Shout Factory to Release Fridays (1 Viewer)

[DaveHof2]

I believe Wendy Williams and the Plasmatics were a musical guest as well, which was pretty edgy. And for some reason I still remember when Jefferson Starship was on - they performed "Jane" and at the end the Fridays cast came out and joined them on the "Jane, Jane Jane" refrain.

 

[BobO'Link]

Luke & Laura. That's 1 of 2. Just need Shatner and it's worth my money. The Shatner musical guest was Kim Carnes. I didn't even remember that, just that The Shat was hilarious with moments that look like self mocking, but you never know with The Shat.

It looks like your Shatner wish is granted. Our friends over at TVonDVD.com have an updated press release from Shout which now reads (italics mine):

"...outrageous characters - from the paranoid Drugs R Us Pharmacist to the rabbinical action heroes of Matzoi! to the laid-back Nat E. Dred, "The Rasta Gourmet"..."

"With vintage musical performances, including Devo, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Cars, The Clash, KISS, Graham Parker and The Rumour and more, as well as the show's infamous guest appearances by stars such as Andy Kaufman, Billy Crystal, Valerie Harper, and William Shatner, Fridays proved that late-night live comedy wasn't just for Saturday night.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Cast And Writers Reunion
"The Andy Kaufman Incident" What Really Happened?
Behind-The-Scenes Photos
And More!"

That means we can add S2E15 (Valerie Harper with musical guest The Cars - but will the other episode with The Cars be here too?), and S3E2 (William Shatner with musical guest Kim Carnes). That leaves the Devo appearance(s) up in the air. Will it be all 3 or the one with "Luke & Laura"?

Based on current press releases these 9 episodes *should* be "done deals:

S1E8 - No host - musical guest Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
S1E3 - No host - musical guest The Clash
S1E10 - No host - musical guest Graham Parker and The Rumour
S2E19 - Andy Kaufman host - musical guest Sir Douglas Quintet
S2E20 - Billy Crystal host - musical guest Randy Meisner - Andy Kaufman (apology on VT)
S3E1 - Andy Kaufman host - musical guest The Pretenders
S3E2 - William Shatner host - musical guest Kim Carnes
S3E12 - Valerie Harper host - musical guest The Cars
S3E15 - Tab Hunter host - musical guest KISS

One "up in the air" apisode is S2E15 - Shelley Winters host - musical guest The Plasmatics. The release *seems* to mention the sketch "Mat E. Dred: The Rasta Gourmet" specifically, which is in that episode, but they could be using "The Rasta Gourmet" more generically. If so, that means there are 6 episodes with Mat E. Dred from which to chose.
I made a error on the Andy Kaufman episode numbers in S2 in my earlier post. I inadvent used the running episode tally rather than the season tally. That's been corrected in the above list and is now the correct season episode number.

 

[Radioman970]

It's looking quite good... for a best of deal. My favorites are covered!

 

[BobO'Link]

I have an update! A guy on the Steve Hoffman site got a screener and posted the full episode list along with missing musical performances. I used that along with Wikipedia to create what you see below:

