TV or Not TV is the first album by the comedy duo Proctor and Bergman

Proctor and Bergman

Proctor and Bergman are the comedians Philip Proctor and Peter Bergman, two of the four members of The Firesign Theatre. The two Midwestern members of the group performed as a double act for a while in the mid-1970s and recorded a few albums, though all four members continued to perform and record...

. It was originally released in 1973 by Columbia Records

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

.

Side one — act one

1. "Insert Here"
2. "Channel 85 Sign-On"
3. "Escaping From The Declining Fall Of The Roaming Umpire, Chapter XIII"
4. "Police Lineup"
5. "Salute My Boots"
6. "The Channel 85 Story"
7. "Cirque Internationale"
8. "Communist Love Song"

Side two — act two

1. "Channel 85 Reply"
2. "Tobor Radar Robot"
3. "The Pills Brothers On Drugs"
4. "The Mz Information Society"
5. "Bring Us Together"
6. "Nasi Goring"
7. "Our Lady Of The Torch"
8. "Emergency Alert"
9. "Emerging Fall Of The Roaming Umpire, Program VII"
10. "Give Up This Day"
11. "Channel 85 Sign-Off"
12. "Insert Here"

Critical reception

Critically this album received the best notices out of all of The Firesign Theatre

The Firesign Theatre

The Firesign Theatre is an American comedy troupe consisting of Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Philip Proctor. Their brand of surrealistic humor is best known through their record albums, which acquired a cult following in the late 1960s and early '70s.The troupe began as live radio...

's side projects. The New Rolling Stone Record Guide gives the album 4 out of 5 stars and says that Proctor and Bergman

Proctor and Bergman

Proctor and Bergman are the comedians Philip Proctor and Peter Bergman, two of the four members of The Firesign Theatre. The two Midwestern members of the group performed as a double act for a while in the mid-1970s and recorded a few albums, though all four members continued to perform and record...

 "melds [their] characteristic Joycean

James Joyce

James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...

 wit with some hilarious slapstick

Slapstick

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...

 routines" (404), while The Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide says that Proctor and Bergman "seem like Wayne and Shuster

Wayne and Shuster

Wayne and Shuster were a Canadian comedy duo formed by Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. They were active professionally from the early 1940s until the late 1980s....

 on acid

LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...

" (272). While The Goldmine Guide only gives this particular album 2 stars, this is still a higher notice than any other album by one of The Firesign Theatre's side projects .

Issues and reissues

This album was originally released simultaneously on LP, 8 Track, and Cassette:

• LP — KC-32199
• Cassette — CT-32199
• 8 track — CA-32199

It has been re-released on CD at least once:

• 2001 - Laugh.com LGH1152

External links

• Proctor & Bergman - TV or not TV – Laugh.com (10 February 2006)
• Firesign Theatre – Official website (19 January 2006)
• FIREZINE: Linques! – Firesign Theatre FAQ (20 January 2006)