''The Tom Green Show'' is a television show, created by and starring Canadian comedian
Tom Green
Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian-American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted ''The Tom Green Show'', which a ...
, that first aired in September 1994. The series aired on
Rogers Television 22, a
community channel in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
until 1996, when a single pilot episode was made for CBC Television.
The Comedy Network
CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy and formerly known as The Comedy Network) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming. The channel first launched on Octo ...
greenlit the show in 1997 and aired it for 2 seasons from 1998 to 1999.
In January 1999, the show moved to the United States and aired on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. The series stopped production in March 2000, due to Green's diagnosis of
testicular cancer
Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility.
Risk factors include an u ...
, but continued to appear on the channel via reruns and other promotional materials. In 2002, it was ranked #41 on ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
''s 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time. In 2003, the show was briefly revived as ''The New Tom Green Show'' with a more conventional late night talk show format. In 2006, Green launched ''
Tom Green Live
''Tom Green's House Tonight'' (formerly known as ''Tom Green Live!'') is a talk show hosted by Tom Green. In addition to its primary Internet broadcast on ''TomGreen.com'', the show has been syndicated on television stations throughout North Ame ...
'', a live call-in show for his website, which was later renamed ''
Tom Green's House Tonight
''Tom Green's House Tonight'' (formerly known as ''Tom Green Live!'') is a talk show hosted by Tom Green. In addition to its primary Internet broadcast on ''TomGreen.com'', the show has been syndicated on television stations throughout North Am ...
''.
Synopsis
Personalities
The show was hosted by Tom Green, along with longtime friends Glenn Humplik and Phil Giroux.
Derek Harvie
Derek Kevin Harvie (born April 7, 1971) is a Canadian TV and film writer and producer. Harvie grew up in Ottawa and graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in film and literature.
''Us Weekly'' named him one of the "100 Most Cre ...
, who co-wrote the show with Green, occasionally appeared in the segments. Many of the sketches were targeted at his parents, both of whom appear to be embarrassed and not impressed by their son's antics.
Stunts
Much of the show's humor was Tom Green's signature brand of shock comedy; numerous sketches featured Green performing bizarre or shocking acts in public, such as sucking on a cow's udder, and throwing plastic baby dolls at passing cars. This content was highly controversial, and the show quickly garnered many detractors. Perhaps most controversial was Green's treatment of his parents, who were often the targets of his pranks. In an infamous sketch, Green woke his parents in the middle of the night by placing a severed cow's head in their bed, a reference to a similar scene in ''
The Godfather
''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
''. During an interview with his parents for their 30th anniversary, he turned the discussion into asking questions about their sex life.
Despite the show's reputation for scatological and transgressive humor, several sketches featured Green performing in a responsible and respectful way, making fun of his juvenile persona. One of these sketches was "People Helpers", where Green and guest star
Bruce McCulloch
Bruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, musician and film director. McCulloch is perhaps best known for his work as a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, including starring in the TV series of the same name. He ...
seriously assisted wheelchair users.
Recurring characters and sketches
The show also had a few recurring characters and sketches, including Billy Bob (a redneck who loved caramels and shaking his leg), Hockey Guy (a hockey player who would skate up in front of people and clumsily fall down), and a police station sketch.
He also explored the quirks of his friends. Green drew attention to Giroux's unusual laugh and discomfort with the smell of copper. One sketch aired when Glen had to urinate, but couldn't because Tom and the camera crew were in proximity (but still reasonably far away). They aired clips from a lengthy argument of whether a bear or a cougar would win in a fight.
"The Bum Bum Song"
When the show moved to MTV, Green released a single called "
Lonely Swedish (The Bum Bum Song)", encouraging visitors to download the song off his website, burn it onto CDs and distribute it to friends. After airing the music video on his show and appealing to his audience to request it, the song became an instant number one hit on ''
Total Request Live
''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...
''. He quickly called for the video to be retired because "it's not fair to
98 Degrees
98 Degrees (stylized as 98°) is an American pop and R&B vocal group consisting of four vocalists: the group's founding member Jeff Timmons, brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, and Justin Jeffre. The group was formed by Timmons in Los Angeles, Cali ...
