Simon Dunn's Blog

On this day, in 2002, the cover of Broadcasting & Cable Magazine featured this photograph:

[image error]Broadcasting & Cable, April 15th 2002

The cover seems only to be justified by two sentences in the whole magazine. Here’s the first:

NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker is “very high” on a pilot starring Chevy Chase he describes as an updated My Three Sons, “only it’s my three daughters.”

And here’s the second:

[image error]The comedy pilots NBC made in 2002

Good Morning, Miami managed to last 39 episodes over two season. And there’s yet another attempt to make a sitcom from Animal House, nearly 25 years later (more here).

The Chevy Chase project doesn’t appear to have been picked up, but the pilot was shot. I know this, because one of the actors who appeared in it has posted this clip online.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AL21vDLsU

The only other mention of the show in B&C comes a month later.

A comedy with Chevy Chase also has a good shot at making the new lineup.

But that’s it.

Variety were reporting on the show in December of 2001, in their usual weird house-style.

Chevy Chase is going back to his comedy roots, teaming with former “Saturday Night Live” boss Lorne Michaels to develop a half-hour laffer for NBC.

Chase will star as a modern-day Fred MacMurray, playing father to three teenage daughters in a twist on the classic 1960s laffer “My Three Sons.” Rick Dresser and Tom Leopold (“Madigan Men”) will co-create and exec produce the NBC Studios/Broadway Video project.

Chase and Michaels are also expected to serve as exec producers on the potential skein, targeted for fall 2002. Deal for the project is still being hammered out, but NBC is expected to make a premium script commitment to the concept.

Best known for his “SNL” work and feature pics such as “Fletch,” “Caddyshack” and the “Vacation” series, Chase also hosted a short-lived Fox latenight talker. Last year, he developed a half-hour comedy through Artists Television Group.

So clearly Chase was trying to get a sitcom off the ground somewhere during this time.

Not for the first time either.

There’s an intriguing entry on his television credits list on Wikipedia which just says ‘Untitled Dan Aykroyd Project‘, listed as a pilot, with his character being called Adin A. Oss. Anyone know what this is?

The only Aykroyd TV project I can find is this:

At a press conference two weeks ago, Kim LeMasters, president, CBS Entertainment, acknowledged that his network’s comedy development in a number of instances was unsuccessful. For example, Eddie Murphy Television Enterprises’ pilot, Coming to America, which the network had high hopes for, failed to make the final cut. The network had commissioned a comedy pilot from actor -producer Dan Aykroyd, Mars: Base One, which also didn’t pan out.

(Broadcasting Magazine, 29th May 1989)

Lee Goldberg describes the pilot in his excellent book Unsold TV Pilots: The Greatest Shows You Never Saw:

The misadventures, a la The Jetsons, of a family adjusting to life on Mars, where they live next door to a Soviet technician and his American stripper wife. The 1988 Writers Guild strike forced production of the pilot – and any serious consideration of it for the network schedule – to be put on the back burner.

Just look at how many sitcom projects used to get developed:

[image error]Broadcasting Magazine, 20th March 1989

Here’s an interesting little curio. It’s a press release, that made it into many publications, including local newspapers all over the country, announcing the upcoming BBC schedule line up …

… for 1987

[image error]Halifax Evening Courier – Monday 22 December 1986

If you know your Red Dwarf lore, you’ll be aware that the first series was delayed due to an electrician’s strike, and that the first episode was remounted several months later … but it’s interesting to see an announcement for the show a full fourteen months before it arrived on screen.

There’s not much I can find to show you for Crisis!, but the MPs in question were Gerald Kaufman, Francis Pym, and Roy Jenkins. It aired on 4th January 1987 at 7.50pm. Here’s how it was listed in the Radio Times.

A plane has been hijacked.
The facts are imaginary – the problem only too real.
What should the government do? Should it negotiate with the terrorists or should it send in the SAS? Will diplomatic pressure work? Is a secret deal possible? How can the government buy time?
In tonight’s programme, a special crisis committee of distinguished politicians, with diplomatic, military and legal experts, grapples with these hypothetical problems. The response of the terrorists will emerge through dramatised news reports from Pamela Armstrong and Jeremy Paxman at the scene of the hijack. Which of the six different endings prepared by the production team occurs depends on how the committee reacts. Taking the decisions: The Rt Hon Francis Pym , mp The Rt Hon Roy Jenkins , MP and The Rt Hon, Gerald Kaufman , mp
They receive expert advice from Sir Anthony Parsons Lord Rawlinson, QC and Lt Gen Sir David Young
Chairing the committee is Professor Paul Wilkinson , a world expert on terrorism. Narrated by David Jessel Researcher SANDRA JONES
Executive producer GEORGE CAREY Producer LAURENCE REES

You know when you’re browsing old copies of American television industry magazines, and you come across something that makes you stop and scratch your head with Simian-like confusion?

