A satirical cop show featuring a Dirty Harry type cop taken to the nth degree. Sledge eats, sleeps and goes to the bathroom with his gun. He talks to his gun…lovingly. Shoot first and ask questions never, that’s his style. We only got two seasons of this brilliant show because they could never find a good timeslot for it.
Quote:
Oh FUCK YEAH!
31: BRASS EYE
Chris Morris is kind of the secret evil genius of comedy, and it can be argued that Brass Eye was his masterwork. His earlier news parodies On The Hour and The Day Today introduced his preoccupation with how the media sensationalizes social issues and incomprehensibly ‘factifies’ rampant speculation, but here he dialled everything to eleven and came up with a series that was not only overwhelmingly funny, but imbued with a genuine sense of anger. Morris goes all out in bold defiance of taste and accessibility, and to this day you can still judge a person’s sense of humour as to whether people adore this series or are horrified by it. I was living in the UK at the time it first aired, and it was banned so often nobody had any idea is it would be showed from week to week. How did Morris respond to this controversy? He made an additional episode on paedophilia, which included tricking Phil Collins into promoting a fake organization called ‘Nonce Sense’.
Morris pulled the same trick with a string of celebrities, having them give PSA-style speeches with no idea that they were being made fun. The best material was about Cake, a ‘made-up drug’ that allegedly affects an area of the brain called ‘Shatner’s Bassoon’. Arguably the best part was Rolf Harris reading out the list of colloquial names for the drug, such as ‘Loonytoad Quack’, ‘Ponce on the Heath’ and ‘Joss Ackland’s Spunky Backpack’. Or there was the Sex episode, with Morris shaming a gay man in front of the studio audience for having ‘Bad AIDS’ instead of ‘Good AIDS’.
Scariest of all is how news/current affairs media became increasingly like Brass Eye in the years after the show first screened.
This show was so fucking great. Everyone rightly waxes lyrical about Bill Hicks pushing the boundaries of humour and not giving a fuck about the resistance he encountered, but while he fought his battle one room at a time, Morris took on a nation. Bill would’ve been proud, I think.
As cult as cult gets, created by Stephen J. Cannell in his heyday. ‘80s Nick Mancuso vehicle whereby the mysterious “Ray” helps out people A-Team style, asking for only a favor sometime in the future. Drives a bitchin’ '65? Stingray, guy can be lots of different people Pretender-style.
AHow unknown can a show be and still be considered “cult”? Let us say it has all the trappings, a genre show, off-beat sensibility, people in front of the camera and behind that get your attention, and it causes that wonderful feeling of having no idea how it ever got made.
But with all those things, if no one remembers, talks, or thinks about it, is it still “cult”?
At the intersection of cult and the complete lack of a fanbase we have 1993’s…
Starring:
James Belushi
Dana Delany
Robert Loggia
Kim Cattrall
Angie Dickinson
Bebe Neuwirth
Ernie Hudson
David Warner
Ben Savage
Brad Dourif
Produced by: Oliver Stone
Written by: Bruce Wagner from his own comic strip
Directed by:
Kathryn Bigelow
Peter Hewitt (Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, The Borrowers)
Keith Gordon (The Chocolate War)
Phil Joanou (Three O’Clock High)
I’ll let Wikipedia help with the general idea:
[INDENT]“In the United States in the year 2007, the right-wing “Fathers” dominate large sections in politics and in the media. A libertarian movement, the “Friends”, opposes the government, often making use of underground guerilla tactics.
In California, Senator Tony Kreutzer’s TV station “Channel 3” is about to start a new television format, “Church Windows”, which creates a virtual reality on the basis of popular shows like sitcoms, using a new technique called “Mimecom”.
Harry Wyckoff is a successful patent attorney on the brink of becoming a partner in the agency he works at. He has two children with his wife Grace, a boutique owner: Coty, who has just been cast for the new “Channel 3” series, and Deirdre. At night, Wyckoff is plagued by strange dreams of a rhinoceros and a faceless woman who has palm trees tattooed on her body.”[/INDENT]
Yeah. It is weird, very uneven and occasionally hits that magical oddly prescient sweet spot and it is the cult-iest damn thing I think I’ve ever seen on American television.
And here is a William Gibson cameo for good measure:
AI sure as hell remember it. I own the DVD and everything (including the original graphic novel and the companion book). Don’t take the following as an insult, because I’m a fan of both: it’s like Southland Tales done as a miniseries. (If it had been done that way it might’ve made a little better sense.) I’ve never forgotten Robert Loggia’s description of the rhino as the only thing we have left of the unicorn – “a magnificent atavism, a remnant of ecstatic myth.” When’s the last time you heard that kind of thing on ABC? It was obviously greenlit because the network wanted another Twin Peaks (not to mention Oliver Stone was still hot back then and ABC wanted some of that Details demographic), but it was very much its own beast.
