Likely Stories
| Likely Stories | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy anthology series |
| Starring | Various |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Producers | David Jablin Christopher Guest (Vol. 1) |
| Production company | Various |
| Original release | |
| Network | On TV (Vol. 1) Cinemax (Vols. 2-4) |
| Release | September 11, 1981 – August 5, 1983 |
Likely Stories is a series of anthology comedy specials broadcast in the early 1980s. There were four volumes, with each one consisting of short films by different directors. The first volume was broadcast on the subscription service On TV in 1981, and volumes 2-4 were broadcast on Cinemax in 1983.
Description
The series was known for giving full creative freedom to its filmmakers and was notable for featuring the directorial debuts of Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal, and Harry Shearer.[1] The short films starred various notable actors, including DeVito, Crystal, Shearer, Guest, Reiner, Paul Reubens, Rhea Perlman, Tony Danza, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger, Michael McKean, and Bruno Kirby. David Jablin independently financed and produced the first volume in 1981, alongside fellow producer Christopher Guest.[2] One installment features Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer's first mockumentary together, with Guest playing a precursor to his Waiting for Guffman character corky St. Clair. Another short film, in which Guest and McKean played their Spinal Tap characters Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins playing guitar and chatting in their hotel room, was made for this series but never aired.[3] Cinemax ordered three more volumes, which were produced by Jablin.[1] DeVito's short film, "The Selling of Vince D'Angelo," led to him making his first feature film The Ratings Game.[4]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Likely Stories, Vol. 1" | September 11, 1981 | |
Short films:
Dead Ringer: A satire of film noir movies with Christopher Guest starring in every role.
The Making Of You Wouldn't Believe Our World: A making of documentary for an industrial video for an evil conglomerate. This is Shearer, Guest, and McKean's first mockumentary together, and Guest plays a choreographer very similar to his Waiting for Guffman character Corky St. Clair.[6]
Who's On First?: A Who's on First-inspired sketch about a music promoter trying to tell an advertising exec about new rock bands. Earlier versions of this sketch was previously performed on a Credibility Gap album and in the sketch comedy film Cracking Up.
In Someone's Sneakers: Another adaptation of a Credibility Gap sketch, this one is a parody of Rod McKuen's poetry.
Reagan Rap: A Claymation music video of Ronald Reagan rapping.
| |||
| 2 | "Likely Stories, Vol. 2" | May 27, 1983 | |
Short films:
School, Girls & You!
Elephant Man Musical
Please Stand By
| |||
| 3 | "Likely Stories, Vol. 3" | July 1, 1983 | |
Short films:
Split Decision
Our Hollywood Vacation
Reagan's Nightmare
Barry in Concert
Trip to Tomorrow
| |||
| 4 | "Likely Stories, Vol. 4" | August 5, 1985 | |
Short films:
Focus on Fishko
| |||
References
- ^ a b Ess, Ramsey (June 19, 2015). "Examining the Cable Collaborations of Jablin, Mulholland, and Barrie". Vulture.
- ^ Jablin, David (August 28, 2019). "Interview with David Jablin, Editor & Publisher of Imagination Fanzine circa 1971".
- ^ https://djablin.medium.com/interview-with-david-jablin-editor-publisher-of-imagination-fanzine-circa-1971-3a0cdb0cb918
- ^ Ess, Ramsey (July 22, 2016). "Rediscovering Danny DeVito's Long-Lost Directorial Debut". Vulture.
- ^ "Rob Reiner Interview Part 6 of 8 - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG". September 30, 2009 – via YouTube.
- ^ Techler, Luke Kelly-Clyne, Graham (December 31, 2023). "The Best Comedy Shorts of December 2023". Vulture.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Danny DeVito was the Donald Trump of 1982 in this forgotten HBO short". AV Club.