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Join Date: Jan 09, 2001
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- Other Thoughts:
Get a Life with Chris Elliot as a paperboy was hilarious, and never jumped the shark.
Zoo Animals on Wheels could be the funniest half hour of television I have ever seen. "I'm A Giraffe". Classic.
For the first season it was undoubtedly one of the most brilliant shows on television. (Case in point: The "Walletboy" episode, where Chris loses his wallet so the city proclaims him a hero. The greatest episode ever.) After Chris left home and started staying in that guy's garage, the show was just never the same again. (Except for when he got tonsillitis and died; that was pretty funny.)
The episode when Chris and his father got in the submarine in his shower was so funny. "Felipe, Felipe thar swimming monkeys and they're coming to get us." Then he did his impression of Jaws. "Breaker, breaker, this is tightpants here with tightpants senior. Anyone, anyone 10-10 I'm 10-10 on your 20. "Chris nobody can hear you, that's just a toy." Also the episode where Martin Mull comes on the show as Sandy and Chris has that sign for him, then yells "Sandy" and spits all of those tic-tacs in his mouth at him. This show was a total classic!!!
Great show, a unique show with bizzare humor. Remember the intro with Lea Thomson washing her car...I just wish I could find it on video. His humor is unmatched. A True Cult CLASSIC.
Never jumped. Now that tapes are out( of four episodes) and even TV Guide had to mention it, the glory that was Chrissy should be restored. For a newcomer channel Fox has done more groundbreaking stuff--Married With Children, 90210, Simpsons, all the found video stuff than the other networks combined.
"SPEWEY" the alien. Snarling, hitting, oozing. No cuddly little E.T. here. A moment I'll never quite recover from is when Chris grabs a coffee cup, collects a substantial amount of secretions from this horrid life form, and -without hesitation- gulps it down. I'm choking back laughter remembering it. After that, few (staged) performances ever approached this level of derangement. Alas, like most any series with real originality and little restraint, it got the axe. Just what DID fox replace it with?
"Get a Life" was one of the best shows on TV ever. It was outrageous, witty, and so insipid you loved it! It's one of those "it's so stupid it's funny" shows. It wallowed in Chris' stupidity so much it kept you in stitches. In the transition from season one to season two it did a "Reverse Jump the Shark" if I may coin the term. It changed characters and slightly changed format, but only to the show's *benefit*. Brian Doyle-Murray as Gus the drunken retired police sergeant was so much funnier than that lame Larry character and Robin Riker as Sharon was so much funnier without him, too. Season one had really funny episodes but season two was just totally off-the-wall. It kept no continuity or semblance of reality and did not apologize for it. What other sitcom has the main character die, blow up, or get his head ripped off in every-other episode and gets away with it? In that respect it was like a cartoon but live action ("Oh my god, they killed Chris, you bastards!") There should be more shows like this where live action is like a cartoon. This should be done more often than cartoons being made into live action. The absolute best episode was S.P.E.W.E.Y! ("Special person..entering the world . . . . egg yolk") It shouldn't have been axed. I wish they would make a "Get a Life" movie! =) I should suggest it to Chris Elliot and TriStar. One final comment: too bad "Cabin Boy" sucked supremely. Only one funny part. I was watching that on the single worst date of my life (I never had a second date with that chick) but I'm rambling now so I'll stop.
This was one of the funniest shows of all time. The submarine episode is classic. "I have a surprise...Hats!!" And who can forget when Chris is serving "Mistress Sharon" and Depeche Mode's "Master and Servant" is playing. You have got to be kidding me. Not only was a great intro to bondage, it had me in stitches and still does.
"Get A Life" just got better show after show. When the "Last Show" aired (that did, indeed, turn out to be the final show), with Louis Armstrong croaking "What A Wonderful World" ... what a way to go. Too bad that Chris is slumming in slop like "Snow Day". Jeeez.
I think that was a reference to the end of "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"
How could this show ever jump the shark? Another example of totally original and brilliant humor that mainstream America just didn't get. It almost seemed inevitable that a show like this had the plug pulled after only a short time. When will these shallow network execs see beyond the bottom line for once and give genuinely funny shows like this a chance to develop a fan base? That said, I love the "Cousin Donald" episode where Donald is played by the punk from the Bad News Bears. "I loathe Donald, I detest him, I abhor him!" "God I wish I never gave him that thesaurus." I understand Bob Odenkirk from "Mr. Show" was a writer for Get a Life. That makes sense considering how funny and under appreciated that program was as well.
Brilliant show this one was. It didn't run very long because it was too good for television.
I loved Get a Life during its first season, but the second season made me lose interest. Chris moved, so the parents weren't featured as much; his childhood friend runs away; Brian Doyle-Murray was added to the cast. There were too many changes, and I couldn't watch it after that (although I did see the episode where Chris goes back in time to prevent Doyle-Murray from losing his job, and enjoyed it). But the first season was much better.
When Chris moved out of his parent's house and Brian Doyle Murray was added to the cast. The show wasnt as funny without his parents around to abuse him.
The best episode was when Chris's parents had the construction workers redoing the roof, and Chris wanted to be one of them. His toolbelt consisted of some salad tongs, a spatula, and other stuff from his mom's drawers. Then he asked one of them "Do you believe in God?" CLASSIC! Oh Chris. I miss ye, you stupid idiot.
This was so funny. My favorite was when he went looking for his biological parents and they were Amish and upon meeting him he sang that song "Reunited and it feels so good".
The material was only moderately funny, but the canned laughter was deafening. This show arrived just when good sitcoms were getting enough confidence to film in front of live audiences again. Get a Life did not have that confidence and saturated the soundtrack with the same level of noise after every joke. This made the show unwatchable for me.
After the second season started and Chris Elliott (Peterson) was forced to move into ex-cop Gus Borden's garage, the show went into a nosedive. While I loved the second season, it only had two subjects on which most eps were based. Food and hallucination. Great short-lived comedy that suffered the fate of a major overhaul in between seasons.
