The Weird Al Show

"The Weird Al Show" only lasted for 13 episodes. I think the biggest reason for this is that the audience for such a show was probably rather small to begin with and the network's moving the show around didn't help any. Now I like Weird Al--and even went to his concert a few months back. BUT, his weird and surreal humor just isn't the sort of thing that will appeal to most adults. And, as far as kids go, it would appeal to the strange kids out there (like me when I was young) but just couldn't compete with corporate programming. It was was too different and filled with bizarre skits and unusual guest stars--much of which would have gone over the heads of many kids.

My feeling is that before you try watching the show, get copy of Al's "UHF". It's somewhat like the show but with more polish and the skits are far less hit or miss. Then, once you know whether or not you like this sort of strange humor, find the DVDs and watch away. Overall a very good show but a definite niche show.

The Weird Al Show was a kids' show hosted by Weird Al Yankovic, a famous musician who is known for his huge list of songs that are parodies of popular songs. Basically made as an attempt to call back the spirit of Pee-Wee's Playhouse, The Weird Al Show had a premise: At the start of each episode, the narrator, voiced by Billy West, would tell kids the moral of the episode, sometimes yelling the words at them, then it proceeds to the actual episode, where Al himself gets into some situation where he learns such a moral.

And yes, it only lasted 13 episodes. At the time this premiered, CBS had rebranded their CBS Kidshow block into Think CBS Kids, which was an all-E/I block made due to the FCC enacting the Children's Television Act, which required networks air three hours of educational programming per week or face a fine. With this came behind-the-scenes drama where Weird Al had to fight with network censors over stuff that was declared "I.B" (a name given to actions that the censors believed kids could imitate). This, and the fact that the show has been given random time slots that were hard to follow, got it cancelled. In fact, the Shout Factory DVD release has the commentary tracks talk about this.

But moving on, the show did do its best at being entertaining. Pee-Wee's Playhouse was known for its cast of characters, and while the Weird Al Show lacked puppets (it did, however, have Harvey The Wonder Hamster), it had its fair share of wacky neighbors like Bobby The Inquisitive Boy, Hooded Avenger, Cousin Corky, and Judy The Psychic. Also, there are many celebrity appearances and even musical groups like Barenaked Ladies, Hansen, and Al-4-One. The Weird Al Show is a rare gem that never took off due to network meddling, and it is worth a watch.

Why this show was cancelled so quick is beyond me. Oh yeah... the ratings. Well it's not the show's fault, it was the time slot (it was on at 8:30am on Saturdays where I live). This show was great nontheless with its take on the kid show genre in general. I still love the Bill Nye parody where everyone is singing "The Grass is Green" (you have to see it to understand) and the 80% Chance of Rain (a spoof on disaster movies). I hope they release these on tape sometime soon.

Pretty funny in general, but probably a couple of things sunk it. It was (I guess) a CBS kid's morning show, but CBS didn't bother to really include it on their Saturday morning schedule. So the affiliates that did air it showed it in dozens of different time slots.

Also, it had to be rated as "educational programming" (the "EE" or whatever), so there was always some message. Although Al managed to pretty end up parodying that every week, too.

The main problem was that folks probably didn't get it. Unlike Pee Wee Herman when Playhouse came out, Weird Al was already pretty well established. Those who didn't like him avoided the show, meaning it was basically his fans tuning in. Along with the mobile time slotting, that probably accounted for its departure after a year. Which is a shame, but there you go.

Why'd they take this show off the air. It was the'90's version of "Pee-wee's Playhouse". I am a very big "Weird Al" fan, and I was very disappointed when they took it off the air. I got the new "Weird Al" CD, and I get kind of upset when I listen to the show's theme song on the CD. They should put "The 'Weird Al' Show" back on TV.