America's Funniest People

America's Funniest People is a TV show on ABC that ran from 1990 to 1994. It was hosted by Dave Coulier and Arleen Sorkin from 1990 to 1992. Tawny Kitaen replaced Sorkin in 1992. The announcer was Ernie Anderson.

Format

The format was similar to America's Funniest Home Videos, with the main difference that while Funniest Home Videos spent the majority of its time with accidental follies captured on tape, Funniest People focused on people intentionally trying to be funny, doing things such as telling jokes, doing impressions, singing, dancing, performing scripted material, attempting wacky stunts, pulling pranks, etc. The show also featured recurring segments.

Jackalope vignettes

Originally known as "Tiny the Jackalope", or simply "The Jackalope", Jackalope sketches involved a creature with a jackalope's head attacking people with exaggerated Bruce Lee style jump kicks. Whenever these kicks were performed, the camera view would be from the Jackalope's perspective. The character's catchphrase was, "Fast as fast can be, you'll never catch me!" Host Dave Coulier did the voices for all characters in the Jackalope skits. The Jackalope was later renamed "Jack Ching Bada-Bing" in a "Name the Jackalope" contest.

"Dunk the Parent"

Later in the show's run, a segment called "Dunk the Parent" was added, in which a kid contestant could drop one of their parents into a pool of water. The kid chose the parent (mom or dad) that he wanted to dunk, and they had to sit on a chair over the water (similar to a dunk tank). The parent was then asked a trivia question, usually involving a list (For example, "Name the seven dwarves in 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'"). If he/she answered the question correctly, they stepped off the chair, and the other parent had to take his/her place; if not, he/she remained seated. The climax of the segment was when the child pulled a lever to release the seat out from underneath the parent, dropping them into the water below.

"Prank Patrol"

When the show changed format and became The New America's Funniest People a segment was added called the Prank Patrol. 5 kids would run around various parks and locations near Los Angeles performing pranks on unsuspecting visitors. The Prank Patrol consisted of Brady Bluhm, Elena Epps, Raushan Hammond, Lindsay Ridgeway, and Lance Robinson. Pranks consisted of exploding ice cream cones, a man in a gorilla suit, a squirting drinking fountain, a remote control rat, an exploding trash can, and a hand in a jar of candy.

Production

The pilot was called America's Funniest...Part II.

The co-host of the show, Dave Coulier, like AFV host Bob Saget, was also one of the stars of the popular sitcom Full House which was airing at the same time as the series.

Full House's Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen made guest appearances, as they also did on America's Funniest Home Videos. The bulk of their visits to People took place once their collective popularity with kids and pre-teens took off. Their most notable appearance was in the fall of 1992, when they plugged their first single, Brother For Sale, from the release of Mary-Kate and Ashley: Our First Video.

It was produced by Vin Di Bona Productions and ABC Productions. In 1992, Sorkin was dismissed by Vin Di Bona, and replaced with Kitaen. In response, Sorkin filed a lawsuit against Di Bona.

The start of the 1993-94 season saw the show's title modified to The New America's Funniest People. This reflected the addition of new themed segments and the new practice of having a guest co-host join Coulier and Kitaen each week. The guest would be a star from another ABC series. The show was cancelled in 1994.

During the latter half of the show's run, and for at most until a year after it was cancelled, short 30-second segments from America's Funniest People ran in commercial breaks during ABC's Saturday morning lineup. These would usually consist of excerpts from longer segments, usually featuring young kids telling jokes or engaging in stunts.

Syndication

Repeats of the show were aired on TBS from September 1998 to September 2003.

External links

• Jump The Shark - America's Funniest People
• Variety - The New America's Funniest People TV Shows Review