R. Rated
Encyclopedia
R. Rated consisted of four, half-hour, alternative, variety, television shows, which aired in 1999, on Fridays at midnight in Chicago
on WFLD Fox 32, and featured film and video shorts from sketch comedy troupes, theatre companies, musicians, stand-up comics and other independent film and video makers.
, billed simply as “R.” (hence the title of the show). O'Donnell co-directed it with Peter Neville and Edward Seaton. Short form video works from the ID, Ectomorph, and The Annoyance Theater Productions featured Rachel Dratch
(Saturday Night Live
), Mick Napier (The Second City
), and Stephnie Weir
(MADtv
). Former Second City
and Saturday Night Live
alumni Tim Kazurinsky
offered a Willy Laszlo directed short about the most unusual home invader while O’Donnell appeared in an array of impromptu “man on the street interviews” and monologues amidst spectacular bumpers and teasers created by Steve Wood. Musical acts included The Swinging Love Hammers, Kleen Ex-Girl Wonder, and The Gathering Field.
O’Donnell requested Fox to keep the show out of prime time
so that his contributors like Mick Napier of the infamous Annoyance Theatre
, could have greater late-night artistic freedom without black-bar and sound bleep censorship. O'Donnell also hoped his new TV comedy series would earn greater recognition for a wide array of Chicago talent.
A fifth show was produced but never aired, in spite of high ratings that outpaced competing shows in the same time slot including the Late, Late Show With Craig Kilborn on Chicago's Channel 2 and Mancow TV on Channel 26. R. Rated drew an average 2.9 rating out of 7 shares in its time slot, tying with Ch. 7 and Ch. 50 programming. Executives at Fox 32 awarded R. Rated with another 26 weeks of broadcasting, but the variety show unexpectedly lost its primary sponsor.
R. Rated (only available through bootlegs on DVD) remains an extraordinary and rare collection of Chicago’s variety and comedic talent on the rise in the late 1990’s.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
on WFLD Fox 32, and featured film and video shorts from sketch comedy troupes, theatre companies, musicians, stand-up comics and other independent film and video makers.
History
R. Rated was created, executive produced and hosted by stand-up comic Richard O’DonnellRichard O'Donnell (playwright)
Richard O'Donnell is a playwright, poet, journalist, producer, actor, and stand-up comic living in Chicago. He has worked and lived in New York City and Chicago where he has written and performed for the stage and television...
, billed simply as “R.” (hence the title of the show). O'Donnell co-directed it with Peter Neville and Edward Seaton. Short form video works from the ID, Ectomorph, and The Annoyance Theater Productions featured Rachel Dratch
Rachel Dratch
Rachel Susan Dratch is an American comic actress best known for her roles as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
(Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
), Mick Napier (The Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
), and Stephnie Weir
Stephnie Weir
Stephnie Carmel Weir is an American actress and comedian, best known for her membership in the recurring cast on MADtv.-Early life:...
(MADtv
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
). Former Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
and Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
alumni Tim Kazurinsky
Tim Kazurinsky
Timothy J. Kazurinsky is an American actor, comedian and writer best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his role as Carl Sweetchuck in the Police Academy films...
offered a Willy Laszlo directed short about the most unusual home invader while O’Donnell appeared in an array of impromptu “man on the street interviews” and monologues amidst spectacular bumpers and teasers created by Steve Wood. Musical acts included The Swinging Love Hammers, Kleen Ex-Girl Wonder, and The Gathering Field.
O’Donnell requested Fox to keep the show out of prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
so that his contributors like Mick Napier of the infamous Annoyance Theatre
Annoyance Theatre
The Annoyance Theatre, or Annoyance Productions as it is sometimes called, is a theater and associated ensemble based in Chicago that deals mainly in absurd, pretentious and outrageous humor. Many people that have performed with the ensemble have gone on to become successful stage and screen actors...
, could have greater late-night artistic freedom without black-bar and sound bleep censorship. O'Donnell also hoped his new TV comedy series would earn greater recognition for a wide array of Chicago talent.
A fifth show was produced but never aired, in spite of high ratings that outpaced competing shows in the same time slot including the Late, Late Show With Craig Kilborn on Chicago's Channel 2 and Mancow TV on Channel 26. R. Rated drew an average 2.9 rating out of 7 shares in its time slot, tying with Ch. 7 and Ch. 50 programming. Executives at Fox 32 awarded R. Rated with another 26 weeks of broadcasting, but the variety show unexpectedly lost its primary sponsor.
R. Rated (only available through bootlegs on DVD) remains an extraordinary and rare collection of Chicago’s variety and comedic talent on the rise in the late 1990’s.