I find myself wishing for the return of the early days of Comedy Central (before and after the merger of the Comedy Channel and Ha!).
I miss the do-it-yourself cable-access quality of the shows, and the fact that the majority of the programming was focused on just putting comedians on the air whether in standup, sketch, or improv genres.
I miss the laid-back, good-natured chat segments of shows like Night After Night With Allan Havey, Higgins Boys and Gruber, Short Attention Span Theater, Mystery Science Theater 3000. I liked the laid-back interview shows like Inside the Comedy Mind With Alan King. I liked the rebroadcasting of shows that had originally aired well before my time.
A lot of these shows made me feel like I was just hanging out with funny friends with whom I was enjoying comedy clips.
Yup, I watched that for years. So much so, that I could really never get into the American version*. I never really liked Drew as a host and I didn’t like they way they adjusted some of the games.
Regarding KITH, loved that as well. I watched it all through high school and then in college there was usually a handful or reruns on right after my last class let out so I could race back to the dorms and watch it with a friend.
*I should add, that I’m NOT one of those people that’s a snob about all things British. I like quite a few BBC shows, and I happen to like the British version of Whose Line better then the American version. But that’s probably because I watched it first. OTOH, I can’t stand the British version of the Office probably because I watched the American version first…and I can’t understand a single word Ricky mumbles.
How could I forget Almost Live!?
People look at me funny when I reference “Speed Walker” when Bill Nye get’s mentioned. Ineffectual Middle Management Suckups, The John Report, Worst Girlfriend in the World, those I don’t even mention.
I occasionally use teh internets to tune into Pat Cashman’s radio show just to hear his voice.
MST3K
Two hours of stand-up
MST3K
One hour of Daily Show/Colbert Report
MST3K
Two hours of British Whose Line
MST3K
Two hours of American Whose Line
MST3K
Two hours of stand-up
MST3K
One hour of Daily Show/Colbert Report
MST3K
High Fivin’ White Guys, Uncle Fran’s Musical Forest, etc.
It was originally a Seattle show, and then slightly edited to make some of the local jokes a little less region-specific. Bill Nye even did Science Guy bits with odd experiments done in the studio with an audience. I don’t know if those were kept for the Comedy Central airings or not.
And whenever people start talking about Kennedy conspiracies, I think of this.
Yeah, Night After Night … was just great. What if two guys and an audience of one just didn’t care and did a TV show.
I thought Nick Bakay (he also did Sports Monster*) was going places. He was the sidekick on the short lived Dennis Miller talk show. Bakay wanted to riff with Miller but Miller got thrown by him.
Then he did the Sabrina thing and worst, far worst, of all he co-wrote Zookeeper and Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Talk about killing one’s rep.
*Bakay and Hayman both have Seinfeld credits. Hayman as a consultant and the voice of the Bubble Boy.
Short Attention Span Theater with Jon Stewart and Patty Rosborough was my favorite thing ever. I still remember the day she left the show and he stripped for her while doing a little dance. That’s not an image you can forget.
But yeah, I miss those days when their schedule was mostly stand-up, too.
I never liked the Drew Carey version of Whose Line. It really annoyed me that he always seemed to be fighting the premise.
Whatever happened to Patty Rosborough? Her credits pretty much end after Short Attention Span Theater.
And does anyone remember the original daily lineup of clip/chat shows? I know it ended with Allan Havey – Rachel Sweet and the Higgins Boys and Gruber were in there somewhere.
