Almost Live!
Encyclopedia
Almost Live! was a local sketch comedy
television show in Seattle, Washington, USA, produced and broadcast by NBC
affiliate KING-TV
from 1984 to 1999. A re-packaged version of the show also aired on Comedy Central
from 1992 to 1993, and episodes aired on WGRZ-TV in the late 1990s. The show was broadcast on Saturday nights at 11:30, pushing Saturday Night Live
back to midnight. The show is now aired in reruns by the Seattle NBC affiliate following Saturday Night Live.
and closely patterned after Late Night with David Letterman
, airing at 6:00 p.m. on Sundays. From the beginning, it featured many spoofs and satires of local television, series such as Star Trek, and unique locales in the city such as Ballard, Green Lake, Lynnwood, and Kent. The show became so popular that it was expanded from a half hour to one hour and shown twice a week. After four years and nearly 40 local Emmy Awards and several national awards, Shafer left to host the Fox Network's The Late Show
.
The format of the show during Keister's tenure as host always included an opening monologue. Much of the material had a local flavor to it. In addition to Seattle politicians and celebrities, regular targets of the show’s barbs were various Seattle sports teams, local stereotypes, Seattle neighborhoods such as Ballard
(home of elderly Scandinavian Americans who parked their cars halfway onto sidewalks with the seat belts slammed in the doors), Fremont and Wallingford (home of middle-aged hippie
s and New Age
rs), and suburbs such as Renton
and Kent
(perceived by the show’s young, urban viewers as a low-income, "white trash
" town) and Bellevue
and Mercer Island
(which had a snobbish, ultra-rich image). Other targets outside of Seattle proper included Olympia
and Bellingham
, both of which have hippie
/pothead stereotypes. Most, but not all, of the local references were removed for the Comedy Central version. The show also had promos for fake TV shows billed as "new shows on NBC for the upcoming season".
Besides Keister, regular cast members included Mike Neun, Pat Cashman
, Tracey Conway
, Nancy Guppy, Joe Guppy, Barb Klansnic, Joel McHale
, Bob Nelson, Bill Nye
, Bill Stainton, Darrell Suto, Lauren Weedman, Steve Wilson
, and Ed Wyatt
. Writers included Scott Schaefer, who later went on to win three National Emmy Awards for writing on Bill Nye the Science Guy
, and original Head Writer Jim Sharp, who is now Senior Vice President, Original Programming and Development for Comedy Central in Los Angeles. Later seasons occasionally featured Seattle-area comedian and voice actor David Scully who joined the core cast during the final season.
. Almost Live! was canceled by KING-TV in 1999 because it was not making enough profit for the new KING owners, BELO Corporation
of Dallas
. KING-TV has aired reruns of the show ever since, now in the time slot following Saturday Night Live. In fall 2000, Keister created a new sketch comedy show for competing station KIRO-TV
, titled The John Report with Bob, essentially a carry-over of the news report segment he had done on Almost Live!, with Bob Nelson in tow. The new show was canceled after 2 seasons, again because it was not making a profit.
Reruns are broadcast on KING-TV in Seattle at 1:05 a.m., following Saturday Night Live
. KING aired a reunion show on September 12, 2005, featuring the cast of the final ten years. KING-TV also aired "Almost Live! Back At Ya", a series of "best of" shows, on Sundays starting September 10, 2006 at 9 p.m.. The "best of" shows aired until December 2006.
Some of the recurring sketches featured on Almost Live included:
Some sketches were borrowed for the Fox
TV series Haywire
in 1990.
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
television show in Seattle, Washington, USA, produced and broadcast by NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate KING-TV
KING-TV
KING-TV, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Seattle, Washington, affiliated with the NBC network. Owned by Belo Corporation, it broadcasts on UHF digital channel 48. Its offices and broadcasting center are located just east of Seattle Center...
from 1984 to 1999. A re-packaged version of the show also aired on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
from 1992 to 1993, and episodes aired on WGRZ-TV in the late 1990s. The show was broadcast on Saturday nights at 11:30, pushing Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
back to midnight. The show is now aired in reruns by the Seattle NBC affiliate following Saturday Night Live.
