Tag Archives: music

Sha Na Na S1 E6, E7

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I watched two more episodes of Sha Na Na on YouTube tonight and it has become apparent that the first season of this show had the same strength and weaknesses in them.

Strengths: The songs are great. Specifically, the songs the group does on the stage in front of the studio audience. Donny did a cool rendition of “Come and Go With Me” and led the singing in “Rock Around the Clock.” Johnny, whose voice is so heavenly, did “Teen Angel” and gives an epic sob in the middle. Then, one of the best street songs so far was “Breakin’ Up is Hard to Do” with Donny and Chico taking the main part of the song. This was one of the better choreographed songs so far. Great basketball pass at the end of the song from Santini too.

Weaknesses: Comedy. The comedy on the show just feels too forced. I hate the crowd noises they add because there are several times where it just intrudes on the song. In the comedy song bit “Along Came Jones” the can laughter and applause made it hard to hear the song. Pamela Myers’s acting in this song was atrocious (though she was a Tony-nominated actress). I do not think I have laughed once with the back stage skits from Kenneth Mars, Philip Roth or Jane Dulo. At least Avery Schreiber’s cab driver character has a few laughs.

Two comedians were the guest stars on these episodes with Charles Nelson Reilly and Phyllis Diller. Both had some good moments. I am a big fan of CNR, especially during his days on the Match Game, which he referenced in the episode.

I remember being a fan of Lennie Baker as a child. Being a chubby kid, I related to Lennie. I have to say though, watching him do his background dancing is always funny. Lennie has a tremendous voice though.

I have really enjoyed the musical parts of these shows so far, but the rest have been a bit of a trudge to get through. The music is absolutely the stand out from these talented musicians.

Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl

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I was not sure if I was going to go to this. This was a limited release film coinciding with the release of Taylor Swift’s new record, “The Life of A Showgirl.” I would not be considered a “Swifty” by any stretch of the imagination, but I did go to the ERAs Tour film and I enjoyed it well. It worked into the schedule tonight so I wound up in Cinemark with a ton of teenage girls and a few other adults to see this film.

It is not really a film. It is also not really a concert film. It showed us the brand new video for the song “The Fate of Ophelia,” all of the lyric vids of the other 11 songs, and several behind the scenes shots of Taylor in the prep for the video, both with rehearsing and discussion of the creative.

Taylor Swift was the director of the video as well so she was shown to be the definitive creative force behind it. There were times when it seemed that she would speak and everyone else would just agree with her. I would have liked to see someone make a comment that wasn’t just “Oh how awesome you are.”

As a middle school literacy teacher, I did love the fact that she made a comment about a metaphor, followed by a comment on alliteration and then mentioned imagery. I hope the kids in the theater heard those terms.

As for the music, it was a bit of a mixed bag. It was clear that “The Fate of Ophelia” was the best song on the album. They showed us that video at the beginning of the movie and at the end. It was definitely my personal favorite as well.

I did notice that Taylor Swift’s songs on this album had a tendency to be repetitive, in one specific manner. She seemed as if she ended every song in the exact same way. The music slowed or stopped and she repeated one line that she had sung during the song, as if she were really emphasizing it. It was fine, but I did notice it so I would have liked maybe some variety in the end of the songs.

The songs that I did enjoy included “Elizabeth Taylor,” “Actually Romantic,” “Wood,” “Opalite,” and “Cancelled.” There were two songs that I did not like at all. They were “Father Figure” and “Wi$h Li$t.” “The Eldest Daughter,” “Ruin the Friendship,” and “Honey” were good. The album’s title track, “The Life of a Showgirl” was underwhelming, but not at the level of “Father ZFigure” or “Wi$h Li$t.”

The experience in the theater was as much a reason to go to this as anything else. It was fun with the audience cheering and applauding throughout the film. No one sang along in my theater, but it was fun to be part of the mass.