I had 250 signatures complete with weight and SAT scores on my petition I sent to then Fox president Jamie Kellner to save the show.
This show never actually jumped. Yes, the show was silly, but it was actually HUMOROUS. Much more funny than some of the contrived sitcoms that are on today.
NEVER JUMPED! In all my years, I have never seen so many friends and relatives fall to the floor and clench their thighs together to avoid urinating. Many people claim the show was dumb, but it takes a true genius to purposely be that idiotic and it takes true intellect to appreciate that. Only smart people ever seem to have enjoyed "Get A Life!" Favorite episodes: Community Theater production of "Zoo Animals On Wheels" ("I'm the lonely wildebeest") and one of the later episodes where Chris gets splashed with toxic waste and acquires the power of super spelling only to go to the championship spelling bee on the moon ("P-A-N-T-S...Oh! There's no silent 'K'").
Oh my God! I never once met anyone else who liked this show. I can't believe no one else has mentioned what was, to me at least, the funniest episodes ever, where chris becomes a mal model and insists that his new name is "Sparkles". Definitely never jumped.
I'm responding to the one of a kind classic, "Get A Life" This show was the best show ever. Your wonderful website brought it back to life for my. Its good to see you recognize true genius! My particular favorite episode was when Chris wanted to be a model and he took the stage name, "Sparkles"! Brilliant!
There are two things that GOT to come back: 1)Kellog's Graham Cracko's (my all-time favorite cereal) 2)'Get A Life' on full-time syndication!! 'Get A Life' ruled! The only ones who weren't into it, were total comedy purists who just couldn't get it, but for those who have an open comedic mind and aren't afraid of thinking that 'silly, dumb things' are funny, this WAS the show! It's such a TRAVESTY that it didn't last as long as it did! Elliot did some other funny things, but this was his 'coming out party' and still the funniest stuff that he ever did. Only if TV would've allowed him to display some more of himself for a bit instead of taking him off the air in '92. "If you help me find my parents, I promise that I won't make my trademark-sound - 'beep, beep, beep, beep-beep, beep-beep.'" The show just RULED!! Nick at Night, or someone, BRING IT TO PERMANENT SYNDICATION, DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!!
I think it did take a jump the second season when he moved to the garage...I did tape a bunch of these because I thought they were so funny and off the wall. I think I'll go try to dig them out. One I know I have is the classic "Zoo Animals on Wheels" production.."We're zoo animals on wheels- that's what we are..."
Though I'd say this show never Jumped... I will vote for my favorite and probably the funniest episode. When Chris has to go back in time to prevent Gus from pissing on his Captain. The best line ever uttered on TV was "Your Cockfights suck you bastard!" Also, every time he (chris) would go back in time, he'd see himself as a kid. I forget their exact conversations, but young Chris was just as annoying as you would expect him to be.
I thought S.P.E.W.E.Y was 'Space People Entering the World, Egg Yolks', not Special. Maybe I was on the load.
I loved this show. Watched every Saturday when it was on. I was so sad when it went off. It was the funniest, most original show I have ever seen. I loved Chris.
Hilarious show-never jumped--why doesn't FOX be smart and run this and other early FOX classics in syndication?? I'd love to see this show, garry shandling, and tracy ullman again--FOX classics!
I will never forget the moment Chris Elliot participated in the Spelling Bee: "Pants. K..."
When Chris Elliott got an acting career. I think he typed all these comments himself. How could anyone like him. You would have to have the worst sense of humor in the world to like this geek.
To this day, as I watch TV, I sometimes shout, "THIS is on the air and they cancelled GET A LIFE?!!" One of the smartest things I ever did in my life was tape every episode. I knew it wouldn't last long and I knew I'd want to see the episodes over and over again. Most of you have touched on my favorites, Cousin Donald, the spelling bee (with the actor who would go on to be Skinner in the X-Files), and the construction workers. However, don't forget the father/son picnic for paperboys, Chris trying to get his driver's license, Chris and Larry camping with dad and thinking they ate him, and the episode where Chris and Larry switch places due to the power of the arrowhead they found, Larry annoys Chris with his Chrislike behavior, and Chris yells, "I can't stand me!"
I don't believe "Get A Life" ever jumped the shark and I would dearly love to see it back on television. Does anyone know how I can get the tapes that are out on it?
This is one of the funniest shows of all time. I remember when Chris Elliot left the Letterman Show, I thought it was a bad move. What was he going to do to top that? But top it he did. Get a Life appeared to be a stupid show about the incredibly stupid Chris Peterson, but in reality this show was brilliant comedy!! A lot of people didn't "get" it, but I think this show will stand the test of time. I remember when I saw the first episode, I had mixed reactions about it, but as it went along, I fell in love with this wacky show. Elliot made fun of everything from male models to gangs to E.T. While the first season was cool where he was so pathetic he lived with his parents (his father was even played by real-life dad Bob Elliot!), I think the show actually got better when he moved out and lived in Gus's garage. Brian Doyle-Murray, as Gus, was a totally grumpy bastard, and a perfect foil for idiot-boy Chris. And Sharon, the wife of his best friend (did that guy die in one episode or did he run away?), was the perfect villain to torment poor Chris. My all-time favorite episode was the one where the alien Spewy came down to earth and puked all over everyone! And then Chris and Gus killed him and ate him!! I never laughed so hard!! It totally ridiculed that sappy E.T. movie. Other great episodes were Wallet Boy and the one where Chris is a health inspector. This show never jumped, and was cancelled way before it should have been. Chris Peterson is one of the most hilarious characters in the history of tv comedy!!
I loved this show. USA is rerunning it during the week at 1:30.
A brilliant show....Walletboy was classic, something I still talk about to this day, proof that Americans don't want (or get?) funny, ingenious television.
I loved this show when it was on FOX. For those who want to watch it, the USA network is showing it at 1:30 weekday afternoons.
