Yes , I know there's an "o"in MICHELANGELO....AND ONLY THREE CHRISTS , THE REDEEMERS AND SAVIORS.
 
John Battles said:

Andy , Yeah , I remember when "Ripping Yarns " first aired , here , in the late 70's , I believe(?). I have one or two old VHS tapes of the show. Honestly , I never got into it , much , but , it's never too late. I have met Palin , Idle , and Jones , briefly. All very nice people. I IMAGINE IF I APPROACHED  JOHN CLEESE AS A FAN , HE'S IGNORE ME OR CUT ME TO RIBBONS.

"Fawlty Towers " , I think , is one of THEE funniest sitcoms ever , US , UK , UGANDA URUGUAY.....PETER COOK WAS SOOOOOOOO FUNNY. GREAT AT PLAYING THE COMPLETE , UTTER BASTARD , WHICH IS WHY HE WAS A NATURAL FOR TEH VOICE OF ROGER NELLIE , MAN ON TELLIE ( CONSULT VIZ , ROGER NELLIE , FAT SLAGS AND SID THE SEXIST. BUT , BRING A GEORDIE DICTIONARY.). I scored the "Secret Policeman's Balls" DVD set , recently , it's so cool to see people like John Cleese working with Peter Cook. Cleese oozes respect and admiration....Then , seeing Ade Edmonson as Michelangel opposite Cleese's Pope , well , SAME THING.

I probably can't reconnend too many American comedies you don't already know. A lot of my favorites are cartoons , too , like King of The Hill , Beavis and Butthead , South Park....and Sketch comedy , like Chapelle Show , Mind of Mencia , and the new one Pelle and Tim? Something like that , sorry , I forget. Their names don't stick to my head.I'd have to look 'em up.

Andy , Yeah , I remember when "Ripping Yarns " first aired , here , in the late 70's , I believe(?). I have one or two old VHS tapes of the show. Honestly , I never got into it , much , but , it's never too late. I have met Palin , Idle , and Jones , briefly. All very nice people. I IMAGINE IF I APPROACHED  JOHN CLEESE AS A FAN , HE'S IGNORE ME OR CUT ME TO RIBBONS.

"Fawlty Towers " , I think , is one of THEE funniest sitcoms ever , US , UK , UGANDA URUGUAY.....PETER COOK WAS SOOOOOOOO FUNNY. GREAT AT PLAYING THE COMPLETE , UTTER BASTARD , WHICH IS WHY HE WAS A NATURAL FOR THE VOICE OF ROGER NELLIE , MAN ON TELLIE ( CONSULT VIZ , ROGER NELLIE , FAT SLAGS AND SID THE SEXIST ON YOU TUBE . BUT , BRING A GEORDIE DICTIONARY.). I scored the "Secret Policeman's Balls" DVD set , recently , it's so cool to see people like John Cleese working with Peter Cook. Cleese oozes respect and admiration....Then , seeing Ade Edmonson as Michelangel opposite Cleese's Pope , well , SAME THING.

I probably can't reconnend too many American comedies you don't already know. A lot of my favorites are cartoons , too , like King of The Hill , Beavis and Butthead , South Park....and Sketch comedy , like Chapelle Show , Mind of Mencia , and the new one Pelle and Tim? Something like that , sorry , I forget. Their names don't stick to my head.I'd have to look 'em up.

Pete an Dud were just 'FUUUUUNNY'. Hilariously sharp writing on the right side of surreal. I'm a firm believer that without Peter Cook Half the British comedy we know and love wouldn't exist. Witty, accessible, non patronising and quintessentially British. Amazing! Like all great double acts tho, one couldn't survive without the other. Dud was genius, and all his best cutting edge stuff was undoubtedly driven with Peter Cook. The 50's and 60's was the real heyday of Britcom. The 70's just honed it and perfected it. Yer spot on with the Goodies. Amazing sketch writing, hilarious but sadly overlooked by the modern UK audience. You yanks are keeping the dream alive and feeding us with comedy gold in the shape of Family Guy, American Dad and Futurama to name just 3. Any more recommendations from stateside? We're all getting too serious over here again. Have you all seen 'Ripping Yarns'? if not. Why not? A python offspin every bit as funny as Fawlty Towers.

