Interesting, isn't it, that something tags along in today's internet world of everyone forcing dramatic opinions at the drop of a hat. There also has to be full transparency. There can no longer be mysteries on WHY things happen. They have to know HOW it happened...that way, life can continue. For so many, surprises come so rarely...they don't want them to hang around.
Oh man, look at that reporter from channel 2...she's drunk! No, wait, she totally had a seizure! Hold on - she's speaking in tongue! She's possessed. The world explodes!
(And then, the actual story comes out: she suddenly had a complex migraine. Total comments: 2. Life goes on.)
It's best not to go through life suspending belief when we're talking about reality. Entertainment is a different topic, however. How does the set move like that? Well, it's TV Magic...until you go to a taping and see 3 fat guys shove the set into place. Did he know he was going to get hit with a coconut? He acted upset. Oh, they planned it before.
Go back 30 years, and you have a moment that confounded and stunned nearly the entire viewing public.
You can't really do things like this on free television if you ever expect to work again, so things were carefully planned so it would seem real. And look at that ending. People moving around - it's sensational. Andy gets talked about by adoring comics (Magicians appreciate the craft & how it's performed, not that they know how it's done, right?) and the public at large. Fridays gets renewed automatically, though it enjoyed higher ratings than Saturday Night Live at the time. Everyone wins!
The news cycle wasn't quite as quick as today, but it did respond. The New York Times headline (in the C section) the following Tuesday: "Was 'Fight' on TV Real or Staged? It All Depends." It starts out with a continued parade around the truth. "It looked like a spontaneous fistfight on live television. Whether it really happened is a matter of interpretation." This is a newspaper reporter, and the "magic" continues to spin. What we can't really tell, beyond interest in the show and the story, was the level that viewers actually cared if it was real or not. Fridays increased ratings would make one think that viewers saw the series as something where anything could happen. (SNL is live for very arbitrary reasons, and is not known for open moments such as that)
Andy's crowning moment, a sandwich of "behind the scenes TV" and "this is really happening" lives on today. What really happened? Who was in on the joke? Man, I don't know* but that sure was crazy! Hey, can you get me another beer?
*I do know, but it gets in the way of enjoying the moment.
2 comments:
The hair wins. The glasses win. The mustache wins. The jacket wins. Nice find.
Yep. Kaufman was like that.... once you knew about the gag, it was over. The thing is, I've grown up my whole life after his has been over, so I saw none of this live. And I'm sure I would have fallen for this every time. "Hey, why is he getting slapped on Letterman?" And of course, in the Modern Age, we're even quicker to break things down and live in the moment of revelation. What fucking good would it do to know which way the totem falls, or what happens after The Wrestler jumps from the top turnbuckle? Well, let's keep talking about it, because we're idiots.
Great post.
Post a Comment