Never. Another show, like Garry Shandling, that was too good for television. Instead, we have to spoon feed our stupid youth shows like Friends and Beverly Hills 90210. There should be a special network for people with more than 7 brain cells.
Get A Life jumped the shark just now when it went into syndication because they got rid of REM's "Stand" for some piece of elevator crap.
This is, hands down, the funniest and most under-appreciated comedy ever. Anyone who doesn't like it is an idiot and should have their opinions about anything completely disregarded. It will save you a lot of time in the future.
This was the funniest, most unique, and off the wall television show ever. I cannot believe that Chris Elliot never made a funny movie. I was in junior high when this show was on, and my friends and I still reminisce about old episodes. There has not been a show on television that was as consistently funny. "Zoo animals on wheels" was classic, but one of my favorites was when Chris was a counselor for troubled teens. This show needs to be run in syndication. Fox produced, by far, the funniest shows ever on TV - Living Color, Simpsons, Get a Life, and Tracey Ullman.
Never jumped! Just wanted to let you fellow Get A Lifers know that the show is now in syndication on USA Network! I discovered it about a month ago while I was on vacation from work. It's aired every weekday at 1:30 p.m. EST. Start breaking out those VCR's!
This show never jumped, COULD never jump. I've never laughed so hard in my life as I did when I first watched these episodes. From Zoo animals on wheels, to the submarine, to Martin Mull as Sandy Connors, this show was one of the most original, truly funny sitcoms of all time. Even T.V guide recognizes this. In It's January 1999 issue it called the "Zoo animals on wheels" episode the 19th funniest TV moment of all time. Too bad this show never took off. But you know something? Other than the fact that I never got to see more episodes due to its cancellation, I'm actually happy that it never took off like Seinfeld did. I remember watching Seinfeld when not a lot of people were into it. It's ratings weren't very good and I remember thinking to myself "How could this show not be a hit??? It's hilarious" Well, 5 years later all of America did and suddenly everyone was a Seinfeld fan. So screw the people that never liked this show or watched it. We, the fans who loved it, are a small fraternity. I luckily taped alot of the episodes and I treasure it. We "Get a life" fans laugh hysterically when we think about raisins getting nice and gushy in your pocket, or the lonely wildebeest, Chris and Sandy running through the park with balloons in slow motion to the strains of "Afternoon delight" by Starland vocal band. Or a tool belt fight, or Chris as a male escort,or Chris taking another chance on an arrowhead and waking up as Sharon as Larry feels frisky and rolls over onto Chris. And who could ever forget Walletboy? Or Chris getting ripped off by Vic buying a "Chronosinc" the "Cadillac of underwater watches"? This show will forever live on for it's fans. Thank you Chris Elliot for giving us this show. It wasn't in vain..
This show never jumped. It was great. The best episode was when Chris had a walk in freezer in his living room, and he ended up freezing to death in it. How many times did he die?
This show NEVER jumped the shark, it was the best! Even when Chris Elliot moved into that guys basement it was still quality! I am still getting over the fact that it was cancelled. How sad that a talent like Elliot is reduced to that new crappy show called Cursed, which sucks by the way, and yet cheesy shows like Full House (yuck) are on for like ten years???!! What is wrong with America?
This was one of my favorite shows of all time. Chris was really funny and so was his dad.Sharon was hot BTW.My favorite episode was "Bored Straight".It was great when he took the trouble makers to the supermarket while "To Sir With Love" played.
I watched most of the first season of "Get a Life" when it originally aired, and I loved it. In its second season, the show was moved to Saturdays, and I only saw a few of these episodes. I think that when I heard Chris Peterson was moving out of his parents' garage apartment and that Chris's friend Larry was leaving the show, my reaction was, "Now it's gonna suck!" But lo and behold, now that I've seen these episodes in reruns on USA, I think it's safe to say that the second season was funnier than the first in many ways. It seems like the writers decided to cut loose and do whatever they pleased with the characters. The episode in which Chris uses his new toxic- waste-induced intelligence to win spelling bees instead of cure diseases is wildly creative. The reruns on USA must've been getting very low ratings, because they didn't even bother to show the last three episodes. What a bunch of pansies. But "Get a Life" did make it back onto the airwaves after an eight-year absence, and I guess that's all we can ask for. It's too bad most of the music from the original episodes had to be replaced, though. Life just isn't fair, is it?
I don't believe this show ever did jump the shark. It was always hilarious. The fact Chris's parents were always wearing pajamas was one of it's many bizarre yet endearing features. Chris was such an unabashed geek but yet such a funny character. Two scenes that still make me laugh to this day: 1) After some argument or something Chris and his father patch things up and spend some time bonding, doing father/son stuff. You see them mischievously throwing snowballs at a police car and laughing, but the car screeches to a halt and the cops come out shooting! :-) 2) I forget the context but there was a great line by Chris in one episode that I can recite verbatim: "I haven't felt this energetic since my pet monkey ate a pound of coffee and chased me down the street with a steak knife!" Hopefully they carry repeats of the show in my area; I'll have to check the TV Guide.
This show never jumped the shark. Even when Chris moved out of the apartment above his parents' garage and into Gus'. Almost every episode is a classic and now I get depressed whenever I see Chris Eliot reduced to playing a supporting role as the wacky neighbor on some lame-ass show that already jumped the shark when the pilot was written. Get A Life was the perfect vehicle for a great talent, and I can't believe there is a space on TV for unoriginal crap like, well, take your pick, and a show like Get A Life which consistently made me laugh my ass of got cancelled.
"Get a Life" never jumped. This was the most comically ingenious show I have ever seen. I was a freshman in high school when the during the shows run and can remember going to school the day after and episode and nearly falling out of my desk laughing as my friends and I discussed each episode.
