Friday, April 28, 2017

What Might've Been: Primetime Glick (2001)

Martin Short returned to television in 2001, this time in a send-up of late night talk shows, Primetime Glick, which lasted three seasons, all in the spring and summer (2001-3), on Comedy Central.

Short used a fat suit and prosthetic makeup to transform into Jiminy Glick, who meant well when trying to interview his guests, but his attention span left something to be desired. Adrian Van Voorhees (Michael McKean, ex-Laverne & Shirley, Saturday Night Live) was the show's bandleader/announcer.

In addition to a weeknight berth, Comedy Central repurposed the series on Saturday mornings, which really wasn't the place for repeats of a series like this. Then again, since the network's only animated fare is actually aimed at teens and young adults (i.e. the long running South Park), what else could they do?

More than a decade after the series ended, Short resurrected the Glick character for his short lived NBC variety series, Maya & Marty, with Maya Rudolph, another SNL alumnus.

So why is this being brought up? Because ABC, in acquiring the late Chuck Barris' talent show parody, The Gong Show, for a summer run under the direction of actor Will Arnett, is hiring on still another SNL alum, Mike Myers, to play a character, Tommy Maitland, as host. What will be the 5th incarnation of Gong, and the first on a broadcast network in nearly 40 years, will launch June 22 as a summer replacement series.

Here's a sample of Primetime Glick:



I didn't see enough of the show to merit a rating, so there won't be one.


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