-----S1E1 (E1) (April 11, 1980): Musical guest Kenny Loggins performs "Keep the Fire"Backstage, the producers remind the cast that the show will not be a clone of Saturday Night Live.
Sketches include "Ken The Monster," "Friday Edition" (featuring the Friday Focus Report: Muppet Hunt), "Conversation at The Bar," "V.I.S.T.A.H.," "They Want 'It,'" "Police Gynecologist" (Michael Nesmith/William Dear film), "Howdy Doody the Cocaine Addict," "Los Angeles School for Doormen," and "Door to Door Whores."-----S1E3 (E3) (April 25, 1980): Musical guest The Clash performs "London Calling", "Train in Vain", "Guns of Brixton", "Clampdown"Sketches include "Friday Edition," "Doctor Pain," "Diner of the Living Dead," and "Women Who Spit."
NOTE: The "Diner of the Living Dead" sketch garnered complaints about its gory content. As a result, the sketch was banned from reruns and six ABC affiliates stopped showing Fridays.-----S1E8 (E8) (June 6, 1980): Musical guest Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform "Shadow of a Doubt", "American Girl"Sketches include "Dick Trains At The Fitness Gym."-----S1E10 (E10) (June 27, 1980): Musical guest Graham Parker and the Rumour perform "Stupefaction", "Empty Lives"-----S2E3 (E15) (September 19, 1980): Musical guest The Cars perform "Touch and Go" (cut songs: "Shoo Be Doo" and "GimmeSome Slack")Sketches include "Friday Edition" (featuring "Film Review with Larry David" reviewing Shogun).-----S2E7 (E19) (October 31, 1980): Musical guest Dire Straits perform "Skateaway", "Romeo and Juliet"Sketches include "The Monster After."-----S2E8 (E20) (November 7, 1980): Musical guest Devo perform "Whip It" (cut song: "Uncontrollable Urge")Sketches include "Backstage Cold Open," "Moving Into the White House," "Battle Boy," "Friday Edition" (featuring the Friday Focus Report), "Drugs R' Us: Delivery Girl," "Atrocity at the Retirement House" (Tom Kramer film), and "The Liberation of Women."-----S2E9 (E21) (November 14, 1980): Musical guest The Bus Boys (Performances not on the DVD would have been "KKKay," "Johnny Soul'd Out" and "Minimum Wage.")Sketches include "Star Wars Memories," "Friday Edition," and "UFO" (Tom Kramer film).-----S2E11 (E23) (December 5, 1980): Musical guest Pat Benatar perform "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (cut song: "Hell Is For Children")-----S2E12 (24) (December 12, 1980): Musical guest Steve Forbert (Performances not on the DVD would have been "Romeo's Tune," "Lonely Girl" and "Get Well Soon.")Sketches include "The Ronny Horror Show," "Friday Edition," "Calvin Klein Jeans takeoff," "Nat E. Dred- Rastafarian Chef," "Matzoi," and "Square Trees."NOTE: Reruns of this episode edit out "The Ronny Horror Show," after producers of The Rocky Horror Picture Show complained that the parody was used without their permission.-----S2E19 (E31) (February 20, 1981): Guest host Andy Kaufman, musical guest Sir Douglas Quintet (Performances not on the DVD would have been "You're Gonna Miss Me," "Mendocino" and "It Was Fun While It Lasted.")Sketches include Andy Kaufman's monologue, "The Moral Majority Comedy-Variety Hour," "Masked Magician," "Friday Edition" (featuring Andy Kaufman's Thought/Counterthought segment), "Howdy Doody," "The Return of Frankenstein," "Latin DJ," and "The Marijuana Sketch."-----S2E20 (E32) (February 27, 1981): Guest host Billy Crystal, musical guest Randy Meisner and the Silverados perform "Hearts of Fire", "Gotta Get Away"Sketches include "Altered Statesman," "Dick's Date Night," "Friday Edition," "A Comic's Line" (Tom Kramer film), Creative Palm Reading," "That's Meshuggah," "Andy Kaufman's apology," and "Meaning of Life."-----S3E2 (E39) (September 25, 1981): Guest host William Shatner, musical guest Kim Carnes perform "Miss You Tonight" (cut songs: "Bette Davis Eyes", "Under My Thumb")Sketches include "Backstage Cold Open" and "Man Reacted Violently to Minor Pain."NOTE: Reruns of this episode cut out a scene in the "Man Reacts Violently to Minor Pain" sketch where William Shatner knocks Brandis Kemp on the ground, causing her skirt to fly up and reveal her bare butt.-----S3E4 (E41) (October 16, 1981): Guest host Karen Allen, musical guest Stray Cats perform "Stray Cat Strut", "Rock This Town" (cut song: "Runaway Boys")Sketches include "Raiders of The Lost Thing."-----S3E12 (E49) (January 8, 1982): Guest host Valerie Harper, musical guest the Cars perform "Shake It Up", "Since You're Gone" (cut song: "Think it Over")Sketches include "Friday Edition Special Report: 1981: Year in Review," "Teddy Bear knew Mommy's Secrets," and "Punk Ballet" (Tom Kramer film).-----S3E13 (E50) (January 15, 1982): Guest host Tab Hunter, musical guest Kiss perform "A World Without Heroes", "I" (cut song: "The Oath")Sketches include "Matzoi in "You Should Only Live Twice" and "Hollywood Cubes."-----

The 3 episodes with a Note: (S1E13, S2E12, S3E2) are unknowns to me. I don't yet know if the sketches/scenes in question will be included or not.