Andy , I think a lot of UK comedy was influenced by American comedy , but , had it's own personality , something us Yanks could'nt always get our heads around. In the 70's and early 80's , we were getting The Goodies , Not The Nine O'Clock News , The Two Ronnies
, and , of course , Fawlty Towers and monty Python on  PBS ..... I loved all that stuff , still do , but , it took years to see shows like Steptoe and Son , Dad's Army , and The Carry On films (wHICH YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE SICK TO DEATH OF !). THE GOODIES WERE ONE OF MY FAVORITES , BUT THEY ONLY AIRED FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS , here . At least now , shows like "Not Only, But Also" , "Do Not Adjust You  Set" and "The 1940 Floor Show"(SIC) are available on DVD , AND YOU CAN SEE , FIRSTHAND , WHERE BRITISH COMEDY MORPHED FROM "BEYOND THE FRINGE" AND "THE GOON SHOW" TO "MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS". It's tragic , when Dudley Moore died , I realized most of my countrymen did'nt know him when he was truly funny , WITH PETER COOK , OF COURSE !!!!
Andy Climax said:

To me the tv back in the 50's and 60's like the music we all love, had carte blanche really. It was all innovative and experimental as it hadn't really been done before, and was given time to develop. I'd imagine like todays telly theres alot of garbage that has rightfully (or wrongly) been forgotten. In Britain we had the Goons, and other post war satire. Alot of this stuff was written with a very American influence. I suppose we can thank the war for something. We all had Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Marx Brothers etc. A real British/American friendship. Then Python came along and blew it all out the water. For Every Two and a Half Dads, theres a Family Guy as much as we have for every Mighty Boosh a My Family (garbage sitcom crap). I suppose a good thing about shit telly is we are all goin to the movies again. CGI rocks (most of the time).

To me the tv back in the 50's and 60's like the music we all love, had carte blanche really. It was all innovative and experimental as it hadn't really been done before, and was given time to develop. I'd imagine like todays telly theres alot of garbage that has rightfully (or wrongly) been forgotten. In Britain we had the Goons, and other post war satire. Alot of this stuff was written with a very American influence. I suppose we can thank the war for something. We all had Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Marx Brothers etc. A real British/American friendship. Then Python came along and blew it all out the water. For Every Two and a Half Dads, theres a Family Guy as much as we have for every Mighty Boosh a My Family (garbage sitcom crap). I suppose a good thing about shit telly is we are all goin to the movies again. CGI rocks (most of the time).

BTW , Anybody remember Hannah Barbara's later attempts to reclaim early evening Television ("Wait Til Your Father Gets Home" "Where's Huddles?" , etc.) ?
 
John Battles said:

Pat Priest. Va Va and Voom. Anyway , I think a lot of those programs were designed in such a way that parents and teenagers could enjoy them , too , even if they did'nt want to admit it....

