Deep Dive: Weird Al On Square One

If you’re not a fan of “Weird Al” Yankovic, what’s wrong with you? Seriously, the accordion playing musician best known for his parody songs has been entertaining folks for decades and rarely fails to amuse. I recalled a bit he did on the old SQUARE ONE TV – a little number called “Patterns” that extolled the joyous virtue of, well, patterns – and looked to see if it was available on YouTube. It was. It IS. Although the quality is not great (probably recorded from an old VHS tape), it does feature Weird Al in his glorious polka best (plus Dr. Demento as well).

I would note, from what I read online, that apparently Al did not write this tune so it does not appear on any of his albums. So if you are a Weird Al fan and haven’t heard this before, you’re welcome.

My Top Five: Send Ups

As I mention often, PBS and public broadcasting series have firmly entered the pop culture consciousness. So much so that they are frequently the target of parodies or send ups. Virtually every long-running sketch comedy series has spoofed a PBS show at one time or another. So I took some time to come up with the ones that really tickled my fancy, those that stuck in my mind long after I first laughed at them.

It’s important to note that these are not necessarily parodies seen on shows we’ve broadcast on PBS but lampoons shown outside of PBS based on series we’ve aired (there is one PBS show, of course). So here they are … MY TOP FIVE SEND UPS.

5) MR. PIN (KIDS IN THE HALL). The Canadian sketch comedy series is one of my all time favorites, ranking right up there with the likes of MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS (an obvious influence). I recall seeing this sketch in which Kevin McDonald plays a customer impatiently waiting in line at a store and commenting on how I thought it was a hilarious send up of MR. BEAN. My friend didn’t think it was a MR. BEAN spoof and I’ve no proof that it was intended to be – but come on! The suit, the hair, the attitude – McDonald is doing his best Rowan Atkinson impression so I’m counting it.

Sounds Familiar

“Oh, Aunt Agnes, just remember you are not losing a niece; you are gaining a man who is… awfully good at croquet and who can probably greet the wedding guests in Greek, Latin… and hieroglyphics.” – Emily Ivory (Georgina Cates), discussing her engagement with her Aunt (Prunella Scales), STIFF UPPER LIPS on MASTERPIECE THEATRE

Fruit of the Lampoon

SESAME STREET does it again. This time it’s an Orange Is The New Black parody. Personally, I’m not sure if my first pick for a kids TV show spoof would be a TV-MA series that no preschooler should ever be exposed to … but you have to marvel at the ingenuity of the title alone (“Orange Is The New Snack” – seriously, how cute is that?).

The Fresh Prince Of … Sesame Street?

If you’ve ever wondered how Bert met Ernie, wonder no more. The perennial pals of PBS’ preparatory property lay it out for you in this Fresh Prince of Bel Air parody. Yo, homes, smell ya later!

Wednesday Trivia Question

What does Red Green consider the handyman’s secret weapon?

Wednesday Trivia Question

What fast food chain used Mr. Rodney, an obvious Mr. Rogers parody, in commercials during the mid-80s?

That’s The Way The Cookie Rumbles

Welcome to Monday.

Since Jurassic World made box office boffo over the weekend, I thought we’d start the week off with this Sesame Street send up. (And for my money, Cookie Monster should be in every movie parody.) Enjoy!