Word: old
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Each is taking a different approach to the job of getting laughs and viewers. Modeled after MTV, the Comedy Channel will have a stable of veejay- like hosts who will provide comedy patter while introducing an array of clips: scenes from comedy movies, snippets of old TV series, excerpts from stand-up performances and other laughtoids. An occasional full-length movie will intervene, but mostly the comedy will come in quick bursts, aimed at a new generation of TV "grazers," viewers who flip around the dial with their remote control. Says HBO chief Michael Fuchs: "We're looking to make...
...Comedy Network, it is scheduled to debut next April Fools' Day. MTV's entry, ironically, will steer away from the MTV approach of its rival. Instead of short clips, it will have a more traditional mix of sitcoms, specials and other long-form programming. About half will be reruns (old series like The Dick Van Dyke Show); the other half, new fare from such creators as MTM Enterprises, which has signed on to develop series, and Ron Howard's Imagine Films Entertainment, which is producing a show with the Second City Comedy Troupe...
That, of course, could be the problem: too much comedy clutter. HA!, at least in its early stages, looks like yet another warehouse for comedy shows, old and new, available in ample supply elsewhere. The Comedy Channel, with its all-clip format, could wind up looking like nonstop previews of coming attractions. (Like MTV, the Comedy Channel is acquiring most of its clips free, since producers assume they will help the movies and videos from which they are excerpted.) Not to mention the indignity of seeing classic films and TV shows strip-mined for their "funny" parts. Oh, well; comedy...
...YORK CITY. At P.S. 93, a youngster tells teacher Donald Miller, "Melvin has a toy." Since toys are not allowed in the lunchroom, the teacher confronts five-year-old Melvin and demands that he hand it over. Miller suddenly faces not a toy but a "Saturday-night special" pointed at his chest. The gun turns out to be loaded, cocked and ready for action...
...schools." Violence, however, is no longer confined to tough areas. In an affluent part of Tallahassee last month, one janitor shot another to death in front of about 100 grade schoolers. Last year in posh Winnetka, Ill., a woman opened fire in an elementary classroom, killing an eight-year-old. Other recent school slayings have occurred in middle-class areas of Greenwood, S.C.; Largo, Fla.; Little Rock and Virginia Beach...