Comedy Writer Bruce Vilanch Looks Back at the Worst Shows in TV History
Comedy writer Bruce Vilanch has put words in the mouths of Hollywood's biggest stars for decades. His new book, It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time: The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote, is a look back at some of his lesser triumphs. He's won two Emmys, written 25 Oscar shows and even made a cameo on The Simpsons, but Bruce Vilanch thinks his flamboyant personality has always been his calling card. Aside from his bon mots, his mop of blond hair, bright red glasses and outrageous gag T-shirts have endeared him to generations of fans. During the 1970s and '80s, between writing variety shows for Dolly Parton, Bette Midler and Donny & Marie, Vilanch helped create some truly bizarre comedy gold like 1978's infamous Star Wars Holiday Special and 1976's The Brady Bunch Variety Hour that even he can't believe aired on network television.
Q: Why do people still love to talk about these funny shows?
A: People tend to remember things from their childhood, which is one reason the things I did resonate with people today. Star Wars and The Brady Bunch continue to be around with seven or eight iterations of each and airing on some channel you've never heard of. I only watched The Brady Bunch because I was a TV critic for the Chicago Tribune and irony of ironies, I was writing for these brilliant children. In her later years, Ann B. Davis was in a Jesus commune in Colorado and not doing anything Jesus wouldn't like but she was pretty hip and the life she had forsaken was a colorful one.
Q: Would you call the shows in the book failures?
A: Probably. It's a dainty phrase. Some of them got good ratings but were not remembered as being good shows or classic shows. The Star Wars special was dead and buried until fans unearthed it and went after George Lucas not understanding why a Star Wars special had Bea Arthur dancing. I hear from people who remember seeing it as an 8-year-old and loving it, but these were written by grown-up people for grown-up people. I think by that yardstick, they were failures, but they've lived on in the culture as curiosities.
Q: Could shows like this get past the gatekeepers today?
A: There are still gatekeepers, but now you can create your own comedy and put it on the internet and one of the gatekeepers will buy it and make you wealthy. I give you Randy Rainbow, who made a fortune online before he hooked up with corporate entertainment and made more. If I were 20 years old, I would create a character for Bruce and put him on the internet. It's far better than pounding the pavement hoping someone will read your script.
Q: What is bad taste?
A: Doing something you shouldn't do. Dropping your pants in front of your mother's card game. Not reading the room or knowing the rules and going ahead anyway. Kitsch is part of it, when people do something in earnestness that they think is wonderful but is truly awful.
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