Oddity Archive: Episode 272 - Great Comedians (Not-So-Great Sitcoms)
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- Опубліковано 15 лис 2023
- Even the comedy gods (and goddesses) have their off days…
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The Tim Conway Show from 1970,featuring the struggling airline, diner owner, competing airline, etc. made me think of Wings, only Wings lasted longer than 13 weeks.
I have one Puzzling Question that IRRITATES me: Why the HELL is it in B&W if its from 1970?
Yeah, that's what I came here to say. There are so many similarities, it makes me wonder if the creators were doing some kind of homage.
@@Tornado1994 Ben mentioned that these recordings were Kinescope recordings, the originals are lost media.
@@lensmann4002 I thought by 1970, that Kinescope was both Obsolete and Defunct. By '70, VTR Quadroplex was the Standard and had Been since about 1963.
@@Tornado1994 You might be right, but if I am not mistaken, very early VCR's back then, like the U-matic, only recorded in black and White.
Another unexpected earworm in the form of the “Nearly Departed” theme song. Playing in my head long after that portion of the episode was over.
Playing it over the end credits probably helped too. :D
@@OddityArchive Indeed Benny! I sorta Remember "Nearly Departed" but by 1989, I was watching stuff like "Open House" instead or Empty's Nest or even that Forgotten Alan Young Vehicle that was test running at this point in time.
Try another earworm - the theme from UK Sitcom, "One Foot in the Grave". Also written and sung by Idle.
07:01 Benny boy, that's the 7 Network lower frame supers we used here in Australia - in fact I probably put this to air here as I was a continuity director (coordinator) for that network at that time. I remember this series aired over the summer 'off' period, it was awful!
You poor bloke. I guess 7 were especially desperate to fill the gaps between the end of the ratings season and the Australian Open that year.
I'm guessing that the grandfather waffling on whether or not he can hear the ghosts was an "old people suffer from hearing loss" joke that they didn't do a very good job at establishing.
Well, you and I already discussed my remembrance of Nearly Departed, Ben, so I'll leave it right there.
As for Tim Conway, I only really remember his variety (I think) show from the late 70s or so, where he used to walk out of the "i" in the big "Tim" onto the stage to open the show. I thought that was cool.
Life with Lucy I had never heard of until I read about it in an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, and just about all of it was true that you said. She hired people who weren't cut out for 80s comedy or even able to do their jobs like they used to, and ABC couldn't do a thing about it because she had complete creative control. Lucy felt the public no longer loved her and never appeared on TV or in the movies again after this. (Oh, I did catch your little "copyright skirtaround" by airing the clips in mirror-image. I recall when I watched the first and only episode I ever did the stairs in the house on the right side of the screen.)
I feel the next time you do this, it should be actual stand-up comics with failed sitcoms. There are quite a few, like Richard Jeni's "Platypus Man", Rodney Carrington's "Rodney", "The George Carlin Show", "The Redd Foxx Show" from the 80s, etc.
Yep-was getting flagged otherwise.
I sorta Enjoyed the Tim Conway Dorf Golf Videos, I hadn't seen Conway in much before except for Variety Shows. My one question about the Conway Show is this: Why The Hell would CBS air a Black & White Sitcom IN 1970?!
Life With Lucy, Yes I remember it. My Mom watched it BRAND New in The Fall of 1986 with her Fiancée(My Stepfather) at the time. I did watch some of it on TV Land around 2008, prior to that, TV Land had Aired Syndicated Broadcasts of Lucy and Desi Comedy Hour(1961) and Here's Lucy(1973) during like 1999 and 2004.
I KNEW Ben was going reference how raspy and Chesterfield Wrecked her voice was at this point. It was unavoidable. Lucy's 3 Pack a Day Cigarette habit had inflicted serious damage on her beautiful voice. Also to note, Desi Arnaz passed away from Lung Cancer about 2 Weeks after Life With Lucy was canceled in the middle of its 1st Season run.
This was the First "Study in Contrast" OA video I've seen from Ben in a long time and I enjoyed Every minute of it. TWO THUMBS up Ben!!!!
Eric did have the “Rutland Weekend Show” (if i got the name right) with Neil Innes from Bonzo Dog Band. Together they created a novelty band that, dare i say, is comparable in popularity to Weird Al Yankovic, The Rutles. So in that, i say Eric Idle had somewhat of a successful solo career.
Those were all in the 70’s (and those didn't really get loved until years later). My argument was that the 80’s-early 2000’s weren’t so kind. The Rutles (and especially Neil Innes) have gotten their share of love from me.
Rutland Weekend Television.
@@OddityArchive The 90s were even WORSE for Idle. He needed to fire his Agent. Especially with the Disasters he was cast in for 1998: Quest For Camelot, Burn Hollywood,Burn and Secret of NIHM 2.
