TV Not On TV: Local shows that emulate the tube
From left: Jocelyn Mills and Clare Kelly rehearse for Improvised Simpsons.
Have you ever thought, "Boy, I sure do like TV, but I wish I could go and experience it out in the real world"? Well then, extremely unimaginative made-up person, you’re in luck. In the first two months of 2010, an unlikely trend is popping up in Chicago's venues, theaters and bars: live-action television. Scripted readings, improv shows, musical tributes, and other homages to TV are sprouting up all over the city. In light of this, The A.V. Club decided to take a look at the local "TV not on TV" attractions and see how they size up to their screen-based counterparts.
Various shows, Gorilla Tango Theatre
Shows referenced: The Simpsons, Sex And The City, anything by Joss Whedon, and ABC's TGIF shows
The live show: The Gorilla Tango Theatre is hosting a series of improv-based homages to various TV shows. Improvised Simpsons and Improvised Sex And The City take the characters from those two shows and put them in zany improv situations. The Improvised Joss Whedon show is a big "what if" scenario in which characters from various Whedon programs (like Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse) meet each other. But the most promising of the bunch is TGIF: RAW, which takes scripts from old ABC TGIF shows—the network's old Friday line-up from the late '80s, such as Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, and Full House—and gives them a dark, grittier edge. Our suggestion: a Danny Tanner heroin-addiction subplot.
Compared to the original: This mostly feels like fan-fiction. It's a creepy telling of beloved characters in situations that can sometimes become disturbing. (What if Marge Simpson fell in love with a character from Family Guy?)
Show referenced: Lost
The live show: Sonic Weapon Fence is a Chicago-based band that writes and performs songs all about the TV show Lost, with its name derived from the show's giant fence that uses sonic waves to disable any enemies. (They're not to be confused with Previously On Lost, another "recap-rock" band.) The fanboyish songs go in-depth with the show's many mysteries, characters and minor plot points. Damon Lindelof, the producer of the show, name-dropped the band in the official Lost podcast, but there's no word if the band's music will have any involvement in the show itself. You can download MP3s here.
Compared to the original: The music isn't very good, and the lyrics to the songs are going to be completely foreign to any non-Lost fan. Lost fanatics, however, can head to The Mutiny and listen carefully to dissect the semi-obscure references. Also, shouldn't a truly devoted Lost band write all its songs while stuck for two years on some remote island?
Jersey Shore at Joe's, Joe's Bar, Feb. 19, 9 p.m.
Show referenced: Jersey Shore
The live show: Actually, what's happening in Chicago is essentially what you see on Jersey Shore. The Situation, J-WOWW, and DJ Pauly D will all be at Joe's. For $20, you can hang out with them and stay for what the bar's website promises to be a night of "fist pumps, house music, dance floor battling, and all the Jager bombs you could possibly need." Did you say "fist pumps"? Sold!
Compared to the original: Aside from confessionals and a few members of the cast (most notably Snooki), this is pretty much what you'd get if you were featured in an episode of Jersey Shore. You go to the club, you hang out with the people from the show, you watch a lot of people embarrass themselves, and you drink a lot. Now here's the important question: Is that really something that you want?