Overall, this was not much of a film, but it was a solid experience and I was happy to have chosen to see it. “The Fate of Ophelia” is easily the hit of this album and was the most important of the songs with this movie.

3.6 stars

Sha Na Na S1 E3, E4, E5

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Grease for Peace!

I am back with the next three episodes of season one of Sha Na Na. This was one of my favorite shows as a kid and I always looked forward to seeing the next episode.

I just have to say, some of the negatives stand out more for me now than it did when I was a kid. The comedy is downright bad. Very few of these bits were funny at all. The only ones that seemed okay were the ones in the car with one of the members of the band and Ginger. The can laughter made it all the more obvious that it wasn’t funny.

The exception was the bits during episode 5 with Milton Berle. He brought in members of Sha Na Na and would makes jokes with them. These bits felt fairly improv-like and you can see the members of Sha Na Na trying to keep from laughing. Some did better than others. Johnny was working that gum over hard during his moment with Berle.

You do have to respect how they passed around singing responsibilities on the show. In these three episodes, only Santini did not have a lead vocal or a duet. Duke of Earl and Silhouette was performed by Denny. Party Doll and Itsy Bitsy teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini was done by Chico. Whole Lotta Shakin’ was led by Screamin’ Scott. Screamin’ Scott and Jocko combined for Poison Ivy. Bower sang with Ethel Merman with Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better. Lenny sang Too Chubby to Boogie. Dirty Dan sang Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow. Johnny sang the last song of episode five, though I did not recognize the title. The whole group had a part in The Name Game.

Admittedly, some of the background dancing gets too hectic at times and it gives the audience too many things to try and focus on. However, episode five gave us something different as this was the first time that we got to see shots of the live audience and their responses to the stage songs. I liked that variation on what they had done prior.

The dancing was okay during Carol Lawrence’s dance of The One, from the Broadway musical A Chorus Line. The whole group of Sha Na Na provided chorus line dancing.

Episode five was my favorite of these episodes as it felt like they did some different things and the Milton Berle comedy worked so much more than some of the other episode comedy bits.

Sha Na Na S2 E0, E1, E2

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I was on Twitter/X a few days ago and I came across a Tweet by Jon “Bowzer” Bausman stating that the full episodes of the Sha Na Na TV series was going to be available on YouTube soon. I was excited to hear this as this was a big part of my childhood. I loved Sha Na Na and they turned out to be my first ever concert at Five Flags Center in Dubuque.

I have spent years watching musical clips from the show on YouTube and the news about the full episodes was great. I figured I could make this one of my rewatches here at EYG.

I went to YouTube and searched for Sha Na Na series and I found a playlist from pattyoc01, who had been one of the prolific posters of the Sha Na Na clips over the years. The playlist had all of the episodes on it.

I have a feeling this may not have been what Jon Bausman meant when he posted his tweet. I have a suspicion that a more clean and professional version may be coming in the future. However, I was excited to start the rewatch so I dove into the pilot (listed as episode 0) and the first two episodes of the series.

Sha Na Na consisted of the following group members on the show: Bowzer, Johnny, Screamin’ Scott, Santini, Denny, Lennie, Donny, Dirty Dan, Chico, and Jocko.

The musical numbers are far and away the best part of these first three episodes. The comedy on the show was, at best, iffy. Some of it was groan-inducing. I saw another tweet from Bausman stating that he knew the humor of the first season was not the beat, but he felt the following seasons got more clever.

I was always focused on whether they were lip synching the music. I know that they had done, at least for the stage songs, live singing with the instrumental and the back up singing being pre-taped. You could usually tell from the powerhouse vocals of Johnny Contardo. Some of the street songs or comedy sketch bits (such as the Monster Mash bit in the pilot) were clearly being lip synched. It was obvious that Bernadette Peters was not singing live in episode two either. It was not a major issue, but I am more impressed when they let their vocals come through.