Sorry, James, the Devo appearance will *not* be the episode (S3E3) with "Luke & Laura" as the hosts. Maybe if this one sells well enough it'll be on the next set.

I don't mind too much about the missing musical performances as I didn't watch for those anyway but they *are* now pieces of history. I'm hoping the "edited for syndication/rerun" sketches/scenes are in place. Overall, I'm looking forward to this release!

 

[Radioman970]

I'm disappointed. But I'll just live with it. Like you said, buying it will maybe get them to try harder to get the show with more stuff in it.

Thanks for the listing Bob.

 

[Mark Y]

First thoughts on having watched a couple shows and some of the extras -- will watch the rest soon...

I was delighted to find that one of my favorite skits (when I saw the show originally) is on here: "A Cop With 'Roids" -- a TV cop show promo parody. "I'm a cop, dammit! I'm not gonna let these things beat me!" But you know what, this was hilarious to me when I saw it at the time (according to the airdate I would have been about to turn 13) but less so now. That particular episode (#15 with musical guests The Cars) has a pretty well-done Marx Brothers homage in it, which I don't remember seeing back then, but I really liked it. That episode is actually a fairly good representation of what I remembered about the show. It has a Pharmacist sketch, which I don't find as funny now as I did when I was 12, but Mark Blankfield is pretty good with physical comedy. Also has Michael Richards as Battle Boy (the kid playing with the toy soldiers, blowing everyone up and killing them) and the guy with the dancing chicken.

I rewatched the "Kaufman incident" and the discussion of it in the extras. They swear up and down that it was staged and the cast knew it was staged. When they come back to do the "goodnights," the "scuffle" is still going on in the background on the air -- I'm thinking now that if this was real, would they have even gone back to the live feed without having had Kaufman escorted out of the building first?

I note a lot of shows have segments edited out and aside from musical guests -- absent any definitive episode guides with show rundowns on the internet (that I know of ) -- I wonder if some of the Three Stooges skits could account for the edits. None appear to be on the set, which is too bad. The edits are really a bummer, but what can you do? Same issue also sabotaged Shout's release of the SCTV syndicated shows. If it's only a "Best Of" with representative episodes, and they couldn't even clear everything in the shows they included, it gives you some idea of what they might have been up against in putting a set like this together.

I'm finding I don't care much for the politics (now that I'm old enough to have an idea of what they're talking about), but I remember the guy who played Ronald Reagan was pretty funny.

 

[BobO'Link]

First thoughts on having watched a couple shows and some of the extras -- will watch the rest soon...
...I note a lot of shows have segments edited out and aside from musical guests -- absent any definitive episode guides with show rundowns on the internet (that I know of )...

Mark, can you confirm if the list of skits I posted above with the "note" are in the set?
They are:

S1E3 (E3) (April 25, 1980): The "Diner of the Living Dead" sketch.S2E12 (24) (December 12, 1980): "The Ronny Horror Show," sketch.S3E2 (E39) (September 25, 1981): Reruns of this episode cut out a scene in the "Man Reacts Violently to Minor Pain" sketch where William Shatner knocks Brandis Kemp on the ground, causing her skirt to fly up and reveal her bare butt.


These haven't been seen since the original run and if missing lowers the value of the set for me. Because of your information about missing sketches I have my order "on hold" to try and see just how much is missing.

I'm still looking for a "definitive" list of sketches from the show. If I find one I'll post the link.

 

[Brent S]

I wonder if some of the Three Stooges skits could account for the edits. None appear to be on the set, which is too bad.

There were three sketches with the Stooges. Their respective episodes are not in this collection...

[*]9/12/80 The Atomic Bong
[*]12/19/80 The Numb Boys
[*]5/15/81 Long-Lost Brothers, with George Hamilton
[/list]

 

[Radioman970]

Mine should come tomorrow.

