Primetime Glick

"Primetime Glick" may well be the funniest show on TV right now. Martin Short wears a costume that pretty much doubles his weight and he becomes "Jiminy Glick". He interviews celebrities both in studio and on location.

There are parts of the show that are quite scripted, but still hilarious. For instance, the 4-5 minute interview with Nathan Lane, who has had a stellar stage and film career, consisted mostly of conversations about the NyQuil commercial Lane did in the mid-80's, and what it was like to work that "old drunk actor with the three parts, the names and the initial" (George C. Scott). In this exchange it was obvious that Lane had no idea what the questions would be, and the laughter of Lane's was infectious.

The vocal inflections that "Glick" uses are funny enough to carry the show, but the exchanges with the guests during the interview, and the sheer ridiculousness of the questions carry it over the top.

The show always begins with a monologue, or sorts, in which Jiminy offers his thoughts of the day, usually something to do with tabloid journalists. It always ends with the in-studio guest and Glick in the sauna. Both are funny. Sprinkled throughout the show, as bumpers to the commercials, are parody spots that are a little hit and miss sometimes. My two favorite so far are Tommy Lee Jones starring in a movie where he becomes the new Pope. Imagine Jones' MIB role as the pontiff. Short, as Conan O'Brien, walking the Walk of Fame advocating a star be awarded to "The Guy With The Mustache from Cheers" (John Ratzenberg) is another good one.

To me, this is a Must-See show. Watch it, you'll love it !

Ahh, Mr. Martin. Nice to have you in a great show. I've admired this guy since the days of Saturday Night Live. Give this very funny man a very funny show and its SHOWTIME! Don't miss this flat out hilarious romp on Comedy Central.

This show is very funny and hopefully will last. I've really enjoyed Martin Short's parodies of Tommy Lee Jones and Conan O'Brien etc. He is a very funny and talented man. I've also noticed Michael McKean and Jan Hooks playing the other main characters (Adrien Van Voorhees and Dixie). David Herrman and many others also play various characters.

When I was a kid, a broadcast of SCTV would only get my attention if Martin Short was the guy on the screen. Even today my tastes have not wavered. The only reason I am thinking of getting TEVO is so that I can punch in Martin's name and take in a month's worth of his talent when nobody is there to bother me.

Martin Short is without a doubt the funniest human being who has ever lived. His Jiminy Glick character is especially funny, and obviously so "inside" most people don't even get it...or do they?

Martin Short is the only heterosexual man who can make Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn impersonations funny for us straight men. Please don't take this as a homophobic view, rather, it is testament to Short's incredible talent. He's just funnier than a conventional drag queen or a female impersonator. He does what he does, and his straight audience laughs because it's funny, while his gay audience falls off their chairs because it's so hilariously campy and cruel.

Today I watched an episode of Primetime Jiminy and watched Short do a reenactment of Sal Mineo's murder with marionettes. Imagine that...a famous gay murder played out with cheap puppets -- it was so patently gay, yet only a small percent of those watching (and laughing) would understand how horribly and morbidly funny it really was.

C'mon, we all know Jiminy Glick is Merv Griffin -- it's so beyond funny because Martin Short is essentially a straight drag queen.

Thanks, Damien

I can see why this show has such a low rating. When Primetime Glick was on the air, I hated it too. However, I caught some repeats of this under-appreciated gem late one night and laughed long and hard. Maybe my comedic tastes have matured (or devolved) a little, or maybe I appreciate the lampooning of a late night talk show more nowadays since I've lost interest in most of the late shows except for the occasional Conan. What ever it is, if you ever see this show on again, give it a chance. Glick grows on you, and Short's complete immersion into this character is a performance that's up there with Borat or Andy Kaufman's various guises. That said, Glick isn't perfect. When the celebrities he's interviewing try to get in on the act, it doesn't always work. The ones who try their best to pretend Glick is just another late show host, that's where Martin Short can do his best work. Still, the openings of the show that would follow Glick back stage during an intentionally poor first act, and the closings in the steam room were always priceless bits of comedy.