The Dana Carvey Show

If anyone else remembers the show, then you might remember that Dana made fun of the sponsors for the first 10 minutes of every show (at least that's my memory) Don't you remeber when, right after a mountain dew commercial, he made 3 minutes of mountain-dew-looks-like-p**s jokes? And as we all know from his movie Wayne's World, you don't make fun of the sponsors and get away with it. He had new sponsors every week, and pretty soon nobody would touch his show. Gee, what do you think happens next? Sponsors pay for the show. nobody pays to air the show, the show DOESN"T AIR. don't say that ABC is afraid of letting too much funny out, it's ABC. they needed funny (and they still do) more than [some clever analogy here].

This show is off the air because Dana Carvey expected it, wanted it, and wanted to have fun with it before it got pulled. He wouldn't have messed with the sponsors so much if he didn't want the show to be yanked, he did it anyways because it was insanely funny. That is comedic genius. Not "master of disguise."

Cody, I simply had to respond to your message. My brother was the other actor in the skit with Dana where he went on and on saying "Bill...what does it LOOK LIKE!?" over the glass of Mountain Dew on the table. Bill responds with many safe answers before settling on "Liquid Sunshine!"

My brother -- Bill Chott -- had the privilege of being part of the cast and he wrote for the show as well. He had the pleasure of working with his two Second City teachers: Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert. Heather Morgan was just a doll besides holding her own in a predominantly male cast. Robert Smigel and Dana Carvey rounded out the genius of this group. The writers wrote some of the most quick-witted funny material I have ever seen. I think that is why NOT everyone GOT this show...it takes a certain level of intelligence to appreciate all the jokes.

I sincerely hope that they bring the whole season (11 eps in all) out on DVD soon. With lesser shows appearing on DVD left and right, I am miffed that this one has not been considered. I am proud of my brother's work in this show, of the stellar cast and crew, and of the fact that I got to visit the set back in April of 1996 and see it all happen!

Thanks!

Dana Carvey tries his hand at network primetime. He's able to use some of his SNL material despite being on a different network. This has the notable appearance of Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert as two of the main players. Along with Robert Smigel, this also has writing from Louis C.K., Bob Odenkirk, and Charlie Kaufman along with others. The best recurring bit is probably Carvey and Carell as stupid pranksters. The most notorious bit has to be its opening bit which can be considered as the bit that shut down the show. It's President Clinton feeding a baby, a dog, and a cat with his rows of tits. It's completely tasteless, shocking, ill-fitting for its place, and ahead of its time. That's the show. It's airing in the wrong place. Some of it is beyond the pale like beheading Princess Di. The First Lady of Dogs is a nothing sketch and can be taken in a really bad way. This pushed the envelope and the envelope pushed back.

This is one of the funniest shows of the 1990s. Its a travesty ABC canceled it after six episodes. I can't think of a comedy program better suited for release on DVD. This was the first TV showcase for the brilliant talents like Stephen Colbert (The Daily Show), Steve Carell (Bruce Almighty), Robert Smigel (Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog) and Heather Morgan. Along with "The Ben Stiller Show" and "Freaks and Geeks," its the funniest '90s show canceled during its first season. We want it on DVD!

I saw THE DANA CARVEY SHOW during its initial run, in a great time slot after ROSEANNE, and I said to myself: "it'll never last -- it's just too damned funny, and prime time TV won't permit that."

And it was, indeed, screamingly funny.

Sadly, I was right.

Its ratings were never the disappointment they claimed in order to justify their canceling it (and replacing it with yet another lame, safe sitcom).

One wonders what ABC thought THE DANA CARVEY SHOW would be.

Some people look at it today and wonder where the "controversy" in the show was. But it's not even that or the topicality.

It was just too funny. And that uniqueness is what got it noticed -- and then canned.