Last weekend I had such a great time watching one of the first SNLs I saw in the late 70s. Actually, the first I watched at home. I saw one at my cousins the week before, and they had told me I'd fall asleep like a sissy before it came on but they were the sissies. So I watched in amazement while they laid there snoring. it was definitely an awakening for me with late night TV. Before, it was just Carson or old Treks or horror movies (which were all good times!). It's very disappointing that these shows can't come out properly, with everything intact -like the host cards at breaks and that hotel advert near the end of each SNL...the nostalgia there is through the roof- .

This spotty Friday's release is barely a must buy. I just can't NOT buy it... I just hope it's enough to get Shout! to move forward with the series. I'd pay a lot for a near 100% intact. Also... more SNLs please... I'll pay for the prostitutes for the ones who get that done.

 

[Mark Y]

Mark, can you confirm if the list of skits I posted above with the "note" are in the set?
They are:

S1E3 (E3) (April 25, 1980): The "Diner of the Living Dead" sketch.S2E12 (24) (December 12, 1980): "The Ronny Horror Show," sketch.S3E2 (E39) (September 25, 1981): Reruns of this episode cut out a scene in the "Man Reacts Violently to Minor Pain" sketch where William Shatner knocks Brandis Kemp on the ground, causing her skirt to fly up and reveal her bare butt.


These haven't been seen since the original run and if missing lowers the value of the set for me. Because of your information about missing sketches I have my order "on hold" to try and see just how much is missing.

I'm still looking for a "definitive" list of sketches from the show. If I find one I'll post the link.

The first two are definitely there, and I personally watched "Ronny Horror." All shows in the set include rundowns of every segment featured, including which actors appear. For show #39, they list:

Easily Hurt (Shatner, BK DI MB) (An otherwise suave and masculine fellow embarrasses himself when he overreacts to a series of small injuries.)

(BK=Brandis Kemp; DI=Darrow Igus; MB=Mark Blankfield)

I have not watched #39 yet. I'll have to watch and see if it's uncensored. But you're not saying it was later censored, you're saying the whole scene was cut altogether, right?

I was kind of surprised to rad about "Ronny Horror" and "Diner" having been cut from reruns. I definitely remember watching them, so if that's true then I must have seen them live.

Hope that helps!

 

[Mark Y]

There were three sketches with the Stooges. Their respective episodes are not in this collection...

[*]9/12/80 The Atomic Bong
[*]12/19/80 The Numb Boys
[*]5/15/81 Long-Lost Brothers, with George Hamilton
[/list]

I think I remember seeing all three of these. Was "The Numb Boys" the one where they do a modern version of "Micro-Phonies" but as a heavy metal band?

 

[Mr. Handley]

Just watched the first episode last night. Wow...watching it sure brought back some fond memories (I was 14 years-old when I first watched the show live)! I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed Mark Blankfield's "monster boyfriend" sketch. It was pretty easy to tell that Michael Richards was destined for bigger things. I also remember the crush I had on Melanie Chartoff. The rest of the first episode was pretty tepid, but am looking forward to some of the more involved sketches and the guest hosts. Sucks that they had to cut some of the musical performances, but I understand why. I also watched the cast reunion discussion and all of them really seemed like they got along well. Wish Larry David could've been there, but it was fun seeing the others. Of course, they've all aged 30 years, but Michael Richards still looks pretty much the same!

 

[BobO'Link]

The first two are definitely there, and I personally watched "Ronny Horror." All shows in the set include rundowns of every segment featured, including which actors appear. For show #39, they list:

Easily Hurt (Shatner, BK DI MB) (An otherwise suave and masculine fellow embarrasses himself when he overreacts to a series of small injuries.)

(BK=Brandis Kemp; DI=Darrow Igus; MB=Mark Blankfield)

I have not watched #39 yet. I'll have to watch and see if it's uncensored. But you're not saying it was later censored, you're saying the whole scene was cut altogether, right?

