Crystal Meth and Muppet Death
One of the best museums in New York catering to the lazy is the Museum of Television and Radio. While I am one of the laziest fucks ever, I've only been to the MTR once, while in college, to see an Andy Kaufman retrospective. After the emptyish crowd let out, my friend Sara and I perused the other floors, and then came across the best thing ever.
On the fourth floor exists a personal viewing library, where visitors can request shows from a seemingly unlimited number of listings, and then watch them in a private console. Manna from Heaven. The listings binder was damp from the drool of past TV addicts. I figured we should start off with something light, so I requested the Jim Carrey episode of SNL, the one where he plays a lifeguard in a hot tub, and dances with the Roxbury guys. Fine, not highbrow, I'll give you that. But pretty hilarious, and my friend hadn't seen it, and I was 18 years old and it was before "The Majestic".
Thanks to the AMAZING YouTube, I found by far the funniest bit from the entire SNL episode, "Jimmy Tango's Fat Busters." I love that the audience is completely bewildered. Promise me you'll watch until Will Ferrell's bead costume:
So that took care of the comedy, but ha-what about the drama?
Then, it hit me. I was a Sesame Street super-fan. So much so that I owned the Sesame Street yearbook of sorts, Unpaved, which is a FANTASTIC book full of great behind-the-scenes stories, as well as transcripts of some of the most beloved sketches.
I was too young to remember Will Lee's (the actor who played Mr. Hooper) untimely death in 1983. The producers of the show, instead of skirting the issue of his passing, instead dealt with it head on in one of the show's most famous episodes.
"Unpaved" has a transcript of the scene. The first time I read it, I was hysterical. And because I am a sick maniac, I would read it to friends, and we would just cry and cry. At the Museum, I decided I had to see this tragic scene played out first hand. Part of me feels cruel for posting this video, because I'm convinced it's the muppet version of 9/11, but another part of me really thinks you all should see it. It was recorded soon after his passing, and the neighborhood gang is genuinely tearing up. Poignant and heartbreaking.
You can read the transcript here. Needless to say, wearing eyemakeup today was a pretty bad idea.
On the fourth floor exists a personal viewing library, where visitors can request shows from a seemingly unlimited number of listings, and then watch them in a private console. Manna from Heaven. The listings binder was damp from the drool of past TV addicts. I figured we should start off with something light, so I requested the Jim Carrey episode of SNL, the one where he plays a lifeguard in a hot tub, and dances with the Roxbury guys. Fine, not highbrow, I'll give you that. But pretty hilarious, and my friend hadn't seen it, and I was 18 years old and it was before "The Majestic".
Thanks to the AMAZING YouTube, I found by far the funniest bit from the entire SNL episode, "Jimmy Tango's Fat Busters." I love that the audience is completely bewildered. Promise me you'll watch until Will Ferrell's bead costume:
So that took care of the comedy, but ha-what about the drama?
Then, it hit me. I was a Sesame Street super-fan. So much so that I owned the Sesame Street yearbook of sorts, Unpaved, which is a FANTASTIC book full of great behind-the-scenes stories, as well as transcripts of some of the most beloved sketches.
I was too young to remember Will Lee's (the actor who played Mr. Hooper) untimely death in 1983. The producers of the show, instead of skirting the issue of his passing, instead dealt with it head on in one of the show's most famous episodes.
"Unpaved" has a transcript of the scene. The first time I read it, I was hysterical. And because I am a sick maniac, I would read it to friends, and we would just cry and cry. At the Museum, I decided I had to see this tragic scene played out first hand. Part of me feels cruel for posting this video, because I'm convinced it's the muppet version of 9/11, but another part of me really thinks you all should see it. It was recorded soon after his passing, and the neighborhood gang is genuinely tearing up. Poignant and heartbreaking.
You can read the transcript here. Needless to say, wearing eyemakeup today was a pretty bad idea.
posted by Michelle Collins on
Thursday, May 11, 2006
