User Reviews

When a person is successful at anything (be it sports, music, writing, or simply making money), they sometimes get lauded as 'genius' if they are either exceptional at it, or if the manner in which they made their mark was uncommon.

Joel Hodgson IS a genius - let's get that straight from the outset - an unassuming, Middle-American Everyman who has a grasp for the uncommon idea and the uncanny ability to assemble a spirited team to put those ideas in motion.

Conversely, when a genius hits upon an idea that does NOT 'sell' - i.e. an idea that is not embraced by the executives who buy it and promulgate it to make money for themselves - then the genius is unfortunately held in contempt and scoffed at for no reason other than that his idea was not properly handled by the team of promulgators once it was surrendered to them.

This does not make the IDEA any less ingenious.

The TV Wheel may not be wholly original, but the energy and creativity Joel brought to this simple concept outweighed any kind of composite plagiarism. As with his legendary Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Joel once again combined a wealth of simple ideas into one strong, SELLABLE concept. Unfortunately, the cul-de-sac-minded programmers who run the airwaves thought differently. Isn't it astounding how this man who was responsible for creating and raising MST3K to worldwide cult status was not given the simple courtesy by the morons with the money to expand on another of his incredible ideas?

Had Joel's idea been allowed the opportunity to find its niche, it would have evolved into a well-loved quirky sketch comedy show, probably spawning a few well-known characters, not unlike other more 'accessible' sketch-comedy shows such as Not The Nine-O'Clock News, Sketch Comedy TV, Kids In The Hall, or even that deplorable excuse for a comedic institution - Saturday Night Live. I put quotation marks around 'accessible' because in their turn, each of the above-mentioned shows was once ranked as raw-edged and non-commercial, investors pondering whether 'the market' would hold up these 'dangerous' shows. (Oh my! The insurrect thoughts running rampant through our society!)

Yes, there *was* an aura of desperation pervading the TV Wheel's cast and sketches, but that was the nature of the beast; this was MEANT to be a frenetic serving up of old-school theatrics - no pre-taped segments or special effects were going to intrude upon Joel's vision - the cast performed everything 'live' and in 'real time', two words which have lost their meaning for most of the showbiz set. Watch Master Hodgson show you how it's done.

I was shocked and very disappointed that Joel did not get the opportunity to run at least one season with the TV Wheel. One can only imagine the frustration he and his cohorts and funders experienced as network after network must have passed on this idea, with Comedy Central opting to air the pilot (obviously to test the ratings waters) and then definitively axing it.

We are left watching the skies in anticipation of Joel's Next Big Thing.

(Movie Maniacs, visit: www.poffysmoviemania.com)

I watched this again after not having seen it since it first ran. It's amazing how much talent was in this show. Besides Joel, it was co-written by Judd Apatow, and starred David Cross, Doug Benson, Andy Kindler, Nick Bakay, and Fred Stoller, among others. And despite what some other people have said, it's really clever and funny. I mean, yeah some sketches were alittle flat, but look at the pilot episode of any comedy show, they're all a little off from what the shows finally become. It's just a fun show, made me think of a Mr. Show style absurdist sketch show combined with Joel's love for kitchy 60's kids TV stuff. It would have been nice to see how much further they could have taken the concept.

I saw this on Comedy Central and thought it was,and still is, the most original idea for television I've ever seen.It was created for HBO originally,as a pilot for a sketch series.But they thought it was too strange,and passed on it.eventually they bumped it down to Comedy Central,which I believe only aired it once.

I love Joel. He impresses me as witty, intelligent and creative. MST3K is ample evidence of this. The TV Wheel is evidence of his intelligence and creativity, but it lacks "the funny", and in this case, two out of three is pretty damn bad. The concept is new (if a bit schticky)...or at least it's creatively executed. But the performances are sweaty, desperate, and unamusing, and I get the feeling Joel was really stretching his faculties and abilities getting a dodo to fly...just for the challenge of getting a dodo to fly. I felt like I was watching a friend screw up a recital. Give this embarrassment a miss and rent/buy some of the original MST3K episodes... you'll be much happier. Let's hope Joel finds his performing legs again.

The entire premise of the show is that a camera has a rotating platform with multiple stages on it that morph and change so that they bleed together and because of the way that the stages move around the camera, they can create scenes which create really neat optical effects using practical spacial relationships and forced perspective. It sounds highly technical (and it is to a degree) but in execution, it's simple, effective and unique.