A great example of this was in the third episode where five of the group’s best singers, Johnny, Bowzer, Donny, Lennie and Santini sang an a cappella doo wop version of “I Wonder Why.” This was an amazing performance with these five really blending their voices into a fantastic harmony.

Other songs performed in this first three episodes included Blue Moon, Teenager in Love, Yakkety Yak, Tell Laura I Love Her, Rama Lama Ding Dong, Personality, Little Darlin’, and Runaway.

Along with Bernadette Peters in episode two, Rita Moreno and Frank Gorshin guest starred in the other two episodes however whatever Gorshin did seemed to be cut from the episode on YouTube. This is another reason why I think this may not be the collection that Bausman was referring to in his tweet.

I have to say that this is a bizarre series as the show constantly tells you as an audience member that Sha Na Na is terrible. The show puts down their music, their intelligence and everything else. You would think that they shouldn’t be downgrading their stars, even if it is nothing more than a running joke. It is clear that these ten men are remarkably talented (although they may not have been the greatest dancers ever to grace the screen).

Seeing this show once again gives me a huge feeling of nostalgia. I forgot this show when compiling my Top 100 TV Shows list that I am currently counting down with the Daily Countdown on EYG. This should have probably had a spot on that list.

For the first three episodes… Goodnight sweetheart, well it’s time to go…

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

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I am a huge fan of This is Spinal Tap. It is not only a cult classic, but, for me, it is one of my all time favorite movies. So I was very excited when I saw that there would be a sequel bringing the boys back together.

Spinal Tap is David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls. These three, along with director of the film Marty Di Burgi, have been making the promotional rounds, talking about the movie. Of course, these characters are being portrayed in kayfabe by Michael McKeon, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, and director Rob Reiner.

The new “mockumentary” follows the guys as they reunite after years to play one more contractually required concerts. The film is about Spinal Tap getting back together, dealing with their problems and rehearsing for the big show in New Orleans.

I love Spinal Tap and this was a lot of fun. It was great seeing these characters again, even if seeing them aged is a bit of a shock. The music is wonderful. The lines are funny. I assume they did the same kind of improv that they used in the first film.

I am going to say that there was no way this was going to match the first film. This is Spinal Tap is such a brilliant film, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues was never going to be able to reach the levels of the first one. However, this was still a lot of enjoyment. There was something missing in the story. Perhaps it was the tension between the band that was causing that feeling, but there was something that brought the story down a touch.

It does tell you how iconic Spinal Tap is when you can get Paul McCartney and Elton John to come to your film and sing with the band. There were a couple of other cool cameos here including Questlove, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Chad Smith, and Lars Ulrich (of Metallica).

A lot of the jokes are recycled, including clips from the original movie. There are a bunch of new songs, but none of them received the full song version in the film. We do get full versions of “Cups and Cakes,” “Stonehenge,” and “(Listen to the) Flower People.” I would have liked to hear a few of the new songs extended outside of the slight usage in rehearsal footage or band discussion.

These critiques are minor for me as I laughed and enjoyed the reunion film. Fans of the original movie are going to have a lot of fun with this new sequel, which would make a great double feature with the original.

4.4 stars

Crime/Heist

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My creative writing class had to do a 300 word short story in the genre of crime/heist. Here is my story.

What am I doing?

The day was a blur.  How did Reggie talk me into this? I constantly let him talk me into things that I know are stupid ideas?  There was that time we jumped off the cliff together.  We snitched his father’s car and went for a midnight joy ride.  Oh, and that day we messed with that rattlesnake. However, none of those days compared to this.

“Shut up! Do what I say!  Gimme the money!

All Reggie asked me to do was keep watch.  I didn’t know what he meant, but he’s my best friend, and I always do what he asks.  Fool.  I had no idea he intended to rob Friedrickson’s Deli in the middle of the lunch rush.

Worse yet, Reggie was waving around a handgun.  

I should’ve seen this coming.  Reggie has been more defiant since his father ran off.  I knew it was just a matter of time before he exploded.

