Flip Wilson just wasn't fuuny IMO. I watched this show and nothing he does make me laugh. That crazy Geraldine character was defintely not funny and i find myself being bored unless it's a certain guest star on the show. So I may just watch the show for the Guest stars like if it's the Jacksons, Bill Cosby,or Karrem Abdul Jabbar but defintely not to see boring a$$ Flip Wilson. These are some replacements for the Flip Wilson Show


Tony Orlando and Dawn
Donny and Marie
Jackson Five Variety Hour

When Flip Wilson came out on DVD. My mother who's in her late 50's raved about how hilarious the show was. She immediately went out and bought a copy. After sitting and watching an episode, I got up and walked out. It just wasn't funny to me. I thought maybe it was because of the generation gap, but then again I love shows like "I love Lucy" so that shouldn't be the case. Some things just don't stand up over time. Flip Wilson's show is proof of that. Even my mother admitted that she didn't find him the least bit funny anymore and hasn't watched his show since.

I completely agree with you.

i once knew a lady who had been one of flips neighbors back when he was just reaching his stardom and she told me he was a nice enough person but when she watched a few reruns of his show even she never realaized how boring his show really was kkind of sad when your own former neighbors dont like your show ether

Flip Wilson just wasn't fuuny IMO. I watched this show and nothing he does make me laugh. That crazy Geraldine character was defintely not funny and i find myself being bored unless it's a certain guest star on the show. So I may just watch the show for the Guest stars like if it's the Jacksons, Bill Cosby,or Karrem Abdul Jabbar but defintely not to see boring a$$ Flip Wilson. These are some replacements for the Flip Wilson Show


Tony Orlando and Dawn
Donny and Marie
Jackson Five Variety Hour

I'd watch all three of those shows in a heartbeat. Especially Donny and Marie. :woohoo:

Flip definitely wasn't hysterical at the time, and the few episodes I've seen on Saturday morning haven't been very funny either (I did see a good sketch with basketball great Bill Russell one time)...

I think a comparison of Flip Wilson to Jackie Robinson is valid because:

1) Jackie Robinson, although he was an incredible athlete who could have starred in any pro sport, was not the best player in Negro League Baseball at the time he was signed by the Dodgers. Josh Gibson was better, as were a few others... Robinson was signed first for many reasons besides his considerable ability... his temperment, for one thing... Branch RIckey knew the things the first black player would face, and he wanted someone with the strenght not to fight back (except to let his play do his talking). Robinson, of course, was the perfect man to meet those requirements...

in the same way, I think that Wilson got his show...I believe he was the first Black person to host a variety show (I think Nat King Cole had a show at one time, but it was a 15 minute show, as opposed to an hour long variety)... Certainly, there were much funnier black comedians out there than Wilson... but he was probably picked because the Networks saw him as the most acceptable to a predominately white audience. So it wasn't just his talent that got him this "gig" but there were other factors as well... there was no way Richard Pryor was getting HIS own variety show in the early 70s.

Both of these men achieved "firsts" partly because of their ability, and partly because of other factors.

Wilson could certainly have some good guest stars... but I agree, looking at it today, Flip himself wasn't that funny...and I hated the Geraldine character even when his show first ran... imo, men dressing up as women is not, and never has been, funny. It's just creepy

Flip definitely wasn't hysterical at the time, and the few episodes I've seen on Saturday morning haven't been very funny either (I did see a good sketch with basketball great Bill Russell one time)...

I think a comparison of Flip Wilson to Jackie Robinson is valid because:

1) Jackie Robinson, although he was an incredible athlete who could have starred in any pro sport, was not the best player in Negro League Baseball at the time he was signed by the Dodgers. Josh Gibson was better, as were a few others... Robinson was signed first for many reasons besides his considerable ability... his temperment, for one thing... Branch RIckey knew the things the first black player would face, and he wanted someone with the strenght not to fight back (except to let his play do his talking). Robinson, of course, was the perfect man to meet those requirements...

in the same way, I think that Wilson got his show...I believe he was the first Black person to host a variety show (I think Nat King Cole had a show at one time, but it was a 15 minute show, as opposed to an hour long variety)... Certainly, there were much funnier black comedians out there than Wilson... but he was probably picked because the Networks saw him as the most acceptable to a predominately white audience. So it wasn't just his talent that got him this "gig" but there were other factors as well... there was no way Richard Pryor was getting HIS own variety show in the early 70s.

