Who remembers watching this?

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by Anonymous

reply 40

July 14, 2020 7:03 AM

No one watched it..we were all out dancing at the clubs on Friday nights

by Anonymous

reply 1

January 23, 2019 11:08 PM

I was not old enough to go out to the clubs on Friday nights, so I did watch this show. It had a feeling of desperation about it. Where MadTV had some glimmers of talent and humor, Fridays was just consistently bad.

by Anonymous

reply 2

January 23, 2019 11:12 PM

I remember they had Tony Geary and Genie Francis as guest hosts. Melanie Chartoff was funny. The opening skit had the cast gathered around agreeing not to copy SNL then a wide shot out and they're all dressed like SNL characters. Downhill from there.

by Anonymous

reply 3

January 23, 2019 11:18 PM

I loved Melanie Chartoff. Some of the things were really funny.

They did like a 10 minute skit making Ronald Reagan the Ronnie Horror Picture Show.

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by Anonymous

reply 4

January 23, 2019 11:27 PM

I remember it, but was too young to appreciate it.

Anyone remember Friday Night Videos?

by Anonymous

reply 5

January 23, 2019 11:58 PM

Wasn't Michael Richards a part of that show? Isn't that sort of where he got his start?

by Anonymous

reply 6

January 24, 2019 12:04 AM

Ugh - R4 - I had high hopes for that skit but it kind of sucked. How is it that a parody of RHPS could be such a drag? (pardon the pun.) The lyrics sounds sound like they were written by high school theater nerds attempting to do a serious political editorial. Michael Richards is a good Brad, though.

by Anonymous

reply 7

January 24, 2019 12:05 AM

Oh come on! This show was more or less as good or great, and hit or miss, as any other SNL copy, like SCTV, Mad TV, etc.

They all had their strengths. And don't forget SNL was often dismal.

I have a 12 DVD bootleg-burned collection I bought of Ebay years ago. It contains almost episode burned from various VHS copies, surprisingly good quality. My partner and I watch it all the time and are often amazed by it. Their best sketches were ingenious, and the cast was talented. I worship Melaine Chartoff! And Rich Hall.

It was hard to find on digital release for a long time because Michael Richards was in the cast and held up the licensing rights post-Seinfeld fame. Apparently he (incorrectly) felt it cast him in an unflattering light. A recurring sketch has him in screaming drag. I think around 2010 they finally put out a "best of" skits DVD.

Larry David was also one of the writers, and often played parts... at one point debuting his "puffy shirt" gag skit decades before he'd write it into Seinfeld.

You know all those infamous Andy Kaufmann stunts where he broke character on live TV, and held up a studio audience in front of The Pretenders so he could lecture them on drugs? That was all on this show. Kaufmann was on the show a lot and always causing trouble.

Weird people were always dropping by, like Frank Zappa did an impromptu walk-on on the news section.

They also had amazing music guests SNL would never have, like the Plasmatics (who destroy the studio). The Clash, Devo and Stray Cats both appeared as music guests long before they were on SNL.

This was an often wild and remarkable show! Worth seeking out if you're into stuff like it.

It was also an amazing time capsule of early 80's Los Angeles.

I think a lot of it is on YouTube now.

by Anonymous

reply 9

January 24, 2019 12:15 AM

R9 This. Fridays was certainly more offbeat and a better fit for punk bands, Zappa and weirdos like Kaufmann than SNL was. Zappa’s snarky hosting gig at SNL was so majestically subversive, NBC has done everything in their power to keep it in the vault.

by Anonymous

reply 10

January 24, 2019 12:24 AM

It was very second rate, a blatant rip-off of "Saturday Night Live", right down to its name: "Fridays." I remember a few things about it. Being based in L.A., it always had big name musical guests, which SNL really didn't have at that time. I remember a skit that had Michael Richards in drag, and that was a sight to see. And I remember the Andy Kaufman episode, where he seemingly broke character right in the middle of a skit. It was supposedly planned, but it was obvious the others in the skit weren't in on the joke and were aghast. Michael Richards went and dumped cue cards in Kaufman's lap, prompting him to throw water at Richards. That skit was probably the most interesting thing ever to happen on that show.

by Anonymous

reply 11

January 24, 2019 12:32 AM

SCTV was by far superior to Fridays.

by Anonymous

reply 12

January 24, 2019 3:05 AM

Tom Shales once correctly referred to Melanie Chartoff as a "real triple threat: can't sing, can't dance, can't act."

by Anonymous

reply 13

January 24, 2019 3:22 AM

Bruce Mahler (who later played the rabbi on "Seinfeld") and friend.

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by Anonymous

reply 14

January 24, 2019 3:23 AM

I watched it, but Charnoff was the only good thing about it. It was a stinky show.

by Anonymous

reply 15

January 24, 2019 3:27 AM

Hello, Mr. Doody! Right this way, Mr. Doody!

by Anonymous

reply 16

January 24, 2019 3:32 AM

[quote]Anyone remember Friday Night Videos?

