Current Comedic Curators of Kitsch
July 13, 2014 11:50 AM Subscribe
In the 80s, we saw the rise of Pee-Wee, Weird Al, and Julie Brown. In the 90s we had Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and TV Funhouse. In the aughts we were introduced to Tim and Eric, Everything is Terrible! and Wonder Showzen. All have plundered to our kitsch-laden past to create some great modern comedy and commentary, and many of the above are still going strong today. The question: who are our latest purveyors of kitsch, creating comedy from the detritus of the past?
Check out my favorite Australian action/comedy show: Danger 5
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:17 PM on July 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:17 PM on July 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think in general this genre, specifically using the 50s-70s as fodder for comedy, has mostly gone by the wayside. The 80s are well covered by T&E. Most spoof shows these days are parodying the kitchiness of the late 90s-mid 2000s. Children's Hospital is a take off of ER/Greys Anatomy. NTSF:SD:SUV is parodying 24/NCIS. Eagleheart is taking on Walker Texas Ranger. And so on.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:12 PM on July 13, 2014
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:12 PM on July 13, 2014
The Venture Brothers started as a Johnny Quest/GI Joe/boy adventurer (Hardy Boys, etc) parody, but has evolved into something much weirder and better.
posted by fings at 6:04 PM on July 13, 2014
posted by fings at 6:04 PM on July 13, 2014
It's not just Tim and Eric -- the whole Adult Swim line-up lives and breathes this stuff. SeaLab 2021, Robot Chicken, Look Around You, Venture Bros., Family Guy, etc. etc. etc.
Beyond individual personalities, I think you'd do well looking at various web-based, community-driven engines of content creation and remixing, like TVTropes (media and pop culture cliches), Homestuck (sprawling RPG- and video game-flavored fandom/lore), and Polandball (reinterpretation of history and geopolitics through simple MSPaint comics). Speaking of Polandball, Reddit is great at creating and sustaining these weird niche corners of creativity -- see stuff like Dolan, Inglip, CivPolitics, F7U12, and the various flavor-of-the-now subreddits that trend each day.
posted by Rhaomi at 7:28 PM on July 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Beyond individual personalities, I think you'd do well looking at various web-based, community-driven engines of content creation and remixing, like TVTropes (media and pop culture cliches), Homestuck (sprawling RPG- and video game-flavored fandom/lore), and Polandball (reinterpretation of history and geopolitics through simple MSPaint comics). Speaking of Polandball, Reddit is great at creating and sustaining these weird niche corners of creativity -- see stuff like Dolan, Inglip, CivPolitics, F7U12, and the various flavor-of-the-now subreddits that trend each day.
posted by Rhaomi at 7:28 PM on July 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by MonkeyToes at 12:14 PM on July 13, 2014 [1 favorite]