TV Funhouse
Saturday 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 spinoff series of TV Funhouse that aired on Comedy Central.
Production
Programmed 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]
The animation was produced by J.J. Sedelmaier Productions for first three seasons until Wachtenheim/Marianetti Animation took over primary animation production duties.
Recurring SNL TV Funhouse skits
- Fun with Real Audio. This sketch presented animated scenes to found, real-life audio tracks.
- The All-New Adventures of Mr. T. A parody of the Ruby-Spears animated series Mister T. This cartoon depicts Mr. T (voiced by Tracy Morgan) as desperate to find work, aggressively auditioning for unlikely parts such as classical theatre and tampon commercials. Whenever he encounters obstacles such as directors telling him auditions are already over, he simply responds with the phrase "Ain't got time for jibber-jabber, I need work!"
- The Ambiguously Gay Duo. A parody of the stereotypical comic book superhero duo. The vaguely homosexual superheroes Ace and Gary (voiced by Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell respectively) fight crime in Metroville while their adversaries like Bighead (voiced by Robert Smigel) and Dr. Braino (voiced by Stephen Colbert) try to figure out their true sexuality. Bill Chott provides the narration for this cartoon. All the shorts were re-written from The Dana Carvey Show. In the live-action version on the SNL episode hosted by Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, and Jimmy Fallon play Ace and Gary while Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell played Dr. Brainio and Bighead.
- The Anatominals Show. A parody of a Yogi Bear–type Hanna-Barbera–style cartoon where Kogi Bear, Pook Bear, Mindy Bear, Sheila Coyote, Betsy Cow, and other animal characters are anatomically correct even when they are confronted by the park ranger. Both episodes were interspersed with scenes of Lorne Michaels expressing deep disappointment with the show.
- The Michael Jackson Show. A parody of typical Hanna-Barbera cartoon, highlighting the misadventures of Michael Jackson (voiced by Dino Stamatopoulos) and his odd friends. Included in this rag-tag crew are his talking chimpanzee Bubbles, an aged Emmanuel Lewis, an anthropomorphic llama, and the living skeleton of Joseph Merrick the Elephant Man (voiced by Robert Smigel).
- The X-Presidents. A parody of Hanna-Barbera/Filmation cartoons from the 1970s. This sketch features former US Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush (all voiced by Jim Morris) as crime-fighting superheroes imbued with superpowers by a "hurricane-powered dose of radiation" received at a celebrity golf tournament. Each of their wives is a member as well. Bill Clinton, despite his status as a living former president, is not a member since he did not receive the hurricane-powered dose of radiation, as he was in office during the initial incident.
Disney parodies
The 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 their alleged past racism and anti-Semitism. When some kids are brought to the Disney Vault by Mickey Mouse, they find 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 circa 1990; Disney bought the Muppets franchise in 2004, 2 years prior to the sketch).
NBC special
On 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.
Comedy Central series
| TV Funhouse | |
|---|---|
 The TV Funhouse Panel at Comic-Con in 2008. L to R: Robert Smigel (with Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog), Dino Stamatopoulos, Bob Odenkirk and Tommy Blacha with Doug Dale on laptop screen | |
| Also known as | Saturday TV Funhouse |
| Created by | Robert Smigel Dana Carvey |
| Starring | Doug Dale Robert Smigel Jon Glaser Dino Stamatopoulos David Juskow Tommy Blacha Frank Simms |
| Theme music composer | Steven Gold |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Robert Smigel Dino Stamatopoulos Lou Wallach |
| Producers | Samantha Scharff Tanya Ryno, for SNL |
| Running time | 22 Minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Comedy Central |
| Picture format | NTSC 480i |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | December 6, 2000 – January 24, 2001 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Saturday Night Live |
| External links | |
| Website | |
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.
Plot
Every 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 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 and One-shot Skits
- The Baby, the Immigrant, and the Guy on Mushrooms—Artemis the Cat watches over a baby, an immigrant, and a guy on mushrooms while the female homeowner, voiced by Sarah Thyre, is away. Artemis works to keep the clueless trio out of any danger.
- Wonderman—A parody of Max Fleischer's Superman cartoons that stars Wonderman, voiced by Robert Smigel, who fights a constant crusade to stop crime and get his alias of Henry Moore laid.
- Mnemonics: Your Dear, Dear Friend—A parody of educational films about teaching children using a mnemonic for everyday subjects using age-inappropriate mnemonics to improve their memory.
