I Love YouTube: Gong Show

I love, love, love The Gong Show, all the more because it's basically irreproducible. It was too weird, too unrehearsed - host Chuck Barris was basically known for muffing 1/3 lines - and borderline surreal, especially for daytime TV. Some highlights:

The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo

Richard Elfman (director of The Phantom Zone and brother to Danny) led the Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo (who would later lose the performance-art aspect and transform themselves with help from Danny into a seminal new-wave act). That they were able to hoot and dragon stomp around in front of freakin' Buddy Hackett is an example of this show's essential awesomeness.

Gene-Gene the Dancing Machine

Acts came out, did their thing, and if the celebrity judges didn't like them, they got gonged. The proceedings were routinely interrupted by Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, a shuffling stage hand that Barris promoted from backstage, who would dance while people threw s**t at him. Obviously. 

Complete with Arrow

The only act that could follow three amateur magicians? Steve Martin ruling ass on the banjo. Skip to the 4 minute mark.

Popsicles

Two girls in hot pants seductively eat popsicles for a minute and a half, and Klinger and Phyllis Diller are having NONE of it. 

That's Some Good Burpin', Kid

This was on TV.