Speaking of things whose time may have come again. . .
We find ourselves on the verge of Hard Times (thank you, Richard Pryor), and it seems like all sorts of things are coming back. I saw a thing on Shine that said the, lord help us all, scrunchy is coming back. And the news seems to be telling me that going “postal” is making a return. Why not bring back something good? How about cheap TV shows? Specifically, The Gong Show.
Ah, yes. The Gong Show. Chuck Barris barely able to make it through a one-liner without cracking himself up. Z-list celebrities armed with a mallet. And people with a tiny talent, and a dream.
That’s what really made The Gong Show work. The prize was $515.32. People weren’t on the show for the dough. They were there because maybe what they could do wouldn’t ever make them rich and famous. But maybe it could get them 15 minutes. Just about anybody will make a fool of themselves for a million dollars. But it takes somebody special to make a fool of themselves for 500 bucks. Dog trainers. Chicken trainers. Jugglers. People who could make their belly buttons look like they could whistle. Comics with paper bags over their heads. Mimes (Forget it, mime boy. Not even on the Gong Show). And maybe, just maybe, somebody with something special might just sneak in. But there’s no guarantee that the lady with the trained chicken won’t beat them.
And of course it also worked because of . . . Gene Gene the Dancing Machine! [pause to visualize happy guy in green polyester track jacket boogeying across the stage – go, Gene, go!] Those bits of cheerful mayhem, benevolent anarchy and random celebration. Why stop in the middle of the show for a dance break? Cause you can. Cause it’s fun. Just to feel good.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Comedy Central did bring back the Gong a few months back with Dave Attell as host - it was "okay" -- I love Atell and the guests were entertaining (they booked a lot of freaks and geeks acts), but I think we are all too jaded for it and too much American Idol under-the-bridge to put up with lousy talent now.
I can get behind that scrunchy thing - got a show box full I'd love to unload on Ebay!
I can see why the GS would tank with Attell. I like him, but you'd need almost a completely lack of irony to be able to pull off the Chuck Barris gig.
I'm only dismayed about the return of the scrunchy. But I swear by all that's holy - if they try to bring back the banana clip, I'm going to go live in a cave in Alberta, Canada.
Post a Comment