The In-Sect - tv

Recently I found out that “The Flintstones” is still running on the same spot at the same time as it did 20 years ago. Fascinated by the fact that this rough drawn, badly animated show still is understood by the audience. And I realized that “The Simpsons” is just a modern version of “The Flintstones”. Homer and Fred could be brothers.
And Ralph Kramden (The Honeymooners), Al Bundy (Married With Children), Dan Connor (Roseanne) and Tim Taylor (Home Improvement) are part of that gene pool too. Why are fathers in comedy shows always lazy, big-mouthed, unadept, mendacious and dim-witted? What about a little variety?
I’m not saying there aren’t comedies with different scenarios – but when family life is the focus of the show the secret of success is a blundering dad. Since 50 years!

Far away, in a time when creationists still dwelled with their dinosaur friends down under a stone in the Bible Belt, Lancelot Link, the Secret Chimp set out to free the world from the evil plans of CHUMP (Criminal Headquarter for Underworld Master Plans). His tv show “Lancelot Link” was a very cheap spoof of the James Bond universe and I really can’t remember why I ever thought it was funny. It showcases several chimpanzees chewing bubble gum overdubbed by daffy human voices and – ...err… – that’s it. The first season was accompanied by cartoons and songs from Link’s band, “The Evolution Revolution”, starring Link on guitar, Mata Hairy on tambourine and Blackie on the drums.
Watch an episode: Surfing Spy, listen to the Evolution Revolution or get mesmerized by Mata’s Dance of the Seven Veils.

Clicking my way through YouTube yesterday I found two clips from a famous tv show called “This is Your Life” from 1954.

Part I	Part II

Something about that show made me very sad and depressed. Laurel and Hardy is the best and most famous comedy double act in the history of cinema. They’ve influenced comedy so sustainable I dare to say: Without this duo there’d be no Jim Carrey, Shrek, Jack Black or almost any other modern comedian.
They were REALLY surprised about the invitation – Stan Laurel was actually angry about this stunt. “Oliver and I were always planning to do something on TV. But we never dreamed that we would make our television debut on an unrehearsed network program. I was damned if I was going to put on a free show for them!”. Stan was 64 and Oliver 62 years old and they were working as a duo for 27 years when Ralph Edwards dumbfounded them. This is their only television appearance in America and the audible gasp at the start of the show is due to the fact that the audience was unaware they were still alive.

Laurel and Hardy in 1956
Oliver was already suffering under his bad heart’s condition at that time and began to lose weight. Two years later he had lost more than 100 pounds, but several strokes took him down nevertheless and he died on August 7, 1957. Stan was not able to attend his funeral and he never performed again. Instead he spend his days answering every fan letter personally. About 1962 a new generation of comedians – Jerry Lewis and Dick Cavett, to name two – re-discovered the work of these slapstick superstars. Stan died in 1965 in Santa Monica. The artwork above is from Sebastian Krüger.

If you listened to the radio or watched television in the last 20 years, the propability that you do NOT know “Weird Al” is rather low. Just like Mr. Phelps marrying Rupert Everett, I’d estimate. Here you can see his first television appearance on the legendary “Tomorro Show” with Tom Snyder. Tom Snyder was famous to feature all kind of performers, all punk stars you can think of visited him for example. One of the most bizarre interviews was with Kim Fowley, manager of “The Runaways”, an all-girl punk band. “May I say, Kim,” Tom Snyder said to the heavily rouged Kim Fowley, “You look ridiculous tonight!”
You can see “Weird Al” performing his second single together with Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz, the man drumming on his accordion case. This was their first collaboration. Schwartz still plays the drums on every Yankovic track and maintains his website, too.
You can buy The Tomorrow Show – Punk & New Wave, visit Weird Al’s homepage or have a look at Jon’s homepage from here.

Have you got a geek in your family? Want to know about a classy present for her/him? Buy an original from “The Shatner Show”, an exhibiton with only one topic: William Shatner! Over 70 artists participated and the result is a very entertaining and intelligent collection. You can buy originals via eMail, prices differ between 100 and 15,000 dollars. If your budget is a little stretched you may prefer to buy the book for about 50 bucks. The show runs until August, the 31st at the Uppercase Gallery in Calgary.
Visit The William Shatner Show (To browse through the pictures simply click on any artist’s name.) There is a blog about the show: The Captain’s Blog Found at Drawn.

Other Shatner related links at the In-Sect: Shatner’s Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Kirk and Spock – True Love and Spock Carved Emu Egg $95.00

Do you remember the scandal created by the close up photographs of crying toddler faces? Popular photographer Jill Greenberg made her infantile victims cry by taking away their candies. Many were shocked by this methods. Jill Greenberg, 40, mother of two was bombarded with hatemail. Francis Bavierè from Brussels, Belgium makes his readers aware of these three commercials for the Belgian quiz show “Blokken”. (Based on a pun: ‘Blokken’ is the Flemish word for building bricks like Lego) BTW: The concept of Blokken is quite interesting – it is entirely based on Tetris! And don’t forget to see the commercials (which were never broadcasted): Noha, Florentin and Louis. I think there is no long-term damage done, but it’s low-down anyway.