TV Funhouse

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TV Funhouse

Genre	Animated television series
Running time	30 Minutes
Creator(s)	Robert Smigel
Starring	Doug Dale as Doug Robert Smigel as Fogey, Xabu, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Rocky Jon Glaser as Hojo Dino Stamatopoulos as Chickie David Juskow as Larry Tommy Blacha as Whiskers Frank Simms as the singer
Country of origin	United States
Original channel	Comedy Central
Original run	December 6, 2000–January 24, 2001
No. of episodes	8

TV Funhouse is the title of a recurring skit on NBC's Saturday Night Live featuring cartoons created by longtime SNL writer Robert Smigel, as well as a short-lived spinoff series that ran on Comedy Central. The spinoff series was somewhat of a twisted Pee-Wee's Playhouse-style kiddie show, hosted by Doug Dale and his "Anipals" puppet animal friends. Every episode had a different theme to it (e.g., "Hawaiian Day" or "Astronaut Day") and saw the Anipals usually getting into some sort of trouble, not wanting to do whatever their happy-go-lucky host had in mind for the day. TV Funhouse frequently satirizes public figures and corporations. In between the host segments, they would show either parodies of 1950s educational films or cartoons most frequently drawn in the flat, low-budget style of Saturday morning Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 1970s and 80s. Another frequent target is the classic 1960s "Animagic" stop motion animated holiday specials of Rankin-Bass.

1 Recurring SNL TV Funhouse skits
- 1.1 Disney parodies
- 1.2 NBC special
2 Episode guide for the Comedy Central series
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Recurring SNL TV Funhouse skits

The X Presidents – features former US Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush as crime-fighting superheroes, imbued with superpowers by a "hurricane-powered dose of radiation" received at a celebrity golf tournament. Each of their wives is a member as well. Richard Nixon and other presidents departed in 2000 and 2001 appear. Bill Clinton, despite his status as a living former president, is not a member since he did not receive the hurricane-powered dose of radiation. In one episode, Clinton is shown unsuccessfully attempting to establish himself with the cabal. The X Presidents has been adapted to comic books by Random House Comics.

The Ambiguously Gay Duo – the vaguely effeminate superheroes Ace and Gary. All the shorts were re-written from The Dana Carvey Show. Voice acting is performed by Stephen Colbert, and Steve Carell respectively.

The New Adventures of Mr. T – a parody of the Ruby-Spears animated series, The Adventures of Mr. T, depicting the former A-Team star, as desperate to find work, aggressively auditioning for unlikely parts in classical theatre, and tampon commercials.

The Michael Jackson Show – a parody of typical Hanna-Barbera productions, highlighting the misadventures of Michael Jackson and his odd friends. Including in this rag-tag crew are an aged Emmanuel Lewis, an anthropomorphic llama, and the living skeleton of Joseph Merrick (The Elephant Man).

"Fun With Real Audio" – are segments with recordings taken of actual events (e.g. presidential debates and celebrity interviews), re-arranged for comedic effect, and set against a backdrop of outrageous animation.

[edit] Disney parodies

One of the animated shows for Saturday Night Live, entitled Titey, pokes fun at the glaring revisionism some accuse the Walt Disney Company of crafting. The skit imagines a Disney version of the anthropomorphic Titanic, with Napoleon and Anne Frank as characters, having the ship victorious over the iceberg which sunk the real Titanic.

The 10 February 2001 episode, Ray of Light parodies the controversy over Ray Lewis's involvement in an Atlanta homicide. Although Lewis went on to become the Super Bowl XXXV MVP, he was unable to utter the famous line, "I'm going to Disney World." The skit was involved with Disney "making it up" to Lewis by placing him in various Disney animated movies. Lewis would often be shown fleeing the scene of a dead Disney character.

Bambi 2002, another poke at Disney, imagines a sequel to the original movie where Bambi's mother turns up alive. The title character fights stylized terrorist types and performs a rap music number in the forest. Also in the sketch are moments involving some of Disney's darker issues as well as pornographic humour.

On 15 April 2006, Smigel again parodied Disney's practice of supposedly "vaulting" their films, and urban legends of alleged racism and anti-Semitism. This segment briefly circulated on YouTube until 17 April 2006 when all were removed due to copyright claims.

Main article: List of SNL TV Funhouse

[edit] NBC special

On April 29, 2006, NBC aired a full-length, 90-minute SNL "best of" special for TV Funhouse. The special, was hosted by The Ambiguously Gay Duo, Ace and Gary with a cameo from Jimmy Fallon.[1] Because animations were created in fullscreen rather than widescreen, and the need to animate Ace and Gary over live action segments, the special was the only episode of the season not broadcast in high-definition.