This has to be one of the greatest shows of all time. It was just plain hilarious (minus Chris' quest to find his Amish parents). Somehow in my sick insight I had a feeling it would not last long so I actually taped every episode. Definitely makes for some great late night viewing
Get a Life jumped when it moved from Sunday night to... whenever (I don't even remember what night it was)
The first season was great with Chris Peterson living in the loft over his parent's garage. It got bad when Fox tried to "mix things up" to try and boost ratings. They moved Chris out of the loft, and in to some older man's garage. They rarely showed the parents again which was a bad move on their part. The best part of the original show was the chemistry between Chris Peterson and his father (Chris Elliot's real life father). After they changed it around it only lasted 1/2 a season more which just proves my point.
This show never jumped the shark. I wish it did. I wish there were re-runs of it. This was one of the funniest shows I can remember. I have never seen anyone play a simpleton as well as Chris Elliot. It was taken off way before its time.
It never jumped the shark. I loved it when Chris and his father participated in the father-son tournament and his dad called him a "pansy-faced wuss girl." I've been using that phrase ever since. However, I have watched it recently (after 10 years) and it is so bizarre. I used to laugh my ass off, but now its kind of scary. It's like he lives in this crazy surreal wasteland where there are no fixed rules. Still Brilliant, though. It needs to be re-released on DVD with bonus footage.
Get A Life was ahead of its time! I remember seeing Chris Elliott years ago on Letterman as the Guy Under the Stairs and thought he was a comedic genius. Then along came Get A Life! I had never actually made sure my schedule was cleared so I could watch a weekly TV show since its debut. I've never seen another show that made me laugh like that one. I even wrote letters of protest after it was cancelled.
never. this show was genius from the start & only got better. 2 episodes i loved where when chris or someone he was with skipped work to go to the amusement park. and while they were on a ride with a loop, it got stuck at the top of the with them sitting upside down & the **** had me DYIN. the set was so cheap looking with this pathetic 2 seat roller coaster car in the middle of a 20 foot loop. i also remember an episode where this big bad ass tank looking monstrosity rolled into chris' territory slangin newspapers. it shot em out at about 100 mph dead on accurate to the neighbors doorsteps. i can't remember exactly how chris gets back at it, but for some reason i seem to remember him somehow slicking the street so that when it came down the block it was slidin all over & shooting off target hitting people in the face or some **** like that. GENIUS COMEDY.
Chris (to the state trooper administering the driver's test): How'd you get stuck with this sissy detail. Trooper: It is the duty of every state trooper to give the driver's test. Chris: Yeah, I loved all those episodes of Baretta when he gives the drivers test.
A very funny show! Y did FOX kill this brilliantly twisted show?! They kept MANTIS alive 4 awhile & the horrible Vampire: The Embraced (which i dubbed Vampire: The Unwatchable). Y???! Y???!!! Who cares if Comedy Central carries the repeats (I WISH!!!), I want new ones.
Chris Elliot explained that "the Fox executives didn't get the show. They'd say 'What, is this guy a loser or something?' I'd say 'Yes! That's the whole point!" But alas, they obviously never got it and didn't keep the show going.
This show never jumped! It was taken off way before its time. I taped some of the reruns that USA showed, and they RULE!!! Anyway, shows today like South Park totally ripped this show's concept off. The premise of the show was that Chris Peterson was a loser who lived at home with his parents and died almost every episode. (I.e, surgery of the tonsils, getting his head ripped off by Gus, etc.) But South Park totally ripped this idea off by having Kenny die in every episode. A great comedy that was too ahead of its time!
Never Jumped. Remember that episode where he gets a pen-pal from the women's prison? When her sentence is up, she comes to visit. He wants her to think he's tough, so he puts a sheet over a big box and writes "A Tiger Is In Here" on it? That is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Moving into the garage and then immediately moving home to find his parents filled his over-the-garage room with cement is absolutely brilliant! Add onto that the ZOO ANIMALS ON SKATES and WALLET BOY episodes. When will Comedy Central (or even TNN) rerun these masterpieces! The FUGITIVE GUY's Chris Elliot it a true master at the irony and pastiche in humor.
NEVER!!! This wonderfully loony show is still some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen on television. Chris Elliot is one of the funniest human beings ever and hopefully he'll be appreciated by more people than just Ben Stiller and David Letterman for how great he is!!
The wonderful thing about Chrissy was that he was unquestionably a loser, yet he was supremely confident, if not arrogant. Only Howard Stern shares this trait, although Howard may be the only person who still thinks Howard's a loser. The cancellation of this brilliant show is a great example of what's wrong with network television. Suddenly Susan is in syndication while this comedic touchstone is virtually inaccessible. Thanks Hot Dog Boy!
Handsome boy modeling school... undeniable genius. Besides Cabin Boy wasn't nearly as terrible as people made it out to be. Towing Chris behind the boat with a gallon of chocolate milk for a week...
"I'm never modeling for you again, I guess I just had my first taste of the filthy side of this business!" NEVER JUMPED!!! Perhaps the funniest show of all time. Can't wait for the rest of the episodes to come out on DVD. It's really just too bad that more people don't get Chris. Cabin Boy was an absolute classic.
The introduction of Spewy the alien marked the point in which they jumped the proverbial shark. The alien baby was cuddly and cute and threw up everywhere.
Brilliant show. "What's wrong Chris? Didn't you make any friends at the bar?" "It's just that these jacks are making me uncomfortable." "What? They made you eat your jacks?" "No. But they're in me."
Get A Life was the funniest, silliest, stupidest show in the history of TV. Every time I hear the song "Alley Cat" (which isn't very often), I want to dance around in a circle with my arms flailing. Thank you, Chris Elliot! You are truly a comic genius. Please come back to TV!
This was a great show - I always cracked up / winced when he smashed his bike into the car while checking out his neighbor's ass during the opening credits. My friend just got some episodes on DVD (SPEWEY!), man are they funny. The little rascal ends up as barbeque! Classic! The neighbor lady who hated his guts and was always kicking his ass was funny, too. Also, Cabin Boy had funny parts, especially when the crew was playing the accordion while bouncing beer cans off his head, and he was hallucinating on the raft. Oh yes - THESE PIPES ARE CLEAAAN!