Original format
Almost Live! began as a weekly half-hour talk and comedy sketch show created by then VP of Programming Bob Jones, and hosted by Ross ShaferRoss Shafer
Ross Shafer is a comedian and television host turned motivational and customer service speaker/trainer, based in Carlsbad, California. Although he now splits time in Nashville, Tennessee, where his wife Leah has an aspiring singing career.-Biography:Shafer graduated from Federal Way High School in...
and closely patterned after Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
, airing at 6:00 p.m. on Sundays. From the beginning, it featured many spoofs and satires of local television, series such as Star Trek, and unique locales in the city such as Ballard, Green Lake, Lynnwood, and Kent. The show became so popular that it was expanded from a half hour to one hour and shown twice a week. After four years and nearly 40 local Emmy Awards and several national awards, Shafer left to host the Fox Network's The Late Show
The Late Show (1986 TV series)
The Late Show is an American late-night talk show and the first series broadcast on the then-new Fox Network. Originally hosted by comic actress Joan Rivers, it first aired on October 9, 1986 under the title The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers...
.
John Keister and a change in format
John Keister became the permanent replacement after Shafer left the program. Until that time, Keister was a regular supporting performer. Many of the initial award winning elements of Almost Live were his efforts, so the program quickly changed formats to feature more of his abilities, as well as other cast members, in video sketches. The guest interviews and live band segments were dropped. The focus changed to sketch comedy and the show was shaved back to a half-hour format.The format of the show during Keister's tenure as host always included an opening monologue. Much of the material had a local flavor to it. In addition to Seattle politicians and celebrities, regular targets of the show’s barbs were various Seattle sports teams, local stereotypes, Seattle neighborhoods such as Ballard
Ballard, Seattle
Ballard is a neighborhood located in the northwestern part of Seattle, Washington. To the north it is bounded by Crown Hill, ; to the east by Greenwood, Phinney Ridge and Fremont ; to the south by the Lake Washington Ship Canal; and to the west by Puget Sound’s Shilshole Bay. The neighborhood’s...
(home of elderly Scandinavian Americans who parked their cars halfway onto sidewalks with the seat belts slammed in the doors), Fremont and Wallingford (home of middle-aged hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
s and New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
rs), and suburbs such as Renton
Renton, Washington
Renton is an Eastside edge city in King County, Washington, United States. Situated 11 miles southeast of Seattle, Washington, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington. Founded in the 1860s, Renton became a supply town for the Newcastle coal fields...
and Kent
Kent, Washington
Kent is a city located in King County, Washington, United States, and is the third largest city in King County and the sixth largest in the state. An outlying suburb of Seattle, Kent is also the corporate home for companies such as REI and Oberto Sausage...
(perceived by the show’s young, urban viewers as a low-income, "white trash
White trash
White trash is an American English pejorative term referring to poor white people in the United States, suggesting lower social class and degraded living standards...
" town) and Bellevue
Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
and Mercer Island
Mercer Island, Washington
Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States and the name of the island in Lake Washington on which the city sits. The population was 22,699 at the 2010 census....
(which had a snobbish, ultra-rich image). Other targets outside of Seattle proper included Olympia
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
and Bellingham
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
, both of which have hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
/pothead stereotypes. Most, but not all, of the local references were removed for the Comedy Central version. The show also had promos for fake TV shows billed as "new shows on NBC for the upcoming season".
Besides Keister, regular cast members included Mike Neun, Pat Cashman
Pat Cashman
Pat Cashman is a comedian and television and radio personality based in the Seattle, Washington, area.On TV, he was a regular cast member of the long-running local comedy show Almost Live! as well as the announcer for Bill Nye the Science Guy...
, Tracey Conway
Tracey Conway
Tracey Conway is a comedienne and was a regular cast member on KING-TV's Almost Live!, a Seattle-based sketch comedy show, from 1984 to 1999. She is president of Tracey Conway Speaking.-Biography:...
, Nancy Guppy, Joe Guppy, Barb Klansnic, Joel McHale
Joel McHale
Joel Edward McHale is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, television producer, television personality, and voice artist. He is best known for hosting The Soup and for his role as Jeff Winger on Community....
