12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :- So Bad It's Good (in retrospect), 2 December 2000
Author:
Eclectic Critic from Chicago
It's hard to believe that seven years have passed since I watched the
unbelievably awkward "Chevy Chase Show". I think only the sadistic could
have really enjoyed viewing it, such was Chevy Chase's discomfort doing
something he clearly was ill prepared for. The first show opened with a
bit
where Chevy was putting his handprints on the walk of fame and wound up
falling in. Immediately I knew we were in trouble. Little did I know that
that would be the highlight of the show.
The interview with Goldie Hawn, the first guest, has to go down as the most
painful, cringe-inducing interview ever seen on national TV. It certainly
is the worst I've ever seen. Chevy was so nervous and his questions were
so
inane that even Goldie seemed to sense the disaster that was occurring. He
engaged in the kind of graceless small talk that would be tedious at a
cocktail party, let alone a talk show being viewed by millions. He was
just
trying to survive and that doesn't lead to pleasant viewing. When I think
back on it now, I agree with some of the comments made that it is a sort of
cult item, particularly that first show. Enough time has passed where it
can be enjoyed as a "so bad it's good" form of entertainment. But while
watching it the first time, I know I, and probably quite a few others, just
felt sorry for Chevy. He was in way over his head. It does make me
appreciate other talk show hosts more, though. It takes special skills and
abilities, some probably inborn, to make it all look easy.
I watched a few more shows after that first one-though I can't remember any
of the guests-and Chevy did improve somewhat. At least he seemed to relax
a
little-a "little". Still, even as early as the second show, the only
reason
to tune in was to see how bad it was going to be. And that incentive was
only good for a couple of shows. After that, it was just dull.
"The Chevy Chase Show" was doomed within the first five minutes of the
first
show. It ranks as one of the most humiliating professional moments in any
entertainer's career and, to this day, when I think of Chevy Chase, his
show
is what stands out in my mind. It taints his whole career for me and
undoes
a lot of the good that Caddyshack and the Vacation movies had done for that
career.
9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :- Unintentionally hilarious, 10 March 1999
Author:
Aaron-17 from Hollywood, CA
This notoriously short-lived talk show definitely falls into the
"so-bad-it's-good" category. The premiere episode featured a Goldie Hawn
interview and musical number that will go down in cringe-inducing television
history. Trust me; in ten more years, THE CHEVY CHASE SHOW will be a
sought-after cult item for lovers of shlock (the same folks who shell out
big bucks to snicker at old Dean Martin roasts). Some enterprising video
company should jump on the bandwagon!
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :- Why it failed, 26 March 2008
Author:
haizen from United States
I remember this show very well and wished very much for it to succeed.
Chevy is likable and talented... but NOT as an interviewer. He was
terrible. He simply was totally uncomfortable being in the position of
having the full responsibility of being the host and improvising in the
moment, and he appeared to have no idea how to have fun with guests and
ask the simplest of questions: his mind would go blank and he just sat
there at a loss, apparently terrified. It was a shame. He had Tom
Scott's great band, and when the show folded -- after 5 weeks? -- there
goes the band, there goes the opportunity, and there goes the audience.
The show was genuinely that bad. Ya have to be able to take your mind
off yourself if you're going to be able to interview people
effectively, and unfortunately he had no clue how to do this. Perhaps
the timing was bad and he just wasn't reading to go on the air as
himself rather than as a character. Still, he was likable and I was
sorry that he couldn't make a go of it. Even Goldie Hawn as a guest was
unable to bring out the best in Chevy Chase as an interviewer. Those 5
weeks must have been pure agony. Toward the end of the show's run, I
know it was for the audience, and it was truly merciful that the show
was finally pulled.
