TV FunhouseSaturday TV Funhouse is a segment on NBC's Saturday Night Live featuring cartoons created by SNL writer Robert Smigel.[1] 101 "TV Funhouse" segments aired on SNL between 1996 and 2008, with one further segment airing in 2011. It also spawned a short-lived spinoff series, TV Funhouse, that aired on Comedy Central. ProductionProgrammed to air between the host segments of Saturday Night Live, TV Funhouse parodied such genres as 1950s educational films, Saturday morning Hanna-Barbera/Filmation cartoons of the 1970s and 1980s, and the 1960s stop motion holiday specials of Rankin/Bass.[2] ¨Any episode of TV Funhouse appearing on Saturday Night Live would be listed by the announcer as "A cartoon by Robert Smigel. The animation was produced by J.J. Sedelmaier Productions for its first three seasons until Wachtenheim/Marianetti Animation took over primary animation production duties. Recurring SNL TV Funhouse skits
Disney parodiesThe February 10, 2001, episode, "Ray of Light," parodies the controversy over Ray Lewis's involvement in an Atlanta homicide. Although Lewis went on to become the Super Bowl XXXV MVP, he was unable to utter the famous line "I'm going to Disney World!" The skit was involved with Disney "making it up" to Lewis by placing him in various Disney animated movies. Lewis would be shown fleeing the scene of Disney character death scenes, frequently uttering "I didn't see nothin'!" "Bambi 2002," a poke at Disney's penchant for direct-to video sequels at the time, imagines a sequel to the original movie where Bambi's mother turns up alive. The title character fights stylized terrorist types, meets Jared Fogle, and performs a rap music number in the forest. Also in the sketch are moments involving some of Disney's darker issues, as well as some pornographic humor. On April 15, 2006, Robert Smigel again parodied Disney's home video moratorium policy, as well as Walt Disney's alleged racism and anti-Semitism. When two kids are brought to the Disney Vault by Mickey Mouse, they find Walt's frozen head, several controversial things that were never released, the "very original version" of Song of the South that Walt only screened at parties, and Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog bound and gagged in a chair, Mickey Mouse breaks down and quotes "He wouldn't sell! He wouldn't sell...!" (a reference to a broken deal between The Jim Henson Company and The Walt Disney Company c. 1990 following Henson's death; Disney bought the Muppets franchise in 2004, 2 years prior to the sketch). NBC specialOn April 29, 2006, NBC aired a full-length, 90-minute SNL "best of" special for TV Funhouse. The special was hosted by The Ambiguously Gay Duo interacting with the current SNL cast with a cameo from Jimmy Fallon.[3] The special was released on DVD October 24, 2006. Fox PilotIn 1998, Fox commissioned a pilot from Smigel and Stamatopoulos. An earlier version of what would become Comedy Central's show, "Saturday TV Funhouse" was a dark parody of Bozo, with Smigel playing Prozo, a half-drunk clown. While living in Chicago, Smigel became fascinated with WGN-TV's Bozo’s Circus.[4] He researched old television shows, and with the help of Doug Dale, who played fellow clown Looky, found footage of 1970s children shows such as Gigglesnort Hotel and The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show. After that they started coming up with ideas for the show.[5] The pilot began with an episode of "Fun With Real Audio." Next in the studio, a character named "Ringmaster Ted" introduces the show and its characters as he stands in front of the audience filled with children and parents. Prozo, “most people’s favorite clown,” played by Smigel; his “kooky pal Looky,” played by Doug Dale; “the mysterious Wizzy,” played by Stamatopoulos; a cat puppet that is licking itself named Furball; and a three-piece TV Funhouse Band, fronted by Floyd Vivino. Some of the segments featured include: Prozo leading the studio audience in song: "If you're Jewish and you know it, clap your hands!"[6] a sketch in which the clowns reenact the Camp David Accords between Bill Clinton, Yasir Arafat, and Benjamin Netanyahu with a trolly full of pies, and an episode of The Ambiguously Gay Duo, among others. A deleted scene showed a sketch featuring Bozo and a speaking outhouse, voiced by Stephen Colbert.[7] In 2002, Smigel said of Fox declining to show the pilot: "I know this thing is all about 'Fuck the networks! They're idiots! But I don't know...This show has a disturbing element."[6] In June 2009, Just for Laughs sponsored an event at the Lakeshore Theater in Chicago to present the pilot, “I wanted to do the Bozo parody as close to the real thing (Bob Bell) as possible,” Smigel said in the Q&A after, “I didn’t want to do the angry clown thing.”[4][8] Comedy Central's TV Funhouse
The spinoff series was somewhat of a twisted Pee-Wee's Playhouse-style children's TV show, hosted by Doug Dale and his "Anipals" puppet friends. PlotEvery episode had a different theme to it (e.g., "Hawaiian Day" or "Astronaut Day") and saw the Anipals usually getting into some sort of trouble, not wanting to do whatever their happy-go-lucky host had in mind for the day. The theme song describes this show as the "last cartoon show of the day". This show didn't show any cartoons from The Ambiguously Gay Duo, The Michael Jackson Show, and/or The X-Presidents despite some of its characters appearing in the theme song. ProductionThe Comedy Central version of TV Funhouse premiered in December 2000 and was not picked up for a second season. Interviews with Smigel indicate that Comedy Central believed in the show, but was disappointed in how it went over budget every episode. Smigel has also expressed how difficult the show was and how tedious the puppet-live animal segments were to shoot. The show was released on DVD July 22, 2008, under the title Comedy Central's TV Funhouse. Recurring skits
Episodes
Cast
Anipal Voices
References
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