[image error]Broadcasting & Cable, 19th Jan 1987

New Monkees was a syndicated show, developed from the original by Matthew Fassberg and Victor Fresco. It lasted 13 episodes, and was jointly produced by Coca Cola Telecommunications and Straybert Productions.

[image error]Broadcasting & Cable, 20th October, 1986

Clearly they didn’t sell well enough to warrant making the planned 44 episodes.

This is the appearance on Good Morning America that’s mentioned in the above article.

Good Morning America, 16th October 1986

News of the show reached UK shores.

[image error]Liverpool Echo – Friday 21st November 1986

With a much bigger profile, full-page spread nearly a year later, marking the group’s first album release.

Daily Record – Thursday 31st December 1987

Here’s the opening titles.

New Monkees

And there it probably ended …

… except …

[image error]The Stage – Thursday 16th January 2003

What’s this? The New New Monkees?

Simon Fuller – creator of hit UK TV talent show Pop Idol – has begun talks to remake the 1960s cult comedy series The Monkees.

Fuller, who also first managed the Spice Girls, began discussions with US TV network NBC on Tuesday, according to trade journal Variety …

Fuller’s updated show would feature a new handpicked American all-male group in the roles made famous by the musical, accident-prone foursome. If Fuller’s plan gets the go-ahead, the revisited show would first be screened in the US in the autumn of 2003.

Fuller, who also created the UK pop group S Club 7, bought the rights to The Monkees concept and name.

The Monkees was also the inspiration for S Club 7 – the chart-topping who group who also starred in their own US-based children’s show.

Fuller’s updated Monkees would feature many of the elements that made the original series popular, such as comedy sketches and music.

(Pop Idol creator eyes Monkees remake, BBC News, 24th July 2002)

As far as I can see, it only ever got to the script stage, with this final mention in Entertainment Weekly.

Though it’s only in the script stage, NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker is already singing a happy tune about ”The Monkees,” an updated version of the classic ’60s comedy that will chronicle the search for four young men who can sing, dance, and act goofy for the camera. (The gang may even recut ”I’m a Believer.”) ”Look at what’s going on in TV right now, with unscripted programming and musical talent,” says Zucker. ”’The Monkees’ combines all of that.”

(EW, 13th February 2003)

[image error]

I wrote another book about television.

I like television.

I like television so much that the first thing I modelled and printed on my new 3d printer was this …

[image error]What shows do they make you think of?

I made some more after that too.

[image error]Can you hear it?[image error]Everything needs painting still, of course

There’s a few more, including TVS, ATV, and HTV, but I bought you here to talk about my new book.

It’s called Nineteen 90s Shows, and it’s about nineteen different television shows from the 1990s.

These nineteen:

Sylvania WatersThe Day TodayNoel’s House PartyERMurder OneThe Fresh Prince Of Bel-AirMen Behaving BadlyCrackerPrime SuspectAbsolutely FabulousBottomThe X-FilesWho Wants To Be A Millionaire?Louis Theroux’s Weird WeekendsThe Big BreakfastTFI FridayChanging RoomsThe Larry Sanders ShowSeinfeld

But it’s about a lot more than those, of course.

Here’s the cover.

They didn’t kill telly at all, it’s just a silly, meaningless strapline, sorry

You can buy it here if you like.

Thanks to the excellent Why Don’t YouTube, over on Bluesky, I was made aware of another short-lived Noel Edmonds curio.

Noel Edmonds' first new series after The Late Late Breakfast Show's enforced cancellation was Whatever Next?, as seen today in 1987, a single series light oddity in which two pairs are challenged to predict the outcomes of street dares, queries and stunts.

— Why Don't YouTube? (@whydontyoutube.bsky.social) 2024-11-30T19:00:02.086Z

Coming so soon off of the back of The Late Late Breakfast Show tragedy, Whatever Next? was perhaps a surprising inclusion in the schedules. So it’s worth having a look at how the show was being covered in the press.

Evening Herald, 19th August 1987

It’s striking how little bloviating and bluster there is, to be honest.

Scarborough Evening News – Wednesday 19 August 1987

And when it came to broadcast time, in October, it was all being presented as just another jaunty and jolly evening gameshow.

Shields Daily Gazette – Monday 19 October 1987Peterborough Evening Telegraph – Saturday 17 October 1987

This reviewer engaged with the show on its own merits.

West Lancashire Evening Gazette – Tuesday 20 October 1987

While this one makes a vague allusion to it all.

The Stage – Thursday 29 October 1987

Is the show’s title a reference to the incident? Like, Noel’s got a new show? Whatever next?

I mean, it’s impossible to write about The Fast Show without quoting it. So let’s get them out of the way. Brilliant.

