Looking through the main cast and whoever else appeared on the show, there are dozens of well-known familiar names! Doris Roberts, Wendie Malick, Michael McKean, David Bowie, Teri Garr, Salma Hayek- it seems any tv actor passing through stopped in to do a part. And there was nudity, being HBO. I thought it was pretty clever and often funny, but it grew tiresome…it was all about Martin Tupper’s eternal frantic quest to get laid as much as possible, as often as possible. (I mean, the man got more ass than a ladies room at a state fair on half-price-beer-night, but it was never enough.)
Thank God You’re Here! was a “game” show in the Whose Line Is It Anyway? vein. David Allen Grier was the host, Dave Foley was scorekeeper/judge.
The concept revolves around a prominent actor/comedian (Jason Alexander, Brian Cranston, Harlan Williams, etc) being thrust into a scene with no script. The first line of dialogue, directed at the actor/comedian is “thank God you’re here,” and the scene develops improvisationally based off of the actor’s responses. They have no idea what the scene will be about, except for what they can ascertain from their costume.
The Smothers Brothers Show from 1965, a fantasy situation comedy where Tommy played a guardian angel looking after his brother Dick.
Profit was indeed weird and interesting but a little ahead of it’s time. I think if it had come out a few years later and was on HBO it would have been a huge hit.
I watched a lot of that show. My problem was there was a script of sorts. The contestants couldn’t just improv their way through and have the other actors go “yes, and…” No, their task was to figure out what their part was with very little in the way of hint-feeding or setup lines. There were some laughs, but it frequently was just awkward.
I mentioned it above.
So you did-Sorry about that.
On about the same time: Ivan Tors’ Cowboy in Africa, starring Chuck Connors. Filmed in California with lots of location shots of African wildlife inserted where appropriate.
I remember Cowboy in Africa. It had a “Hatari” vibe to it.
How about this one – Off to See the Wizard was an excuse to show kids movies on early prime-time TV. The framing device was that Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Cowardly Lion were watching these movies at The Wizard of Oz’s digs in Emerald City. The movies would be chopped into two pieces and shown on successive weeks.
The animation was done by producer Chuck Jones, which alone makes it worth watching.
Sorry – the YouTube only has a black and white copy; the original is in color
I just thought of another one: Push, Nevada, a Twin Peaks-esque series about the bizarre goings-on in an isolated desert town. It was also a solve-it-yourself puzzle with a $1 million prize for some lucky viewer. I enjoyed the show for its own sake and didn’t make any attempt to identify the obscure “clues” embedded in each episode.
The series was prematurely canceled and the remaining clues were hurriedly recited at the end of the last aired episode, with a final clue to be announced during a Monday Night Football game. Someone did manage to figure it all out and win the money. IIRC, the clues didn’t have anything to do with the show’s plot; it was simply a gimmick to get people to watch.
I remember Push. What little I saw of it seemed fairly interesting. Of course they were just trying to copy the success of Lost. It’s a shame the clues didn’t have anything to do with the show.
There was a nighttime game show 10–12 years ago in which teams (couples) were given huge amounts of cash and asked trivia questions they had to answer in a fixed amount of time. They had to take the cash and bet which answer was correct by laying it out on a table. The more certain they were of the correct answer, the more they put on its space. The correct answer was revealed once the time had run out, and the cash that was bet on incorrect ones disappeared as trap doors on the table opened up and swallowed it. At the end of the game, they were allowed to keep what was left of the cash.
I don’t remember the name of the show (my daughter and I thought it was kind of hokey), but I do recall one couple agonizing over which hand of the Statue of Liberty holds the torch. They eventually bet heavily on the left hand and lost a bundle.
Million Dollar Money Drop?
That must be it!
K-Ville (2007) with Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser who play New Orleans police detectives patrolling in the chaotic post-Katrina period in the city. Excellent show!! Lasted 11 episodes. Setting a police show in a place going through a period of unique challenges really enhanced the show.
Skin (2003) Two mismatched teens (D.J. Cotrona and a blonde, 19-year old Olivia Wilde) fall in love in the midst of a bitter feud between their fathers. Hers is a pornographer/crooked businessman (Ron Silver) and his is the District Attorney with political ambitions (Kevin Anderson). Six episodes total. Great show!
What I remember most about skin was there was an ad for it with the line “AND HIS FATHER IS THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY!!!” that aired so much that summer before it premiered it became a catch phrase for a while but then no one watched the show itself.
Yeah, l liked that show. Ended on a bit of a downer cliffhanger, which sucked. His FBI girlfriend was very easy on the eyes, too.
Oops. I forgot to mention…I’m not Canadian. : ) Close, though!
I turn on GetTV just now, and they are showing the only series that made Doug McClure look good by pairing him with William Shatner-Barbary Coast. McClure is a master thespian compared to Shatner, I swear.
I remember that show, though I never watched it.