The New Show

1984

The New Show

7.4 | en | Comedy

The New Show is a NBC sketch comedy show produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, which ran for only one season from January 6 to March 23, 1984. Apart from being 60 minutes in length and entirely pre-recorded, the show is similar in format to SNL. It was the lowest rated of 94 programs that aired during the 1983-84 television season, averaging a dismal 7.81 household rating. It was opposite 20/20 & Falcon Crest.

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Seasons & Episodes

EP10 Best Of

Feb. 24,1984

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EP6 Steve Martin,Catherine O'Hara

Feb. 17,1984

Jim McKay at the Olympics (DT, VB) Steve Martin asks "What Kind of Guy Watches the New Show?" Couple seeing the doctor about "going unconscious" (DT, O'Hara, BH) Steve Martin as Italian gigolo (also with O'Hara) Cyndi Lauper performs New York Daily Bugle (Martin, O'Hara, BH, DT) Weekend Tonight (BH, DT, O'Hara as Julie Andrews, DT as Boy George) Problem with extras (everyone) New employee (DT, BH, Moynihan) Cyndi Lauper performs Film segment: "The Day Before"

EP2 John Candy,Paul Simon,Carrie Fisher

Jan. 13,1984

Ruth Gordon and Orson Welles (VB, Candy) Why don't you check on the baby? (Fisher) Paul Simon performs Hearts and Bones Mountain Mike (DT, Simon, Candy) Time Truck (everyone) Andropov faking illness (everyone) Weekend Tonight (BH, DT, Candy as Pavarotti) Paul Simon debuts music video for Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War Roy's Food Repair (everyone)

EP1 Episode One

Jan. 13,1984

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7.4 | en | Comedy | More Info

Released: 1984-01-13 | Released Producted By: , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:

Synopsis

Stream Online

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Cast

Catherine O'Hara , Dave Thomas , Buck Henry

Director

Producted By

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Cast

Catherine O'Hara

The Last Kids on Earth: Happy Apocalypse to You Extinct Back Home Again An Audience with Adele The Addams Family The Last Kids on Earth Being Canadian Schitt's Creek What Lives Inside

Dave Thomas

I Thought I Told You To Shut Up!! Bob & Doug Bob & Doug McKenzie's Two-Four Anniversary White Coats As Seen on TV: The K-Tel Story Brother Bear 2 Angel Wars: Guardian Force - Episode 2: Over The Moon Santa's Slay Love on the Side

Buck Henry

Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles Mel Brooks: Make a Noise A Bird of the Air American Swing It Came from Kuchar The Last Shot Town & Country Playboy: The Story of X Grumpy Old Men

Reviews

gabbbbyhayes and SNL was HORRIBLE all season, fumbling, bumbling, badly written. When Lorne was shown the door, they handed producing duties to the woman who had arranged for the bands that performed on the show. I feel sorry for the cast members who replaced the Not Ready for Prime Time Players. I'm sure they were very talented. What happened, as I understand it, was that Al Franken played a little prank on the president of NBC, something involving a limousine. In the telling, it's funny, until you realize how many lives it messed up (including mine--I had to sit through a year of SNL without Lorne). Al was let go, Lorne was let go. Word to the wise: Don't mess with the limo of the president of NBC. So Lorne did this little thing (he's done a lot of little things--like Kids in the Hall) that was occasionally hilarious, but seemed to have no budget and lacked the thrust of SNL (it was too short, for one thing). I loved it when it was on, missed it when it went away. Some people though it was a waste, but really there was nothing like it on television at the time. Anyone who thinks it's easy to make skit comedy funny should sit through the entire run of FRIDAYS on ABC and Kelsey Grammar Presents the Sketch Show.

madsagittarian I remember seeing this short-lived series on Friday nights on NBC just after "The Master". It was sketch comedy featuring a lot of alumni from "Saturday Night Live" and SCTV. I used to watch it weekly, however 20 years later, I can only recall some gags with any clarity.Steve Martin and (I believe) Catherine O'Hara appeared in one cafe setting where the extras in the table behind them keep on interrupting their performance. For a breath or two, Catherine isn't saying anything- one of the people in behind turn around to remind her of her next line. She retorts, "I was making a dramatic pause!"Other funny bits include a 1984 parody where a face on a jumbotron is telling people what dance moves they should make in a discotheque (and being in a dance club listening to music from the year 1984 was truly an Orwellian nightmare). John Candy had a skit as a food repairman- he tells one potential client of the long hours and labour costs that would be involved in having to put all the salt back onto his pretzels! Plus, I remember a funny ripoff of the movie WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (still a cable favourite in those days).I had long written off "Saturday Night Live" as having anything of worth, so it was a delight seeing famous alumni from that show, and Canada's own SCTV (which NBC had aired and then canceled), working together with material worthy of their talents. Too bad it didn't last long. I'd love to see if it still held up after all these years. DVD, please?

ellafresh Though it popped up in other places and other shows, 1 sketch from this show is the famous Steve Martin "Billie Jean" video parody of Michael Jackson's big hit. Beyond that, I recall a skit that mocked Orwell's 1984 (an old book that appropriately was getting renewed media attention that year) torture chamber scene where people were asked what they were afraid of and they were tortured with it. The example I remember was when the shackled actors said "spiders," and people dressed in huge muppet-like spider outfits attacked them. Contrary to other reviews, these 2 skits were funny at the time. Of course, I was 10 years old.

Randi-5 I remember watching "The New Show" when I was in high school. It seemed mildly funny then. The only sketches I remember are one in which guest star John Candy played a Russian visiting ailing Yuri Andropov (he was the head Soviet honcho at the time) in the hospital, and another one in which a couple sees a doctor/therapist about the strange things they do every day, such as becoming unconscious for 8 hours at a stretch (sleeping) and sitting on a chair in a little room several times a day (going to the bathroom).Was it funny? Probably not. With talent mostly drawn from SCTV, it might have gotten better if it had a chance, but the network (I don't remember which one) pulled the plug after one season.