WHAM

The resounding pistol-whip blow to the head of Friedrickson sent him spiraling toward the ground.  Reggie stood above him displaying a testosterone-fueled rage I have never seen.  I was never more scared of Reggie.

Distantly, the sound of sirens could be heard; the flash of the red and blue filled my eyes.  Reggie knew the situation before I could even get the words out of my mouth.

“The cops!” he shouted, kicking Friedrickson’s ribs.  “What did you do?’

His tone smacked of a strange blend of desperation and acceptance.  

“They’re not taking us alive!”

 Us? Reggie screamed with a sense of unity that I didn’t share.  Reggie shoved me toward the door, brandishing his handgun like a wildman.  Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion; the explosion of Reggie’s bullets rang through the sky.  Oh….no…the police.

BANG BANG BANG!

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #27

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SPOILERS

Part Two

The A & E documentary KISStory Part two is the story of the rock band Kiss, in the second part of their careers.

I still feel as if there are some things missing without Ace Frehley and Peter Criss’s actual involvement in the documentary. Any time Peter or Ace is heard in the doc, it is from archival footage or interviews and the doc started off with a message saying that they chose not to participate and they “do not endorse the views of this program.” That meant that this doc was from the POV of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. I am truly curious how the story might differ.

This part of the doc started off with the band in some internal trouble, though they tried to force their way through it.

HOT TAKE: The Elder is my favorite Kiss album.

However, I may be the only one as the concept album seemed to be mentioned as one of the big mistakes of the group.

Peter Criss left the band, apparently after a concert where he was messing with the timing of the songs. That is one of the main functions of the drummer, and I could understand the feeling of betrayal that would bring up.

Ace Frehley was gone too, not long after Peter, leaving Kiss struggling with new musicians and characters from the band. They no longer had the Catman or the Spaceman in the group.

The doc showed the historic moment on MTV where KISS, for the first time, revealed themselves without the make-up and followed the band as it became another 1980s hair band.

The MTV Unplugged series was the first place where Peter and Ace returned for some songs, giving the idea that there could be a reunion at some point. The reunion tour was huge business and seemed to be a success at the start. However, the same demons that had pulled them apart in the late 70s apparently remained at this time. It was portrayed that Peter was upset over money and the perceived secondary status in the band behind Gene and Paul. I wish I had his official POV to see how accurate that was. Ace appeared to not be one who could handle the fame at the level KISS had reached.

I found myself with so much more respect for guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer, who were in the band and were removed when Ace and Peter returned. That felt tough, but they were total professionals. Tommy was even brought back in to help Peter and Ace get back to their levels of performance, and he wound up doing much of the tour manager duties.

It was a tough section involving the drummer who had replaced Peter in Kiss came up. Eric Carr came into the group and wound up dying form cancer. Paul and Gene told the story of Eric begging them to play on the song “God Gave Rock ‘N Roll To You” for the video, a song they recorded for the Bill & Ted Bogus Journey film. Paul’s description of Eric playing on that video was heartbreaking.

Both weeks of this doc ended really quickly, as it felt like something was being cut off.

I enjoyed this as I was always a fan of KISS, especially when I was younger. I was never an obsessed fan and I would be curious to hear what a deep fan thought of this documentary.

With this two-part doc series done, next week we start with a new show for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk. I think the series that will be next is the HBO show, Lovecraft Country.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #26

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Spoilers

Week twenty-six of the Sunday Morning Sidewalk takes a bit of a turn as we start our first documentary series, a two-part show originally on A & E (which I watched on Disney +) featuring the EYG Hall of Fame rock band known as KISS.

The first episode of the series was about an hour and a half and outlined the early days of the band and their struggle to rise to the top of the record business, all the while struggling with their personal turmoil and behavior.

