Monday, May 01, 2006
OTR Heaven: More Comedy Picks
Continuing on from the last post
The Jack Benny Program: This was one of the longest lasting shows in the OTR era and it's also probably the most represented. (Yes there are full runs of some shows floating around but it's the Jack Benny Program that has the most circulation among enthusiasts) This was the show that made Jack Benny what he became. The show created the penny pinching, fragile ego, self deprecating character that most people grew to love. There's yet another outdated look on race relations on paper from this show however Benny always treated Rochester with respect and it's Rochester who got most of the best laughs without resorting to racial stereotypes. Again the humour back then is hoary today but there are many episodes that are just geniunely LOL funny.
The Life of Riley: This was the prototype for the typical family sitcom we know today. The main character of Chester A. Riley was a lovable, clumsy but big hearted oaf who had a knack for making small problems into near disasters. Riley was more then likely the basis for future characters such as Ralph Kramden, Fred Flintstone and Dan Connor. Overall this show was quite funny for its time and I enjoy the interplay between Riley and one of friends Digby "Digger" O'Dell who was a very morbid undertaker who'd advise Riley on some of his problems. Think of him as a more morbid Wilson from Home Improvement.
Lum n' Abner: If you thought that the backwards, hick comedy format was a '60s invention then you'd be wrong. The "hick comedy" format thrived on radio and Lum n' Abner was one of the first. It's not exactly my cup of tea but it does have a popular following amongst enthusiasts so I thought i'd mention it.
Last but not least....
My Favourite Husband: This was the show that made Lucille Ball into the star that she later became. It was basically a radio version of her later success on TV with I Love Lucy. All the elements of "Lucy" are in this show and it works surprisingly well given how we usually associate Lucille Ball with physical comedy.
There are a couple other pretty good comedic shows out there but these are some of the more interesting and influential ones. My next OTR post will focus on the detective and crime genre. It's going to be extremely hard narrowing them down to a select few as it's this genre that was probably the most popular in those days.
The Jack Benny Program: This was one of the longest lasting shows in the OTR era and it's also probably the most represented. (Yes there are full runs of some shows floating around but it's the Jack Benny Program that has the most circulation among enthusiasts) This was the show that made Jack Benny what he became. The show created the penny pinching, fragile ego, self deprecating character that most people grew to love. There's yet another outdated look on race relations on paper from this show however Benny always treated Rochester with respect and it's Rochester who got most of the best laughs without resorting to racial stereotypes. Again the humour back then is hoary today but there are many episodes that are just geniunely LOL funny.
The Life of Riley: This was the prototype for the typical family sitcom we know today. The main character of Chester A. Riley was a lovable, clumsy but big hearted oaf who had a knack for making small problems into near disasters. Riley was more then likely the basis for future characters such as Ralph Kramden, Fred Flintstone and Dan Connor. Overall this show was quite funny for its time and I enjoy the interplay between Riley and one of friends Digby "Digger" O'Dell who was a very morbid undertaker who'd advise Riley on some of his problems. Think of him as a more morbid Wilson from Home Improvement.
Lum n' Abner: If you thought that the backwards, hick comedy format was a '60s invention then you'd be wrong. The "hick comedy" format thrived on radio and Lum n' Abner was one of the first. It's not exactly my cup of tea but it does have a popular following amongst enthusiasts so I thought i'd mention it.
Last but not least....
My Favourite Husband: This was the show that made Lucille Ball into the star that she later became. It was basically a radio version of her later success on TV with I Love Lucy. All the elements of "Lucy" are in this show and it works surprisingly well given how we usually associate Lucille Ball with physical comedy.
There are a couple other pretty good comedic shows out there but these are some of the more interesting and influential ones. My next OTR post will focus on the detective and crime genre. It's going to be extremely hard narrowing them down to a select few as it's this genre that was probably the most popular in those days.
# posted by Chris Fung @ 8:24 AM 
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Just wondering how you could leave out "Fred Allen" when talking about Jack Benny. Their on air feud was legendary in the radio comedy wars of yesteryear.
# posted by 
: 11:25 PM
: 11:25 PM
You know that was a big gaffe on my part. I've heard quite a few shows with the two of them together. It's hard to believe that the feud was more sizzle then steak most of the time at least :)
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