"Too Funny to Fail: The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show" (Hulu)

ABC's The Dana Carvey Show was appointment viewing for 15-year-old me during its brief run. I recorded every episode and memorized a lot of the sketches. The new documentary brought me back to those days in early 1996, and opened my eyes to the behind-the-scenes drama of this brilliant show. Check it out of you have Hulu.

 

Just found out about this doc yesterday and am watching it now! I loved "The Dana Carvey Show" and was sad to see it implode. So much talent in one spot!

dan c

 

Dana Carvey once made a guest appearance on Charles Grodin's short-lived talk show. On it he channelled Bill Clinton describing how on occasion Hillary disciplined him by spanking. It really was p in your pants funny. I have searched for it in vain on YouTube; it's one of the funniest routines I have ever seen anyone do anywhere.

 

Talk about a "whatever happened to" subject....Dana Carvey.

 

The only sketch I remember from the show was this one, but at the time it was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen

 

These characters were my favorite.

 

I worked on the show a little bit since they did all the editing at Complete Post in Hollywood, but the sketches I saw were awful. I was really, really disappointed because I thought Dana Carvey was the best and funniest guy who had been on SNL in years (him and Phil Hartman both), and I thought the show would be a lot more than it was. I can recall the producers coming in and shaking their heads going, "oh, man, this is never gonna work," so they knew they were in for trouble.

 

It was shot at CBS in NYC but finished in Hollywood? Seems like a real cumbersome workflow.

The documentary was great, and they quickly started hitting their stride and gaining a cult audience. Sponsors were bailing out, however, and their time slot ahead of sticky sweet family sitcom "Home Improvement" doomed it. The show very well could've thrived on cable, like "Kids In The Hall" or "Mr. Show", or other quirky and surreal comedy over the years.

The talent pool they assembled though...omg. This disaster launched the careers of people who are responsible for a new wave of comedy that we're still feeling today.

dan c

 

I don't know where it was shot, but we were definitely finishing some sketches at the LA company I worked for. It's very possible these were self-contained pieces and they had people in NY and people in LA shooting different segments. I never ask -- they just throw stuff at me and tell me to work on it, and I get paid. It's rare I find out where it's being done or why it's being done. I'm lucky to find out when it's going to be aired (and some stuff gets cancelled before the shows are finished). It's a weird business.

 

He had heart trouble, and - if I recall headlines in checkout lanes correctly - the hospital repaired the wrong artery.

 

It's funny, I don't ever remember actually watching the show when it was on, but I definitely have a vivid memory of this sketch. In fact, every time I go through a drive-thru, I always think about these two, paying for their food and then driving off laughing.

 

I remember the Bill Clinton lactating sketch!

 

I bought bootlegs of the show at SD Comic Con because we lost the tape.

Bought the DVD release too.

And this documentary is pretty good - ESPECIALLY Steve Carrel doing his Pope John Paul impersonation. I laughed for a few minutes straight.

 

One of the funniest moments in the documentary was seeing the actual ABC clip promoting "a very special" 'Home Improvement' episode ("I don't wanna die, dad!" *tears drama tears*) followed by "The Mug Diet Root Beer Dana Carvey Show". It was just such a bizarre place for that kind of show. I love it.

dan c

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. In the documentary he seems really happy about how things panned out. He got to raise his two sons, keep his family in tact between doing comedy tours and making money. He seems financially and emotionally well. That speaks volumes to what kind of guy he is, staying grounded while going through the intense ups and downs of showbiz.

dan c

 

Carvey also collected a lotta dough in a settlement with the hospital that operated on the wrong heart valve in 1997, and got $8 million. That doesn't quite make up for losing 3-4 years of his life due to health problems, but that would certainly be enough to live on for a couple of decades and raise a family.

But nothing was better than Carvey's "Choppin' Broccoli" music bit...

 

Dana' s interview on WTF is excellent.

 

According to Wikipedia, he donated the money to charity.

 

He gave the settlement money to charity.

I'll bet he made A LOT more from Wayne's World II alone.

 

As is his 90 minute sit down with Howard Stern about a year ago. He went into everything about his childhood, his botched operations (he was down the hall from Sinatra when he died), his relationship with Mike Myers during WW and WW2, and did some excellent comedy bits. I listened twice that week...it was that good.

 

Is that true? I don't know the inside story, only that it sidetracked his career for years. I always liked Carvey a lot -- both his standup and how he came across in interviews -- and he seemed like a solid guy. Always funny, always very sharp. He's had a lot of bad luck with features, which is sad; he's capable of a lot more than Master of Disguise.

 

Holy freaking hell greatest thing I've ever seen *snores*

 

I believe the whereabouts of the settlement money and his WW salaries were both touched on in the Stern interview last year (and knowing you're a fan, I'm surprised you didn't remember that).

 

That's the only sketch I remember from the show, because my Mom was so offended that she left the room!

 

I'm lucky to remember where my car keys are from yesterday!