Hardcore TV

There were actually 13 episodes of this show produced and aired on HBO. The 13th episode was a "best of" recap that showed bits from the other episodes, though the wraparound segments were new. I recently watched all the episodes again, and though there's some very funny moments, there's some one note jokes that are beaten into the ground, especially in the recurring skits. "Fly Fishing Jam", "The Sports Lady", and "Cindy's Sex Talk" are amusing the first time, but go nowhere in multiple segments. I can't imagine how it could have sustained a second season. That's not to say there isn't anything to recommend this show-there certainly is-and it is kind of a mystery that HBO didn't give it a video release, or at least replay it.

When this show premiered on HBO, I didn't know what to expect. When, in its opening skit, they had a man beat Wayne and Garth from WAYNE'S WORLD (and anyone else who quoted their lines) with a club, I knew I had found my show. "Hardcore TV" was what you would have gotten if "SCTV" had no network TV censorship. The show was hosted by a guy who was sort of like Rod Serling on "Night Gallery" that brought on the skits. Some of the recurring gags were "Rastapiece Theatre" with a Jamaican man retelling old TV show plot lines but with raunchier results. There was Tracy Vilar from "The Steve Harvey Show" (and the only performer linked to this show whose name I remembered) as an astrologer whose predictions always centered on her cheating boyfriend and the punishment he would suffer. There was a fairy tale segment that always sounded like a "Penthouse Forum" letter come to life and "The Sports Lady" who would always ask prominent athletes (played by themselves such as the late Reggie White) if they liked it "doggy style". How funny you found most of this would depend on your threshold for the amount of profanity you could stand such as a "Barney" parody in which the dinosaur became a stand-up comedian.

Sadly, "Hardcore TV" didn't quite catch on like its other shows like "Dream On", "First and Ten" and "The Larry Sanders Show". But it will always have a special place in my heart. Especially after the club guy administered a beat down of epic proportions on Susan Powter.

From "Tales From The Darkside" to "Fly Fishing Jam" to "This Old Whore House" the laughs here on non stop and come at you in rapid fire. It was a classic HBO comedy show before HBO had changed the face of comedy with shows such as Dream On and The Ali G Show. Wonderfully created it spoofs "This Old House" as well as "Masterpiece Theatre" in extremely different settings that you would never expect the original fore-mentioned shows to show up as is just hilarious. I see it as one of the best shows thats not currently on DVD. HBO what are you thinking? If we must suffer looking through aisles and aisles of such DVD sets of Texas Walker Ranger and Pretender and The Shield. I think its about time the world is ready for the comedy styles of this fantastic HBO comedy.

I watched this since the first episode. I couldn't believe how far they went and it was funnier then anything I had ever seen! The best skit ever in any skit show had to be "Raging Bullwinkle" If you have never seen it and you have a HARDCORE sense of humor you will see what I mean!

Seriously, when is this show gonna get a DVD release? I still have some of the skits on tape to this day. Classics such as "This Old Whore House," "Raging Bullwinkle," "Spamby," "The Joy of Tattooing" (with a DEAD ON Bob Ross impersonation), "ATT&A" (the phone company with the naked woman in the tub), the gangster family that always cursed (tagline: "You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll grab your balls!)

Wow, 10+ years later, and I still remember sneaking into the living room at 14 years old to watch this show with the volume turned down low so my parents wouldn't know what I was watching. (The same held true for Friday Night Skinemax and Showtime's various Emmanuelle and Red Shoe Diaries films... those were the days...)

This show was just as funny and clever as Mr. Show with Bob and David, which came out a year later. And if THAT show can get a DVD release, surely "Hardcore TV" should.