For Better or Werts : TV Worth Watching

TRIBUTE: George Carlin for kids

While everybody's tributes to the influential comic who died last weekend mentioned his "seven dirty words" (including mine), most of us forgot about a different side of this "adult" performer.

Carlin was likely best known to a younger generation not for his counterculture comedy but for his lengthy '90s stint as Mr. Conductor on public TV's kids fave Shining Time Station. (Watch an episode here.) His collaborator on the show, Britt Allcroft, wrote movingly this week about Carlin's "gentle invitation to kids to explore a safe, accessible fantasy world," in an anecdote-filled appreciation that's beautifully written and definitely worth reading. Find it here.

Also note that NBC has scheduled its own fitting salute, filling this week's Saturday Night Live slot (Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET, NBC) with an encore of the series' very first episode, from Oct. 11, 1975, when guest host Carlin delivered three vintage monologues. If you just can't wait, watch 'em online via Hulu.

1 Comments

Sally W. said:

Glad to see that Carlin's role for a different generation getting a bit of acknowledgment. I was always impressed that the Conductor role in "Shining Time Station" was such another side of him!

July 9, 2008 10:17 PM

Name

Email Address

URL

Remember personal info?

Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)

Nothing personal, but prove to us that you are a human being, and not an evil automated computer bent on posting spam on this website. Type the characters you see in the picture below.

Archer T-shirts & fan gear at the Fox Shop!

Diane Werts has been glued to the tube since she can remember, growing up in a household where the TV came on first thing in the morning and stayed on till bedtime and beyond. She worked for the USA Film Festival, then for The Dallas Morning News writing about everything from Shakespeare to macrame art to rock music (and has the hearing loss to prove it). She moved to New York's Newsday to edit their glossy TV magazine, then returned to writing about television, specializing in its stranger permutations. She's a past president of the Television Critics Association.

ARCHIVES

August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
March 2008
February 2008