Before the Glory Days of Saturday Morning TV , you had shows like The Flintstones and The Jetsons that aired in , or around , prime time. Just like the infinitely superior Warner Bros. cartoons , I realized , later , that there were little in - jokes that kids would'nt get , but , there was enough funny stuff going on to keep them occupied. Of course , the days I look back on so fondly, waking up at seven on Saturday , watching cartoons til noon , THEN , going out to play , also signified the rapid decline in animation standards. But , I could'nt compare The Banana Splits , Lancelot Link , The Archies , Josie and The Pussycats , and , yes , The Monkees (By the time I started watching them , they were on Saturday mornings or early afternoon.) to Hannah Montana and other modern junk , because I've never watched those shows. I was'nt babysitting my Godchild anymore , by then , so I had no reason to. What ties a lot of these earlier shows together , even if the animated cartoons were in rapid decline , was that they usually had great Rock'n'Roll songs. I HAVE heard Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus' music (It's almost impossible NOT to.), I've heard worse , and I do , nearly every day , but , I don't even remember what it sounded like, save for one 80's New Wave retread I heard at Blockbuster. It's true , the intelligence of children , today ,  is frequently underestimated in an effort to make the most money for the least artistic endeavors. My Nieces were right in that target audience for The Spice Girls , then Brittney Spears , then , whoever, BUT THEY WOULD SAY "i'M SO OVER IT" and move on to the next thing. Whether that's any damned good or not , I could'nt  tell you.

Pat Priest. Va Va and Voom. Anyway , I think a lot of those programs were designed in such a way that parents and teenagers could enjoy them , too , even if they did'nt want to admit it....

Before the Glory Days of Saturday Morning TV , you had shows like The Flintstones and The Jetsons that aired in , or around , prime time. Just like the infinitely superior Warner Bros. cartoons , I realized , later , that there were little in - jokes that kids would'nt get , but , there was enough funny stuff going on to keep them occupied. Of course , the days I look back on so fondly, waking up at seven on Saturday , watching cartoons til noon , THEN , going out to play , also signified the rapid decline in animation standards. But , I could'nt compare The Banana Splits , Lancelot Link , The Archies , Josie and The Pussycats , and , yes , The Monkees (By the time I started watching them , they were on Saturday mornings or early afternoon.) to Hannah Montana and other modern junk , because I've never watched those shows. I was'nt babysitting my Godchild anymore , by then , so I had no reason to. What ties a lot of these earlier shows together , even if the animated cartoons were in rapid decline , was that they usually had great Rock'n'Roll songs. I HAVE heard Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus' music (It's almost impossible NOT to.), I've heard worse , and I do , nearly every day , but , I don't even remember what it sounded like, save for one 80's New Wave retread I heard at Blockbuster. It's true , the intelligence of children , today ,  is frequently underestimated in an effort to make the most money for the least artistic endeavors. My Nieces were right in that target audience for The Spice Girls , then Brittney Spears , then , whoever, BUT THEY WOULD SAY "i'M SO OVER IT" and move on to the next thing. Whether that's any damned good or not , I could'nt  tell you.

If anything I'd guess that they were more junk back then. I mean look at the production values. Hannah Montanna is made to be sold, so has the investment thus.

You could better compare it with comedy. British comedy is normally a labour of love with a small team of script writers and the general knowledge that it will get made and sold in Britain with limited appeal around the world. American comedy however is made in the way they make a car, with a massive team to ensure that there's a joke a minute and that the whole thing is water tight. As a result Britain produces off the wall stuff like Mighty Boosh and Monkey Dust which isn't famous while America produces Two and a Half Men which makes me feel stupider every time I watch it but is sold around the world. Hannah Montanna is like that.

Banana Splits is maybe a bit more like Mighty Boosh. You aren't going to get that innocence back with American TV.

I think the big difference is that those past shows, the producers tried giving a certain kind of quality to the audience.  They laughed just like the audience, even the guys who made Banana Splits.  Maybe they didn't think that the shows were going to be talked about 50 years in the future, but they didn't treat them like throw away products at an audience they probably really have no respect for.  It may have been junk but it wasn't garbage.

Being a bit of an old fart here, but... It strikes me that today's trashy tv for kids, I Carly, Hannah Montana and all that garbage, is really no different to kids and teens watching trash back in the 50's an 60's. Banana Splits, The Monkees, Lost in Space, The Munsters, Addams Family etc. Lots of great icons and music came from back then. I know we think modern tv sucks (well, alot of us do), but are the kids today and the parents who knock modern tellyreally any different to then? RAWK!!!