@@OddityArchiveWell, post Meaning of Life which was the last Monty Python thing out there.
Another short-lived sitcom with a great comedian was "Lotsa Luck" with Dom Deluise. A fave for the New York set.
A poor man's version of LWT's On The Buses IMO.
I thought the show was really good, it just didn't get a fair shake. Maybe another time slot would have helped them last for about 4-5 seasons.
I can categorically confirm to Benny-boy and subscribers to this awesome channel that we Brits did indeed get inflicted with all six episodes of Nearly Departed, and the theme tune was the best bit of the show. If anything, it proved that Eric Idle was a very good songwriter (EDIT: and still is!!), although his sitcom magnum opus was still a few years away in the form of One Foot In The Grave.
Shout out to UA-camr @PabSungenis and his excellent series "13 Week Theater" for doing deeper episodes about Nearly Departed and Life With Lucy!
I actually watched Nearly Departed when it first aired in the US. I was really excited about the idea of an Eric Idle sitcom. My father said, "yeah I don't think this is going to last." It is strange, seeing it now.
In the 50s my parents loved Lucy . I on the other hand became sick and tired of her but she kept coming back , by the time of her last seris i was on my own and could compleatly ignore her and i still refuse to watch her in reruns .
Eric Idle is also know as the voice of Declan Desmond on The Simpsons. I think it’s his best voiceover role of his career!!!!
I first heard of Life with Lucy in the book What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Moments in Television History. It seemed pretty clear that the show suffered from playing it too safe. Apparently Lucy wanted to do something different, but got talked into going with what seem like the safe bet. The show is another indicator of why Aaron Spelling, for all his success, as a television producer, largely shied away from producing sitcoms.
At least Eric Idle had a memorable role in the Transformers Movie (1986) as Wreck-Gar.
Agreed totally about Tim Conway. Not every actor/actress is supposed to be a leading actor and that's ok. Conway was his best paired with others, especially Harvey Korman.
I give Eric all the credit in the world trying to get that show to almost work. Just look at him basically killing himself to elevate that eye chart "joke." I know that 80's sitcoms usually came in 2 main flavors, obnoxiously wholesome families and gimmick that possibly could work for a season at best. And sometimes they merged. Nearly Departed feels like it was a couple years too late, if anything. But worse, the production values scream bad, forgettable syndicated 80's sitcom. I get more "Out of this World" vibes from this show if anything. And it looks like it could be capable of some over the top, glorious inspired nonsense had the writers really pushed the concept, but didn't to conform to a sitcom blandness.
I was doing the math and he was in his 50's while doing that... I am in my 50's right now and I know that "Killing himself" for the physical joke is an apt statement. I couldn't do that without several breaks in between the shots. So yeah - give him credit for at least trying his best to make the show work.
Idle would've been around 45 at the time.
@@OddityArchive That shows you why I was always crap at math class when I was in school.
@@OddityArchive to be fair, back in those days people in their 40s looked like what people in their 50s look like these days
@@TimothyCollins Eric didn't half ass most of his 80's- 00's gigs. He was a guest star, if not regular, of a few D-company cartoon series, and he was quite memorable in those roles. An episode of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command had him not only guest star, but also write a very Python-esque song for the episode as well.
American TV didn't get the Topper format right until now, with Ghosts.
I think Eric Idle made more money out of doing the theme to "One Foot In The Grave" than anything else he did in the 80s and 90s.
Maybe that's why Eric Idle never talks about his career after Python.
@@Stephie2007 Especially with the Films he was in during 1998. THREE Crap Films including the Disaster Burn,Hollywood,Burn.
Eric Idle's greatest contribution to the sitcom genre was the One Foot In The Grave theme, though the Dearly Departed theme is pretty good too (looks like the best part of the entire series).
8:17 Not on the topic of Comedians but Bill Cullen gave himself the title of "18 Weeks" as that was how long a majority of his shows lasted. Those being Winning Streak, Blankety Blanks, Pass The Buck, The Love Experts, Chain Reaction, Child's Play and Hot Potato (and a few others but those are the ones I know off the top of my head).
I actually liked "Nearly Departed"! It wasn't conventional humour but I thought a lot of the jokes were solid compared to their contemporaries in other sitcoms of the era.
As we were getting closer to the 90s, sitcoms started becoming more ensemble based rather than the radio-era comedian as the top billing. Ball never really adapted to that and combined with the action-adventure series maturing in the late 70s to early 80s, led to her show getting tied with Hunter its debut week.
Hunter's THIRD Season Ironically.
I remember watching Nearly Departed at least once when it aired. All I remembered was that Eric Idle played a ghost and nothing else.