." Later, in his autobiography, he revealed that MTV had pressured him to do so in order to maintain the image that Total Request Live was, in fact, a live request show (the next week's episodes had been pre-taped on location, and the producers of the show were completely unaware of "The Bum Bum Song" at the time).
Special episodes
In one episode that aired in early
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, Green visited his parents in Ottawa, Ontario with
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist and writer. President Bill Clinton admitted to having an affair with Lewinsky while she worked at the White House as an intern in 1995 and 1996. The affair, and its repercus ...
, and used the occasion to fool local reporters into thinking that they would make an important "announcement" together, which turned out to be related to Monica's new interest in designing fabric handbags.
In 2000, Green made a one-hour special out of his testicular cancer surgery. It focused on his reaction to the cancer diagnosis, as well as his family's, and footage of the actual surgery was included in one scene. The episode received wide critical acclaim for revealing a vulnerable, human side of an otherwise juvenile television personality.
In March 2002, he also starred in and directed a one-hour special called ''The Tom Green Subway Monkey Hour'', where he harassed strangers in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
''The New Tom Green Show''
The show was briefly revived by MTV in 2003 as ''The New Tom Green Show'', which was retooled to have more of a late-night talk show format, but was cancelled by MTV a few months after its premiere due to plummeting ratings. The show ran for 51 episodes from June 23, 2003, to September 5, 2003.
''Tom Green Live!'' / ''Tom Green's House Tonight''
On June 15, 2006, Tom Green launched ''
Tom Green Live!
''Tom Green's House Tonight'' (formerly known as ''Tom Green Live!'') is a talk show hosted by Tom Green. In addition to its primary Internet broadcast on ''TomGreen.com'', the show has been syndicated on television stations throughout North Ame ...
'', a live call-in talk show broadcast on his website TomGreen.com. It began as a partnership between Green and
ManiaTV!
ManiaTV is a digital television network that produces, packages and distributes premium live celebrity TV shows for the 13-34 youth/young adult market. According to comScore, ManiaTV reaches over 10 million viewers each month. It was founded by ...
. In 2008, the show was renamed ''
Tom Green's House Tonight
''Tom Green's House Tonight'' (formerly known as ''Tom Green Live!'') is a talk show hosted by Tom Green. In addition to its primary Internet broadcast on ''TomGreen.com'', the show has been syndicated on television stations throughout North Am ...
''. The show takes place in Green's own living room in the
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California.
Geography
The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains.
The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...
overlooking the
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
.
Rumored Hitler segment
A frequent rumor says that the show was cancelled because of an alleged segment where Green shows up at a
Bar Mitzvah dressed as
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. Green, however, has repeatedly denied that such a segment exists.
He mentions the rumor in his 2004 autobiography, ''
Hollywood Causes Cancer
''Hollywood Causes Cancer: The Tom Green Story'' is the autobiography of Tom Green, co-written with Allen Rucker. Published in 2004, it recounts Green's upbringing and acting career.
Synopsis
The book is an autobiography of Green's first 32 yea ...
'', stating that it started when some Boston teenagers were caught videotaping themselves performing that particular stunt and, when asked by security, they used the name "Tom Green". Green says, "I would never do a mean-spirited, anti-Semitic joke like that—it's both abhorrent and not funny...To this day I still get asked about it, and it's annoying. So again, for the record, it didn't happen. There is nobody on this planet that has ever seen this bit on tape because it does not exist. If it did exist, it would have certainly reared its ugly, hateful head on the Internet by now. But it won't, because it doesn't exist. I've never put on a Hitler costume. In fact, I've never even been to a Bar Mitzvah."
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tom Green Show, The
1990s American sketch comedy television series
2000s American sketch comedy television series
1990s American television talk shows
2000s American television talk shows
1990s Canadian sketch comedy television series
2000s Canadian sketch comedy television series
1990s Canadian television talk shows
2000s Canadian television talk shows
1994 American television series debuts
1994 Canadian television series debuts
2000 American television series endings
2000 Canadian television series endings
MTV original programming
Canadian community channel television shows
Rogers TV original programming
Television shows filmed in Ottawa
CTV Comedy Channel original programming
Television controversies in Canada
Television controversies in the United States
Obscenity controversies in television