When this show premiered on HBO, I didn't know what to expect. When, in its opening skit, they had a man beat Wayne and Garth from WAYNE'S WORLD (and anyone else who quoted their lines) with a club, I knew I had found my show. "Hardcore TV" was what you would have gotten if "SCTV" had no network TV censorship. The show was hosted by a guy who was sort of like Rod Serling on "Night Gallery" that brought on the skits. Some of the recurring gags were "Rastapiece Theatre" with a Jamaican man retelling old TV show plot lines but with raunchier results. There was Tracy Vilar from "The Steve Harvey Show" (and the only performer linked to this show whose name I remembered) as an astrologer whose predictions always centered on her cheating boyfriend and the punishment he would suffer. There was a fairy tale segment that always sounded like a "Penthouse Forum" letter come to life and "The Sports Lady" who would always ask prominent athletes (played by themselves such as the late Reggie White) if they liked it "doggy style". How funny you found most of this would depend on your threshold for the amount of profanity you could stand such as a "Barney" parody in which the dinosaur became a stand-up comedian.
Sadly, "Hardcore TV" didn't quite catch on like its other shows like "Dream On", "First and Ten" and "The Larry Sanders Show". But it will always have a special place in my heart. Especially after the club guy administered a beat down of epic proportions on Susan Powter.
Sadly, "Hardcore TV" didn't quite catch on like its other shows like "Dream On", "First and Ten" and "The Larry Sanders Show". But it will always have a special place in my heart. Especially after the club guy administered a beat down of epic proportions on Susan Powter.