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He's
nerdy, he's horny, and he'll stoop to anything to bolster the
ratings of the tiny talk show which bears his name... yup, it's Dick
Dietrick, all right! The irony of the show is that Dick himself is
just a character, created and portrayed by former Saturday Night
Live writer (you may also remember him as the villian in a four-part
episode of Punky Brewster, or Parker Lewis' suitably geeky pop on
Fox's Parker Lewis Can't Lose) Tim Stack. Yet he acts so much like
the other ratings-hungry clods on those sleazy afternoon talk shows
that it's hard to tell whether NightStand with Dick Dietrick is the
real thing (which it isn't) or just a cleverly written parody (which
it is). It's fun to tape an episode and show it to your friends,
then try to keep a straight face as they scratch their heads trying
to figure out why the hell the audience laughs at everything Dick
says. The illusion of being an actual talk show is part of what
makes "NightStand" funny, which is why I'm upset at the producers
for announcing it as the "the comedy that makes fun of talk" at the
opening of every new episode. Was this (and the new 555 phone
number) entirely necessary? Were people actually stupid enough to
call Dick's old number, hoping to be on his "350+ pound men and
women who like to wear spandex" or "celebrity toupees" episodes
(both, by the way, were gags announced as upcoming shows... the real
topics are slightly more down to earth)? Yeesh. The humor's a little
on the dumb side now, too, but Tim, er, Dick does occasionally dig
up a few gems, like the following...
(Said with the utmost sincerity) "Oh, I like that
guy who hosts that funniest video show... that Bob guy. I swear, he
cracks me up! They should just get rid of the home videos entirely
and have thirty minutes of his jokes..."
"Now, girls! You don't need to chew each other
out!!!"
(audience ooohs)
"Oh, people, no!!!!!"
(hosting a game show called "The Race Card") "Who was
the dancer on 'What's Happening'... Repeat, Rerun, or Retard?"
(After talking briefly with a Jewish member of the
audience)
"Is he bringing up a good point, or just a lot of
phlegm?"
"Oh, yeah!? When we come back, you'll see just what a
master debater I am!!!"
(in a confrontation with a guest, shortly after
gawking at a mail order bride)
"Calm down, weiner!"
"The
name's Wyner!"
"I wasn't talking to you!!!"
That's but a sampling of the sexual innuendo and
cornball puns you'll find in your average episode of NightStand.
It's a little dismaying that the humor has gotten less and less
sophisticated with each passing episode, but NightStand is (for the
time being) still worth watching. I just hope that creators Stack,
Abeytta, and Kaikko do something to preserve the quality of the show
before it's too late... |