I was kind of surprised to rad about "Ronny Horror" and "Diner" having been cut from reruns. I definitely remember watching them, so if that's true then I must have seen them live.

Hope that helps!

Yes! That helps quite a bit! Unless I read of "major" cuts to other skits I'll be letting the order go through.

That other episode had just a few seconds cut for re-runs. The skit is there but the scene was edited to remove the bare butt shot. It's not as critical as the others but (no pun intended) would be nice if it were intact.

Whether the other 2 skits being totally cut from re-runs is true I don't know for sure as Fridays was never re-run in the area in which I live. Everything I saw of this program was during the original airings.

 

[Tory]

I remember a Pac-Man skit from this show I believe. When I saw it as a kid I was excited to see a live action Pac-Man sitcom but learned it was just a skit. Am I correct at this? If so, is it on this set?

 

[Mark Y]

Yes! That helps quite a bit! Unless I read of "major" cuts to other skits I'll be letting the order go through.

That other episode had just a few seconds cut for re-runs. The skit is there but the scene was edited to remove the bare butt shot. It's not as critical as the others but (no pun intended) would be nice if it were intact.

Whether the other 2 skits being totally cut from re-runs is true I don't know for sure as Fridays was never re-run in the area in which I live. Everything I saw of this program was during the original airings.

I watched the skit in question twice and paid close attention. I saw no "bare butt shot." Kind of a bummer, I was looking forward to it. Still glad to have this set.

 

[Radioman970]

Michael Richards, man what a funny guy! I used to redo parts of episodes for the family on Saturdays. I'd stand behind the couch and act like I was going down the escalator ... "how are you!" they thought I was a comedy genius because of late night TV, SCTV, SNL too.

Shout!... how are you! please do more volumes for me and poopsie....or a while set! I will buy them tomorrow! ... oh shut up!!

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Michael Richards has about $20 million in earnings from "Seinfeld" and is comfortably situated with his family in a palatial home in Pacific Palisades, so whether he does another series again it won't have to be for bread. John Roarke, who was probably the best Ronald Reagan impersonator ("Ronny Horror Picture Show") now lives in Rhode Island and has a degree in drama therapy to work with cancer and hospice patients. Before "Fridays" he was in the seminary preparing to be a priest, but when he saw what was going on there (you can imagine, knowing what followed in abuses from those who did become priests), he became disillusioned and went full time into comedy. Just an update for those interested. John is a good friend and a good soul. He hung out with the other cast members when they recorded the DVD extra and said they had a blast.

 

[Radioman970]

I meant to mention that about Roark and his Reagan. Really looking forward to that. I believe he does the best one bar none. Phil Hartman from SNL was good... But I remember Roark getting it right on the money. He and Rich Little are probably the best with Reagan.

One thing I was wondering is if Fridays started the writing process with what the performers could do like they said SCTV did. Such as, so & so can do a good Perry Como so they write something around it, like Como laying on stage singing like he's about to fall asleep. With Fridays, I imagine Blankfield had the Hunchback thing mastered. he was good. Reminded me of the Monty Python with the guy who "cleans out public lavatories" and now he's wants this couple's pretty young daughter. Love how they ended the Hunchback thing, that was great! (avoiding spoilers).

 

[Mr. Handley]

Oh yeah, Roarke's Reagan was the best I've ever seen...he also did a great Woody Allen in the first episode. Glad to see that's he's helping others these days. I think I read somewhere that Blankfield is now working as a special education teacher. He was great in just about anything I saw him in, including an episode of Taxi I watched recently. Yeah, the final punchline of the "monster boyfriend" sketch is a hoot!

 

[Radioman970]

Clearly Fridays was underrated. The cast was excellent. There's a point where Richards is asked to do a monologue before the first sketch... and he kind of "notices" the microphone and his eyes get wide with nervousness/fear. I found that very impressive.

Oh, I had a huge crush on Chartoff as well. Very easy for that to happen. Those huge eyes of hers just get me every time.

Some things I remembered about Bruce Mahler, besides his hilarious Rabbi character on Seinfeld. He was in one of the F13th movies (can't remember which one). He was also the spokesman for a bird hobbyist magazine. Bird Fancy or something?