The Please Watch the Jon Lovitz Special (1992) (TV)

Director:

Don Mischer

Writers:

Jon Lovitz (creator)
Jon Lovitz (writer)

Release Date:

17 May 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Mel Allen	...	Himself
Carol Alt	...	Herself
Army Archerd	...	Himself
Richard Belzer	...	Himself
Lewis Dix Jr.	...	Himself (as Lewis Dix)
Christine Dunford	...	Herself
Jack Ehrenberg	...	Himself
Roger Eschbacher	...	Himself
Barry Friedman	...	Himself
Louis Giambalvo	...	Himself
Robert Goulet	...	Himself
Brian Haley	...	Himself
Daniel Holzman	...	Himself
Tom La Grua	...	Himself
Jay Leach	...	Himself
Jon Lovitz	...	Himself
Ed O'Neill	...	Himself
Rob Reiner	...	Himself
Alex Rocco	...	Himself
Clive Rosengren	...	Himself
Tim Russ	...	Himself
Casey Sander	...	Himself
Kurtwood Smith	...	Himself
Shawn Southwick	...	Herself
Sharon Stone	...	Herself
Nicholas Walker	...	Himself

Also Known As:

The Jon Lovitz Show (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Brillstein Entertainment Partners

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Godfather (1972)

Half hour Fox TV special that was ill-conceived but still a little funny (emphasis on 'little').

This half hour special (it's title declares it a "show", was this supposed to be a pilot?) was a goof on the Playhouse 90 genre, (i.e.) a play is filmed live on stage and broadcast. The difference being, what with this a Lovitz comedy special, he is lampooning himself and the genre. What would you call this, a mockudrama? At any rate, the episode had a sort of Damn Yankees feel to it. It centered on a baseball player, something about if he slides into home he will die from an old head injury, and, naturally, he must make up his mind at the end of the play whether or not to slide headfirst into home to win the game. He does and I can't remember what happens, which pretty much sums up this show. Which is not to say the show didn't have it's moments. At the top of the show Lovitz tells a row of illustrious directors, Rob Reiner, Ron Underwood, et. al., that if they see anything they like during the play simply pick up the phone in front of them and it would ring a phone on the stage. During dramatic moments Lovitz would gesture to the directors and the phone. When the phone would ring, it was always to offer work to someone other than Lovitz.

The thing was loaded with stars and for the life of me I couldn't figure out who was able to swing that. I remember a gag where Alex Rocco is shot through the glasses ala The Godfather and his last words are "Not the other eye", then they cut away to Duvall and Caan in the audience, high fiving.

The concept was really strange, and I like strange, but this just didn't work. It had it's moments now and then, Lovitz is a funny guy after all, but he strikes out here. Interesting how they list all the actors as themselves. As I recall they almost all played characters in the play. Not worth checking out, but at half an hour, not too painful.