Not Testing Well

I was recently doing some web-based research on the Internet Movie Database (or imdb, if you're a geek) and I came across some interesting information. We all remeber the beloved mid 90's TGIF sitcom "Family Matters". It was the kind of thing you watched when you were too young to tell the difference between good TV and bad TV (need proof? One word: Urkel). But in the course of my readings, I discovered two fairly shocking facts about the youngest sister on the show, Judy.

1) She was written out of the show after the 1st season, and never referred to again.

2) The actress who played her eventually became a porn star.

Now, I know what you're all thinking: How can a show just write out a character? (Hah, thought I was gonna talk about porn, didn't ya? Sorry, not that kind of blog) It wasn't as if young Judy was properly removed from the show by the writers. There was no sending her off to boarding school, no tragic illness or bear attack. She simply ceased to exist or ever be mentioned again. This actually happenes on shows all the time. The 1st season of "Happy Days" had an additional older brother named Chuck Cunningham who played basketball, wasn't funny, and was wisely excised in favour of more Fonzie.

What would it be like if this kind of thing happened in real life? You go to an old friend's house for dinner and once the meal starts, you notice a place at the table hasn't even been set. "Hey, where's Jacqueline?" you ask. "Jacqueline? Who's Jacqueline?" your friend's parents reply. Eventually your friend pulls you aside and explains that his younger sister was shipped off to points unknown in an effort to streamline the family, and make them more marketable. He then encourages you to never mention her again, and offers you some ice cream.

Speaking of the Internet Movie Database, I must tell you all about the talent show I was in this week. Monday night the Second City held it's annual "Holiday Party" (formerly the "Festivus Party", formerly the "It's January But We've Been Too Busy To Have A Proper Christmas Party" Party). While I can sum up the evening with one word (drunktastic!), the Talent Show bears recounting. One skit, performed by the Second City Mainstage cast, was an inspired staging of an actual posted argument from the imdb.com chat boards. The topic: Peter Jackson v. George Lucas. Instead of just reading the transcript, the cast (scripts in hand) acted it out as if it was two couples havig dinner in a restaurant, arguing back and forth. Much foaming at the mouth and ranting about wookies vs hobbit ensued. Pretty brilliant.

But the most notable part (for me anyway) was my video. My friend/ coworker Brandy and I filmed a 10 min video for the show, which we barely managed to edit in time. The video featured the Executive Producer of the Second City, Andrew Alexander (played by Brandy), and the Executive Director for the theatre, Klaus Schuller (played by me, in a bald cap). The gist was that the Second City, after having moved across the street this past year, was moving again to the adjacent parking lot. We outlined our plan to turn the theatre into a drive-in, complete with half-assed scale models and tours of the actual parking lot. Our video's homemade, low-tech vibe allowed us to get away with some rather pointed digs; including the lack of cultural diversity on the Second City stage, and the axing of the Touring Company. And the whole thing ended with us announcing that while the move was being completed, all employees would have 6 months of unpaid leave. We were very nervous about the video leading up to the screening: Was it funny? Was it too mean? Would we spoil the whole evening and never be able to show our faces at work again? But in the end, it all went splendidly. I think the best response was from Andrew and Klaus themselves, when they didn't fire us on the spot (at times our portrayals were, let's say, less than flattering). But we did get laughs (especially from Andrew and Klaus), and all through the night I had the joy of getting some very kind compliments from some very funny people.

Which is really why I do this in the first place anyway.