5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :- Unnatural Disaster, 3 May 2006
Author:
A_Minor_Blip from fluff, maine
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Wow was this show bad. I actually bought a DVD online of the first
episode. It's so great to watch. It's such a disaster. Have you ever
seen the film BROADCAST NEWS? This film centers on three people in the
news, two of whom are males, one a talented newscaster, another a
talented news writer. The news writer wants to be a newscaster (he
thinks it'll be easy since it seems so brainless compared to writing
the news), and so he tries out, on the air, to read the news, and finds
it's a lot harder than he'd realized (and that the newscaster guy, whom
he thought was dumb, really had some talent). This news writer is
sweating on the air, his lips are thin, his face pale. This is how
Chevy looked for the entire six weeks of his show. Like he had no idea
what he'd gotten into. A deer caught in headlights, that of a Mack
truck, and the truck didn't stop. There's one point on the show where
Chevy had Queen Latifah as a guest. As usual with his guests, there was
a point of very uncomfortable silence (this show was like watching a
bad first date). During this silence, Chevy turned to the actress and
said, "So... Queen Latifah", in a tone like he was just passing time
before... the show's demise, which happened only weeks after. Oh man
was this show bad. Bad and sad. Here's the situation in a nutshell:
With the likes of Johnny Carson and David Letterman, who are only
famous for interviewing famous people, to be a buffer between the
general public and famous people, you MUST at least SEEM interested in
their lives. Chevy was just another billionaire, just like his guests,
and he could care less of their doings (and vice versa). This shined
through. Oh yes, the Chevy Chase Show, one of the worst in television
history... and the funnest to watch. I wish I had the entire season on
DVD. I'd watch it on a loop, a loop without end.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :- Absolutely the Worst Talk Show in the History of Mankind, 27 December 2008
Author:
qormi from United States
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
This show was extremely pathetic, but I would buy the DVD of the aired
shows in a minute because they are unintentionally hilarious! For one
thing, Chevy Chase seemed to have been strung out on antidepressants,
horse tranquilizers, or something; because he was so inept as a host as
to seem deliberately horrendous.
He sat down at a desk with a huge 500-galloon salt-water tropical fish
tank behind him. This was a novel concept and I liked it.
Unfortunately, during one episode, the water had a brownish tinge to it
and the fish were obviously dying. It seems that a stage hand with an
axe to grind had dumped a cup of coffee into the aquarium. The next
show, the tank was gone.
His interviewing skills were so bad as to make Carson Daly seem like
Mike Wallace. I remember one interview with Dean Cain where Chevy
actually smirked at him and suggested that Cain was gay. You could tell
that Dean Cain was visibly restraining himself from punching out the
inept host.
This show was quickly cancelled and it's no mystery as to why.
10 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :- And you're not (funny, that is), 25 June 1999
Author:
Professr-4 from Cambridge MA
I wish episodes were re-run or available on tape because nobody who hasn't
seen it can understand how truly awful it was.
Why it ever came into being is a mystery because the host hadn't been
funny
in years and, even in his heyday, his talents were extremely
limited.
He rode into public prominence on the whirlwind that was the original SNL,
and in many ways, symbolized the show, although his talents paled next to
those of his castmates. But his smug irreverence touched a nerve in those
post-Watergate, the-systems-sucks-so-let's-have-a-few-laughs days. He was
the first to leave SNL and certainly proved the axiom about striking when
the iron is hot by churning out a few humorous, money-making films before
reaching his level of incompetence and cannonballing into a series of
unfunny comedies and endless "Vacation" remakes.
A good movie could be made about the original SNL cast and what became of
them; Gilda and Belushi aside, I think the saddest case is Aykroyd, who
may
have been the funniest of the original crew and has now deteriorated into
appearing in the type of vehicles he used to lampoon with laser-like
precision.
BTW, Bill Murray, for you youngsters, was NOT an original SNL cast
member.
0 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- Unique ideas and trends..., 13 August 2006
Author:
Demonguy from United States
I remember waiting in anticipation for this series to start. Always a
fan of his, I knew that his show would be a little different and more
entertaining, (read: less dry), than the offerings that were available.
I thought "The Pat Sajak Show" was the worst new talk show by the way.
He held the traditional talk show stage with a few differences. He
moved about his stage with ease and with the same style that people are
expecting from him.
He differed from his contemporaries by only focusing on 2 guests per
night. Let the viewer see and hear more about his guests than other
talk show hosts at the time.
