Ten Favorite Fake TV Shows

#10 - Terrance and Phillip
This fart-centric Canadian import, which once started a war between the United States and Canada and almost caused a premature apocalypse on Earth, is also the favorite TV show of South Park residents Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny. The show disappoints somewhat in that it never really seemed to have aspirations (or too many… pun intended), though we can’t overlook the genius of the spin-off movie that gave us the classic song “Uncle Fucka”.

#9 - Exposé
Although this fake series was extremely short-lived, we relished the moment when Nikki flashed back from the Lost island to the time she was working on this trashy detective series which Hurley described as, “Like Baywatch only better.” The fact that we were introduced to this fake show in the same episode that saw the demise of Nikki and Paulo only helped warm our feelings towards it.

#8 - Bobcat or Björk
That’s Bobcat as in Goldthwaite and Björk as in Guðmundsdóttir, the Icelandic songstress who could be included on either our top geek bands or favorite nutjobs lists if the parameters were slightly changed. This Family Guy game show poses the question “is this Björk singing or the rantings of former comedian Bobcat Goldthwait?” Sounds more like Bill Cosby to me.

#7 - Ow, My Balls!
Idiocracy wins the prize for Most Stupid Brilliant Social Commentary contained in any one movie. Case in point, the popular comedy(?) series Ow, My Balls!, which is pretty much what you’re thinking, only really well produced. If you enjoy balls that are getting things rammed into and/or clamped onto them, such as phone cables, brick walls and angry dogs, then this is the fake show for you.

#6 - Manger Babies
This brainchild of not-so-brainy Luanne Platter, niece of King of The Hill’s Hank Hill, is hands down our favorite fake, Christian-themed puppet show. The show’s eponymous subjects, who were present at the birth of Jesus, include Obadiah the Donkey, Hosea the Cat, Sir Reginald Featherbottom the Third (a British bird), and an octopus for some reason. Sunday school was never this bizarre and esoteric.

#5 - The Edison Carter Show
In our opinion, it’s the best show on Network 23, the fictional network that’s home to intrepid reporter Edison Carter and his digital alter ego Max Headroom (both played by Matt Frewer who was cast as Moloch in the upcoming film version of Watchmen - yay!) But we digress; Max Headroom’s very dark and moody cyberpunk world is ruled by competing television networks who make instant program decisions based on ratings every minute. It’s amazing Edison’s good-for-you brand of television journalism lasted as long as it did.

#4 - Invitation To Love
Several residents of Twin Peaks were fans of this daily soap opera, which often played as both a parody of the soap opera genre and of parent series Twin Peaks itself. The most interesting thing about Invitation To Love was that its storylines reflected the plot lines of Twin Peaks, and if you paid attention you might identify clues and hints of events to come.

#3 - The Itchy & Scratchy Show

“They fight and bite
And fight and bite and fight
Fight fight fight, bite bite bite
The Itchy & Scratchy Show!”

If you’ve never seen The Itchy & Scratchy Show, we don’t want to know you.

#2 - Cookie Party
How do we begin to extol the virtues of Cookie Party, our favorite fake competitive reality series and favorite program of Sarah Silverman and her sister on The Sarah Silverman Program. The weekly show is hosted by trans southern belle Mini Coffee and her puppet friends, who oversee a wild competition between two teams of two, each trying to make the best cookie.

#1 - Everybody Loves Hypnotoad
Do not change the channel. Do not leave the room. Keep your eyes on the Hypnotoad. The cast of Futurama loves Hypnotoad. All your friends love Hypnotoad. You love Hypnotoad. There is no greater television program on any planet nor in any century.

(The all-time best Hypnotoad episode comes as an extra on the Futurama: Bender’s Big Score DVD, and it’s almost as good as the main feature. Seriously.)

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