Why the hell has it taken me this long to sit down and watch Ernie Kovacs? Okay, I had no access to him for most of my life, that's true. And then I forgot about him. About a week or so ago I was listening to an old episode of WTF and Merrill Markoe was singing his praises. Tonight I checked youtube as I ate supper and I was blown away. Yes, this is some low-budget shit, no doubt. Yes, a lot of these jokes are stale. But others are hilarious and even when the show's not trying to be funny, it's wildly inventive. I've never seen so much weird stuff packed into a half hour of network television. It was so nice of Ernie Kovacs to make something for me over fifty years before I was going to watch it. If you dig Beware the Hairy Mango, you might dig this. Here's a sample for your perusal, but there's much more on youtube.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Ernie! I've been a big fan of his work for a very, very long time. It very likely explains why I'm also a big fan of the Hairy Mango.
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch the entire clip that you linked (because I've seen it before) but that's some of his later work. There is a box set available that contains bits and pieces from his entire career, starting with the live morning shows, through his more inventive works that you see in that clip. I highly recommend the box set, which you can see here if you are interested.
Thanks, Mike! I'm saving for Worldcon at the moment, but I added it to my wishlist.
ReplyDeleteThat is without doubt one of the weirdest TV programs I've seen, thanks.
ReplyDeleteIf you like that you would probably like Vic & Bob, try searching on youtube for 'Top Tips with Vic and Bob'. Another show you might like would be The Mighty Boosh.
Thanks, Steve! I'll take a gander.
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