Never jumped. The absolute funniest show since "All in the Family". When Gus asks Chris if he knows how to use a rifle, Chris responds "Sure, my Dad showed me how. You put this end in your mouth and work the trigger with your big toe."
Never, *ever*, EVER "jumped," dammit! (The immortal "male modeling" episode -- where "Sapphire" and "Sparkles" spend the greater portion of same hissing and spitting at one another, like a pair of alleycats -- in and of itself, was Classic TV *defined*, for God's sake...!) 
the show was fantastic and i even bought the reruns on dvd, but i was pissed off when i had to buy the one with that stupin alien spewey. other than that there were classic tv moments for the less intelligent viewers top three shows: 3.the amusement park (billy joel) 2.the one chris and brian doyle murray made the submarine in the shower (the eyes of a shark. pure comic genius) 1.THE BEST: zoo animals on wheels(i'm a lonely wilderbeast. what the hell was that all about.
ABSOLUTELY NEVER. This was absolutely one of the funniest shows ever made. I can't believe no one's mentioned the episodes where Chris stays in the Haunted House or the one where he starts stalking this girl he's obsessed with. I don't think I've ever laughed harder in my life when he superglues his hand to her shoe and gives a VERY DISTURBING speech on how they'll always be together.
Never did - took a dip after the first season, but never jumped. Who can forget the running gag of Chris's parents, forever in their pajamas at the breakfast table. The best episode was when Chris found the lucky Indian arrowhead and became Larry.
Get A Life ALMOST didn't jump, but moving to Brian Doyle Murray's garage was pretty lame...although it was hilarious on the episode where he goes back to see his old room and it turns out his parents filled it solid with concrete (he bumped his head trying to walk in). As a kid the "Walletboy" episode I didn't really get, but I'm sure if I watched it now I'd see its brilliance. I hated the cousin, played by the guy who played Kelly in the Bad News Bears...he made Chris look really geeky in a mean way and Chris was insecure about it, whereas the whole charm of the show was that Chris didn't care (or realize hehe) what his parents or Murray (i forgot his name in the show) thought of him. His arrogant, geeky cluelessness made the show!!
Never! It's probably one of the funniest shows ever to air. Why Chris Elliot is not a superstar, I cannot figure out. I saw some people did not like Spewey and thought it was the jump but they are wrong. It was typical Elliot humour and it kept the show fresh. How can you not appreciate an E.T. parody where the alien is vulgar and the hero is Chris? As if E.T. was more entertaining.
It made me feel .. " all puffy and bloated, sort of like a rancid wedding cake that's been left out in the rain for three days by a drifter named Hank who's smelly and he lives under a bridge, and he's wearing seven pairs of pants, even though it's summer time and he would be much more comfortable wearing seven pairs of shorts".
Get a Life was THE best show ever on TV. I loved the episode when Chris bought the "expired" shellfish that made Gus and Sharon pass out. Then he learned the bad shellfish could give people AMNESIA, but he didn't know what the word meant, so while Gus and Sharon were out cold he went to college, got his degree, came back just as the two are waking up, but then he realizes he never did figure out what amnesia was.
This show never jumped!! I LOVED this show!!!!! I have never heard of any one else liking it or remembering it, even. My husband and I would watch it and laugh and laugh!!! I thought we had weird senses of humor!! Thank you to the poster who said it is on tape. I am going to the mall right now!!!!
We laughed our ass off watching this in college. Zoo Animals on Wheels and Wallet Boy spring to mind. Wasn't Zoo Animals the one with the guy singing "I'm a giraffe. I'm a giraffe. I'm a giraffe. I'm a giraffe." and then the dad or Brian Murray says, "So let me get this right, he's a giraffe?" I'll always remember the scene in the park in another episode where Chris was trying to set the world record for having stuff piled on him. "How is he Doctor?" They gut to a scene with red liquid spilling out of Chris's mouth with all this crap piled on him. The doctor answered, "He's fine, but I'd stop giving him tomato juice if I were you. And the spoof of the Exorcist where Chris had the vision of Robin Riker being killed. He dumped water of the carpet (simulating Regan's urine in the movie) and told her "You're going to die up there!"
Chris' turn as a male escort was unforgettable. Two lines in particular: ..I apologize, but your excessive age just knocked my ass out of whack. AND I just love those murder mystery dinner theaters, but when Ron Palillo himself walked out on stage, I though my standing ovation would never end. He also presented his date with a complimentary pumpkin.
When he moved. That meant less of his dad who was brilliant(half of the Bob and Ray comedy team)His imprint could be seen on the show the first season (and on Elliot's work and Late Night)and became more of Brian Doyle Murray's in the second (good but not as good).
My fave line from Get A Life: "I'll tell you how things are doing here, Sir! You've violated every rule in the book, and I don't even know what they are! I've seen things here that make my eyes want to jump out of my head, run down my shirt, and hide in my back pants pocket. And Sir, I don't have any back pants pockets. Which means my eyes would fall on the floor. And that would be a nightmare, because the floors are filthy! So thanks for the dirty eyes, gents!!"
They brought in Spewey the alien as Chris' sidekick. Spewey was this show's Great Gazoo.
NEVER jumped! Zoo animals on skates, god I almost wet myself laughing. When his father asked his wife while watching Chris perform, "has anyone ever died of embarrassment before?" Elliott has to bring this show back, it begs for a reunion show.
anyone remember the episode where Elliot had "Tool Belt" Fights in his backyard with the Construction workers who were working on his house . That was hilarious! I think the heavy set dude who played Cal on Sanford was is in it. Classic Show
Yeah, that episode with Chris idolizing the construction workers was great. He's sitting with them as they ogle women walking by, and the men are saying stuff like, "Hey honey, shake that thing!" Then Chris pipes in with his own cat call: "Yeah baby, eat that cheese!" A classic Chris Elliot line, to be sure.
