No, you get addicted to Klonopin and get fat and make bad romantic comedies. THEN you drink a bunch.

Google.

I watched it a few times during season 4, but i was a bit too young to realize how good it was. when the dvd's came out i tried to get them, but no one had them for rent and i had no job, so i was shit out of luck. in late 2003 HBO put a few episodes onto OnDemand and that resparked my intrest. i had a job at the time, so i bought season 1-3 then.

Arrested Development, Tom Goes To The Mayor, Scrubs, Wonder Showzen and all of those shows about people who want bizarre plastic surgeries or shows with the words "_____LBS Tumor" in it.

I wish! I was paid then and that's it, which barely financed my moral decay at the time. Cable contracts are different than networks, and writers don't participate in residuals.

The real shame is that Bob and David don't get anything from the Mr. Show DVDs. They put body and soul into the show fo several years. They lost weight each season because they worked so hard. (Bob lost 7 pounds of hair in just the third season alone.)

m

episodes working
 

I fixed the Efficiency X-pert episode. Also, Motivatin' Marty, for all you advanced Sneak Peak-ers.

m

I'm thinking only1/5th retarded. There are also some funny people here. I lurked long before posting, so I knew what I was getting into. Aside from the gadflys, there are folks who make great insights and who crack me up regularly. I'll continue to post occasionally, if I'm not being slammed by reality too much. And, I pledge not to slag on BUTM over at aspecialthing. But I'll slag on those pud yankers at aspecialthing over here, you can count on that.

. Yeah, and bad form of me to be such a carnival barker, when you get flyered regularly by jamokes. Powerloafing is Mr. Show connected though, and I'm willing to face the whithering scrutiny of BUTM. And did I mention that I...

I saw that post and checked out a few things. They are a promising sketch group. I liked the sexual harassing old man puppet, and the New Years eve sketch had good stuff. I agree with the constructive ctiticism about sound quality, and they could edit things down, but they're going for it and that's what matters. I try to judge gonzo sketch comedy done by people for fun differently than stuff on TV, which has a lot more machinery behind it.

Another web sketch group is TheLonelyIsland.com. (I'm too stupid to do a hyperlink.) They have funny stuff on their site. They are currently doing a pilot presentation for Fox, so we will hopefully have a good sketch show on TV soon. Check them out if you haven't already.

Now, to answer my own questions, because I love hearing myself type:

How did you hear about BUTM?

A friend sent me a link.

In what year did you first become a fan of Mr. Show?

Early 1996. I moved to LA and the guy who had the apartment before me left a few weeks of free HBO. I saw the first three shows and was very excited until I heard it was cancelled in the first season. I'm glad it was only a rumor.

What are the 3 best comedy shows currently on Television? (can be more than 3)

Daily Show, I never miss it. Aqua Teen, didn't like it at first, but now I'm hooked. Arrested Development and Scrubs are good, The American Office, (the 2nd episode rocked, and I'm giving it a chance.) I wish I could add something more that somebody else didn't say already.

What's a show that I'm probably not famaliar with that I should give a look?

Here's some great British shows:
Little Britain: Two guys play all the parts, and it's solid character driven sketches. Black Books stars two great brit comedians, Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey, and it does not disappoint. Father Ted, The first time I saw it I knew I would have to see every episode, and I'm maybe half way through.

mik

Tis I JuanBallsac.

I'm not gonna tap dance around the important issues here Upchurch. So I'm gonna come straight out and ask it.

Have you ever met the God of all actors Corey Feldman?

If so what kind of impression did he make on you?

What is your favorite Corey movie?

If Corey was a food, what food would he be? Why?

Hey Juan,

I'm sorry, but I don't have any Corey stories.

Coreys' best films: Time After Time, Stand By Me, Lost boys.

Worst: the rest.

What food he would be: Ham and cheese on white bread.

Here's something: Jonathan Taylor Thomas lived in my apartment building for two years. I kept seeing him, but he had a different name on his mailbox. I wondered why somebody who could afford to live in Bel Air was living in my crappy apartment complex, and assumed he must have blown it all on drugs. Then I found out from my neigbor who lived directly below him that it was his North Hollywood party pad, and he had a mansion somewhere else, but would crash there sometimes. My neigbor hated his guts because he would play "gay music," all night long, and he put marks all over the hallway trying to do Matrix kicks with his whacked out freaky hollywood friends.

This is the only sordid former child star anecdote I can think of. I hope it was a decent substitute for Corey impressions.

m

I always had a soft spot for jtt as my last name is Taylor so I felt some what connected to him.

Mike I had an idea today at work, sort of a, we scratch your back, you scratch ours kind of thing. You should make an episode of powerloafing where Carl happens to be loafing it up on butm.com, and in return we will harass Mr. Admin to have a powerloafing section, so that you can have an official forum to link to from the powerloafing site.



And as far as questioning your ancient Hollywood knowledge. If I were trying to "make" it in the "industry" would it all aid my chances of getting a "shot" if were to fund and create a pilot of sorts to show networks or production companies what I and others can do, or do I have just as much luck with that as i do writing and shopping my shit around hoping for the best?