The only low-light of his short lived program was a despicable, rude
appearance by Corben Bernsen. He came in straight away criticizing
Chevy and, in the worst mannered ungrateful way, gave back his
appearance gift he thought was cheap, and marched off the stage.
Others view this program as terrible. I believe it is because Chevy is
unique in his talent. And, it is some of the more simple and base forms
of entertainment. To some people, he's too staid in his style.
4 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :- Chevy Chase became Merv Griffin with this show, minus the class, 21 October 2005
Author:
Dave (cinemadave@yahoo.com) from South Florida
When I was in 8th Grade, Chevy Chase was a hero of mine in 1976.
Despite all the hype and support of the fledging FOX Network, "The
Chevy Chase Show" revealed Chevy Chase as a petty man who had become
what he once mocked.
The Goldie Hawn interview is a legend of bad taste. I remember Dan
Aykroyd being a guest on the show. At least Aykroyd provided some
dignity to his old co star. Aykroyd sang "Rubber Biscuit." Chase kept
saying, "Boy we used to have a good time." And at point, Chevy Chase
went from cool to Merv Griffin!
Given his public meltdowns as of late, we have come to see that Chevy
Chase's source of comedy was not cleverness, but self loathing. Like
his old SNL writer, mean spirited humor does not appeal to individuals
beyond the 8th Grade.
6 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :- A talented, hilarious and original work of art., 24 August 2000
Author:
(sww7044@aol.com) from USA
This was an under rated show. It was easily one of the best shows ever.
The
comedy was rich and drop dead funny. Chevy Chase, with the power of
"funny"
delivers a hour of on the floor laughing. The skits often made me have
random outbursts of chuckles for the next month. And the monologue, well
I
wish I knew the secret because it was too funny to even repeat. Chevy
Chase
is a comic genius that needs to be stopped or I will die of laughter. And
to all you people out there that criticize this work of art are just plain
jealous. Chevy, if you are reading this, don't listen to them. They want
your talent but won't get it. This show was brilliant. Chevy brought
outstanding wit to the interviews and had perfect timing. This show will
always hold a legacy of memories and an impact to the comic world and
heart
for internity.
Own the rights?
Buy it at Amazon Rent it atblockbuster.com
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12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
So Bad It's Good (in retrospect), 2 December 2000
Author: Eclectic Critic from Chicago
It's hard to believe that seven years have passed since I watched the unbelievably awkward "Chevy Chase Show". I think only the sadistic could have really enjoyed viewing it, such was Chevy Chase's discomfort doing something he clearly was ill prepared for. The first show opened with a bit where Chevy was putting his handprints on the walk of fame and wound up falling in. Immediately I knew we were in trouble. Little did I know that that would be the highlight of the show.
The interview with Goldie Hawn, the first guest, has to go down as the most painful, cringe-inducing interview ever seen on national TV. It certainly is the worst I've ever seen. Chevy was so nervous and his questions were so inane that even Goldie seemed to sense the disaster that was occurring. He engaged in the kind of graceless small talk that would be tedious at a cocktail party, let alone a talk show being viewed by millions. He was just trying to survive and that doesn't lead to pleasant viewing. When I think back on it now, I agree with some of the comments made that it is a sort of cult item, particularly that first show. Enough time has passed where it can be enjoyed as a "so bad it's good" form of entertainment. But while watching it the first time, I know I, and probably quite a few others, just felt sorry for Chevy. He was in way over his head. It does make me appreciate other talk show hosts more, though. It takes special skills and abilities, some probably inborn, to make it all look easy.
I watched a few more shows after that first one-though I can't remember any of the guests-and Chevy did improve somewhat. At least he seemed to relax a little-a "little". Still, even as early as the second show, the only reason to tune in was to see how bad it was going to be. And that incentive was only good for a couple of shows. After that, it was just dull.
"The Chevy Chase Show" was doomed within the first five minutes of the first show. It ranks as one of the most humiliating professional moments in any entertainer's career and, to this day, when I think of Chevy Chase, his show is what stands out in my mind. It taints his whole career for me and undoes a lot of the good that Caddyshack and the Vacation movies had done for that career.
