![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilW81AjU0Uem3kr8ooUwN2tEz8E4BJpYwtZWOua2PTT0Om0qLC6hL50wWbU_1FkJaX7uFCbF0Lymg_o8xrxkFfmA_0nGiXdCfLclBar7ruh87VwDjrzTMr3rSmM1OrdrWuKWR3juaR7igf/s400/Tingle.jpg)
Jimmy Tingle's American Dream is being offered to public television stations in the US this summer by the syndicator Executive Program Services, in a slightly shortened edit that might compress things a little further than the original did (but I suspect that they were pretty compressed even at the full length--industry standard for US pub tv is 56:46 for an hour slot, while IMDb currently reports that the full cut is estimated to run 70 minutes, but neither format has been released to the public yet).
The pretty smooth rough cut for the tv version has brief interviews segments with a number of Tingle's friends in the comedy (Janeane Garofalo, Bobcat Goldthwait, Colin Quinn, Lewis Black, Mort Sahl) and political commentary (Howard Zinn, Robert Reich standing next to Al Franken, such less likely folks as Sean Hannity) industries, as much as those can be teased apart, along with activists mostly from Tingle's native Boston, Robert Altman (these are probably among the last interviews with Altman and Zinn) and (appropriately enough for a 7 May viewing) Tingle's mother, Frances Tingle. We get to get a quick sense of what these folks, and less well-known New Hampshire and Boston folks (including one homeless multi-state wanderer) think of as The American Dream, and discussion of how we are and mostly aren't able to get much of a shot at what might be our own version of that dream...along with a quick run through Tingle's own career as political comedian, starting in the early '80s and having fairly prominent placement in Big Media (as the humor commentator at the end of 60 Minutes II broadcasts during that series run on CBS-TV, and the five years Tingle ran his own comedy-oriented theater in Boston; then, as he chose to close that, going on to get a Masters in public administration at Harvard, in the Kennedy School, and giving a commencement address upon his graduation...and talking about bonding with his son, Seamus (despite giving him that name in the States; the similar "James Tingle III" might've been less likely to invite classmate hassle). It's an amiable and informative hour, about Tingle more than about the notion of The American Dream, but perhaps because that isn't a concept that resonates much with me, as opposed to The Human Reality we all face in one way or another...but you're more likely to glean new information (and some decent jokes, in segments of his standup routines) than you are likely to find too much new in the definitions the assembled offer. And the story of how Seamus got a ball at a Sox game is not the only charming anecdote. Look for this one to pop up on PBS and independent public stations in June, and Tingle is trying to put together a comedy tour to work around the local broadcast clearances.
I don't go out for live performance nearly often enough, but I lead a busy, tiring life with many little tasks going begging at any given time. But when I learned LA-based Eddie Pepitone was going to be performing at a small club, Connie's RicRac in Philadelphia as a part of a series of standup shows put together by Corey Cohen, I decided to make the effort (Pepitone is one of the quartet of regulars/hosts on one of the podcasts I listen to regularly, The Long Shot). Connie's is set up a bit like a railroad apartment...it's a long, narrow (for a club, wide for a hallway) straight shot from the front door, past a functional if limited bar and to an area where stackable chairs can be set out, as they were, a couple of scraggly couches at the front of them, and a low stage and resizable backstage behind that. A local comedian opened for Pepitone; he mentioned, apparently in earnest, having a very bad time trying to get to the club, which seemed to throw him off a bit, and his set was notable for a little too much self-deprecation (to the point of self-sabotage), and a mixture of patter and formal jokes that weren't actually finished...he'd start a formal joke (paraphrase: "I took my kid to see the most recent Pixar film") and then further the setup ("and some of the parents there were, like, 'Shut up and sit still!' to their kids") and he seemed to think he'd actually finished a joke thus. But he was game and amiable.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5z3NTXGfPhd88lRsGssTOCI9TMQ3U7P-23hvcS_rliemXQwWE-DQe-S17HLMFymVCrBcRE5Zo5BjNLSid5VyrHUVdls9nEMcBSZ_PYRBrj-XBFyU8nY9hmNK1Mcho-AskYjHdMN0sQ8B/s320/long-shot-podcast.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNXwlUqDrPVpSEf6LUfY3yaxLuGquEd_ixvxvkXe7fFamCi5kJaYrNT61GqB2m14UHsZlYNcMX9eaA9j7k3nIV1iJ_vaOUYqgP6HyrhN617qFmaUfVilIfv_Ju2WjEm4jgGWPLN8MDKJgp/s400/RTessa.jpeg)
The Gobetweenies is a terrible title for a decent new sitcom on BBC Radio 4, which will have a relatively short run of four episodes (at least in its first "series"/"season"); a rather clever look at the adventures of a family working out the custody swaps of two children between divorced parents played by BBC veterans Sarah Alexander and David Tennant. At least Marcella Evaristi's pilot script was deft, and I'm looking forward to the balance.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJm2KGKP4oE9cRPlkaMxZGyoEZMiiIZqzC9M2H3MWVar95-ubUxw4UsCk6h33Jy8SwaJePItZcUPwQlGJ31d10jD0lPTQ_eULZMLL4cNphpNIcCaC3NgQErdMNNwSMjTT-Pki9zL24dZS/s400/gobe.jpg)
4 comments:
I'm dysfunctional-familied out. I understand 50% of U.S. marriages fail and broken families have become the norm. But too many of the TV (and radio) dramas cover the same ground.
I'll have to give it a try, if only for Alexander and Tennant.
As I say, the first episode, at least, is funny enough.
Much better in its focus than, say, PARENTHOOD is in its...despite PARENTHOOD having a fine cast, as well.
Post a Comment