''Al TV'' is an American comedy TV series created by and starring singer-songwriter
"Weird Al" Yankovic, which aired as periodic specials on
MTV and
VH1, beginning in 1984.
Overview
The premise of the show is that Yankovic uses his private satellite transmitter to commandeer the airwaves of a music video station in order to show the videos that ''he'' wants to watch.
The program is primarily a parody of
MTV itself, including that of MTV's moon landing image sequence. As its theme music, the series featured a re-recording of MTV's own theme at the time, featuring Yankovic on accordion and
manualist "Musical Mike" Kieffer. The show features commercials for imaginary products, fake interviews with celebrities, comments on the latest music news, letters from fans, and bizarre ''non sequiturs''. For fake interviews, the show edits footage from unrelated outside interviews and manipulates it such that Al appears to be interviewing the celebrity in a silly or mocking way.
''Al TV''s main focus is music videos, especially his own, as well as others of an unusual or surreal comedy nature. As the series was conceived as a straight parody of the then-fledgling MTV network, early ''Al TV'' episodes featured music videos from popular artists of the time, including
Peter Gabriel,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, and
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
; these were eventually phased out. Al's own work consists of song parodies and "cover polkas", which essentially edit together the videos from the original artists with Al's music and vocals synchronized to the video segments. Al occasionally uses this tactic for certain song parodies for which no video was made.
Clips from ''Al TV'', mainly fake interviews, are shown during costume changes in Yankovic's live shows. Yankovic's 1985 "documentary" ''
The Compleat Al'' also included clips from ''AL TV''.
Episode list
Ten episodes have been produced, the first eight specials on
MTV, the last two on
VH1:
* ''Al TV'' #1 – ''
In 3-D''; April 1, 1984; four hours
* ''Al TV'' #2 – ''
In 3-D''; September 3, 1984; four hours
* ''Al TV'' #3 – ''
Dare to Be Stupid
''Dare to Be Stupid'' is the third studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 18, 1985. The album was one of many Yankovic records produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between August 1984 and March 1985, the ...
''; July 7, 1985; four hours
* ''Al TV'' #4 – ''
Polka Party!''; February 3, 1987; two hours
* ''Al TV'' #5 – ''
Even Worse''; April 20, 1988; two hours
* ''Al TV'' #6 – ''
Off the Deep End
''Off the Deep End'' is the seventh studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1992. This album was the first album self-produced by Yankovic, after six albums with Rick Derringer. Recorded between June 1990 and January 1992, the album was ...
''; April 26, 1992; three hours, plus a one-hour sneak peek
* ''Al TV'' #7 – ''
Bad Hair Day
''Bad Hair Day'' is the ninth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on March 12, 1996. It was also Yankovic's last studio album for the Scotti Brothers label before it was purchased by Volcano Records in 1999 and his final studio album t ...
''; May 23, 1996; two hours
* ''Al TV'' #8 ''(Al 2K)'' – ''
Running with Scissors''; December 4, 1999; two hours
* ''Al TV'' #9 – ''
Poodle Hat
''Poodle Hat'' is the eleventh studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on May 20, 2003. It was the fifth studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop of the early-2000 ...
''; June 17, 2003; one hour
* ''Al TV'' #10 – ''
Straight Outta Lynwood''; December 15, 2006; one hour
In addition, Yankovic appeared as a guest VJ on MTV on February 22, 1984, using much the same format he would later use on ''Al TV''.
Canadian spinoff: ''Al Music''
A similar installment of shows hosted by Yankovic were broadcast in Canada, under the name ''Al Music'', which aired on Canada's
MuchMusic network to concurrently promote the release of 3 of his albums in the 1990's. Similar to ''Al TV'', ''Al Music'' also featured Yankovic commandeering the network broadcast, but this was achieved by visiting MuchMusic's studio unannounced, forcibly removing the scheduled
VJ on-air & replacing them with himself in order to show the videos that ''he'' wanted to watch. He also incorporated the same parodying of the music station format through fake interviews with celebrities, comments on the latest music news, letters from fans, airing music videos strewn with Yankovic
voice-overs
Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...
making wisecracks and humorous observational comments about their content, and bizarre non-sequiturs that were incorporated in ''Al TV''.
Episode list
*''Al Music'' – ''
Off the Deep End
''Off the Deep End'' is the seventh studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1992. This album was the first album self-produced by Yankovic, after six albums with Rick Derringer. Recorded between June 1990 and January 1992, the album was ...
'' (removed VJ
Steve Anthony); 1992
*''Al Music 2'' – ''
Alapalooza
''Alapalooza'' is the eighth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1993. By the completion of his previous album, ''Off the Deep End'', Yankovic had already written all of the original songs that he planned to use on his next releas ...
'' (removed VJ Steve Anthony); 1993
*''Al Music 3'' – ''
Bad Hair Day
''Bad Hair Day'' is the ninth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on March 12, 1996. It was also Yankovic's last studio album for the Scotti Brothers label before it was purchased by Volcano Records in 1999 and his final studio album t ...
'' (removed VJ
Bill Welychka
Bill Welychka (born in Welland, Ontario) is a Canadians, Canadian television personality.
Welychka joined CHUM Limited in 1988 as a video editor for MuchMusic. In 1992, he became a VJ (media personality), VJ for the channel, staying with Much for ...
); 1996
See also
*
Nerdist
Nerdist Industries, LLC is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast (The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a network of podcasts, a premium conte ...
, hosting the series called ''
Face to Face'' where Al conducts fake interviews in the style of ''Al TV''.
References
External links
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{{MTVNetwork Shows
1984 American television series debuts
2006 American television series endings
1980s American musical comedy television series
1990s American musical comedy television series
2000s American musical comedy television series
English-language television shows
Much (TV channel) original programming
MTV original programming
VH1 original programming
"Weird Al" Yankovic