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My all-time favorite scene from the West Wing

A winning formula for comedy:
Josh Lyman's arrogance + C.J.'s stitches + Danny's assertiveness

When SNL Was Still Funny

It may seem like ancient history, but I can actually remember a time when Saturday Night Live was still funny. Their commercial spoofs were always among my faves. Here are three that really triggered some good belly-laughs!

Not your average breakfast cereal...

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Now that's some fresh chicken!

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Ask your dealer if it's right for you.

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Welcome to the National Cheese Emporium

I now understand why I have the memory of a flea. A quick check of toy commercials from the 1980s just activated vast stores of archived neurons totally devoted to remembering cheesy catch phrases.

"... the last time Bobby was allowed in Michael's room"


"Pretty sneaky, sis."


"... eyes and ears and funny noses, and hands you can bend in so many poses..."


"... get the most marbles for your hippo..."


"... great rewards await you."

Ron Popeil: American Icon

From wikipedia:
Ronald M. Popeil (born May 3, 1935 in New York City) is an inventor and marketing personality, best known for his direct response marketing company Ronco. He is well known for his appearances in infomercials for the Showtime Rotisserie ("Set it, and forget it!") and for using Ed Valenti's (Ginsu knife creator) famous lines, "But wait, there's more!" and "Now how much would you pay?" Each phrase followed the addition of another item or feature to the catalog of a product's advantages or attachments. The advertisements frequently answered the "how much?" question with potential prices, followed by the dramatically lower actual price, which was also a Valenti creation.

To this day I still want one of those showtime rotisserie ovens, especially with only four easy payments...


Maybe I'll cook some marlin I catch with this...


Dice up my veggies with the chop-o-matic (courtesy of Ron's dad)...


Entertain my guests with some smooth vocals...


And have those chilled martinis ready...


Here's some great editing of Ron's other-wordly knife set...


And the funniest spoof of infomercials ever...

Great Monologues

Unfortunately I already posted that classic clip from Network, but I still have a number of favorite monologues (or in some cases, close to monologues... at least they are dominated by one character). Per usual, they run the full range.

Roger Dodger -- "Staving Off Obsolesence"


Terrance Mann -- "People Will Come, Ray"


Spalding Gray -- "Swimming to Cambodia"


George Carlin -- "Modern Man"


Neil Page -- "Everything is not an anecdote!"


Linus -- "The Meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown"

Who says life isn't choreographed?

I keep waiting for the moment when life erupts into a chorus of song and a rhythm of well-timed dance moves.

My senior prom would have looked like this...


Or maybe this...


I'd find love this way...


Go off to Bollywood for moments like this...


And even enjoy jury duty so much more...

Something a bit more serious... and beautiful

The Lost Art of Infomercials

I've often dreamed of writing the great American novel in which the main character was a screenwriter for infomercials (true story!). Here are just a few of my all-time favorites.

The Magic Bullet


Spray-On Hair


Tom Vu's Profit Seminar


The Ginsu Knife

The Bit Characters of Seinfeld

While the chemistry between Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine is a thing of beauty, some of my all-time favorite Seinfeld moments revolve around the bit characters. I'll do a separate post on Jerry's parents (and George's could have an entire blog devoted to them!), and I've yet to locate a clip on the infamous "doorman", but here are a few of the folks who made me laugh.

The best ever -- Mr. Bookman, library cop


Jack Klompus -- sponge cake, $19.45 and the pen


Izzy Mandelbaum -- "It's go time!"


Alton Benes -- "They blew his brains out all over the Pacific."


Marisa Tomei -- "Have I told you how much I love you today?"


The Mohel -- "Deep, deep into the shag..."


Mel Torme -- "...The whole world smiles with you."


The most overrated -- The Soup Nazi

"I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"

This classic scene for Network is one my all-time favorite rants. It found something of a reincarnation in the smart (and thus short-lived) "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."

Great American Political Oratory

dissoi logoi

From the Ancient Greek meaning "different words"... and the reason that two fundamentally different points of view can be so compelling and yet seemingly consistent.

