D.C. Follies | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy |
Created by | Sid & Marty Krofft |
Written by | Larry Arnstein Wayne Kline Bob Dolan Smith John Debilis Mike Kirchenbaum E. Jeffrey Smith Jeff Zimmer |
Directed by | Rick Locke |
Presented by | Fred Willard |
Starring |
Maurice LaMarche Joe Alaskey |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 44 |
Production | |
Producer | Sid & Marty Krofft |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production companies |
Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures Negative Entertainment (1987–1988) Cannon Films (1988–1989) [1] |
Original release | |
Network | Syndication |
Release | September 26, 1987 September 1, 1989 | –
D.C. Follies is a syndicated sitcom which aired from 1987–1989. The show was set in a Washington, D.C. bar, where a bartender played by Fred Willard would welcome puppet caricatures of politicians and popular culture figures. [2]
The show, a satire, made frequent sardonic comments on cold war and late 1980s politics and pop culture. Although Willard was the only live actor appearing regularly, each episode featured a celebrity guest, including Martin Mull, Robin Leach, Leslie Nielsen, Bob Uecker, and Betty White. In one episode, Robert Englund showed up as his Freddy Krueger character, and in a special Christmas episode an un-billed actor played Santa Claus. [3] [4]
The show's use of puppets that mimicked popular culture and political figures was similar to the British series Spitting Image; it was produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, well-known puppeteers in the United States who were responsible for popular children's television shows including H.R. Pufnstuf [5] and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. The show was originally funded and syndicated nationally by New York-based Syndicast Services Inc.
The series was nominated for two Emmy Awards. [7]
A series of three "Best of D. C. Follies" VHS tapes were released, with each volume containing two episodes. [8]
On August 4, 2017, Shout! Factory announced they had acquired the rights to the series and subsequently released D.C. Follies – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 on November 14, 2017. [9]
The show has been made available via video on demand at Amazon Video and iTunes. [10]