Almost Live!

Almost Live was one of my favorite shows, ever! Local TV stations rarely makes their own product anymore, outside of newscasts, but KING TV in Seattle ran this local comedy show for 15 years up until 1999. I would count down the hours to see the next episode every Saturday night! Billy Kwan, The High Fivin' White Guys, Speed Walker, Sluggy, Cops in Ballard/Issaquah/Renton/Mercer Island, The John Report, The Worst Girlfriend in the World, Pat Cashman in D.J. Priest/D.J. Cop/D.J. Dentist, Roscoe's Carpet Emporium (Going out of Business since 1958!), The Ineffectual Middle-Management Suck-ups, Uncle Fran's Musical Forest, Ballard Driving School, The Street Walking Lawyers of Aurora Ave, & Jet Guy!!! This show was a great example of how creativity and localisms cam make a show work without having a big budget, or being based in LA or NYC.

I also would like to take to task the user comment that claimed that the humor of the show "Almost Live!" was too Seattle-based to appeal to people that lived outside of the area. I live in British Columbia, Canada, and I found the humor of the show hysterical. You did not have to live in Seattle to understand the jokes. For example, there was one sketch called "The Streetwalking Lawyers Of Aurora Avenue", which depicted out-of-work lawyers making a living by offering their services on the side of the road. From that sketch, I could conclude with confidence that the real Aurora Avenue in Seattle was plagued with prostitutes. Further proof that the humor on the show could appeal to outsiders was the little-known fact that the scripts for the show were sold to a German TV show and recreated there for German audiences.

It was a sad day when this show was cancelled. Though part of me would love the show to be revived, the cast is now probably too old. Though maybe they could mentor a new cast and writers.

As a native Washingtonian who grew up to Almost Live! the thing that worked best for me was that the show was basically one big inside joke for those of us who knew the area. Sadly, this is why the show really wasn't all that funny in syndication. When I met out of state residents at college, I would insist that they watch the show in order to understand the area. That way, they could learn that Scandinavians live in Ballard, yuppies live on the East Side, and rednecks live in the South End. These are vital things to know!!! It's no small coincidence that Almost Live ended up coming out with a guide to the northwest video.

It was always great to watch this show before SNL, and take pride in the fact that a bunch of local talent consistantly creamed the pathetic attempts at comedy produced by the national "talent" in New York. I just wish KING TV wouldn't have decided to pull the plug on the show (it was making money, but they wanted to make MORE money), and that stars like John Keister and Pat Cashman would have been able to springboard into the national scene to share their talent with the rest of the country.

I used to watch this show on a regular basis when it was airing as re-runs on Comedy Central. I loved it! I wish it would make a come-back!

Some of my favorite skits include "Mind Your Manners with Billy Quan" or "The High-Fiving White Guys" or the adventures of the "Speed Walker" who was a superhero who, well, he speed walked around Seattle fighting crime. Just looney. Of course, who could forget the skit about a hunting season for street mimes? "Wait! You can't shoot him, he's behind an invisible wall. It would be unsportsman-like" or something to that effect.

I agree with other posters here who say this show was better than the crap they were doing on SNL at the time. I miss it.

I grew up in Seattle and this show chronicled the rise of Seattle from a sleepy little nowhere town to the height of grunge and back down. However, I would imagine it would be a little hard to get if you aren't from Seattle (though, I think they edited out stuff that was totally Seattle-based on the Comedy Central version)... but if you are from Seattle (or rather Kent) like I am... this is an absolute classic. I give this show ***** out of *****.