Never ever jumped! The title of the show said it all - here's a guy who really needs to get a life, at least in the eyes of yuppies and others who believe being simple is totally wrong. However, the non-existent life that he was living was downright hysterical. I guess I, at age 37, have it all, house, family, work, dog, cat, bi-annual pilgrimage to Disney World - but is my life anywhere near as entertaining as Chris's? God no. Come on TBS Superstation, take us on a few more bicycle flips over the Camaro with Chris - and let Mama and her Family rest in peace.
this show never jumped the shark. This show was so great a rap cd was based entirely on the concept of Handsome Boy Modeling School. With samples of Chris saying "Sprinkles". My personal fav lines are when Chris had to testify in front of a senate sub commitee and he said, "The sun is by far the hottest-st planet in the solar system and it would burn you if you tried to eat it. Oh I'm sorry i must of got some of my old high school notes mixed in.' Or the epsiode when Chris had a crush on sharon's sister and crashed sharon's party and sharon said, "Chris am going to count to ten" Chris then cuts her off and says, "That might of impressed people when you were three but i think this is a more sophisticated crowd." Or the counterfeit watch epsiode and Chris says, "Oh that's interesting i never know sales tax was 18 percent' the salesman replies, 'why do you think the governor lives in a mansion." But by the far the best line from the show was when Chris was obsessed with the scientist and Gus gives him a pep talk (chris) 'So you want me to call her' (Gus) I loser you can do that you have to so her you're different. Don't just call her. Call her every fifteen minutes Dog her ever step. Write her endless letters written in your own blood. Show her that you care with the passion of a psychotic manic. (Chris) And she will like this. (gus) as a cop i have seen the scenario a hundred times. (Chris) and it works (Gus) Never it usually ends with someone getting shot. But check out the beauty of the logic here the ends are due to change."
Okay, it was mildly amusing that Chris's folks lounged around the house in their PJs but then to have them ALWAYS wear them- even doing outside activities?! That got annoying FAST! P.S. Elinor Donahue was WAY too young and vivacious to be believable as Dad Elliot's longtime and long-suffering retiree wife!
I don't really know if it ever jumped the shark, but the best episode was when he was a runway model. Man, I still crack up just thinking about him walking down the catwalk, smiling, and looking all goofy. Does anyone remember that one? He has done good jobs in some movies like Something About Mary, I thought he and Ben Stiller were great forget the blond.
This show never jumped...if anything, it reverse- jumped. It actually got funnier AFTER he moved in the garage owned by Brian Doyle-Murray (who, by-the-way, is FAR funnier than his better-known younger brother, Bill, IMHO). I mean, what can be said of a show where Chris Elliot is pouring milk on his cereal, and a dead rat falls out. He then screams like a women, at which point Brian takes the carton from him, drinks some milk directly from it, and says, "Oh, you big baby! You can hardly even taste the rat!" And in the same episode, Chris is observing the sanitary violations in a restaraunt's kitchen, and some guy with dreadlocks is stir some (presumable) soup--AND HIS HAIR WAS HANGING IN THE SOUP! He sneezes into it, and Chris says, "Oh my! Are you o.k.?" The guy with the dreads says, "Oh, it's just a touch of Legionaire's Disease, mon." Hilarious! And I'll NEVER forget the episode where Chris's friend's wife kicks the **** out of him about 20 times, and during the closing credits is simply has all those scenes spliced back-to-back. And lastly, we cannot forget that it was NOT Parker and Stone (from South Park) who originated the concept of killing the major character off EVERY EPISODE! This is one show that I would LOVE to see be put back on the air! Viva Chris Elliot!
Get A Life is my favorite tv show ever, me and my friends actually had almost every episode on tape, and this is pre-internet/rhino. We watched them over and over again throughout high school and college. Sure call us losers, but I've never laughed harder or been happier, than getting wasted and laughing at Chris.
People don't realize that this was one of the funniest shows ever to air on television. Problem was that most people were too stupid to understand the humor - they need to get a life.
The show never jumped. It was criminal that it was cancelled. Funniest moments - Chris as a male escort assigned to the perfume-soaked hag. "I'm usually more professional but your excessive age threw me off stride." Chris as a budding restaurant health inspector noticing puppies writhing in the flour. estifying before congress - "The sun is the hottiest planet..." We miss you Chris!
HEY YOU MORON....how could anyone forget the endearing way Bob Elliot playing Chris' Dad addressed him before every sentence. My husband and I were just dating at the timed the show premiered and we are STILL quoting lines from Get a Life today. Remember "Hot Dog Boy" when Chris is chasing Sharon around with a "weiner" in his mouth. The best episode is the Father/Son newspaper boy picnic where Chris and his Dad are like way older than all the little kids and their Dads. It's too funny when the battle song from Star Trek is playing in the background when Chris and his Dad are competing against the other kids in those hokey picnic games. Thanks to those of you who brought back memories of "Zoo Animals on Wheels" Besides Seinfeld, TV has not made me Pee in my pants as much as Chris and his "I'm a Giraffe" schtick, etc. To this day whenever we talk of someone who we think needs to "Get A Life" we can't help but break into a little REM.
never! funniest show ever! best episodes "paperboy 2000", "submarine 2000", spewey and the family reunion episode where he tries to impress everyone by breaking the the block of ice by slamming his head into it. He fails of course but falls off the roof later and does break the block with his head! The earlier writer was right, the funniest line ever uttered o tv is " Borden!, your cockfights suck you bastard! "
This was the best show i have ever seen. The episode when Chris Elliots's character moved to that guys garage and his father had a mason come in and cement his room was about the funniest thing i have ever seen.
