ancient english shows i want help with

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1) i just cut myself with the razor, enough to use some tissue as blood-blocking stickum and it reminded me of some little clips Nickelodeon used to show during a regularly scheduled international comedy omnibus called "turkey TV". they starred a terribly anxious interviewer with razorcuts and the aforementioned tissue dots, which he had apparently bizarrely come to terms with for his television program, which included inerviews from luminaries like ricky schroeder

2) a radio quiz program from the 80s, which aired on Sundays, in Tennessee at least. just after church, i believe. it featured the kind of creative point-awarding later popularized by "whose line is it anyway"—one was awarded 0, 1 mark, or 2 marks for answers often requiring some subtle spin; i remember it being like the quiz equivalent of a cryptic crossword. my favorite part came at the end when the contestants each told a shaggy dog story, the climax of which had to be a phrase that the host had set back at the beginning of the show—so inbetween questions and answers they had to be thinking about and adding to and polishing this set-up to some horrible pun. as i remember it this story could make up for a show's worth of missed questions, depending on its unexpected plot, or just great timing by the teller. i could be remembering all this wrong.

Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 28 July 2003 03:00 (twenty-two years ago)

the first guy might have been called basil

Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 28 July 2003 03:08 (twenty-two years ago)

The first guy is Norman Gunston, a character invented by Aussie actor/comedian Gary McDonald. He did the "confuse the star with bizarro interview questions" schtick YEARS before people like Ali G (ie he was doing this in the 70s I think). God knows what of him you've seen - seems odd to think Nick showed stuff like that.

The show was, if I recall, just called the Norman Gunston show? I know he did some rehash more recently too... help me out, fellow antipodeans, I'm old enough to remember but too old to remember.

Trayce (trayce), Monday, 28 July 2003 03:27 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah it was a self-titled show

electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 28 July 2003 03:28 (twenty-two years ago)

and he was far more interesting/funny than the sum total of the shit that Baron-Cohen has come up with

electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 28 July 2003 03:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Tell it, brother.

Trayce (trayce), Monday, 28 July 2003 03:33 (twenty-two years ago)

The radio quiz show sounds like My Word with Frank Muir and Denis Norden.

Just me, Monday, 28 July 2003 07:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Ha ha Tracer doesn't know the differernce between Australians and Frank Muir.

N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 28 July 2003 09:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Moving to Britain will soon sort that out N.

I remember Frank Muir's What-A-Mess books with fondness. Am I wrong?

Tom (Groke), Monday, 28 July 2003 09:46 (twenty-two years ago)

You're not wrong.

RickyT (RickyT), Monday, 28 July 2003 09:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Well it was radio, N. I couldn't exactly see their faces to tell if they were Australian or not could I.

Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 28 July 2003 12:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh I see, It's Gunston who was the Aussie.

Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 1 August 2003 19:10 (twenty-two years ago)


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