The big fallout of the pilot, though, was that the writing wasn't all it could've been. There's lots of room on HBO to get wild with the ideas all in search for a laugh, but it seemed the production was more focused on the 'wow' factor of the concept rather than provide real humor, which is sad because I think some of the writing was 'forced' in terms of trying to use the format more and they lost their focus and primary objective which is humor.

However, it's worth watching simply for the spectacle and it makes one wonder how great the show would have been if Joel and crew had been allowed to get past their growing pains. I for one think it definitely would've found it's footing within 3 or 4 episodes and the focus would be on humor and the delivery via the creative concept would just come naturally.

But we'll never know and that's a real shame.

I only had the pleasure of viewing the Tv-Wheel (or the x-box, as it is sometimes called) once at like 3 'o'clock in the morning and it is awesome. Joel Hodgson himself is one of the most creative people ever none-the-less in Hollywood. His invention of the Tv-Wheel and experimental showcase of it in use was incredible. I wish everyone could see this and see fully the creative genius that is Joel Hodgson.

Rest assured that, much to his chagrin, Joel Hodgsen will forever be remembered as the creator & original host of Mystery Science Theater 3000, one of the top ten TV shows of all time!

TV Wheel, on the other hand, wasssss... an interesting idea which should have been abandoned early in pre-production. Unfortunately it wasn't. Fortunately almost nobody saw it.

The idea was simply to put a rotating camera at the center of a stage so that several comedy sketches could be performed consecutively without any edits or breaks. The camera would simply rotate and point to the next set as each previous one ended. Or maybe it was the stage that rotated and the camera stayed fixed.

Either way though, big deal? This was hardly anything innovative. Multiple-group concerts have used rotating 'playing/tearing down/setting up' style stages for years. Ok, so maybe it was a new thing to use for sketch comedy.

But even if it was, a-rotating-stage-does-not-a-comedy-make. The performers and their material were at best, sophomoric, and at worst, really, really, terribly unfunny. So in the end the whole thing was kind of a waste of time and effort.

Oh well. Like I said, even most of the fans of MST3K never saw this flop. And believe me, you don't want to. TV Wheel made the KTMA MST3Ks look like a Kubrick film.

Let me start by saying I am a Joel Hodgson fan and am a great admire of his work, particularly MST3K. That show was a brilliant example of brilliance, and although it was certainly a team effort, so much of the heart would not have been there, and was lost when he left, had it not been for Joel's presence. That being said, I come to the "TV Wheel." The idea of a revolving stage and sedentary camera may not sound like much, may not even make sense, but watching it happen is something to behold. The sorts of optical illusions they created were amazing at times, and the pure movement of the "wheel" was smooth and easy to watch. The performers would act out the sketches through window like openings, and it made for some creative perspectives. Joel and Jim Hodgson proved incredible genius by making it something quiet interesting and fun in itself, and the different effects they were able to come up with were incredible! Also, the segments where Joel talks a little about the show was a very nice way to get to know the concept. He did some silly things with puppets (Boy, did he have experience with that!) and, as always, he is cute and interesting. So I give "the boys" 5 stars. Now to the comedy: This was probably one of the weakest shows I have ever seen in terms of writing and performing. I probably laughed all of three times and not truly laughter, but giggles. I agree with one reviewer, the actors and actresses were too in your face, too desperate to be seen and told they were funny. When I was done, I felt like I had just had an episode of mania, kind of mirroring the energy that took place in front of me. (The audience must have been either family members, friends, paid, or all of the above. They laughed at times at the oddest spots and too hard to be genuine.) I found the writing flat at best, going back and forth between blah and bleh! The few things that were interesting were less comedy and more comments, a very Joel thing to do. But as far as anything worth a laugh, there was little to be seen. It was nice to see people like Nick Bakay, Paul Feig, and a few others, but even they could not save it. It was just not good.

I adore Joel Hodgson, and it was a wonderful and painful ride watching the "TV Wheel," even still, you have to see the creative mind of his and the beautiful ideas he can have. He is a man with guts and honesty, and nothing can change that. I felt a little sad knowing the show didn't make it. It was one of a few things that failed in those year for him, so my heart pains a little to think of what he may have gone through after that. He changed in a way that just depresses me. All and all, this project may have improved had it the chance, but we will never know.

Note: there was a documentary made of the project and of the process of creating the stage. That was MUCH more enjoyable then the show itself in a way, and I encourage people to see it. It's a nice little peak into how a show as odd as this got put together, and some of the people behind it.