Fernwood 2 Night

I can tell you this for a fact. Lear wanted to do an improv show and went to Alan Thicke who said "You can't do that". Lear fired him. Thicke went into an office wrote the first week of what we know as Fernwood 2Nite. Thicke went to Lear and said "this is the only way I know how to do a show, they can improv around it". Lear hired him back. What he called "Kirkland Lake 2Nite".

I always thought of Mr. Thicke as a dull, regular performer. Knowing that he conceived and wrote this piece of brilliance puts him (in my mind) in the same league as Monty Python, KITH, Gary Shandling. Imagine the guy who played the Dad on Growing pains, actually has such a twisted and hilarious sense of humour.

Truly Thicke is an unsung genius.

I have been waiting unsuccessfully for many years for the issuance of VHS/DVDs of Fernwood2Nite/America2Nite, an incredibly funny series of "late night" type television shows spoofing Johnny Carson's Tonight Show as well as other similar programs. On TV in the late 70s in its 2 incarnations, the Norman Lear venture had a life of perhaps 60 episodes. It starred Martin Mull as the talk show host, Barth Gimble and Fred Willard as his dim-witted sidekick, Jerry Hubbard. They took pokes at all sorts of people, things and sacred cows. They took on South Park type stereotypes (dullards, racism, religions, and the like) 20 years earlier. The band leader, accomplished songwriter and orchestra leader, Frank DeVol was an unbelievably deadpanned performer, and owner of the "Taco & Run" restaurant. Over the years, I have sent letters to Norman Lear, Martin and Fred, asking what became of the series, will it ever be released to video, etc., without a single reply. It's good to know that there are other viewers who enjoyed this tremendously funny (most of the time) series of late night television shows. It is a shame that this comedy series a

"Fernwood 2-Night", a spinoff of "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman", was set in Fernwood, Ohio, and its three stars all had ties to Northeast Ohio--Martin Mull (Barth Gimble) grew up in North Ridgeville, Fred Willard (Jerry Hubbard) was born and raised in Shaker Heights, and Frank DeVol (Happy Kyne) grew up in Canton. So without a doubt, there was a strong tie to Ohio with a show set in Ohio. Oh, BTW, it's funny. I remember seeing it on Nick at Nite around 1990, and during the first half of the decade, it was one of only two sources from which I remembered Martin Mull; the other one, of course, was the Red Roof Inn commercials.

Anyway, it's a funny show, lampooning "The Tonight Show", among others. Both sidekicks had standard opening spiels ("And now, your host and mine, Mr. Barth Gimble!", and "And now, Heeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!"), and they even had still images for the bumpers a la Carson! If you have a chance, check it out. You'll enjoy it, like I did, and you don't have to be an Ohioan to enjoy it!

Definitely a show before it's time. I really wish somehow they would do reruns. Of course, the content may not be 'politically correct' but that is what I have always admired about Norman Lear, and Lorne Michaels too. They run on the edge and beyond and that is what makes their comedy so entertaining.

Sometimes some of the best shows don't remain. I was not a fan of Mary Hartman Mary Hartman but loved Fernwood 2nite. I remember the dead pan-ness of Martin Mull and the always over exuberant Fred Willard. This show is probably what put Martin Mull on the map?

Last poster said Norman Lear is deceased.

Norman Lear is very much alive!

I absolutely rolled on the floor with laughter at this show. Martin Mull and Fred Willard were the perfect choices to play the hosts of "Fernwood Tonight". During those days, Johnny Carson was so popular and it was hilarious to see the hosts of "Fernwood Tonight" act as if their show was just as popular on a small town scale. I would love to see this series come out on DVD. It's a shame that this type of humorous show is no longer....there is too much nudity,sex and violence on TV these days. I miss just laughing at something silly! It would be so much fun to reminisce and watch this show. After all these years, I've never forgotten it. So many other shows seemed to be released on DVD right away, PLEASE release "Fernwood Tonight" to DVD!