- Stedman— A supposed parody of James Bond. Appears in Episode 6.
- Porn for Everyone— Episode 6. Originally titled "Porn For Kids", changed by the network.
- Great Leaders of History— Appears in Episode 7.
- The Safety Gang— Appears in Episode 7.
- Mischievous Mitchell— A parody of Dennis the Menace. Appears in Episode 5.
- Lost Cartoon Flashback—
- Fetal Scooby Doo—A parody of the Scooby-Doo series. Appears in Episode 4.
- Jokamel—A Joe Camel Parody of the anime series, Pokémon. Appears in Episode 4.
Episodes
- Western Day (December 6, 2000)—Doug must wrangle up his own fun when the Anipals ditch him to head for high times south of the border in Tijuana.
- Hawaiian Day (December 13, 2000)—Doug and Rocky the Fish have a luau all by themselves while the Anipals help Chickie rescue his 95th son, Jason, from a cult.
- Christmas Day (December 20, 2000)—The Anipals tap Doug's spine to extract his Christmas cheer. After one of Chickie's sons helps to turn the cheer into powder, the Anipals snort it and get addicted to powdered Christmas cheer.
- Mexican Day (December 27, 2000)—The Anipals appear on the Sally Jessy Raphael show to help Dave, an endangered lizard, to get laid, leaving Doug to celebrate Mexican Day with a tequila worm and a Puerto Rican Mexican-food deliverer.
- Caveman Day (January 3, 2001)—The Anipals compare New Year's resolutions: Hojo wants to learn to play the saxophone, Chickie hangs out with his brother with Tourette syndrome, and Fogey must resist eating his own poop. Meanwhile, Doug builds a dinosaur skeleton out of baby back ribs, and Rocky the Fish takes a group of kids to visit a cookie factory.
- Safari Day (January 10, 2001) Part 1 of 2—The Anipals travel to Atlantic City to visit Fogey's old friend, Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog, where Chickie falls in love with a chimp-stitute. Robert Goulet guest stars.
- Astronaut Day (January 17, 2001) Part 2 of 2—Still in Atlantic City, the Anipals attempt to "unstick" Triumph before his big show. Meanwhile, Doug tries to achieve weightlessness.
- Chinese New Year's Day (January 24, 2001)—The Anipals ditch the Funhouse to enter the lucrative, glamorous world of laboratory animal testing, as Doug celebrates Chinese New Year's Day and makes fireworks with a panda. This being the series finale, the set was struck by detonating a puppet panda (full of innards for realism) on the set, splattering everywhere. Staged as a satirical accident, Doug replied after with resignation: "Cut." John Ritter guest stars as a speaker for Claredelon, the cosmetic company doing the animal testing.
Cast
- Doug Dale - Doug
Animal Voices
- Tommy Blacha—Hank
- Doug Dale—Jeffery
- Matt Davis
- Jon Glaser—Hojo
- Jonathan Groff
- Jackie Hoffman
- David Juskow—Larry
- Susan Krause
- Frank Simms
- Robert Smigel—Fogey, Xabu, Rocky, Terrence
- Brian Stack—Mr. Whiskers (first episode)
- Dino Stamatopoulos—Chickie, Mr. Whiskers
Cartoon Voices
- Brad Abelle—Various
- Darren Baker—Various
- Daniel Barrios—Various
- Doug Dale—Various
- Andrew Daly—Various
- Tyrone Finch—Various
- Daniel Fitzgerald—Various
- Ana Gasteyer—Various
- Jen Jiles—Various
- Joe Letrullio—Various
- Tim Meadows—Stedman Graham ("Stedman")
- Tracy Morgan—Globetrotter Geese ("The Harlem Globetrotters' First Christmas")
- Chris Parnell—James Brolin ("Stedman")
- Maya Rudolph—Oprah Winfrey ("Stedman")
- Robert Smigel—Various
- Deanna Storey—Various
- Sarah Thyre—Mom ("The Baby, The Immigrant and The Guy On Mushrooms")
- Nancy Walsh—Various
References
- Itzkoff, Dave (April 23, 2006). "'Saturday TV Funhouse' Gets Its Own 'Saturday Night Live' Special". The New York Times.
- Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 274–275. ISBN 9781476672939.
- Ambiguously Gay Duo & Fellow Saturday TV Funhouse Shorts Special Slated | AWN | Animation World Network