, Bob Nelson, Bill Nye
Bill Nye
William Sanford "Bill" Nye , popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, mechanical engineer, and scientist...
, Bill Stainton, Darrell Suto, Lauren Weedman, Steve Wilson
Steve Wilson (director)
Steve Wilson is an independent television director, based in Seattle, Washington, USA. He also appeared on-air as a cast member of Almost Live! the hitsketch comedy show on KING-TV and Comedy Central during the 1990s....
, and Ed Wyatt
Ed Wyatt
Edward "Ed" Wyatt is an American Australian sports journalist and television presenter.He worked as one of two SBS Television Melbourne-based reporters from 2000 to 2006 and has hosted SBS’s live coverage of the Super Bowl and the US baseball World Series since 2002 the and World Ice Hockey...
. Writers included Scott Schaefer, who later went on to win three National Emmy Awards for writing on Bill Nye the Science Guy
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Bill Nye the Science Guy is an educational television program that originally aired from September 10, 1993 to June 20, 1998, hosted by Bill Nye and produced by Buena Vista Television. The show aired on PBS Kids and was also syndicated to local stations, making it the second first-run television...
, and original Head Writer Jim Sharp, who is now Senior Vice President, Original Programming and Development for Comedy Central in Los Angeles. Later seasons occasionally featured Seattle-area comedian and voice actor David Scully who joined the core cast during the final season.
Cancellation
From its founding KING-TV had been locally owned by the family of Dorothy Stimson BullittDorothy Stimson Bullitt
Dorothy Stimson Bullitt was a radio and television pioneer who founded King Broadcasting Company, a major owner of broadcast stations in Seattle, Washington...
. Almost Live! was canceled by KING-TV in 1999 because it was not making enough profit for the new KING owners, BELO Corporation
Belo
Belo Corp. is a Dallas-based media company that owns 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and two regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A.H. Belo Corp. after one of the early owners of the company, Alfred Horatio Belo, now the name of the...
of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. KING-TV has aired reruns of the show ever since, now in the time slot following Saturday Night Live. In fall 2000, Keister created a new sketch comedy show for competing station KIRO-TV
KIRO-TV
KIRO-TV, virtual channel 7, is the CBS affiliate television station in Seattle, Washington. It broadcasts on digital channel 39. The station's offices and broadcasting center are located near Seattle Center in Belltown, and its transmitter is located on Queen Anne Hill...
, titled The John Report with Bob, essentially a carry-over of the news report segment he had done on Almost Live!, with Bob Nelson in tow. The new show was canceled after 2 seasons, again because it was not making a profit.
Reruns are broadcast on KING-TV in Seattle at 1:05 a.m., following Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. KING aired a reunion show on September 12, 2005, featuring the cast of the final ten years. KING-TV also aired "Almost Live! Back At Ya", a series of "best of" shows, on Sundays starting September 10, 2006 at 9 p.m.. The "best of" shows aired until December 2006.
Sketches
- "Bill Nye the Science GuyBill Nye the Science GuyBill Nye the Science Guy is an educational television program that originally aired from September 10, 1993 to June 20, 1998, hosted by Bill Nye and produced by Buena Vista Television. The show aired on PBS Kids and was also syndicated to local stations, making it the second first-run television...
". Ross Shafer is credited as the creator of Bill Nye the Science GuyBill Nye the Science GuyBill Nye the Science Guy is an educational television program that originally aired from September 10, 1993 to June 20, 1998, hosted by Bill Nye and produced by Buena Vista Television. The show aired on PBS Kids and was also syndicated to local stations, making it the second first-run television...
, encouraging BoeingBoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
aircraft engineer Bill NyeBill NyeWilliam Sanford "Bill" Nye , popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, mechanical engineer, and scientist...
to demonstrate science experiments on the show. NyeBill NyeWilliam Sanford "Bill" Nye , popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, mechanical engineer, and scientist...
later turned it into the Bill Nye the Science Guy show on PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. - "Capable Woman" (super heroine who "rescues" men too "manly" to admit they can't do everything)
- "Jet Guy" (parody of Republic Pictures' 1950s' serial character, "Commando CodyCommando CodyCommando Cody was the hero in a 12-episode science-fiction serial made in 1952 by Republic Pictures entitled Radar Men from the Moon, which was followed up 1953 with the 12 episode Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe....