Never jumped--the funniest damn show I ever saw on television. Just reading all these posts here has me trying to stifle my laughter and tears rolling out of my eyes as I try to make my coworkers think I'm working! Chris Elliot is a freakin' genius, and he should be given carte blanche by any network to create any show he wants to.
Standout moments for me....the episode with the construction workers was CLASSIC. The toolbelt fight was edge of your seat camp...culminated when Chris, near defeat, purposely spills some beer on the floor. The burly, grizzled worker is horrified, like Dracula at the sight of a crucifix, and says "There's no need to do anything stupid", to which Chris replies, in true 70's cop show fashion, "I'm crazy, man! Another great episode was with cousin Donald. Some great Chris lines in this one, which I've used myself a few times...."Oh, please Donald, the only women you've ever had came in a box with an air pump"; To his relatives: "I'll paraphrase, since most of you have the attention span of a circus monkey"; When rummaging through Donalds Pontiac 1000: "Best of Falco?...what DECADENCE", then after stuffing tuna balls in his tape deck: "See how you like this song Donald. It's called 'Why does my car smell so bad". Of course, describing it here doesn't do the scenes justice...you have to see them.
This is one of those very sophisticated comedy shows with so many levels of humor that these episodes stand up to many many viewings. Unfortunately, it was just too clever for its own good and was cancelled. Your average moron dosen't get all the references and subtleties, too bad. A decade later, just thinking about a Get A Life bit will send my coffee spewing onto the nearest innocent bystander! My favorites: when Chris wants to become a health inspector so he can pocket $5 bribes, and he sees the squallor in the restaurant kitchens (a bitch nursing her pups on a broken sack of flour, frogs in the soup); when Chris goes to "Handsome Boy Modelling School" and becomes ashamed of himself after taking his shirt off on his first photo shoot; the father-son picnic, especially the use of the Star Trek Vulcan Fight Theme music as they fight with padded sticks, plus when Bob, Chris' dad, attacks someone in the audience for looking at him funny; of course, the SPEWEY episode was classic; the episode with Chris as a gigilo; "Zoo Animals On Wheels" Its sad that its gone. What a brilliant show!
Never jumped! I wish I could get a hold of some old episodes. Favorite lines: (When fighting with rival for girlfriend's attention). Old boyfriend says to girl: "I'm sorry you've had to turn to idiots for companionship" -- Chris: "Oh, yeah? Well I'm sorry you've had to turn to companions for idiotship! See, I did that thing where you turn it around..." Other favorite line: Chris on being upset. "That's nothing, you should've seen me when they canceled "Manimal"! Man, I miss it.
This show was too hilarious and creative to live. It was doomed from the start because of its quirkiness and because FOX kept changing its time so that nobody ever knew when it was going to be on. I agree that the Zoo Animals episode was great. But so was the one where he and his friend's wife get stuck in the meat freezer in their living room. I'll never forget when he walked in and said, "Oh, so you've got one of those living room meat lockers." And when his parents wanted him out of the house and they filled his room with cement. I wish I could remember more. I'm going to have to get the USA network, I guess. The greatest series in the history of TV.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the episode where for some reason Chris has to wear a wire to help catch some gang members in his neighborhood. However, instead of a wire they fix him up with a huge 70's style microphone with a big foam cover and the word "POLICE" stenciled down the front of it under his shirt. Needless to say he gets discovered but replies, "Fellas please understand, I must wear a large police microphone around my waist for HEALTH reasons." I'm sure he died soon after that.
The first season to me was hilarious. The second season seemed a little contrived. I will NEVER forget the flashback to the family reunion where he loses(again) to his cousin and the brilliant Bob Elliot says "Lets hear it for my boy, he'll make a great rodeo clown someday, won't he?
The Best Show of all time. Only David Letterman and the Simpson's come close. Chris Elliot proves his comic genius in every episode. It has been proven that people without taste for real comedy don't appreciate this show.
i can't believe it i was JUST thinking about this show and wanted to see what new comments were up, but i was thinking about that police sting episode and someone posted about it. the best episode. when he's in the interrogation room and requests a cappuchino with a twist of lemon, classic stuff. then he goes off on some rant about miseur mouse and smoky cheese or something. this show is the best
The 2nd season could have been judged to have jumped, but the Speewy episode saved it from jumping. An excellent show that my letter writing to Fox was unable to save.
Here was a show that was rated last, yet every single person I asked, watched it and liked it! How can this be? By the way, I have been mistaken for Chris Elliott all over the place, including Motor Vehicles, where the women taking the driver's license pictures were pointing to me, asking each other if indeed I was he. At a bar, I told a drunk that yes, I was that guy from "Get A Life". My own parents began calling me "Chris".... Anyway, back to the show. It was great. I love the one where he stalked Emma Samms.... This was original humor, so of course it couldn't last on hum-drum American TV. The show was brilliant: it was cultish, and it will be re-discovered somehow in a few years. I laughed at every episode, though I thought the one with the alien was even too far-gone for ME to laugh at, and that takes a lot. just a great, great show, and everyone I talked to enjoyed watching it.
It did get kind of tired by the time Chris moved in with Brian Doyle-Murray. But it started out pretty weak also, almost a generic situation comedy. I remember seeing Elliot interviewed by Bob Costas about midway through the first season, and Costas referred to the "Wallet Boy" episode as a "dream episode," because the series had taken such an abrupt turn to the surreal at that point. The best episode were the season 1 shows starting with "Wallet Boy." The one image from the series that I will never forget is Elliot singing with a cat strapped to his face.
Sorry, I think this show was the one of the best and most underrated of all time. It never got the chance to "jump the shark". However, "Cabin Boy" was unfortunately, one big 'shark jump'.
Spewie tried to jump the shark but when it wouldn't cooperate, he ate it. I want to see this show again. I NEED A LIFE! It was so long ago we didn't know how to use the VCR to record until the finale, and that tape wore out years ago. GET A LIFE was hilarious; maybe the only sitcom that made my face ache from laughing for so long.