The running theme with these series was that their whole premise is based almost entirely on one gag or idea of a gag, (that would normally be one sketch on a comedy show), that's been stretched out over double figure episodes to try and wring out as much of it as is humanly possible. The comedy show equivalent of taken one dollop of jam and spreading it over all the slices in an entire loaf of bread. As a one-off, 'sandwich', is passable, but to thin it out over several slices ends up being bland, tasteless and mostly bread.
I was trying to think of the other movie similar to Topper, and then remembered it was Blithe Spirit. Same premise.
Topper was itself made as a TV series for two seasons and -yikes! - 78 episodes, in the 1950s. Cranking out such a huge volume of episodes without repeating yourself must have been a huge challenge for writers back in the day.
@@suedenimIf they did 78 episodes of Topper, then it's testament to the ability of the scriptwriters, managing to get so much out of what is a very limited premise.
Very similar to all the movies based on SNL sketches. Blues Brothers and Wayne's World are the outliers that actually worked. Many of the others overstayed their welcome even before they became movies, like Stuart Smalley and Night at the Roxbury, which were never funny.
Does Bea Arthur's work in Amanda's count?
TV Guide said it best as to why the Tim Conway show didn't work "Some people are just born second bananas, unfortunately when they moved from the background to the foreground, their quirks become irks"
I remember watching the eye test episode of the Eric Idle sitcom when it originally aired, and I haven't seen it again until now. As a kid, I thought it was hilarious, but in hindsight, it pales in comparison to the classic Taxi episode in which the crew are trying to help Jim pass the driver's test. I wonder if that's what they were going for. I'm always amazed that someone can keep failing at starring in TV shows, as Tim Conway did, and keep getting chances to fail again. I guess it's all based on his initial success as a comedian on other shows. The same seems to be happening with George Lopez. He made one great sitcom, and has had a multitude of failed starring shows since then. Like Tim Conway, they all have his name in the title. As for "Life with Lucy", the only good thing I can say about it is that it was referenced on "Growing Pains' in a classic episode. Eddie said to Mike Seaver, "This is the greatest news I've heard since Lucy came back to TV". How off-base that comment turned out to be.
Benny boy, keep on keeping on! Love the content!
Great Job Benny, I was actually disappointment you were finished when the last piece was done. Thanks
Ben "Oddity Archive" Minnotte and Blair "Illuminaughtii" Zon(She's truly humbled her Channel now) are the Experts at Ted Talk. Like TRUE Bosses at it! I've subbed to some Newer TED Talkers like NationSquid,Tariq and even CaptainMidnight, but None of them have the Amazing Charisma and Brilliance of Ben and Blair. Everytime I hear Benny, I feel like I'm getting a Lecture from a College Professor, whenever I here Ms Blair, I'm getting an Oral Essay from a High School Home Room Teacher.
Ben Shouldn't have just 47k Subs, but 500k. The World is simply unfair at times.
Fun fact: my little brother used to refer to the show as "Nearly Defarted"
I actually remember the show Nearly Departed, I don't remember much of it, but considering it was on for a month.... I recall the eye chart scene, for got all about that! For the next episode of failed sitcoms, Ben will have to cover "The Nutt House."
I have no conscious memory of "Nearly Departed" but as soon as I heard the theme song I somehow knew it. I guess I watched it - I was a weird kid who was into stuff like "Topper" and I would have been 14 so I guess I did but it clearly left no impression except for the song. Between this and Commander Zoom the OA has unlocked peculiar music from the back of my child brain more than any other channel I watch.
I caught 'Life with Lucy' earlier in the year for the first time (the one with the out of control foam shown here) and it felt awful. I got the impression of a show created BY Lucy, FOR Lucy, and everyone else was just set dressing and bland human props for her even-then-outdated comedic stylings, and NOBODY was going to tell a TV legend "no". Sounds like it wasn't just me thinking that. ;)
Even from the brief snippets seen in this video, "Life with Lucy" is the most blatant vanity project I've ever seen.
@@TheKnobCalledTone. Desi Arnaz's Death just 2 Weeks after it was Quickly Canceled added insult to injury.
On the topic of failed sitcoms would you ever consider covering Lynch and Frost's stab at making a sitcom, "On the Air"? While I'm not sure if I'd call it bad or just plain weird, having watched it myself, I think it would be something that would fit the archive well.
Nearly Departed was great. I wish that Caroline McWilliams got to play more of a part, but I think she understood her role as Eric's sidekick.
Oh my god, I liked I love Lucy, but her fake crying and Ricky's laugh drove me nuts. I am a big fan of the George and Gracie show, how can you go wrong with Bea Benaderet, Fred Clark and later
Larry Keating, he could run a string of words most people would need a dictionary to understand or spell, that's my 2 cents worth.
That is for Network 7 in Australia.