Might as well start at the pinnacle and shoot for balance. In the post-war era, it's hard to top these two speeches.

Mario Cuomo, 1984 DNC -- "A Tale of Two Cities"


Ronald Reagan, 1964, RNC -- "A Time for Choosing"


Of course, I'd still argue that neither could shake a stick at this chap...

Political Ads: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

So far in '08 I think the most creative political ad has got to be Obama's "Vote Different" (see recent post). And while I search for a link to Jesse Ventura's infamous "Action Figure" ad from his Minnesota gubernatorial campaign, I thought I'd put the spotlight on a few of my faves.

The Good -- "Morning in America"
Reagan for President, 1984


The Bad -- "Daisy"
LBJ for President, 1964


And The Really Ugly -- "Even if it hurts"
Springer for OH Governor, 1980

RIP: George Carlin, Genius of Comedy & Language

Born May 12, 1937; Died June 22, 2008.

On language (my all-time favorite)...


Still more on language...


On the little things we share...

The Music of the West Wing

Its idealistic view of politics aside, The West Wing was a terrific show -- beautifully acted and wonderfully written. One of my favorite things about the show -- and this was something that was consistently good throughout its seven-year run -- was the way in which Soorkin, Walden, etc. incorporated both popular and classic music into the scripts. Here are just a few of my faves.

"The Jackal" by Ronny Jordan


"Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits


"Hallelulah" by Jeff Buckley


"Angel" by Massive Attack


"Ave Maria" by Franz Schubert


"I Don't Like Mondays" by Tori Amos


"Little Drummer Boy" by ?


"He is an Englishman" by Gilbert & Sullivan

Star Trek and Mash-Ups

Oh, where to begin...

Star Trek and Jefferson Airplane


Star Trek and Monty Python


Star Trek and Dallas


Star Trek and Brokeback Mountain


Star Trek and Star Trek

Q. What's more difficult to watch? -- Part 1

A. Miss South Carolina on geography


B. Canadian videographers Fred and Sharon


C. Mark Mathis, former meteorologist extraordinaire


D. Boom goes the dynamite! ('nuf said)

On the 7th day, while resting, God created mash-ups...

(MASH-up) n. A recording that is a composite of samples from other recordings, usually from different styles.

Or, according to Sue Teller, "a fun and adventurous way to make something fresh out of something stale." You've gotta love anyone who drinks Mountain Dew with a straw.


Here's a great mash-up that the Obama campaign did spoofing Apple's "1984" commercial. Big sister is watching.


And at the other end of the spectrum, it's hard to top "farting preacher" Robert Tilton.

The Fertile Ground of Gilbert & Sullivan

I admit it -- I love Gilbert & Sullivan operas. Even more than that, I love when people use the lens of G&S to warp reality and make us laugh. Anything that can run the gamut from Sir Mix-a-Lot to Ray Kurzweil has got to be pretty good stuff.

The Snowball Effect -- Part 2

Here's another good example of how YouTube allows for incredible spoofery. Start with the intro of Battlestar Galactica and, well, just see where it takes you.

The Snowball Effect

I love how videos can take on a life of their own. Take the famous "Joe Canada" Molson advertisement... and see how quickly it deteriorates!

My Television Alter Egos

I don't have to look very far.

The wide-eyed dreamer: Kevin Arnold from "The Wonder Years"


The unsatisfied overarchiever: Alex P. Keaton from "Family Ties"


The benevolent eccentric: Ed Stevens from "Ed"

Half-Hour SitComs: R.I.P.

In this era of painful reality shows and manufactured celebrity docudramas, it’s hard to believe that American television was once home to some extraordinary half-hour sitcoms. Case in point: the Thursday-night NBC lineup circa 1986.

8:00pm -- Cosby Show (1984-1992)

8:30pm -- Family Ties (1982-1989)

9:00pm -- Cheers (1982-1993)

9:30pm -- Night Court (1984-1992)

Here are just a few of my favorite moments.