And does anyone else think that Nancy grace on cnn is trying really hard to get snl to make a sketch about her. Seriously her persona is just to fucking much, it can’t be real

Then who the fuck is getting fat off my DVD dollar? Does it all go to the pricks at HBO who strongarmed Bob and David into walking away from Mr. Show in the first place?

Also, The Lonely Island is really good stuff. I'm glad to hear about them and Fox, even though it'll get cancelled in the second or third season for being too good.

Oh yeah Mike if you have an inside line on the Stella TV show please spill whatever you can.

Thanks. We all appreciate that.

I think your Mr. Show credentials give you a free run of this place.

All excellent shows, Bill Bailey is probably England finest stand up at the moment. Black Books has gone down hill in recent years though. Another series I highly recommend which is in the same vein is Spaced, it has several people from the series' you listed popping up in cameos. It's from the same guys who did Shaun of the Dead, if you saw that.

To answer that question for myself though, the series I recommend are Brass Eye (available on region free dvd from amazon.co.uk) and The Day Today. Both the work of a comedian called Chris Morris. There's a soundbite from one of his shows in my signature. His work doesn't travel well because it's usually very topical, but frankly I don't see why that would ever make it any less funny.

I agree with Pali here. Chris Morris is great. I'd recommend Jam, as well.

I really enjoyed your two commercials. I actually liked them better than the Powerloafing episodes. I prefer my comedy a little more bizarre. I did really like the more concept episodes, like the Star Trek and soap opera ones in the sneak preview section. The Mr. Show cameos are great, I enjoyed Minor's zombie character quite a bit. You said that the episodes in the Sneak Preview section were the way the show was headed, so I'll keep watching.

Mike -

I just watched "Cubicle of Fear" again, and not only do I think it's the funniest episode on there, but I think it hints at how Powerloafing could me a much stronger show: the Blaine Capatch "straight guy" character... He and Paul's exchange at the beginning I think is the funniest moment of Powerloafing so far (the rest of the episode - with Jerry Minor - is also hilarious.) I'm guessing that Blaine isn't available enough to be a recurring character, but I think that the show needs a "straight guy" character (i.e. Michael Bluth in Arrested Development or whatever).

But what do I know really? Maybe it was just how Blaine Capatch performed it that made me think this, or that the scene was written so well.

By the way, is that "tyekonderoga number two" line yours? It's awesome.

Chris Morris is very funny, I'll third that.

Have you ever thought about submitting any Powerloafing to Jump Cuts on Comedy Central? It might fit in quite well there.

I'm trying to think of someplace to do it in an episode, I'll keep that in mind. Otherwise, please send word of Powerloafing to the shotgun shack in Montana where Mr. Admin resides. Let him know PL links to BUTM, and don't forget to tell him about that thing I did.

Yes, and yes. This question probably requires a more detailed post than I can do now, but I'll try to put it in capsule form. Here's Mike's non-guaranteed levelheaded primer on how to "make it" in the entertainment industry, which applies to sketch writers, filmmakers, and stand-ups, and I'm addressing it to someone in their early twenties: Get to the nearest city of a half million people or more, in your case Hamilton, (Good place, where half the writing staff of Kids in the Hall came from.) Get a job that you don't have to think about when you leave the building, then dive into the comedy scene, and find the funniest people. If you go to college take practical courses (contract law, communications) that will help you handle the business part of being a writer. Pitch ideas, and collaborate on projects with people you respect, and work on your listening skills. Put on shows, make short films, do improv or spoken word, and try a bunch of stuff out and find out what you're good at. I guarantee you will meet people that you'll end up working with in another city, (I met Doug Stanhope in Las Vegas in 1992.) Don't get too hung up on the local politics. At some point, only you'll know when, you will be ready to move to LA. You might make a pit stop in Toronto, New York, Chicago, Boston, Vancouver, or London, but ultimately you'll have to go to LA to fully "make it. " Once in LA continue what you did in the last city, and be prepared to spend a few years. You'll end up growing with the contacts you've made. You will end up using knowledge you learned messing around in City #1, or #2 in the the weird specialized gigs you end up doing. I'm sure many of the folks here already have a head start on this stuff, if so you are on the right track. Don't worry about any single "shot," at making it, it will come in a series of little shots that give you experience so you don't "blow it" when a really fantastic opportunity comes along.

I interviewed Al Franken (name drop) in 1991, and asked him a similar question, I asked, "How do I become a writer for SNL?" He answered, "Go to New York or LA, and do something that comes to our attention." I interjected and tried to get him to look at a short film I had done in Vegas, and he stopped me and said, "No, no, go to New York or LA first, but keep doing the video stuff and building up your writing samples." I think he was giving me the short version of what I just said above. Sensible advice that I followed. I still hope to work with him someday.

Thanks for listening to my boring, obvious, self-important advice.

mik


PS: will address other items during the week. Thanks for all the feedback, I'm learning stuff.