9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Unintentionally hilarious, 10 March 1999
Author: Aaron-17 from Hollywood, CA
This notoriously short-lived talk show definitely falls into the "so-bad-it's-good" category. The premiere episode featured a Goldie Hawn interview and musical number that will go down in cringe-inducing television history. Trust me; in ten more years, THE CHEVY CHASE SHOW will be a sought-after cult item for lovers of shlock (the same folks who shell out big bucks to snicker at old Dean Martin roasts). Some enterprising video company should jump on the bandwagon!
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Why it failed, 26 March 2008
Author: haizen from United States
I remember this show very well and wished very much for it to succeed. Chevy is likable and talented... but NOT as an interviewer. He was terrible. He simply was totally uncomfortable being in the position of having the full responsibility of being the host and improvising in the moment, and he appeared to have no idea how to have fun with guests and ask the simplest of questions: his mind would go blank and he just sat there at a loss, apparently terrified. It was a shame. He had Tom Scott's great band, and when the show folded -- after 5 weeks? -- there goes the band, there goes the opportunity, and there goes the audience. The show was genuinely that bad. Ya have to be able to take your mind off yourself if you're going to be able to interview people effectively, and unfortunately he had no clue how to do this. Perhaps the timing was bad and he just wasn't reading to go on the air as himself rather than as a character. Still, he was likable and I was sorry that he couldn't make a go of it. Even Goldie Hawn as a guest was unable to bring out the best in Chevy Chase as an interviewer. Those 5 weeks must have been pure agony. Toward the end of the show's run, I know it was for the audience, and it was truly merciful that the show was finally pulled.
5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Unnatural Disaster, 3 May 2006
Author: A_Minor_Blip from fluff, maine
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Wow was this show bad. I actually bought a DVD online of the first episode. It's so great to watch. It's such a disaster. Have you ever seen the film BROADCAST NEWS? This film centers on three people in the news, two of whom are males, one a talented newscaster, another a talented news writer. The news writer wants to be a newscaster (he thinks it'll be easy since it seems so brainless compared to writing the news), and so he tries out, on the air, to read the news, and finds it's a lot harder than he'd realized (and that the newscaster guy, whom he thought was dumb, really had some talent). This news writer is sweating on the air, his lips are thin, his face pale. This is how Chevy looked for the entire six weeks of his show. Like he had no idea what he'd gotten into. A deer caught in headlights, that of a Mack truck, and the truck didn't stop. There's one point on the show where Chevy had Queen Latifah as a guest. As usual with his guests, there was a point of very uncomfortable silence (this show was like watching a bad first date). During this silence, Chevy turned to the actress and said, "So... Queen Latifah", in a tone like he was just passing time before... the show's demise, which happened only weeks after. Oh man was this show bad. Bad and sad. Here's the situation in a nutshell: With the likes of Johnny Carson and David Letterman, who are only famous for interviewing famous people, to be a buffer between the general public and famous people, you MUST at least SEEM interested in their lives. Chevy was just another billionaire, just like his guests, and he could care less of their doings (and vice versa). This shined through. Oh yes, the Chevy Chase Show, one of the worst in television history... and the funnest to watch. I wish I had the entire season on DVD. I'd watch it on a loop, a loop without end.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-

Absolutely the Worst Talk Show in the History of Mankind, 27 December 2008
Author: qormi from United States
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
This show was extremely pathetic, but I would buy the DVD of the aired shows in a minute because they are unintentionally hilarious! For one thing, Chevy Chase seemed to have been strung out on antidepressants, horse tranquilizers, or something; because he was so inept as a host as to seem deliberately horrendous.
He sat down at a desk with a huge 500-galloon salt-water tropical fish tank behind him. This was a novel concept and I liked it. Unfortunately, during one episode, the water had a brownish tinge to it and the fish were obviously dying. It seems that a stage hand with an axe to grind had dumped a cup of coffee into the aquarium. The next show, the tank was gone.