I remember Nearly Departed, but I didn't remember it being an Eric Idle vehicle. It was too much of a Beetlejuice knock off for me to get into.
Topper was also a TV series in the 1950s and ran for 2 seasons
Archive Thursday!!!!
Life with Lucy was really not good at all. Nearly departed was really a lull in Eric Idle’s career. I saw both when they originally aired. The Tim Conway show I am glad I didn’t, as I was just born. Great episode Ben.
My Mom and Stepfather(They were engaged at the time) Both Watched Life With Lucy in '86, I stayed up one night to watch it with them, and even at 3 and a half I could tell it had none of the Charm of I Love Lucy(Which was brought to Nick at Nite the Same year).
Never watched the Tim Conway show, I'm flabbergasted that IN 1970, CBS would air a New B&W Show. This defies ALL logic. Color TV was the STANDARD in '70.
I didn't know Tim Conway was actually in "The Tim Conway Show." I thought it was just a coincidence.
The problem with Life with Lucy was the family. There were too many scenes with the family, not enough with Lucy and her business partner. When they brought in her sister, it was terrific.
I'm about double Benny Boy's age. Every day, 100 pushups is part of my warmup. Sat or Sunday I do 1000. Young Ben is more likely to get hurt doing a prat fall than I would be = 0% chance.
Thank You!!! Ben, I Love Your Stuff!!! 👍 You Rock Bro!!! 🎸
Wendy Schaal is on American Dad!
Is that Kenny from Frasier?
I agree with you 100% on Life with Lucy, Lucy, a real Great funny woman, by this time had totally wore out all of the Gags she had used for so many years,, , and Gale Gordon,, I think his mind was failing..
The show probably wouldn't have been made if Beetlejuice wasn't such a big hit. Caroline McWilliams had been on Soap and Benson and was coincidentally married to Michael Keaton at the time. They divorced in 1990.
How sad the way how both Lucille Ball & Tim Conway ended their storied careers.
At least Eric Idle is keeping busy these days. 😅
One more comment: When your show does worse in the ratings than the analysis of a president's speech, eesh. (And what does that say about Ellen Burstyn?)
Eric Idol is great in anything he’s in!
1998 says otherwise: "Quest For Camelot", "Secret of NIMH 2" and "Burn Hollywood Burn". With the LATTER two being utterly ATROCIOUS films.
I agree that Nearly Departed would work better as a one off like a film, but a TV series with that premise would defiantly lose its steam after a few episodes.
Saddly Lucy got typecast
Caroline McWilliams was the Women from Benson and Soap and Stuart Pankin is from Not-Necessarily The News though NBC had so many hits back then, this show was always gonna fail. Today, NBC would have this Dearly Departed on for 4 Seasons
Not even John Ritter could save Lucy's final sitcom. I watched that episode years ago and that was the only enjoyable one.
I never knew the first two shows existed. I am a huge Python fan, but damn! I thought Idle was slumming when he showed up in Epcot's Journey into Imagination ride...that ghost show looks like total crap. I was 21 when that show premiered but must have been out drinking when it was on. It seems that was a better choice than watching it. Tim Conway was never more that a second banana. I've seen some of his other shows and they were as crappy as the pilot thing. I've never been a Lucy fan so I never paid attention to it when it was current.
Tim Conway worked best in bits and pieces. Carrying an entire show with the material he got stuck with would've doomed anyone.
Nearly Departed has Beetlejuice vibes...
Was it a late-80s/early 90s sitcom without Stuart Pankin?
This was actually a good episode. Nearly Departed actually sounds like something that Fox, or Adult Swim could have put on the air and people wouldn't bat an eye. As for Eric Idle...in my honest opinion, his best was the film Nuns on the Run with the late Robbie Coltrane. As for Life with Lucy...I don't think Lucille Ball liked this one bit. Though it seems the 70s and 80s were littered with short-lived sitcoms. Mainly She's the Sheriff starring Suzanne Somers, which could be an episode for a different day...and Sister Kate which was a good premise, but 6 years too late.
She's The Sheriff is in the running for another syndicated sitcoms episode.
@@OddityArchivecongratulations for making "actually a good episode!"
It seems like 1989 was a cutthroat year for sitcoms across the board. We had the misfire that was "Nearly Departed"...And the brilliant sitcom "The Nutt House" cancelled.
Not my doing.
Eric Idle with Neil Innis and a few of the Pythons after Monty Python did Rutland Weekend Television . Imagine a Cable TV station based in Rural England . Rutland was a tiny county that no longer exists. RWT went mostly under radar and was never herd of in North America . It's a shame, it's humor is more "rural" and sweeter than Monty Python and a lot of music including George Harrison ua-cam.com/play/PL7ukw63OYcTi7K0M1URAc9qEkKpNLRNeO.html