Mr Show - What Happened?: The Complete Story and Episode Guide

by Naomi Odenkirk

From the first time David Cross and Bob Odenkirk's cocreation aired on late-night TV in 1995, Mr. Show began developing a cult-like following, which has only grown since the series end. This lavishly-illustrated book features original, never-before-seen material--plus a complete episode guide--making it a rich, unique retrospective.

Genres: Comedy, Humor, Nonfiction, Tv

248 pages, Paperback

First published September 14, 2002

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

One full page of Jay Johnston (a.k.a. Choo-Choo the Hurky-Jerky Dancer) = happy time.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Naomi Odenkirk put together a great tome about what is, in my opinion, the funniest sketch comedy show ever made save Monty Python. In fact, Mr. Show's sensibilities and framework are based on the original Monty Python TV episodes, including the makeshift sets where the walls jiggle if the cast jumps around too much.

How do I know this?

Because I own a copy of "Mr. Show - What Happened", which tells the four season story of Mr. Show from the viewpoint of the entire cast (which includes David Cross of "Arrested Development", Jack Black, Mary Lynn Raksjub of "24", Paul F. Tompkins, Tom Kenny and Jill Talley of "Spongebob Squarepants" among many others). The book follows the story of the program, from its start in the back room of a dance club ("a coke addict's disco dream", according to David Cross) where the show began to the final fourth season, where the writing and production got so good and so tight. However, HBO put the final nail in the coffin by moving the show's timeslot - from Friday at midnight to Monday at midnight.

Personality conflicts, hard work, endless writing sessions, drugs, rock and roll, recording a musical parody of Jesus Christ Superstar ("Jeepers Creepers Semistar") in a hot, unairconditioned garage studio, being the vehicle through which the comedy musical duo Tenacious D began - it's all there.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of the show. Those who've never seen it shouldn't bother - they should buy at least season three and four, watch the whole DVD set, and then buy the book.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

How could I not give five stars to Mr. Show?

Mr. Show is my favorite TV show and this is 248 pages all about it. Informative and funny, with some great behind-the-scenes photos, as well as discarded script pages, flyers for Mr. Show tapings and all of these other interesting things. Essential for any fan of the show.

[Jarrodtrainque]

From the first time David Cross and Bob Odenkirk's cocreation aired on late-night TV in 1995, Mr. Show began developing a cult-like following, which has only grown since the series end. This lavishly-illustrated book features original, never-before-seen material — plus a complete episode guide — making it a rich, unique retrospective.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything that the Mr. Show fan needs to know, from how the show's creators met to descriptions of the horrible performing conditions that the cast endured. Plus all sorts of in-jokes, never-before-seen script snippets, and crazy-ass photos that will get stuck in your mind and never come out.

[Kiof · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I was a huge fan of this show, but not apparently huge enough to really love this book. The book is reminiscent of the Rob Jovanovic bio of Pavement, but this Mr. Show book takes the encyclopedia route. Makes me wonder if even the greats of the 90's are that compelling.

[degelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have waited to read this book for such a long time. Now I know the answers to questions that haunted me for years, as well as their backstage secrets- like how all of the guys were totally having sex with each other.

[Gaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Show is a five-star show, but this book had a few too many errors and wasn't as in-depth as I would have liked it to be. Still, if you're a fan of the show (and you should be!) it's worth the read.

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the first two seasons on DVD for...$3.99. Oh, slaaaave. Hee. Ronnie Dobbs! Ronnie Dobbs!. Hee.

[Rozalynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, I'm just a huge fan of the show.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read for any big Mr. Show fan. A bit of a misleading title as it doesnt really explain "what happened".

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for fans, maybe not so much for non-fans

[Dave 25 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of this show, and this is a very thorough summary of it. It was a lot of fun to learn about how it was discovered and eventually set up on HBO.

[Ollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You want to know the impact Mr Show has had on the comedy world? Well, think of your favorite sketch comedy during or after the 90s and it’s a given that Mr Show has had a huge impact on them. It’s just one of those shows that came together with the right writers, at the right time, and the right talent to really make it special. And after a decade of staleness from SNL, it helped redefine what good sketch comedy could do. As the cast itself to joke, their alternative comedy was their gift to the world.

Mr Show was a cult favorite, beloved by comedians and critics, and was so good that it had no chance of surviving. Nothing this good can. Throughout its four years, it aired an impressive 30 episodes on a shoestring budget, and was shuffled around through HBOs schedule because they simply had no idea what to do with it. It’s a show that has gotten a ton of attention now that it’s gone, which is why Mr Show: What Happened? is such a cool book. It manages to analyze something important while there’s still a chance (i.e. before anyone important has died).

Mr Show: What Happened? is researched and written by Naomi Odenkirk, wife of writer and star Bob Odenkirk, and is definitely thorough in its approach. Throughout this book, Odenkirk (Naomi, that is) paints a picture of how Mr Show came to be, its many previous iterations, and the various struggles and successes throughout its run. She also provides biographies on all the writers, producers, directors, and actors involved with the show, including a short summary of each episode and its sketches. The funnest part, however, is the commentary on the episodes as select cast and crewmembers give little anecdotes on various sketches and provide a fun insider account with fun and informative facts. It’s actually very similar to the audio commentary on the DVDs of the show which, as I’ve always said, are sometimes almost as funny as the show itself.

Naomi Odenkirk has put together an exhaustive analysis of a great show that has stayed relevant decades after it went away and still manages to inspire comedians. For fans, it’s an absolute goldmine of trivia and facts and, as all biographies should do, puts the show in a new perspective.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

"it's perfectly understandishable" that the cult sketch show mr. show would've left behind so many quality artifacts: the excellent commentaries on the DVDs, the better sections of driving force bob odenkirk's recent autobiography, and this amazing book, which, thanks to the efforts of bob's wife naomi, covers every sketch and every minor player in comprehensive detail. will this benefit anyone save completists like yours truly? was it perhaps grist for the mill that helped their comedic heirs accomplish something of note on the three sketch shows since mr. show that were worth a darn (tim and eric, million dollar extreme world peace, the whitest kids u know)? nah, probably not...but i'm glad it exists nevertheless.

I've written a few essays based on the material in this book, most notably this one:

https://www.splicetoday.com/moving-pi...

more to come, so watch this space!