Hell to the yeah, R5! I remember staying up late on Friday (and Saturday) nights to watch all of my favorite music video shows. NBC showed Friday Night Videos and then I'd also switch over to Channel 11 to watch the two-hour music video show called "Texas Hit Revue," which was hosted by this really hot surfer-looking dude whose name I'd never be able to recall in a million years.

To OP's question, "Fridays" would come on really late in the Dallas/Fort Worth market and, if memory serves, it was followed for a time by ABC's very short-lived, half-hour music video show called "ABC Rocks." Those were the days!

by Anonymous

reply 17

January 24, 2019 3:40 AM

Fridays was how I discovered The Catholic Girls.

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by Anonymous

reply 18

January 24, 2019 3:46 AM

"SCTV was by far superior to Fridays."

Of course it was. And it was no "copy" of SNL, either. It was nothing like SNL; it was a different type of show. And what amazing talent: John Candy, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Martin Short. It was really something.

by Anonymous

reply 19

January 24, 2019 4:01 AM

SNL pretty much lifted the “Halfwits” game show skits from SCTV and recycled them as Celebrity Jeopardy.

by Anonymous

reply 20

January 24, 2019 4:27 AM

Kramer said something bad on it, didn't he?

by Anonymous

reply 22

January 24, 2019 10:30 AM

Remember it well. I really liked it but I was so young at the time. Speaking of Friday Night Videos, anyone remember that rip off called NY Hot Tracks. They played more dance type music. Cheap production but I used to watch it anyway.

by Anonymous

reply 23

January 24, 2019 11:54 AM

I was a kid when Fridays was on, so of course I watched it. The only thing I remember was the bits where Michael Richards would play with his army men in his yard. I thought it was funny then. Not so much now.

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by Anonymous

reply 24

January 24, 2019 12:06 PM

SCTV was superior to all of them, because they held on to a talented cast, had great writing, didn't have to deal with the constraints of live television or rotating guest stars and hosts. SCTV also thoroughly understood their niche; they stayed in their lane of movie, TV, and celebrity parodies, and almost never did topical or political humor.

by Anonymous

reply 25

January 24, 2019 6:58 PM

I would reboot this on ABC.

But make it summer only, so that there was something to watch when SNL wasn't live.

by Anonymous

reply 26

January 24, 2019 7:04 PM

I also remember it and remembered it was the first place I had seen Michael Richards when Seinfeld started.

by Anonymous

reply 27

January 24, 2019 10:00 PM

I had a friend that loved it and would talk about it all the time, but it was on after my bedtime so I never watched. Then one night, I slept over my friend's house and was able to watch it, but I didn't think it was funny at all. But then at that age (9? 10? 11?) I didn't think SCTV was very funny, yet in adulthood i think there's nothing funnier.

by Anonymous

reply 28

January 25, 2019 12:30 AM

[quote]Where MadTV had some glimmers of talent and humor,

What? MadTV was consistently one of the best TV shows around and had a host of very talented performers.

by Anonymous

reply 29

January 25, 2019 12:43 AM

The Andy Kaufman (who was never funny) incident

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by Anonymous

reply 30

January 25, 2019 12:44 AM

Wikipedia says that the three comedians acting in the Andy Kaufman sketch were aware of the prank, but they sure didn't seem like it. They seemed genuinely horrified.

by Anonymous

reply 32

January 25, 2019 12:58 AM

...and complications from Covid-19

by Anonymous

reply 34

July 14, 2020 5:15 AM

[quote]Remember it well. I really liked it but I was so young at the time. Speaking of Friday Night Videos, anyone remember that rip off called NY Hot Tracks. They played more dance type music. Cheap production but I used to watch it anyway.

Night Tracks on TBS was my jam.

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by Anonymous

reply 35

July 14, 2020 5:18 AM

Um, no. We were all watching Dallas that night.

by Anonymous

reply 36

July 14, 2020 6:22 AM

I never missed an episode. I loved "Fridays" more than SNL.

by Anonymous

reply 37

July 14, 2020 6:29 AM

[quote]Um, no. We were all watching Dallas that night.

Fridays ran AFTER Dallas was done for the night.

by Anonymous

reply 38

July 14, 2020 6:31 AM

[quote] No one watched it..we were all out dancing at the clubs on Friday nights

"We" were? No, "we" were ages fourteen to sixteen when this was on, so "we" could not get into clubs without being carded.

by Anonymous

reply 39

July 14, 2020 6:34 AM

R39, wrong. "We" were 10! Watching Chips and The Incredible Hulk.

by Anonymous

reply 40

July 14, 2020 7:03 AM