I like this, when comedy worlds collide and remind me that sometimes shows that seem from different eras actually shared a schedule. Which is nice.

[image error]The Stage – Thursday 13 November 1997

This one is more interesting from a TV history point of view. I’m amazed they were pitching this to ITV as their first port of call, to be honest, but it’s likely they were trying Channel 4 too.

[image error]The Stage – Thursday 10 December 1998

And wither The Fast Show movie?

I always forget about Jumpers For Goalposts.

[image error]The Stage – Thursday 23 November 2000Spot the Blue Peter garden reference?

My current ear worm is this.

Quite a combination …

First of all, is that Doon Mackichan singing?

Second, this isn’t the first time the song has been used in a campaign for the weirdly sexualised chocolate bar.

Here’s a much earlier one, with a weirdly sexualised Frank Muir.

A special F and N ingredient

Here’s one of those little snippets you often stumble across in old magazines.

[image error]Broadcasting & Cable, 7th September 1998

I suppose it was inevitable that Spin City would make some references to Back To The Future, but this was a great way to do it – using the time change element.

Unfortunately, this is the best quality version of the promo I can find.

Spin City Promo

A year later, and the series paid further homage to the film, this time with a guest spot for Christopher Lloyd, in the season three episode Back The Future IV: Judgement Day.

Spin City with Christoper Lloyd

Here’s a nice interview with Michael J. Fox about the genesis of the series.

The genesis of Spin City

Here’s an interview with Geoffrey Perkins, from The Stage, after he was appointed Head Of BBC Comedy.

The Stage, 5th March 1998

I wonder how far things got with an Alf Garnett return. He appeared on TV screens once more, in September of 1998, but that was over on ITV. Maybe everyone got cold feet, and ITV picked it up. Who knows?

Why does Richie from Bottom resonate with me?

It can’t just be the brilliant performance of Rik Mayall. Alan B’Stard, Rick, Micky Love, Drop Dead Fred are all brilliant characters, brilliantly realised, and I think about them a lot.

But I think about Richie. Every. Single. Day.

I’ve thought about Bottom so much over the years that I decided to write a book about it. I gave it the very grown up title Proctology: A Bottom Examination, and in it I explored the events and cultural changes that led Rik and Ade into comedy, informed their early work, and culminated in a bleak sitcom warning about the dangers of nostalgia, that skewered toxic masculinity before it was even a thing, and I placed it in the context of a post-Thatcher Britain. It’s no wonder I wanted to write something about it here.

But I thought I’d written everything I could about Bottom.

And still, I think about Richie. Every. Single. Day.

In recent months, I’ve been coming to terms with the fact that I probably have ADHD. Realising this as an adult in my mid-forties has been quite the head fuck, recognising that behaviours I believed to be neurotypical are no such thing, and realising that my bouts of inactivity aren’t signs of laziness or fatigue, they’re a symptom. Being exhausted by socialising, feeling over stimulated and anxious in the supermarket, being overwhelmed by last minute change, having a favourite piece of Lego to fiddle with – it’s always there, and sometimes, often, the only thing I can do is dissociate and stare at the TV for hours, day after day.

This is all to frame an epiphany.

Richie from Bottom resonates with me because he’s everything in my brain made manifest.

To be clear, this isn’t an exercise in diagnosing a fictional character, I mean, what would be the point? It’s merely using a diagnostic tool to try and understand why I related to, and continue to relate to a completely made up person.

People with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder have difficulty concentrating and focusing, and struggle with hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Not everyone falls into both these categories, and by adulthood, many people have learnt to mask these behaviours (which in itself is exhausting), and develop strategies and coping mechanisms to make their lives ‘easier’. According to NHS online the main signs of inattentiveness are:

having a short attention span and being easily distractedmaking careless mistakesappearing forgetful or losing thingsbeing unable to stick to tasks that are tedious or time-consumingappearing to be unable to listen to or carry out instructionsconstantly changing activity or taskhaving difficulty organising tasks

The main signs of hyperactivity and impulsiveness are:

being unable to sit still, especially in calm or quiet surroundingsconstantly fidgetingbeing unable to concentrate on tasksexcessive physical movementexcessive talkingbeing unable to wait their turnacting without thinkinginterrupting conversationslittle or no sense of danger

If you want to see half an hour of someone exhibiting all of these behaviours, just watch the episode Culture. It’s brilliant, and you won’t regret having watched it, or re-watched it.

How long does it take Richie to settle down and play chess? How many side-quests does he go on before they start playing? How often is he back up on his feet, pacing and talking excessively?

‘Richie, I’ve been here since ten o-clock last night, it’s five o’clock in the morning … I’ve explained the rules of chess to you one hundred and twenty four times, and I’m buggered if I’m going to let you delay the game another ten minutes while you scan through a few back copies of Amateur Photographer. OK?’

