The Museum of Television & Radio

Presents a New Free Summer Screening Series

We Interrupt This Workday...

Free screenings of rare and hard-to-see TV every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m.

New York, NY—The Museum of Television & Radio offers New Yorkers a chance to catch some (cathode) rays this summer in an air-conditioned theater with free lunchtime screenings. Every Wednesday afternoon at 12:45 p.m., the Museum will screen rarely seen half-hour selections from the collection, introduced by a curator. This summer’s offerings will include samplings from short-lived but not forgotten programming such as The Brady Bunch Hour, comedy from everyone’s favorite late night New Yorkers David Letterman and Jon Stewart, British humor courtesy of Smack the Pony, gone-too-soon hilarity from The Ben Stiller Show and Mr. Show with Bob and David, and the never-aired pilot Heat Vision and Jack starring Jack Black and Owen Wilson.

In addition, Au Bon Pain at 22 West 52 Street will offer viewers a special "We Interrupt This Workday..." lunchtime deal. Each week following the screening, viewers will receive a coupon to Au Bon Pain for a free cookie with purchase of a sandwich and a drink.

The complete screening schedule follows:

July 10—The Jon Stewart Show

Before Jon Stewart became the host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, he did this talk show, which aired in syndication from 1994 through 1995. His Daily Show manner is evident here in a nascent form with actors Jeff Fahey and Jason London, ukulele players Paul and Irvin Gordon, and singer Mary J. Blige. (1995; edited to 35 minutes)

July 17—The Brady Bunch Hour

In one of the more unusual concepts of the late 1970s, the cast of The Brady Bunch (minus Eve Plumb) was reunited by producers Sid and Marty Krofft to reprise their wholesome characters in this campy, disco-influenced variety show. Highlights include Tina Turner singing “Rubber Band Man” while an Esther Williams-style water ballet is performed, and Ann B. Davis and Rip Taylor joining in on “Good Morning Starshine” from Hair. (1977; edited to 30 minutes)

July 24—David Letterman: Looking for Fun

In 1981, David Letterman was a promising young comedian who had made a name for himself as a frequent guest host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Unfortunately, his own first program, a characteristically quirky morning program called The David Letterman Show, had been canceled after eighteen weeks-Letterman’s disarming irreverence and peculiar take on the genre were not what America’s housewives were clamoring for. His future on television thus uncertain, the comedian taped this special for HBO, in which he dryly enumerates the banality of various Los Angeles institutions and torments clueless tourists in a style that would characterize his remote pieces for Late Night with David Letterman, which debuted the following year. (1981; 30 minutes)

July 31—Strangers with Candy (unaired pilot)

This pilot for Comedy Central’s first live-action sitcom features Amy Sedaris in her first incarnation as Jerri Blank, a forty-seven-year-old former “user, boozer, and loser” who returns to high school. Sedaris wound up making minor changes to Blank’s physical appearance, and the role of her mother was recast when the original actress, Sarah Thyre, was unavailable (although she eventually wound up with a different role in the series). Also, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello, who created the show with Sedaris, play dual roles in this pilot. (1999; 25 minutes)

August 7—The Ben Stiller Show

The Ben Stiller Show’s razor-sharp dissections of popular culture inanities and Hollywood sacred cows delighted the cognoscenti and set the standard for hip, media-savvy comedy in the 1990s. The savagery of The Ben Stiller Show’s parodies is tempered by its creators’ obvious love of their medium; the pitch-perfect sketches both excoriate and celebrate television, with equally hilarious and memorable results. (1993; 25 minutes)

August 14—Smack the Pony: Premiere

This extremely irreverent sketch show from the United Kingdom has won two International Emmy Awards. Featuring the talents of Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan, and Sally Phillips, the program was originally considered “feminist comedy,” but was later noted as “one of the best sketch shows of recent years.” In this premiere episode, sketches include parodies of maladjusted women using a dating service, phobic dog walkers, and coworkers engaged in a singing competition. (1999; 25 minutes) Contains adult language.

August 21—Mr. Show with Bob and David

Sketch comedy took a dizzying step into the future with HBO’s Mr. Show with Bob and David, a surreal, stream-of-consciousness romp through pop culture led by intrepid writers/performers Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. This “best of” episode highlights the inspired insanity of the late and much lamented series. (1997; 30 minutes) Contains adult language.

August 28—Heat Vision and Jack

Director Ben Stiller goes camp in this twisted amalgam of such fondly remembered science fiction/action series as The Six Million Dollar Man and Knight Rider. Cult favorites Jack Black (High Fidelity, Tenacious D) and Owen Wilson (Bottle Rocket, Zoolander) star as superintelligent astronaut Jack Austin and Heat Vision, his philosophical talking motorcycle.

(1999; 30 minutes)

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The Museum of Television & Radio in California, located at 465 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m. and until 9:00 p.m. on Thursdays. The Museum of Television & Radio in New York, located at 25 West 52 Street in Manhattan, is open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 6:00 p.m., until 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays, and Friday evenings until 9:00 p.m. (theaters only). Both Museums are closed on New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Suggested contribution: Members free; $6.00 for adults; $4.00 for senior citizens and students; and $3.00 for children under thirteen. Admission is free in Los Angeles. The public areas in both Museums are accessible to wheelchairs and assisted listening devices are available. Programs are subject to change. You may call the Museum in Los Angeles at (310) 786-1000 or in New York at (212) 621-6800. The Museum's World Wide Web site may be accessed at http://www.mtr.org.

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