Both of these men achieved "firsts" partly because of their ability, and partly because of other factors.

Wilson could certainly have some good guest stars... but I agree, looking at it today, Flip himself wasn't that funny...and I hated the Geraldine character even when his show first ran... imo, men dressing up as women is not, and never has been, funny. It's just creepy





I agree, maybe the Geraldine character would have been funny if it was played by a actual woman.

Unlike the previous posts, I happen to love the Flip Wilson show and the character Geraldine.

Just finished watching Geraldine with Joe Namath :rofl:

He had a wide audience of lovers and haters, but during such a critical period 70-74 no other black had achieved such success other than Sammy Davis Jr.

Guess I'm not a big fan of sketch comedy. When it comes to Variety shows from the 70's, I only liked watching when there was singing and dancing.

Guess I'm not a big fan of sketch comedy. When it comes to Variety shows from the 70's, I only liked watching when there was singing and dancing.


And that's another good point... sketch comedy can be 'sketchy' at times... sometimes hilarious, sometimes dumb... a lot of things that were funny to a late-60s early 70s TV audience would not go over as well today, with all that we've been exposed to in movies etc over the past 30 years...

I liked sketch comedy growing up in the 70s, but when I see the stuff in reruns today, I'm thinking, "I can't believe I was actually entertained by this". Rowan and Martin's Laugh in is a good example of something that everyone loved in 1969, but I can't sit thru an episode today...even when Nick at Night brought the show back briefly in the late '80s, I remember watching it and soon turning it off...it just wasn't funny any more...

Time passes...our tastes change... and we grow up (hopefully).

Flip Wilson just wasn't fuuny IMO. I watched this show and nothing he does make me laugh. That crazy Geraldine character was defintely not funny and i find myself being bored unless it's a certain guest star on the show. So I may just watch the show for the Guest stars like if it's the Jacksons, Bill Cosby,or Karrem Abdul Jabbar but defintely not to see boring a$$ Flip Wilson. These are some replacements for the Flip Wilson Show


Tony Orlando and Dawn
Donny and Marie
Jackson Five Variety Hour

You should buy The Richard Pryor show on DVD. It is funny as hell. I couldn't believe a variety show like that didn't last. It was well written and edgy. But, like it says on the back cover of it, he went up against Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. This show reminded me of an early version of In Living Color.

You should buy The Richard Pryor show on DVD. It is funny as hell. I couldn't believe a variety show like that didn't last. It was well written and edgy. But, like it says on the back cover of it, he went up against Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. This show reminded me of an early version of In Living Color.


I received the very first episode of Richard Pryor in a trade, it had Shirley from What's Happening and Esther from Sanford and Son as Guests

I received the very first episode of Richard Pryor in a trade, it had Shirley from What's Happening and Esther from Sanford and Son as Guests

In addition to them, it had John Belushi, Robin Williams, Maya Angelou, Tim Reid, Marsha Warfield, John Witherspoon, Paul Mooney, Thalmulus Rasulala just to name a few.

In addition to them, it had John Belushi, Robin Williams, Maya Angelou, Tim Reid, Marsha Warfield, John Witherspoon, Paul Mooney, Thalmulus Rasulala just to name a few.


It also had MS. JERRY from "Martin" A younger Ms. Jerry

i never got his humor
he was bland as hell
i guess that mainstream america couldnt handle a more extreme black comedy/variety show at the time
so flip was pretty bland and non controversial

he always seemed so nice though

www.freewebs.com/nmboye

When I first saw his show, I thought he was funny at first. Nowadays, just like Carol Burnett, who too isn't all that funny, Flip Wilson isn't all that funny. However both Flip and Carol were nice people though and had nice sets.

Replacements would have to be:

Sonny and Cher (I saw this on TV Land before and I miss this show)
Donny and Marie (Wasn't born during its original run, nor did I ever see it before, except on VH1's "I Love the '70s")

its not the funniest show but I enjoy watching it anyway.