Hey Now: Five Great Shows Within Shows

It’s kind of odd to watch characters on TV watching TV, but said paradox can lead to excellent portions of entertainment. The show within a show can be used as a dumping ground for surplus ideas, or as a mechanism for fleshing out a fictional universe. Alternatively, since writers always love to write about writing, it can be the bread and butter of the show itself. Kevin from WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN whinged about it at one point, but he was nuts, and can shut up.

Five Great Shows Within Shows…

The Larry Sanders Show (1992 – 1998)

The Larry Sanders Show is not a particularly interesting late night talk show. It does nothing revolutionary, books fairly standard guests and features a typical ripped-from-the-headlines monologue. But while The Larry Sanders Show is nothing special, THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW excels in its attention to detail and commitment to a TV reality. Co-creator and star Garry Shandling had guest hosted THE TONIGHT SHOW a number of times, and was offered David Letterman’s talk show after Letterman quit, and so was well versed in the tropes and traditions of the genre. The show works as a kind of comedic loop; we see the tensions, problems and frustrations that build behind the scenes, which then spill out into the talk show, which then grow further backstage, and so forth. The faux talk show format also allowed THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW to perfect the art of the celebrity playing themselves. Years before ENTOURAGE (and latter day SIMPSONS) turned it into a cynical ratings grab, SANDERS used celebrities as background, quick jokes and fleshed out plot points in equal measure.

Mock Trial With J. Reinhold, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (2003 – 2006)

Few sitcoms are as savvy as ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. Over its three seasons, its dysfunctional family dynamics gave way for a scathing portrait of the Bush administration, the war in Iraq, and all things pop culture. Indeed, its aping of the media may be second in scope and accuracy only to THE SIMPSONS; in one of its most exceptional achievements, a spoof series about celebrities on skates made its way into reality. Singling out Mock Trial With J. Reinhold, therefore, is a tad unfair, save for the fact that everything about the concept is just painfully funny. From the theme song sung by AMERICAN IDOL joke contestant William Hung (and his hung jury) to the Chekov’s gun talking adverts to the fact that the show is entirely based on Judge Reinhold’s first name, it’s simply an incredibly well crafted throwaway joke in a show startlingly full of them.

The Krusty the Klown Show, THE SIMPSONS (1989 – )

It goes without saying, but no TV show (and probably no other medium) has ever created a fictional world that can match up to Springfield. One of the best examples of the series’ depth and scope is in its own TV programming; few shows feature so much footage of TV characters watching TV. In the early days of the show especially, THE SIMPSONS’ extraordinary pace allowed the tube to operate as a source of throwaway gags, a space for the writers to cram with spare jokes that had no other home. The most developed of these assorted bits and bobs is the Krusty The Clown show, a beloved kids’ show, and its Tom and Jerry spoofing show within a show within a show, Itchy and Scratchy. As with most elements of golden age SIMPSONS, every aspect of what could easily be a background joke is picked apart and painted with incredible detail. Far from being a simple jab at children’s entertainers, Krusty and his surroundings are given a rich back story, fleshed out characters and a deep history. It’s all thrown together with a typical disregard for continuity (particularly in how well respected Krusty is in the comedy world), but this only works in its favour; it’s an amorphous concept, able to be twisted for any comedic purpose.

Ya Heard? With Perd Hapley, PARKS AND RECREATION(2009 – )

Though its run has only consisted of four seasons and 68 episodes, PARKS AND RECREATION is well on its way to building a world as detailed as Springfield. Though its live action format means it will struggle to go quite as wild as THE SIMPSONS, its focus on its setting and consistent world view has made Pawnee one of TV’s most vivid settings. Much like THE SIMPSONS, Pawnee’s local television plays an integral part in shaping the fictional universe. Pawnee’s citizens are prone to acts of ill thought out nonsense and overreactions, and the city’s television seems to be a large part of this. News anchor Joan Callamezzo is perhaps the most fleshed out TV personality, a reporter whose shady practises revolve around sensationalism and literal gotcha journalism. The most reliable source of gags, though, is genial host Perd Hapley, whose catchphrases and Fresh Prince-style high top only scratch the surface of a fountain of comedy. Though he doesn’t have the depth of a Kent Brockman or a Krusty, his bizarre speech patterns and charming obliviousness make him a high spot of PARKS’ deep bench of supporting oddballs. And who knows, the upcoming fifth season could well contain a Perd-centric episode.

Johnny’s Bananas, ENTOURAGE (2004 – 2011)

ENTOURAGE’s eighth and, mercifully, final season was aggressively uneventful. Vince decided he wasn’t addicted to booze or drugs anymore. Turtle tried to open some restaurant. Eric argued with various women and business partners. Ari shouted and drove around. In this maelstrom of tedium, though, there was a bright light, in the form of JOHNNY’S BANANAS. Starring Johnny Drama and painfully unemployed comic Andrew Dice Clay, BANANAS tells the classic tale of a gorilla that gets angry all the time. This being ENTOURAGE, Doug Ellin and co still managed to make the story pretty stupid and boring; witness Dice’s behaviour, one episode thanking his lucky stars that he has a job of any kind, the next deciding to walk away because he’s decided his huge pay check isn’t huge enough. But compared to the dirge-like pace at which the rest of the season moves, the JOHNNY’S BANANAS material positively zips along, with the energy of someone who’s really amused by a monkey that looks like Johnny Drama. Even though the plot ends in probably the least dramatic manner possible, it’s still a breath of fresh air compared to Ari’s problems with his shrill wife, or Turtle complaining about his goddamn restaurant.

And one not so good one…

Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip (2006 – 2007)

Aaron Sorkin is good at a whole bunch of things. He turned the invention of Facebook into one of the best films in recent memory, wrote one of cinema’s most memorable speeches on the subject of truth-handling, and showed everyone how much he knows about politics on both big and small screens. So it’s only fair that he’s absolutely lousy at writing sketch comedy. STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, Sorkin’s follow up to THE WEST WING, was the victim of both hype and not being very good. Its pedigree was impressive; the cast boasted several WEST WING alumni (Bradley Whitford, Timothy Busfield), a bona fide sketch comedy legend (Mark McKinney) and a Chandler (Matthew Perry), but nothing could stop it from being cancelled after one increasingly tedious season. Sorkin’s inability to handle the style was a large factor, as the show within a show was supposed to be revolutionary, hilarious comedy, and simply wasn’t. Furthermore, it was hindered by an unfortunate piece of scheduling, debuting the same year as fellow SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE spoof 30 ROCK. Unfortunately for Sorkin, 30 ROCK had the advantage of a co-creator who had actually served time on the comedy institution, and could therefore channel her own experiences into the show, rather than just guessing what it was probably like and then writing stupid sketches about turkeys.