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April 7, 2004

Fred Armisen In ... Fear Factor Junior!

So much Fred Armisen buzz these days. I know Lindsay and Jen will appreciate this...

SNL's Fear Factor Junior spoof premiered last weekend. Fred did a spot-on impression of Joe Rogan's emotionless monotone and the kids' facial expressions were hilarious. The whole thing was perfectly executed.

Fear Factor actually draws HUGE ratings from kids. It's on so early in the evening, children are gonna watch (obvs) and then have nightmares. I recently read somewhere that Fear Factor-themed birthday parties are becoming popular.

Anyway, before I give you my dorky transcript and photos of the TV, lemme preface...

Q: Stereogum, why do you always log dialogue from TV shows and movies?
A: When I was 19 or so, I wanted to be a screenwriter (didn't we all?). Coincidentally, around that time my friend and I took a week's vacation in L.A. and stayed with his uncle who is a big shot studio head. I can't tell you which studio (my friend would kill me), but he's always close to the top ten in EW's "100 Most Powerful People In Hollywood" if that means anything. One night we all ate dinner together and Uncle Hollywood asked me what I wanted to do with my life after college. "Be a screenwriter, actually." I made the mistake of being honest. He laughed in my face! Really loudly. But I learned a very valuable lesson: give up your dreams early. It'll save you a lot of grief later on.

And now, here's your entertainment:

VO: This month Fear Factor takes it to the next level ... Fear Factor Junior.

JOE ROGAN: You know how to swim, right?

BOY: Yeah!

VO: Do these first and second graders have what it takes?

VO:You haven't seen fear 'til you've seen it through a child's eyes.

-

JOE: It's a simple question and answer game. I'll ask you ten questions and every time you're wrong this tank containing your pet retriever Paulie will fill up with twenty gallons of water.

-

VO: The New York Times calls Fear Factor Junior "THE MOST EXAMPLE OF SOCIETY."

-

JOE: Star of Gilligan’s Island?

GIRL: [Looks mortified]

JOE: Bob Denver, that was easy.

-

JOE: This is called Breakfast In Bed. Your job is to pick off the maggots and eat them while preserving the eggs benedict. If the breakfast isn’t good enough, your parents will get a divorce.

-

VO: From the producers of Fear Factor and America’s Most Talented Kid

JOE: [To little girl] Desi ... lu ... Pro ... ductions.

-

JOE: Work through the bees. He’s catching up. You gotta run. Here comes the clown.

-

VO: Fear Factor Junior. Mondays at eight. Followed by Fear Factor Alcoholics.

---

UPDATE: Stream Fred Armisen's Guide To Music And SXSW!

"In the spoof of the music business, Armisen assumes a variety of characters--including a college radio staffer, a German journalist and various disabled people--as he interviews Janeane Garofalo, Pavement, Steve Albini and others." -The Chicago Tribune (1998)

Thanks Slatch for the link.

If you don't like it, you can rant here.

Posted at 2:42 PM
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21 Comments

Let's not foret Fred's history as the drummer for Trenchmouth....

Posted by: Junior at 04/07/04 3:46 PM | Reply
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No, no, no!!! It's "The most...example of...society"
The ellipses ARE the joke!
Oh my god, I'm such a dork. Nevermind.

Posted by: lindsay at 04/07/04 4:20 PM | Reply
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The joke is that you see the visual of the ellipses, but the VO guy reads the phrase as if there were no ellipses! I think!

Posted by: stereogum at 04/07/04 4:22 PM | Reply
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his sxsw piece wasn't that funny.

Posted by: ishtar gonzalez at 04/07/04 4:26 PM | Reply
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> his sxsw piece wasn't that funny.

You're wrong. It was funny Evan. But I think you also have to take into account that he did it just for fun. Just to fuck w/ people. No intention of selling it or launching a comedy career or anything.

Posted by: stereogum at 04/07/04 4:29 PM | Reply
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I agree that it's not funny. That's not to say that HE isn't funny, but just that movie isn't. It's a bunch of tired voices and cliches. But I saw him open for les savy fav awhile back and he was excellent. So I got no beef with the guy.

Posted by: another mark at 04/07/04 4:38 PM | Reply
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stereogum, thanks for logging that and thanks to your friend's uncle for mercilessly crushing your dreams! Will you take on tonight's Chappelle's Show? And speaking of fun for kids, check out this clip of Chappelle's Show, about teaching kids the harms of drugs and STDs.

Re: Armisen, he did a set at Piano's during Tinkle last year, and it was so abstract that not many people laughed. I laughed because he was staring at the audience, waiting for them to laugh - I'm easy like that.

Posted by: Jen at 04/07/04 4:58 PM | Reply
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Mark -- was that the show w/ the Information?

Jen -- send me the link to the Chappelle clip!

Posted by: stereogum at 04/07/04 5:05 PM | Reply
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yes. It was the show with the information, at the Middle East in Boston.

Posted by: another mark at 04/07/04 7:36 PM | Reply
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you saw him in the wilco movie, right?

one of your co workers may play bass with us.

Posted by: brian at 04/08/04 3:26 AM | Reply
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Brian, what's your band?

Posted by: stereogum at 04/08/04 10:00 AM | Reply
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Sorry I forgot the link. Essentially, all the clips here at Grade-A Chappelle, but I was referring the "Fun at Kneehigh Park." It's Sesame Street meets Avenue Q meets your 8th grade sex ed class.

http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/chappellesshow/showclips.jhtml

Posted by: Jen at 04/08/04 10:08 AM | Reply
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Last night's episode with Wayne Brady was funny. And a Fear Factor parody to boot.

Posted by: stereogum at 04/08/04 10:09 AM | Reply
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we're called Hymns. i met mark (marc?) at starfoods one night, where i work, and we practiced last week together.

Posted by: brian at 04/08/04 1:36 PM | Reply
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Marcus! Yeah, that's awesome.

Posted by: stereogum at 04/08/04 1:38 PM | Reply
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i love fred but i was disappointed by his performance at the black cat in washington dc when he opened for les savy fav.

i'm not sure it was his fault but he was billed as an opener only did like 2 five-minute sketches.

Posted by: john m at 04/08/04 3:36 PM | Reply
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was up thats crazy i have a friend how wants to try out for junior fear factor

Posted by: chamilio at 04/26/04 9:38 PM | Reply
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Fred is funny when he played Joe on Fear Factor Junor you guys are mean.So yeah he can be pretty funny most of the time on SNL.

Posted by: Maria at 12/07/04 11:52 PM | Reply
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i love f.f is so coollllllll

Posted by: nadia caceres at 09/30/05 7:51 PM | Reply
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Could you reup the "Fred Armisen's Guide To Music And SXSW"? it appears to not work. Thanks.

Posted by: Open House Music at 01/05/08 3:11 AM | Reply
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