Thanks for the recommendation. I put From Here to Infinity on request at the library. The thing I like best about Ballard is that he doesn't over explain anything in his stories. You have to infer a lot of the meaning. Will look into Disch as well. 
Grazianohmygod said:

I haven't read Ballard, but the first time I really heard about him was in a great Science Fiction Literature Lecture series titled From Here to Infinity. Ballard was in a lecture concerning "surrealist" writers including Williams S. Burroughs and Ray Bradbury. I recommend the lectures (many public libraries should have it).

One author that I like from around the same time period is Thomas Disch, who wrote a strange little science fiction novel called Camp Concentration.

Hopefully I'll get to Ballard one day.

I haven't read Ballard, but the first time I really heard about him was in a great Science Fiction Literature Lecture series titled From Here to Infinity. Ballard was in a lecture concerning "surrealist" writers including Williams S. Burroughs and Ray Bradbury. I recommend the lectures (many public libraries should have it).

One author that I like from around the same time period is Thomas Disch, who wrote a strange little science fiction novel called Camp Concentration.

Hopefully I'll get to Ballard one day.

I also dabble in digital stuff-- monsters and the like. 
Also, I enjoy that last sketch too much to leave it out.

I draw weird shit. I drew my profile pic all by myself, no grown ups.

The two bottom drawings remind me of Jim Thompson characters! Very cool work.

IDON MINE said:

LATE, LATE!

Wow! That is great work! I really love it. The Sick Dogs poster knocked my socks off. How much would you charge to design a record release poster?

So I just bought Halo 4 the other day, and I was completely blown back by the graphics in the opening cinematic. I can't believe it, we've gotten to the point where it's nearly impossible to tell computer animation from live action

Greg , Hey , congratulations. You know , I trust , "See You Next Tuesday " was the title of Jon Landis' (Fictitous.) Directorial debut. It's been referenced in all , or most , of his movies , since "Schlock '' (A greatblack comedy - Horror parody in itself.).
 Bartel was great. Mary Woronov said she did'nt like him pretending they were married , and asked him to stop , but , who could blame him?

Yeah , I'd throw Paul Morrissey in there , too. I'm sure a lot of peoplethink "Flesh For Frankenstein" was sick , but , it's pure Black Comedy....With the unlikely revelation that Dr. Frankenstein's beautiful children (Born by his Sister !) were , in fact , the real monsters.

Harold and Maude , of course is a Black Comic masterpiece. It's actually sweet , though, despite the nauseating premise ("The fat of your young......BODY , up against those sagging ....BUTTOCKS , AND WITHERED ......BREASTS !") HA HA HA HA HA  HA !
Greg Hanson said:

All those films rule! Parents is awesome and pretty passed over, even by genre film fans. Paul Bartel's films are amazing - I love Lust in the Dust and Eating Raoul. 

I feel like Andy Warhol Produced/Paul Morrissey's work is in a similar vein, especial Blood for Dracula, Flesh for Frankenstein, and Andy Warhol's Bad (which wasn't Morrissey). 

There are some awesome underground films being made now that have similar sensibilities. People like Zach Clark (Modern Love is Automatic, Vacation!) and Drew Tobia (Leperfuck, Stupid Junkie Faggot) do the trash/black comedy thing really well. Drew is finishing up his first feature called See You Next Tuesday (which I worked on). Keep your eyes out because it's going to be fucking awesome.

John Battles said:

The craziest triple bill I ever saw (In a real movie theatre.) was "Eating Raoul" , "Polyester" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space". I met Mary Woronov once , and she thought that was crazy , too !
 
hips like cinderella said:

i just watched Eating Raoul recently and thoroughly enjoyed it. i'm a big fan of the 80's black comedy, haha

John Battles said:

I love "Parents" . The 80's were alive with black comedies , "Neighbors" , "Eating Raoul" ,  etc.