The doc heavily featured new interviews from Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, but only had archival footage or interviews with band members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. There was a disclaimer that appeared in the documentary stating that Ace and Peter refused to participate in KISStory and did not agree with the presentation. That really triggered my curiosity. I knew that there had been issues between the band for years, especially with Ace and Peter, and I wanted to know why they refused to participate. Online, what I could find was that Ace and Peter refused because the amount of money offered was insultingly low and that they wanted final editing rights. I don’t know where that came from. Apparently, Peter Criss also refused to allow the song “Beth” to be used in the doc so that was in my head the entire time they were discussing the success of that song and how it helped propel the group upwards.

Peter and Ace were shown to have their own problems, specifically with alcohol and drugs, but I do not think it was done to the exclusion of the others. Gene spoke of his own issues, trying to put his ego aside while Paul spoke about plenty of his own troubles, including his anxiety over a birth defect he had with his ear. It did not feel like the doc piled on Ace and Peter. They definitely included how important they were to the band. Heck, even Gene and Paul admitted that the band’s sound did not come into focus until Ace came in to audition.

The feelings of the band were being made clear as they became more successful and started doing things like “KISS Meets the Phantom” or going more disco with “I Was Made for Loving You.” They addressed how some fans felt as if the group sold out as the success came fast. You could tell from the way Paul and Gene spoke about it that they felt much the same way, but they could not refuse it.

The clips from the Tom Snyder interview where Ace was clearly drunk were amazing. The looks on the faces of Gene and Paul were unmistakable and were painful to watch. The anger in their eyes was so obvious that anyone should have been able to see it.

The first episode ended with Ace’s announcement that he wanted to do solo work, and the band was definitely falling apart.

I truly would wish to have had more than just Paul and Gene’s voices in the doc, reflecting back on the history of this band. Peter and Ace’s absence 100% put a cloud over the documentary, even if it felt as if the doc did a good job of being balanced despite of their absence.

Next week will be part two of KISStory for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk and we’ll see where the band went from there.

Going to Venus

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By Billy Bob Joe

Part 1

 I went to space it was a delight but when I got there it was a fright 

I landed on venus plucked some grapes ate them up and maybe some tape

I went to explore and was very adored 

I saw some kids playing with toys and made me think of little boys 

They were playing with a seesaw and it made me beatbox 

My partner antonio tried to go to romio 

These words can’t describe the delight but a one word could be fright 

Antonio and I saw some things it was very weird 

He wanted to go to jupiter but if he went he’d get stupider we stayed on venus and he became the meanest 

My grace was taken just like brace taken off I no longer want to be here but I won’t be sent off

On venus here I am to this day and i’m starting to want to stay i’ve seen some things it was pretty scary but antonio started looking hairy 

Antonio said come on brad go find your dad 


Part 2 

These weird people came to my planet and I know they aint it 

I need to find away for them to stay before the vanish away 

They won’t be here much longer so we need to make venus stronger 

You may pay to live another day 

I will steal your rocket key for you to find peace 

Me as an alien I’ve found a way to make these ugly people stay 

I went on the rocket took some food chewed it up like pizza hut 

It would be crude to not be nude 

I plucked some grapes and planting tape

I needed some help so I went to yelp 

I saw this guy named Mr. Fuss and he definitely wasn’t a bus 

He came off the rocket but antonio had to block him

These people were walking around and exploring but 

that one astronaut was adoring 

These people are weird and they need to stay i wouldn’t want them to vanish away

They are starting to like my planet venus it is i like it to don’t be rude i’ll tell you to 

This weird man named antonio looked very hairy 

There’s a code blue and I’m a slug alien too!

O’Dessa

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Haven’t had a rock opera in awhile.

Well, there is one on Hulu right now starring Stranger Things star Sadie Sink. It is called O’Dessa and it is something. I feel as if I should sit with this one awhile.

Sadie Sink played the titular character O’Dessa Galloway, a young farm girl who takes her father’s guitar and set off to become a rambler, a traveling musician, like her father. Along the way, she met Euri Dervish (Kelvin Harrison Jr) and she fell in love with him. O’Dessa must overcome series of obstacles in the way of their love to play one song for the world.

