Huell Howser, a beloved television personality best known for hosting the travel show California's Gold on California PBS stations, passed away yesterday at the age of 67. Comedian James Adomian, who has been performing an affectionate impression of Howser in his stand-up act and on the podcast and TV versions of Comedy Bang Bang, and he penned a touching tribute to the departed for LA Weekly that's worth the read for James Adomian and Huell Howser fans alike. And here's Adomian playing Howser on Funny or Die last year.
The latest episode of Scott Moran's excellent web series "Modern Comedian," in which he makes a short documentary about a different comedian each week, focuses on Power Violence, an L.A.-based group of comedians/skatepunks who make videos and run on a terrific weekly comedy show. This is the first episode of "Modern Comedian" that's produced by PBS Digital, which is a pretty exciting development for Moran and his web series. In their "Modern Comedian" installment, you get to see the Power Violence guys' intense pre-show ritual, the giant mansion they all live in together, and some haircut tomfoolery at a Wal-Mart. Doin' PBS proud.
It’s no secret that sometimes comedy is taken a bit too seriously. Comedy obsessives love not just the jokes, but the mechanics and emotions of the comedy world. There are a raft of comedy documentaries exploring comedy and comedians, but do they really have anything significant to add to the discussion? This series looks at comedy documentaries and whether they’re interesting, insightful, and possibly even…funny?
There’s a lot to cover in Johnny Carson: King of Late Night, an episode of PBS’s American Masters series chronicling the life of the iconic Tonight Show host. The two-hour film follows him from childhood through his meteoric rise to success and unrivaled legacy. [...]
If you've got an hour and a half, accept the daunting challenge of watching the entire Mark Twain Award show that aired last night to honor Will Ferrell. The show features Jack Black, Conan O'Brien, Paul Rudd, Molly Shannon, and more, singing and talking about what makes Will Ferrell funny, interspersed with highlight clips from his career. You've been warned: as Conan O'Brien puts it, it may only be "PBS-funny." But stick in there and you'll get the official acceptance speech from the man himself, around the hour-and-twelve-minute mark.
PBS aired the ceremony awarding Tina Fey the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday, but they trimmed out one joke that was not too kind on Sarah Palin. Here it is: And, you know, politics aside, the success of Sarah Palin and women like her is good for all women — except, of course, those who will end up, you know, like, paying for their own rape kit 'n' stuff … But for everybody else, it's a win-win. Unless you're a gay woman who wants to marry your partner of 20 years — whatever. But for most women, the success of conservative women is good [...]