I started watching "The Veil" , a (Criminally) never - aired TV series produced by Hal Roach , Jr. in 1959. Hosted by Boris Karloff , who also starred in every episode , making it more appealing to me than "Thriller" (Though it was a great show.), it reads like a cross between  " The Twilite Zone" , 50's Noir , and , yes , "Thriller" , to some extent. Guest stars include Patrick McGee , and , would you believe , George Hamilton , and many lesser - known but distinctive TV Actors , American and British( One played a G-man on "The Andy Griffith Show".).

Something Weird put this two DVD set out in 2001 , It also contains two episodes of "13 Demon Street " , starring Lon Chaney , Jr.

All those films rule! Parents is awesome and pretty passed over, even by genre film fans. Paul Bartel's films are amazing - I love Lust in the Dust and Eating Raoul. 

I feel like Andy Warhol Produced/Paul Morrissey's work is in a similar vein, especial Blood for Dracula, Flesh for Frankenstein, and Andy Warhol's Bad (which wasn't Morrissey). 

There are some awesome underground films being made now that have similar sensibilities. People like Zach Clark (Modern Love is Automatic, Vacation!) and Drew Tobia (Leperfuck, Stupid Junkie Faggot) do the trash/black comedy thing really well. Drew is finishing up his first feature called See You Next Tuesday (which I worked on). Keep your eyes out because it's going to be fucking awesome.

John Battles said:

The craziest triple bill I ever saw (In a real movie theatre.) was "Eating Raoul" , "Polyester" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space". I met Mary Woronov once , and she thought that was crazy , too !
 
hips like cinderella said:

i just watched Eating Raoul recently and thoroughly enjoyed it. i'm a big fan of the 80's black comedy, haha

John Battles said:

I love "Parents" . The 80's were alive with black comedies , "Neighbors" , "Eating Raoul" ,  etc.

I started watching "The Veil" , a (Criminally) never - aired TV series produced by Hal Roach , Jr. in 1959. Hosted by Boris Karloff , who also starred in every episode , making it more appealing to me than "Thriller" (Though it was a great show.), it reads like a cross between  " The Twilite Zone" , 50's Noir , and , yes , "Thriller" , to some extent. Guest stars include Patrick McGee , and , would you believe , George Hamilton , and many lesser - known but distinctive TV Actors , American and British( One played a G-man on "The Andy Griffith Show".).

Something Weird put this two DVD set out in 2001 , It also contains two episodes of "13 Demon Street " , starring Lon Chaney , Jr.

I love the Illustrated Man. That first story, "The Veldt," freaked me out in high school. 

I'm about to start comedian Sarah Silverman's recent humor/memoir The Bedwetter.

Richard Koz , Best known as Chicago Horror Host Svengoolie , survived a heart attack last week , and is reportedly recovering well. Koz began his Horror Host career as a replacement to the original Svengoolie ( Chicago and Cleveland R'n'R Radio Deejay , Jerry G. Bishop.). He served his first term , from the late 70's into The 80's as Son of Svengoolie , in a costume vaguely resembling a bearded Alice Cooper (Bishop looked something like a more hippified Roy Wood , with long green hair AND beard.). His program was cancelled , but , he returned , I want to say , in the late 90's , as just "Svengoolie" in the same costume , makeup and fake beard. His show still airs , and , of course , will likely consist of reruns until he is well enough to return. Koz also hosts a highly enjoyable , and , would you believe? , informative,  Three Stooges program , as himself. 

Charlie Brooker? Genius. Darling of the British press, then...'POOF!' Fucks off to another dimension to spread his word somewhere else. A real Maverick like Chris Morris. Love'im! For all yo Americans out there, check'em out. You won't be disappointed!

"all you do..."

Sheryl said:

Aaaaand that rum cocktail sounds DELICIOUS!

Aaaaand that rum cocktail sounds DELICIOUS!

LOVE it!