DOC: Here we are at the final chapter of our GGR Networks history: Specials and Co-Productions!
Co-productions are series that involve other creative voices besides Doc and Dave. I think the first of these was “Ten Songs Will Survive”, which is also the only one of our series that can legitimately be labeled a podcast. Jeremy Fifield and I concocted the plotline that Planet Earth was under attack by Martians, and only ten songs could be preserved for future generations. We did some fun commercial parodies and other scripted material for the top of each episode.
Our longest-running co-production (thus far!) is “Sandhills Jubilee”, a concept created by Kalin Krohe, Jeremy Fifield and me. It’s basically a Mad Magazine version of “Prairie Home Companion”…complete with a drunken hillbilly house band named The Riverfront Boys, who went on to produce and record a full-length album.
We were also inspired by the “Midnite Jamboree” radio series on WSM in Nashville, which was broadcast from Ernest Tubb’s Record Store. Our “Sandhills Jubilee” was aired from the fictional Sandburn’s Record Store in Antioch, Nebraska.
Dangerous Dave played a regular role on the series as Bo Sandburn Jr., who despised the radio show and wanted ro raze the record store and put up cellphone towers–which, in the final episode, he actually did.
A final note about the Jubilee: the spoken word elements were absolutely ridiculous…but in between the shenanigans we presented music by a variety of performers from Nebraska and beyond.
The baby of our co-productions is “Janky Dah”, co-created by Kroheim and me. It’s a sitcom that draws from true life, about a son and his extremely frugal father. Dave has written some of the best episodes thus far and I’m looking forward to his future story ideas.
DAVE: Thanks, Pal! Good to jump in and write a couple of “Janky Dah” episodes while the pool is small. The episodes are only going to get better from here! And I have a couple of ideas of my own for some future “Janky Dah” scripts.
I actually also had the great fortune to make a guest appearance in an episode of “Ten Songs Will Survive” calling the toll free phone line to voice my displeasure of the way you and Jeremy were handling hosting duties.
Bo Sandburn Jr. in “Sandhills Jubilee” has been a fun character to play, and I look forward to the idea of him making the leap to another one of our series someday down the line. (Mel Freesburg’s done it. Riverfront Boys have done it. Clyde & Junior have done it.)
DOC: Good thinking! The possibilities are endless…
And then there are the specials–these tend to be longer, more elaborate productions with larger casts. Most of our specials are related to a holiday, such as our Columbo Halloween show, our Thanksgiving staging of The Wizard Of Oz, and the like.
Sometimes the connection to a holiday is tenuous at best…our “Brothers Grimm” special was presented as a Halloween show…which I suppose is the closest holiday that fits. That one was especially large-scale with, if I recall, 13 different cast members.
Our “Dog and Pony Awards” was a satire on Hollywood awards shows, complete with a violent outburst on stage. (This was the year Chris Rock got smacked by Will Smith.) We also presented “Rashomel”, a story of conflicting memories starring our beloved dog-man or man-dog, Mel Freesburg.
I’m going to pass the baton to Dangeresque so he can discuss his unique Christmas specials….sorry, holiday specials.
DAVE: Well, both are correct. The Golden Girls Radio Hour Christmas Special is fully dedicated to being and embracing Christmas. You may recall in this episode Cousin Oliver is sour on Christmas because he didn’t receive the Easy Bake Oven he wanted for Christmas as a child. It’s a bit more traditional than the infamous Dr. J & Dangerous Dave Dog & Pony Holiday Special 2020.
This was during the covid pandemic, so that kind of major event was an influence on my push for “Holiday Special.” Like everything else is different right now, so this is too. Also, I got enamored with the idea of singing a bunch of non-Christmas songs on a December Holiday show. And the labeling of “Holiday Special” is meant to reference and spoof the Star Wars Holiday Special. The Star Wars Holiday Special is often misnamed as The Star Wars Christmas Special, so this was a bit of a joke for our show. The distinction being in the classic film featuring Bea Arthur singing in a cantina far, far away, the holiday being celebrated is Life Day.
DOC: I bought a VHS copy of “The Star Wars Holiday Special” many years ago, and watched it with my friends Pat Adriance and Bri Larkin. Boy, that is some piece of work…I’m still waiting for another project that combines Bea Arthur, Art Carney and Chewbacca. Unfortunately Chewbacca is the only one still alive.
DAVE: It’s worth mentioning that the Dr J & Dangerous Dave Dog & Pony Show Christmas Special 2021 is firmly back to being acknowledged as a Christmas show featuring a Christmas song.
DOC: And so, we come to the end of our oral history…it’s pretty remarkable that something we did just for laughs has become a 20-year run with hundreds–HUNDREDS! of episodes. As they say, the best is yet to come.