His interviewing skills were so bad as to make Carson Daly seem like Mike Wallace. I remember one interview with Dean Cain where Chevy actually smirked at him and suggested that Cain was gay. You could tell that Dean Cain was visibly restraining himself from punching out the inept host.
This show was quickly cancelled and it's no mystery as to why.
10 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
And you're not (funny, that is), 25 June 1999
Author: Professr-4 from Cambridge MA
I wish episodes were re-run or available on tape because nobody who hasn't seen it can understand how truly awful it was.
Why it ever came into being is a mystery because the host hadn't been funny in years and, even in his heyday, his talents were extremely limited.
He rode into public prominence on the whirlwind that was the original SNL, and in many ways, symbolized the show, although his talents paled next to those of his castmates. But his smug irreverence touched a nerve in those post-Watergate, the-systems-sucks-so-let's-have-a-few-laughs days. He was the first to leave SNL and certainly proved the axiom about striking when the iron is hot by churning out a few humorous, money-making films before reaching his level of incompetence and cannonballing into a series of unfunny comedies and endless "Vacation" remakes.
A good movie could be made about the original SNL cast and what became of them; Gilda and Belushi aside, I think the saddest case is Aykroyd, who may have been the funniest of the original crew and has now deteriorated into appearing in the type of vehicles he used to lampoon with laser-like precision.
BTW, Bill Murray, for you youngsters, was NOT an original SNL cast member.
0 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-

Unique ideas and trends..., 13 August 2006
Author: Demonguy from United States
I remember waiting in anticipation for this series to start. Always a fan of his, I knew that his show would be a little different and more entertaining, (read: less dry), than the offerings that were available. I thought "The Pat Sajak Show" was the worst new talk show by the way.
He held the traditional talk show stage with a few differences. He moved about his stage with ease and with the same style that people are expecting from him.
He differed from his contemporaries by only focusing on 2 guests per night. Let the viewer see and hear more about his guests than other talk show hosts at the time.
The only low-light of his short lived program was a despicable, rude appearance by Corben Bernsen. He came in straight away criticizing Chevy and, in the worst mannered ungrateful way, gave back his appearance gift he thought was cheap, and marched off the stage.
Others view this program as terrible. I believe it is because Chevy is unique in his talent. And, it is some of the more simple and base forms of entertainment. To some people, he's too staid in his style.
4 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Chevy Chase became Merv Griffin with this show, minus the class, 21 October 2005
Author: Dave (cinemadave@yahoo.com) from South Florida
When I was in 8th Grade, Chevy Chase was a hero of mine in 1976. Despite all the hype and support of the fledging FOX Network, "The Chevy Chase Show" revealed Chevy Chase as a petty man who had become what he once mocked.
The Goldie Hawn interview is a legend of bad taste. I remember Dan Aykroyd being a guest on the show. At least Aykroyd provided some dignity to his old co star. Aykroyd sang "Rubber Biscuit." Chase kept saying, "Boy we used to have a good time." And at point, Chevy Chase went from cool to Merv Griffin!
Given his public meltdowns as of late, we have come to see that Chevy Chase's source of comedy was not cleverness, but self loathing. Like his old SNL writer, mean spirited humor does not appeal to individuals beyond the 8th Grade.
6 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
A talented, hilarious and original work of art., 24 August 2000
Author: (sww7044@aol.com) from USA
This was an under rated show. It was easily one of the best shows ever. The comedy was rich and drop dead funny. Chevy Chase, with the power of "funny" delivers a hour of on the floor laughing. The skits often made me have random outbursts of chuckles for the next month. And the monologue, well I wish I knew the secret because it was too funny to even repeat. Chevy Chase is a comic genius that needs to be stopped or I will die of laughter. And to all you people out there that criticize this work of art are just plain jealous. Chevy, if you are reading this, don't listen to them. They want your talent but won't get it. This show was brilliant. Chevy brought outstanding wit to the interviews and had perfect timing. This show will always hold a legacy of memories and an impact to the comic world and heart for internity.
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