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On "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" roasting Jennifer Lopez and Eminem at the MTV Video Music Awards; on the decision not to let Eminem in on the joke in advance, and on how the artist Moby got involved; on making sure that the cameraman never showed Smigel’s face when he was doing the "Triumph" bits; on producers at MTV being too nervous that Smigel was in actual danger and not letting him continue the bit backstage; on how he considers himself to be just "working for 'Triumph'" and the disconnect between himself and the character of "Triumph" 12:07
Interview: Robert Smigel
On why he left Late Night with Conan O'Brien; on what made that show unique; on how getting married changed his perspective; on movies he pitched based on some of his Saturday Night Live sketches; on The Dana Carvey Show; on the sketch about President Gerald Ford that never aired during his tenure at The Dana Carvey Show but finally aired as a sketch on Saturday Night Live 52:17
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on Triumph roasting Eminem on the MTV Video Music Awards 12:06
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Eminem
Robert Smigel on working with Conan O'Brien on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, on what made that show unique, and on Conan as a host 02:59
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Conan O'Brien
Robert Smigel on why Da Bears movie based on his "Superfans" sketch on Saturday Night Live didn't get made, and on Chris Farley's growing popularity at the time contributing to the movie not being made 01:22
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Chris Farley
Robert Smigel on the overhaul of the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1995 resulting in Steve Carrell becoming available; on Smigel auditioning Steve Carrell; on Carrell’s contribution to The Dana Carvey Show and the sketch “Germans Who Say Nice Things” 04:01
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Steve Carell
Robert Smigel on the “Idiot Pranksters” sketches written by Louis C.K. for The Dana Carvey Show; on his “counter-intuitive” style; on the individuality of comedy ideas for some comedians like Jack Handey and Louis C.K. 01:35
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Louis C.K.
Robert Smigel on the individuality of comedy ideas for some comedians, like Jack Handey 00:50
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Jack Handey
Robert Smigel on hiring writer Stephen Colbert for The Dana Carvey Show; on a sketch with Colbert and Steve Carrell that wound up getting them both hired on The Daily Show 05:02
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Stephen Colbert
Robert Smigel on hiring writer Stephen Colbert for The Dana Carvey Show; on a sketch with Colbert and Steve Carrell that wound up getting them both hired on The Daily Show 05:02
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Steve Carell
Robert Smigel on Dana Carvey's signature characters and style of humor from his Saturday Night Live days and why he did not repeat those characters on The Dana Carvey Show 02:21
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Dana Carvey
Robert Smigel on Dana Carvey's impression of Paul McCartney 03:42
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Dana Carvey
Robert Smigel on Dana Carvey's impression of Paul McCartney 03:42
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Paul McCartney
Robert Smigel on one of the funniest sketches he was involved in on The Dana Carvey Show about Gerald Ford, which was never aired until Smigel and Dana Carvey revived it later for Saturday Night Live 08:19
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Dana Carvey
Robert Smigel on one of the funniest sketches he was involved in on The Dana Carvey Show about Gerald Ford, which was never aired until Smigel and Dana Carvey revived it later for Saturday Night Live 07:49
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Gerald Ford
Robert Smigel on whether there is a disconnect between himself and his character "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" and how his identity merged with "Triumph’s" character; on his feeling "Triumph" has more irony and absurdity than an insult comic, which makes "Triumph" less biting or mean 03:29
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Puppeteer
Robert Smigel on whether there is a disconnect between himself and his character "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" and how his identity merged with "Triumph’s" character; on his feeling "Triumph" has more irony and absurdity than an insult comic, which makes "Triumph" less biting or mean 03:29
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Comedian
Robert Smigel on whether there is a disconnect between himself and his character "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" and how his identity merged with "Triumph’s" character; on his feeling "Triumph" has more irony and absurdity than an insult comic, which makes "Triumph" less biting or mean 03:29
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Writers
Robert Smigel on what he learned from producing the Dana Carvey Show; on one of the funniest sketches he was involved in on The Dana Carvey Show about President Gerald Ford, which never aired until Smigel and Dana Carvey revived it later for Saturday Night Live 09:52