A[quote name=“Martin Blank” url=“/community/t/148757/the-100-greatest-cult-tv-shows-of-all-time#post_3562196”]I sure as hell remember it. I own the DVD and everything (including the original graphic novel and the companion book). Don’t take the following as an insult, because I’m a fan of both: it’s like Southland Tales done as a miniseries. (If it had been done that way it might’ve made a little better sense.) I’ve never forgotten Robert Loggia’s description of the rhino as the only thing we have left of the unicorn – “a magnificent atavism, a remnant of ecstatic myth.” When’s the last time you heard that kind of thing on ABC? It was obviously greenlit because the network wanted another Twin Peaks (not to mention Oliver Stone was still hot back then and ABC wanted some of that Details demographic), but it was very much its own beast.[/quote] Nice, it is so rare to come across another person(even just online) who has seen it. And owns the companion book!
And good call on Southland Tales, that is easily the best comparison anyone could possibly come up with.
edit: Oh and another thing of note to any potential viewers, Wild Palms also gives Scientology a good skewering if you are into that. Here is a great breakdown of it all: LINK…spoilers for the show, obviously. I think that brings the number of shows that attack Scientology in more than a throwaway line up to three, at least that I’m aware of (Wild Palms, South Park’s “Trapped in the Closet”, and Millennium’s “Jose Chung’s Doomsday Defense”).
I remember liking “Wild Palms” quite a bit when it came on but have always been afraid to revisit. Does it hold up pretty well?
Only fourteen episodes in total, the British television comedy Spaced unleashed Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright onto an unsuspecting world at the beginning of the 2000’s. Based around the exploits of comic book artist Tim (played by Pegg), writer Daisy (Jessica Stevenson) and their wacky friends and neighbors, Spaced is packed with in-jokes and references to all things geek, whether it’s dream sequences inspired by Resident Evil or rants aimed at The Phantom Menace. It’s a pretty accurate portrait of 20-somethings blundering their way through life, clubbing, trying to find love and employment, playing video games, rescuing animals from animal testing laboratories, and re-enacting The Matrix. Well, it’s sort of accurate. It also features one of the freakiest performance artists put to screen…
A[quote name=“dynamotv” url=“/community/t/148757/the-100-greatest-cult-tv-shows-of-all-time#post_3562599”]I remember liking “Wild Palms” quite a bit when it came on but have always been afraid to revisit. Does it hold up pretty well?[/quote] I honestly don’t know how to answer that. It is one of those things that is best described as “interesting” and as such how much one will enjoy it is almost impossible to guess. There are very few things about it you can point to and say ‘These things are good.’ You have Robert Loggia’s hammy performance, the music, and a surprising solid lead performance from Jim Belushi, but outside of that there is little else of note within the show so you are left with the show as a whole, it is kind of an all-or-nothing deal.
edit: And I just noticed someone put up Bunheads. Bless you, dear.
A36 The Twilight Zone 1959-1964
[Opening narration - season 4 & 5] Narrator: You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.
[Opening narration (season 1)] Narrator: There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.
[Opening narration - season 3] Narrator: You are traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!
[Opening narration - season 2] Narrator: You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Twilight Zone!
[Opening narration-Season 1 alternate] Narrator: You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. It is a series of unrelated stories containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and/or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist. A popular and critical success, it introduced many Americans to serious science fiction and abstract ideas through television and literature.
The success of the series led to a feature film, a radio series, a comic book, a magazine, and various other spin-offs that spanned five decades, including two “revival” television series.
Look, I realize that no one knows what the exact definition of “cult” is, but how’s this for a rule of thumb: If it was a bonafide pop culture phenomenon in its original run, it is not a cult show.
So thanks for coming, Lost, Monty Python, Twin Peaks, and The Twilight Zone. You accomplished some amazing things, but kindly F.O. outta here.
A total of 6 half-hour episodes, originally airing in the U.K. in the winter of 2004, and getting sporatic play stateside since then on SciFi and Adult Swim. DVD’s are still only available Region 2, but full episodes are available online, as are a variety of clip compilations, music videos, re-enactments, etc. (Hopefully this qualifies as “cult.”)
The eponymous Marenghi, “author, dream weaver, visionary, plus actor,” turned his career as a crappy horror novelist into a short-lived career as a crappy TV actor in the '80s by writing and starring in “Darkplace.” It’s every cliché supernatural thriller crossed with every cliché medical drama crossed with every cliché action show, all of it with a heavy dose of low budgets, lower talent, and '80s camp. And if that high praise weren’t enough, it combines the comedic powers of Matthew Holness, Richard Ayoade, and Matt Berry.
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A38. Farscape
If you can get past the Muppetry, you’ll find it’s one of the most original, inventive, and fearless sci-fi shows of the last few decades.
AI don’t think a tv show exist outside of the twilight zone that its story telling is still influenced today. Serling and his team of writers were decades ahead of their time. Brilliant shit!
Just kidding, Schwartz.
My favorite sketch show. Its influence on modern alternative comedy is incalculable.
A[quote name=“PMR” url=“/community/t/148757/the-100-greatest-cult-tv-shows-of-all-time/50#post_3562830”]40. Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Even though no one here has seen it and neither have I.
[/quote]
I’ve seen as much of it as I could get my hands on, which is 20 or so episodes out of 455. I would kill to see it all.