For larks (it’s good for morale), let’s ask Richie some of the questions on the Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale – a questionnaire used to evaluate the executive function of adults in daily life. Presented with a statement, the subject is then asked to self-report how often this happens, on a scale of Never, Sometimes, Often, or Very Often.

‘Find it difficult to tolerate waiting; impatient.’

In series three’s Break, Richie absolutely cannot wait to go on holiday. This bottle episode is a lovely little study on the bleakness of hope, letting us revel in the claustrophobia of excitedly waiting for something. Some people with ADHD describe waiting mode, which means if they have something coming up, an appointment, it becomes very difficult to do anything other than just wait for the time. I do this, and I get incredibly restless, urging myself to do something, anything, but utterly incapable of acting.

‘Overreact emotionally.’

Accident

In Accident, when Eddie claims Richie has forged his own birthday cards, Richie massively overreacts to this slight. Likewise, in the pilot episode Content, he evicts Eddie after an argument. He overreacts to women showing interest in him, he overreacts to being accused of using an art book for onanism, he overreacts to everything. Richie would tick Very Often to all twelve questions in the emotional regulation section.

‘I cannot resist doing things that produce immediate rewards even if they are not good for me in the long run.’

We’ll have no jokes about masturbation thank you. But the way he sabotages his own party because he needs the instant gratification of acceptance, also in Accident, is an excellent example of this.

‘More likely to drive a motor vehicle much faster than others (excessive speeding)’

I don’t do this, and Richie doesn’t drive. Except once, in Finger, when he impulsively steals a car and drives it recklessly through the countryside.

Finger

‘Trouble following the rules in a situation.’

Having had the rules of chess explained to him exactly one hundred and twenty four times, Richie then just makes up his own game of chess, culminating in one of the best comedy fights committed to video tape.

‘Find it hard to focus on what is important from what is not important when I do things.’

In ‘S Up, Richie can only focus on his white coat, and the insistence that Eddie wear a brown one – culminating in forcing Eddie to wear his jacket backwards.

‘Easily distracted by irrelevant events or thoughts when I must concentrate on something.’

Having been put in charge of the shop downstairs, also in ‘S Up, Richie wanders around lost in a fantasy of his newfound power, beheading little Johnny from the flats and reporting him to the Feds.

There are countless examples of everything on the scale, liberally strewn about every single episode.

Perhaps the most striking thing to me about Richie is the way he stims.

‘Self-stimulatory behaviour, usually known as stimming, refers to atypical movements, sounds or behaviours that are repeated as a way to cope with overstimulation, or provide needed stimulation. Neurodivergent individuals can often use stimming as a protective response to environmental or circumstantial factors that may cause them to feel nervous, anxious or impulsive. Stims can also soothe the body and allow for increased engagement with the environment and people around you.’ (Neurospark)

Think of Richie’s over-excited laugh, for example.

Phwoar

But he has others.

He paces around a lot, he steeples his fingers and moves them in a wave, he repeats words (‘baaaam-boo’), he repeatedly flips through books, he plays with his hair, he strokes objects as he passes them, he stares into space, he rubs his hands on his clothing, he picks up objects and comments on them, he picks at his own fingers, and he bites his nails, to name just a few. None of these things are played for laughs, none of them develop the plot, they are just part of who Richie is, moments Rik found on set in front of the camera, and each and every one of them jumps out at me every time I watch. I recognise my own stims in them. Talking to myself as I boil the kettle. Repeating a word to feel it in my mouth. Using accents. I see so much of my own self in Richie, it’s no wonder he has been such a profound part of my psyche for the past thirty plus years.

Richie lives deep inside me (oo er), and every day he’s fighting to erupt (oo er), and I have to use all my energy to beat him off (oo er), because walking around like him in front of everyone would be … let’s say, frowned upon. Richie can’t function in the ‘real’ world, and so it’s incredibly comforting to see a depiction of him on the television (a box that has meant so much to me over the years). Richie makes me feel seen.

In fact, let’s be honest, Bottom is the sitcom embodiment of the inside of my own head. It’s very loud, and it’s very messy. Their flat could well be a visual representation of my own brain.

And what about Eddie?

That was my final epiphany. Eddie’s inside my head too. Eddie is my inner critic. He’s there to heckle Richie, to roll his eyes, to sit in silence judging while Richie thunders around a room. He’s the one exhausted by Richie, who needs to sit in a quiet room all day watching television, the one who can’t motivate himself to do anything, no matter how much he wants to. Slime in this ear, slime in that ear, JUST STOP TALKING. Eddie hates Richie, but he can’t live without him. Eddie loves Richie, but he drives him to the brink. Eddie needs Richie, and Richie needs Eddie. 

Together, they live in my head. 

Thankfully for them, it’s rent free.