When I was a kid, a broadcast of SCTV would only get my attention if Martin Short was the guy on the screen. Even today my tastes have not wavered. The only reason I am thinking of getting TEVO is so that I can punch in Martin's name and take in a month's worth of his talent when nobody is there to bother me.
Martin Short is without a doubt the funniest human being who has ever lived. His Jiminy Glick character is especially funny, and obviously so "inside" most people don't even get it...or do they?
Martin Short is the only heterosexual man who can make Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn impersonations funny for us straight men. Please don't take this as a homophobic view, rather, it is testament to Short's incredible talent. He's just funnier than a conventional drag queen or a female impersonator. He does what he does, and his straight audience laughs because it's funny, while his gay audience falls off their chairs because it's so hilariously campy and cruel.
Today I watched an episode of Primetime Jiminy and watched Short do a reenactment of Sal Mineo's murder with marionettes. Imagine that...a famous gay murder played out with cheap puppets -- it was so patently gay, yet only a small percent of those watching (and laughing) would understand how horribly and morbidly funny it really was.
C'mon, we all know Jiminy Glick is Merv Griffin -- it's so beyond funny because Martin Short is essentially a straight drag queen.
Thanks, Damien