Weird TV

Weird TV, or Weird Television, was a programme that aired in 1991 on Canadian late-night TV, as well as American stations such as KCOP, Channel 13 in Los Angeles; KTZZ (now KZJO), Channel 22 in Seattle, and Columbus, Ga. NBC affiliate WLTZ, Channel 38.

Weird TV
Also known asWeird Television
GenreSyndicated Television Program
Created byChuck Cirino, Todd Stevens, Arthur Maturo
Written byEric Trueheart, David Floyd, Dave Nichols, Shadoe Stevens
Directed byChuck Cirino, Paul Marshal
StarringSkylaire Alfvegren, Franklin Ruehl and Eric Trueheart
Voices ofShadoe Stevens
Theme music composerChuck Cirino
Composer(s)Shark Bait, Tinfed, Chuck Cirino
Country of originUSA
Original language(s)English
Production
Executive producer(s)Chuck Cirino, Todd Stevens, Arthur Maturo, Dewey Reid
Producer(s)Alexia Cirino[1]
Editor(s)Chuck Cirino, Paul Marshal
Running time1hr
Production company(s)Weird TV Inc.
DistributorMG Perin, Unapix Entertainment Productions, Weird TV Inc.
Release
Original networkFox
First shown inUSA
Original release1994 –
1996
Chronology
Followed by"Weird TV" (2003)[2]
External links
This is Weird TV

Premise

The "host" of the show was Chuck Cirino, who was also one of the show's executive producers along with Todd Stevens (who also produced the hit show Friends) and Arthur Maturo.

Cirino was the one constant of every show. He pops up in his landcruiser for a few seconds, setting up new segments of the show in his own eccentric way. He is known as the "comfort zone" of the show, as the subtitles during these segments tell you.

Also included in the program were clips Cirino had filmed from the Burning Man festival.[3]

Segments include:

  • Weird America, a segment of the show in which the crew flies out to unusual events all across the country. For example, "Car Hunt", where a full-sized, remote-controlled car is let loose in the Nevada desert and is hunted down with high-powered weapons, "just like big game", according to Cirino.[4][5]
  • Shadoevision, a continuing science-fiction thriller hosted by Shadoe Stevens.
  • The Dr. Ruehl show, where noted "phenomenologist" Dr. Franklin Ruehl talks about viewers of the latest cases of strange phenomena.
  • Video Dave's UFO Clip of the Week, where Dave Aaron reports on the latest extraterrestrial sightings from around the world.
  • Newsweird, which features strange news from around the globe.
  • Weird music videos, such as those for Monster Magnet's Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Skunk Anansie's Selling Jesus.

Another segment of the show includes stand-alone video pieces that are produced specifically for the show, as well as other video pieces sent in by viewers themselves.

These include:

  • Zatar the Mutant King, played by David Floyd. Zatar wears a dark cloak and a pair of heavy goggles. He carries "his sugar" with him at all times. Because his mother consumed too much sugar during her pregnancy, he was born with the power to mutate at will, defeating his enemies by becoming his enemies.
  • Trash: Francis & Buzz – Two deformed hand puppets converse.
  • Weird Love – A man discovers that his girlfriend is a were–caterpillar
  • Mobius in the world of the Living Dead
  • Babe in a Bottle(subtitled) – A tiny woman and a doctor.
  • Limbo Lounge - Sammy Davis Jr., Sulu and a transvestite perform a night club act.
  • Hog Man's Pork n' Bean Emporium – A strange man sells pork n' beans from a drive-up window.

Controversy

The show was banned in Philadelphia and Wisconsin for broadcasting a stop-motion animated short about a squirrel defecating massively.[6]

Awards
  • The shows (now defunct) website www.weird.tv was nominated for 3 Webby Awards in 2006, under the categories of Best Humor, Best Use of Animation or Graphics and Best Weird.[7][8]

References
  1. "Chuck Cirino Producer Director". Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  2. "Weird TV" (2003) on IMDb
  3. Burning Man – Early Years on YouTube
  4. Packman, Jason (November 8, 1995). "'Weird TV' a surreal assault to the senses". Archived from the original on November 2, 2004. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  5. "Weird TV – Car Hunt". YouTube. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  6. weirdtv. "About weirdtv". YouTube. Retrieved March 31, 2012. Pushing the envelope of so-called moral acceptability Weird TV was banned in Philadelphia and Wisconsin for broadcasting a stop-motion animated squirrel taking a dump.
  7. "Chuck Cirino Bio". Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  8. Scott Beale (April 21, 2006). "Weird TV Nominated For 3 Webby Awards". Retrieved January 27, 2011.
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