Having been a huge fan of Dana Carvey's multi-talents on SNL, I was so excited that he would have his own network TV skit comedy show. When this innovative show premiered, I was blown away by the brilliance of the humor and the level of creativeness, not just by my idol Mr. Carvey, but by the cast as a whole and the quality of the writing across the board. However, I knew the show was doomed from the start because there was an uproar over the opening skit of the first episode; Dana as Pres. Clinton in the Oval Office who ends up opening his shirt, revealing MULTIPLE (as in 6 or 7) nipples on his chest, and nursing puppies! The producers and writers, after the fact and the big brew-ha-ha, admitting that might not have been the wisest choice of skits toned things down a bit, but ABC had it in for the show from that point on. "The Dana Carvey Show" was hilarious and did push the envelope, and one of the major problems was that it aired on network TV before 10pm at night! This show would have been perfectly fine on cable or if ABC had aired it in late night opposite SNL or "MAD TV" or in the old "Fridays" time slot, but ABC was not smart enough or brave enough to program this truly ingenious show properly.
"The Dana Carvey Show" not only showcased it's star, but was the springboard for Steve Carell & Stephen Colbert - my 2 favorite "Daily Show" correspondents of all time! Also, this show provided the great Robert Smigel with more face time than any other project he had worked on (writing, producing, doing voices). These 3 uber-talented men were cast members AND writers and contributed to many memorable moments in this short lived series that Dana Carvey unselfishly shared with his comically gifted friends.
One of my favorite sketches of all was an unbelievably right-on-the-money spoof of The Bealtes "Anthology" that had aired on ABC a few months prior. Dana did his best rambling Paul McCartney, Stephen Colbert turned on the scouse to do George Harrison, and if I remember correctly, Steve Carell was Ringo and Robert Smigel was the ghost of John Lennon! It was a masterpiece - being a life-long Beatles fan I was so amazed with their impressions and the imitation of the exact documentary style used in "Anthology".
Lastly, I was lucky enough to attend a taping of the show in NYC, but it was one of the episodes that never made air. "The Dana Carvey Show" should DEFINITELY be released on DVD for all to discover this sparkling gem that never really saw the light of day.
"The Dana Carvey Show" not only showcased it's star, but was the springboard for Steve Carell & Stephen Colbert - my 2 favorite "Daily Show" correspondents of all time! Also, this show provided the great Robert Smigel with more face time than any other project he had worked on (writing, producing, doing voices). These 3 uber-talented men were cast members AND writers and contributed to many memorable moments in this short lived series that Dana Carvey unselfishly shared with his comically gifted friends.
One of my favorite sketches of all was an unbelievably right-on-the-money spoof of The Bealtes "Anthology" that had aired on ABC a few months prior. Dana did his best rambling Paul McCartney, Stephen Colbert turned on the scouse to do George Harrison, and if I remember correctly, Steve Carell was Ringo and Robert Smigel was the ghost of John Lennon! It was a masterpiece - being a life-long Beatles fan I was so amazed with their impressions and the imitation of the exact documentary style used in "Anthology".
Lastly, I was lucky enough to attend a taping of the show in NYC, but it was one of the episodes that never made air. "The Dana Carvey Show" should DEFINITELY be released on DVD for all to discover this sparkling gem that never really saw the light of day.