or a guy with a tuba went up to two people in conversation at a sidewalk cafe and blatted a horrible noise at them, then held out his palm for a handout. I wish I could remember what it was called.
ETA: oh, maybe, it was “Trigger Happy TV” as jinty mentioned. I’ll have to check out that link later.
Made in Québec; this approach makes it much more valuable for the international market. 
The best one I’ve scene recently sets up the gag by having the “victim” be approached by two cute female Japanese backpackers, and asked to snap their photo with a Polaroid camera. Ummmm… Here it is.. Perfect!
The theory behind Candid Camera was that you had to set up funny situations and to make the camera invisible for people to do silly things. Youtube and Reality TV show they will be twice as silly with the camera out. The world has moved past it.
I think your premise is flawed. The idea behind these sorts of programs is that it’s fun to watch how people react when something inexplicably surreal is injected into their ordinary day. While some clever pranks may get a little traction on YouTube, you will often get a better result if you have significant resources to put into your set-up. A bunch of Jersey douchebags mugging for the camera will never replace this sort of entertainment.
That is a perfect modern day example of the style of the original* Candid Camera.*
There was a similar gag last night.
The scene: A park bench next to a bush.
The setup: A speaker is hidden in the bush. A woman with a small dog stands near the bush, on the opposite side from the bench. The speaker plays a recording of a large dog barking.
The Gag: A series of persons sit to rest on the bench. The large-dog recording is played. They turn to look behind them, only to see a very small dog sitting innocently there. While the victim is distracted, looking at the little dog, a couple of guys move a rather large, snarling, stuffed wolf directly in front of him/her. The victim resumes his or her original position… 