Genius.Some of the plot lines were so demented and bizarre,but hysterical.My favorite episodes were his "fatal diagnosis","corrupt food inspector","bathtub submarine","where's Larry?" and the legendary"handsome boy modeling school"..Chris' father was always hilarious with putdowns.Sadly,the ratings were never there and Fox bounced it to Saturday nights and it was gone in March 1992.USA reran episodes for a short time about 4 tears ago.
For me, the best element/dynamic of the show was just tossed out the window when Chris moved away from his parents house. I have no idea what prompted this change (have never read any behind the scenes stuff about the show). Up to that point, the show was about the misadventures of a 30-something year old paper boy who lives with his parents. Hilarious premise IMO. Why did they change it?!? No doubt it probably had something to do with a 'suit' at the network, who fancied himself as being creative, having a brainfart.
First season: the best television of all time. The second season...I don't get it...someone explain this to me...how can Gus the retired policeman and the owner of the Handsome Boy Modeling School be the _same person_?
Hands down the funniest show ever made, from it's opening paperboy-runs-into-car sequence to the hilarious half hour that ensued. Pure comedic genius. I'll never understand why it was taken off the air...I guess it was one of those shows that was just too good for TV.
I think the show jumped with the move. The ratings weren't good, they felt they had to change things. But I loved the chemistry he had with his dad. That bathtub sub episode made me bust a gut, it was so absurdly funny, those two trapped in that mail order death trap. I loved how his Dad never got out of that bathrobe and pajamas. Wish they would bring this show back in reruns.
Never, ever, jumped. Get a Life was a true original. Chris Elliot is a god, all the way back to when he was head writer on Late Night. I agree with the majority of posters here in regards to the show; smart people got it, the rest watched Wings and Suddenly Susan. Favorite lines include Chrissy describing the daily routine of his "career" as a paperboy to Gus as "The pungent sting of the early morning air as I slice through it on my appointed route. The cold stares of dogs and other animals who think they're better than me." And to those who mistakenly believe the show went downhill in the second season, I quote Chris as food inspector attempting to exercise some authority in the kitchen. "OK Pops, this area's restricted. It's only for food handlers, food, and food inspectors. C'mon, shake it out the door. Go smoke your purple haze somewhere else." Classic!!!!!
Get a Life was so bizarre and so funny and the great thing is that it holds up to this day. Even my parents who hate tv thought this show was pretty funny. I remember how it was preceded on Sunday nights by In Living Color (before the Wayans left) and followed by Married with Children (before it got stale). What a great night of tv and what a great thing to talk about in P.E. on Monday morning while running laps. We all thought it would be really cool to have a submarine like the one Chris had in the bathtub (Tony??? Because there's no SUB-stitute for breakfast).
My favorite thing about Chris Elliott is that so many people dislike him simply because the characters he play have the DESIRED EFFECT. He's supposed to be annoying and he's supposed to be absurd. He does such a good job that most people don't even notice the brilliance with which he stirs the pot. I've been able to turn a number of friends on to his work just by explaining this concept and having them rewatch an episode of "Get a Life." Suddenly they're laughing at lines that had them groaning before. "Get a Life" in particular showcased Elliott's talents in redefining what's funny, and I've read several interviews with comedy writers such as "Family Guy's" Seth MacFarlane who credit the show as a major influence. This show never jumped, and Elliott's commitment to pushing the comedic threshold made this show a groundbreaker. Elliott took a lot of chances and today's television comedy owes much to him for breaking the formulaic doldrums of an era where "Empty Nest" and "Perfect Strangers" regularly posted higher ratings. Despite the way some view his characters, I think if the show had come a few years later it would have been much more popular.
Never...one of the funniest shows I ever saw was when Chris has to get a tonsillectomy. He thinks he is going to die from the operation, so he lives life to the fullest. The best was when he was throwing eggs off the roof of his house and totally pegs and old lady several times. Not to mention him screaming at his doctor(who is a pediatrician who he still goes to as an adult) when the doctor tells him to take off his shirt he screams "how dare you exploit my pain for your own personnal peep show!!!!" Too funny. The knee to the groin by Sharon was great too, the greatest single episode of TV in my opinion.
This never ever jumped. It was the funniest thing I ever saw on TV bar none. Even surpasses Simpsons, Married With Children and Seinfeld. Truly never a serious moment which is what comedy should be about, the other shows mentioned come close to that always funny label (at least for many years) but this had it always every show, every second and it was not only funny but hillarious. The starting along with Moron Paperboy on his bike with the theme song, I could watch over and over and have a great time with. The world was not yet ready for this kind of show so sadly it was cancelled after only a year and a half.
Where do I start. Get a life was pure comedic genius. But I must confess that my interest in the show began to wane just a bit when they moved Chris to Brian Doyle-Murrays garage. It might've worked as a single stand-alone episode or perhaps a 'mini-arc', but I felt the best conflict in the show was lost when his parents were somewhat removed from the picture. Not that I cannot accept change, but I felt that, creatively speaking, it was a bad move on the part of the creators of the show. For me, personally, the show lost some of it's magic (and chemistry) and thus JTS when Chris moved away from home, and I admittedly, somewhat lost interest in the show at that point (though based on what I'm reading here, perhaps I should've given the second season more of a chance). And if I can ever catch it in reruns somewhere, I'll do just that.
This show never jumped the shark. It may be the only show that made me laugh out loud on every episode. I remember how happy I was when the show was seen again, 5 or 6 years ago on the USA Network. Just angry at myself for not recording all the episodes. Greatest comedy I've ever enjoyed. BRAVO!
To say Get a Life is BLASPHEMY!! One of the greatest lines ever uttered on that show was during the Zoo Animals on Skates episode..."I've got 5 words for you...I'm here to audition...(counts his fingers...) MISSY" Truly a classic moment.
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09-30-2013, 07:00 PM
Get a Life Boned the Fish When...