") - "Me" ("talk showTalk showA talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
" hosted by egotistical woman who acts as if she is smarter than everyone else) - "Mind Your Manners with Billy QuanBilly Quan (character)Billy Quan was a fictional television character who originated in the Seattle TV comedy series Almost Live! in the 1990s. Quan was featured in a series of recurring skits called Mind Your Manners with Billy Quan, intended as parodies of the films of martial arts star and former Seattle resident...
", a parody of Bruce LeeBruce LeeBruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
’s martial arts films, with staff cameraman Darrell Suto in the starring role. This later became a recurring segment on the PBS show, Bill Nye the Science Guy. - "Nature Walk, with Chuck" (reckless alcoholic outdoors man and naïve young assistant, JIMMIE!)
- "Cops In..." Parody of CopsCOPS (TV series)Cops is an American documentary/reality television series that follows police officers, constables, and sheriff's deputies during patrols and other police activities...
set in various Seattle neighborhoods - "Speed Walker" (super hero who fights crime while adhering to the standards of competitive speed-walking)
- "High Five'n White Guys" A gang of over-the-top exuberant young middle-class white guys hit the town all over Seattle and once in Vancouver, BC in the sketch High Fiving White Guys go to Canada.
- "Ineffectual Middle-Management Suck-ups"
- "A Woman's Place" (Promos for a weekday talk show with Tracey Conway and Hollyce Phillips.)
- "The John Report" [1990-95]/"The Late Report" [1995-end of run] (weekly news-parody, similar to Weekend UpdateWeekend UpdateWeekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
) - "The Lame List (Or, "What’s Weak This Week)" (local members of "Seattle's heavy metal community", such as Kim ThayilKim ThayilKim Thayil is an American guitarist best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based grunge band Soundgarden, which he cofounded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984...
of grungeGrungeGrunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
band SoundgardenSoundgardenSoundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
yelling "lame" to whatever topic the announcer would present). Also in a rotating schedule were Colin Matson, Brad Hull, and Tony Benjamin of local Seattle band Forced Entry as well as members of other local bands. When an especially difficult topic or question would arise, everyone would stare and go "Huh?" with blank stares until the announcer gave up and asked a more simple question to which everyone would yell "Lame" in understanding. There were actually two "Lame List" casts, both of which were anchored by Jeff Gilbert, a local disc jockey on KCMU's "Brain Pain" radio show who later received national attention for his work as a writer for RIP and Guitar World magazines. The first cast also included Matt and Chris Fox of speed metal band Bitter End (later signed by Metal Blade Records. Matt later played in Dr. Unknown, Camarosmith, and the Squirrels; Chris appeared on Geoff Tate's solo album in 2003). The second cast included Tony Benjamins and Brad Hull from Forced Entry, as well as their roadie Jeff Hubbard, along with Marty Chandler from Panic (another Metal Blade artist, now playing with the Ones), Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, and Jeff Gilbert. The first and second set of episodes were also distinguished by different logos and progressively better production values. - "Sluggy" (a parody of "Lassie" about a little girl and her pet slug)
- "The Survivalist" (paranoid man with program from his underground bunker)
- "This Here Place" (a parody of the show "This Old House", only featuring poorly done and lazy repair jobs.)
- "The Worst Girlfriend In The World" (dating "horror stories")
- "Uncle Fran’s Musical Forest" (embittered children's show host. He was later used for Bill Nye The Science Guy as the same character.)
- "Urban Wildlife"
- "Street Talk," (Man on the Street) which captured one word clips from on the street/local celeb interviews and played them back in reverse order to give a different question a funny answer. This bit was later used as the basis for a CBS pilot co-created and produced by Scott Schaefer and hosted by Bill Maher.
- "Qwik Fishin'", which featured John Keister and Pat Cashman as red neck fishermen on Lake Washington.
Some sketches were borrowed for the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
TV series Haywire
Haywire (TV series)
Haywire is a sketch comedy television series which was aired by Fox Broadcasting Company as part of its 1990-91 lineup. Haywire included segments such as:...
in 1990.