There are things that this movie does extremely well and things that it does poorly. It is definitely a mixed bag for me. Starting with the positives, Sadie Sink is absolutely the star of this movie and she showed that she has a bright career after her days in Hawkins, Indiana come to a close. She has amazing charisma and displays a lot of talent, elevating the movie above what the script gives her.

That script is one of the weaknesses of the film as there is not much there below the surface area of plot and character development.

As I mentioned in my recent review of Disney’s Snow White remake, the music in O’Dessa is entertaining and, in the moment, I enjoyed it, but I am not sure that I will remember any of the songs and it did not inspire me to go buy it on Apple Music. So that is a push. I enjoyed listening to the music during the film, but it does not occupy a place in my head as great musicals would.

The post-apocalyptic world is an interesting mishmash of styles and imagery. Some areas felt like the world of “Fallout” while others feature technology and neon energy such as Blade Runner. It felt as if there should have been one or the other.

Regina Hall and Murray Bartlett appear as a couple of villainous characters that do not have much more than the villainy that they commit. Both are outstanding actors that bring more to their roles than what was on the page. The ending segment with Sadie Sink and Murray Bartlett was engaging and thrilling even if there was not a ton of depth to the characters. I truly believe that this is because of the skill of these actors.

Overall, I would give O’Dessa a slight positive as the best parts outweighed the weaknesses and the music is passable enough for an under two hour film. I do not think this will be a cult favorite though which is what it should have strived for.

3.1 stars

Whitney (2018)

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January 25

One of the greatest voices of music has also one of the most tragic stories is the documentary for today’s Genre-ary. Whitney Houston had so many struggles in her short and successful life, from drugs and pressures of her life. The 2018 documentary Whitney was on Netflix (though it is leaving at the end of the month).

Filmmaker Kevin Macdonald used archival footage, some great performances and interviews to give a picture of Whitney Houston’s life.

The music of Whitney Houston is amazing, and that comes through in this documentary, although there could be more about the music. However, the story of what happens and what led to her untimely death is very tough. The relationships in Whitney’s world was shown as a major part of her downfall. That included her marriage to Bobby Brown and the difficult connection with her father.

It was hard to watch the two sides of Whitney Houston that we saw in the doc. It was such a struggle in her life and how the events took such a toll on her.

It is a difficult doc to watch, even if there may not be anything new revealed of her story. Putting it in one spot like this is powerful.

Amy (2015)

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January 19

Today’s Genre-ary was an Academy Award winner from 2016. Amy is the story of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse.

I knew only a little bit of Amy Winehouse. I am unfamiliar with her music, but I did know of her death in 2011 and I had heard of this documentary from A24 when it was making the rounds in 2015.

Constructed by home movies, archival footage and personal interviews, Amy paints a picture of a remarkably talented woman who struggled with the traps of fame and the dangers of excess that, at times, went hand and hand with it.

Watching this tragedy unfold in this documentary, I was struck with the idea that Amy Winehouse never truly knew who she was or that she was always afraid of the truth and she spent plenty of time running from it by the drug use or the alcohol. It seemed as if there were two powerful men in her life whom she adored, her father Mitch and her husband Blake Fielder, and both of them appeared to take advantage of her celebrity. The scenes of her father bringing a camera crew to an island hideaway with Amy was repulsive.

Amy never felt comfortable as a celebrity. The constant imagery of her moving through a pool of paparazzi with cameras clicking away is one of the enduring depiction of this doc.

Another is the amazing strength of Amy’s voice and her songwriting skills. The doc had all kinds of performances from recordings over her career with lyrics to the songs written on screen allowing the song to speak as much as the sadness surrounding much of her existance.

You know you’re something special when you can have legendry singer Tony Bennett end the documentary with the quote, “She was one of the truest jazz singers I ever heard. To me, she should be treated like Ella Fitzgerald, like Billie Holliday. She had the complete gift.”

ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke (2019)

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January 10

Another ReMastered documentary on Netflix was today’s entry in the Genre-ary. This time, the ReMastered doc is focused on musician Sam Cooke.

Sam Cooke was a black musician who was gaining a lot of power during the 1960s through his amazing music and his desire to help bring about civil rights. Cooke was forming friendships with other powerful black men of the period including Cassius Clay, Malcom X and Jim Brown.

Sam Cooke’s murder was a mess. The story that was in 1964, Cooke picked up a woman and went crazy. She believed that she was about to be raped. Her story was that she grabbed his pants and took off. Cooke went after her and wound up being shot by the hotel manager. The trial was determined to be justifiable homicide.

Most of the people who had been interviewed in the documentary could not believe that this was truth. There was some speculation that there was a conspiracy behind this event as Sam Cooke was becoming a very powerful man and he had created a recoding studio that threatened the industry. The end certainly did not mesh with the the picture that we had been shown about Cooke.

We heard interviews from Smokey Robinson, Quincy Jones, Jim Brown, Dionne Warwick, Lou Adler, and Billy Davis.

The doc was interesting and engaging. It featured a person that I did not know much about and had a amazing, though way too short life.

Too Funny to Fail: The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show (2017)

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Disney + is the home for tonight’s Genre-ary film, Too Funny to Fail: The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show.

According to IMDB, “this feature length documentary from director Josh Greenbaum (Becoming Bond, The Short Game) will take a fresh and irreverent look at the successes and humorous missteps of a show that brought together an amazing slew of future comedy giants before they were household names. Featuring interviews with Dana Carvey, Robert Smigel, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and more, the film will explore the creation of the show as the brainchild of two of Saturday Night Live’s most beloved alumni, the twists and turns of its brief life on air, and its legacy-one of stellar careers, lasting relationships, and an affirmation that in art, risks are always worth taking.”

The Dana Carvey Show was a sketch show on ABC that lasted just seven episodes. Dana Carvey was coming off the huge success of his time on Saturday Night Live and he was going to do a sketch show featuring a lot of counter-culture comedy.

The doc started with the creation of the show, and the hiring of the cast. The cast turned out to include Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert, who would be major stars later. Robert Smigel, who was also the voice and creator of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, was one of the creative forces, along with Dana Carvey.

The doc was extremely funny as it had all of these comedians and performers speak on the reason this show collapsed and the process of making the show. You could tell that the creatives involved with The Dana Carvey Show really loved their time on the show, even if, in reflection, they understood what they were putting on the air was doomed from the start.

I was entertained by the memories and commentary of these funny people. It is a wonder that they failed so sensationally.

ReMastered: Tricky Dick and the Man in Black (2018)

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January 6th

Today’s Genre-ary documentary I found on Netflix and it was a short doc about the time Johnny Cash was asked by President Richard Nixon to come and play at the White House.

The doc gave us some basic background on both Johnny Cash and on Richard Nixon. The Nixon section was specifically focused in on the Vietnam controversies among his presidency.

The doc talked about Nixon using the “Southern Strategy” that has been well documented in Presidential politics since the sixties when the south became more of a Republican stronghold instead of a consistent Democratic voters. It brought up how Nixon used some dog whistles to bring out the “Silent majority” to support the Republican party and create a nation of divisiveness. It was very connected to the present day politics and how it has its roots in this time frame.

The doc never went into too much detail about any of the sections, as it was just under an hour long.

It was interesting seeing how Johnny Cash was affected by his own trip to Vietnam and how he made some changes to the songs Nixon had requested Cash play at the White House. Both of the songs he asked for were songs that took shots at some of the marginalized people of the time, including hippies and those on Welfare.

I liked this doc, but I really believe it could have gone into much more details about the performance and about the two figures of American culture. It touched on a lot of the issues, but it did not go into enough depth.