America's Funniest Home Videos (1989– )

Viewers from around America send in funny moments captured (or staged) by their own video cameras. Results are often painful to watch. :-)

Stars:

Tom Bergeron, Jess Harnell, Bob Saget

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Tom Bergeron	...	Himself - Host (258 episodes, 2001-2013)
Jess Harnell	...	Announcer (226 episodes, 2001-2013)
Bob Saget	...	Himself - Host (192 episodes, 1989-2011)
Ernie Anderson	...	Announcer (156 episodes, 1989-1995)

Storyline

"America's Funniest Home Videos" was inspired by a series of successful TV specials, where home viewers were invited to send in videotapes of their "funniest" moments. In "AFHV," host Saget provided commentary to the home videos which often showed wedding and sports bloopers, children and pets either being themselves or getting into trouble, furniture or other objects giving way (usually contributing to someone's fall) and "comical" reactions to getting inadvertently hit (usually in the groin). Sometimes, certain videos were grouped into themes, such as Christmas or a summer vacation, or had sentimental value to them, such as a marriage proposal; other times, videos were set to classic rock tunes. The top three videos of the week as selected by the producers were eligible for each week's $10,000 top prize; the audience would electronically vote for their one favorite video. Weekly winners got to compete in a later special for a $100,000 top prize.

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Plot Keywords:

video | blooper | audience interaction | hosted television series | infant nudity | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Reality-TV

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

ABC Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 November 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

A.F.V.

Filming Locations:

ABC Television Center - 4151 Prospect Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABC Productions, Vin Di Bona Productions, Gotham Music Placement

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 60 min (later episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Bob Saget: You may think this is funny but it *snot*.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The Unearthly (1991)

User Reviews

A laugh riot!

This was TV's first true "reality show," and boy, was it a doozy! It must have been a revolutionary concept at the time; but now, twelve years later, it's become lodged in our cultural consciousness.

But enough content analysis. This show was great! Where else could people win thousands of dollars for sharing their embarrassing moments with the entire country? And host Bob Saget was the icing on the cake. The video clips just wouldn't have been as funny without his zany voiceovers, in which he imitated everybody from Jerry Lewis to Sylvester Stallone. We usually saw him as "straight man" Danny Tanner on "Full House," so it was cool to see him be goofy for a change.

Many people have condemned this show for being mean-spirited and exploitative. That is a very unfair accusation. Obviously the producers at ABC got permission to use the tapes sent in by the people in them, and you could tell from the audience's reaction that it was always in good fun. And if you can't laugh at yourself getting whacked in the crotch by a golf club, how are you supposed to laugh at the antics of the Three Stooges or Itchy and Scratchy?

Kudos to this show, which proved once and for all that real life could be more hilarious than any Hollywood comedy. I just wish that Bob hadn't turned the reins over to Daisy Fuentes and John Fugelsang.