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Producers
Robert Smigel on whether there is a disconnect between himself and his character "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" and how his identity merged with "Triumph’s" character; on his feeling "Triumph" has more irony and absurdity than an insult comic, which makes "Triumph" less biting or mean 03:29
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Performers
Robert Smigel on "Triumph" roasting Eminem on the MTV Video Music Awards 07:09
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on whether there is a disconnect between himself and "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" and how his identity merged with "Triumph’s" character; on his feeling "Triumph" has more irony and absurdity than an insult comic which makes "Triumph" less biting or mean 03:29
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on Triumph roasting Jennifer Lopez and Eminem on the MTV Video Music Awards, and on the decision not to let Eminem in on the joke in advance; on the decision to include the artist Moby on the joke; on making sure that the cameraman never showed Smigel’s face when he was doing the "Triumph" bits; on wanting to continue the bit but MTV being too nervous that he was in danger and not letting Smigel backstage 08:37
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: MTV Video Music Awards
Robert Smigel on why he left Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and on what made that show unique 06:05
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Robert Smigel on how The Dana Carvey Show came about on ABC; on putting together the writing staff for that show; on writers Charlie Kaufman, Jon Glaser, and Steve Carrell; on Carrell’s contribution to the sketch “Germans Who Say Nice Things”; on the “Idiot Pranksters” sketches written by Louis C.K.; on the individuality of comedy ideas; on writer Stephen Colbert; on a sketch with Colbert and Carrell that wound up getting them both hired on The Daily Show; on Dana Carvey's signature characters from SNL and why they did not transfer over to own new show 19:00
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: The Dana Carvey Show
Robert Smigel on the controversial opening sketch for the pilot episode of The Dana Carvey Showwhere a fictionalized President Bill Clinton breastfeeds a baby; on not realizing the show that preceded Carvey’s (which was Home Improvement) was a show that kids watched since Smigel himself had never watched it before; on the inevitable backlash to the first episode which Smigel had called resulting in a “cruel prank” on the unsuspecting audience; on the show's sponsor, Taco Bell, and its reaction to the pilot; on how the show was initially received (by getting thousands of complaints); on producer George Schlatter being an early supporter of the show 09:04
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: The Dana Carvey Show
Robert Smigel on what he learned from producing The Dana Carvey Show; on one of the funniest sketches he was involved in on The Dana Carvey Show, about Gerald Ford, that was never aired until Smigel and Dana Carvey revived it later for Saturday Night Live; on the inspiration for the sketch which was hearing news anchor Dan Rather pre-recording an obituary for Ronald Reagan (who was still alive at the time); on having to fight to get the sketch aired on SNL; on why he had trouble getting his sketches on SNL; on finally being able to get the Gerald Ford sketch on the air only when Dana Carvey came back to host Saturday Night Live in 1996 09:56
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: The Dana Carvey Show
Robert Smigel on what he learned from producing The Dana Carvey Show; on one of the funniest sketches he was involved in on The Dana Carvey Show, about Gerald Ford, that was never aired until Smigel and Dana Carvey revived it later for Saturday Night Live; on the inspiration for the sketch which was hearing news anchor Dan Rather pre-recording an obituary for Ronald Reagan (who was still alive at the time); on having to fight to get the sketch aired on SNL; on why he had trouble getting his sketches on SNL; on finally being able to get the Gerald Ford sketch on the air only when Dana Carvey came back to host Saturday Night Live in 1996 08:17
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" roasting Jennifer Lopez and Eminem at the MTV Video Music Awards 08:37
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: We Laughed
Robert Smigel on one of the funniest sketches he was involved in on The Dana Carvey Show about President Gerald Ford that never aired until Smigel and Dana Carvey revived it later for Saturday Night Live; on the inspiration for the sketch which was hearing news anchor Dan Rather pre-recording an obituary for Ronald Reagan (who was then still alive) which they overheard; on this experience inspiring them to do a bit with Dana Carvey portraying news anchor Tom Brokaw announcing that President Gerald Ford had died; on having to fight to get the sketch aired on SNL; on why he had trouble getting his sketches on SNL; on finally being able to get the Gerald Ford sketch on the air only when Dana Carvey came back to host Saturday Night Live in 1996 08:06
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: Gerald Ford