Dot Comedy is an American television series that aired on American Broadcasting Company (ABC). It is notable for being a series that was canceled after only one episode.

Dot Comedy
GenreReality television[1]
Created byCarrie Gerlach
Written byEd Driscoll[1]
Presented bySklar Brothers
StarringMelissa Disney
Katie Puckrik
Sklar Brothers
Annabelle Gurwitch
Music byMosher and Stoker
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes5 (4 unaired)
Production
Running timeapprox. 26 minutes
Production companiesOxygen
The Carsey-Werner Company
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseDecember 8, 2000 (2000-12-08)

Premise

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Dot Comedy was an early attempt at bringing Internet humor to mass television audiences in the pre-broadband era, which premiered on ABC on December 8, 2000. The show was hosted by Annabelle Gurwitch, the Sklar Brothers, and Katie Puckrik. Adapted from a British show of the same name, the show featured a similar premise to America's Funniest Home Videos in that the hosts and audience react to ostensibly humorous content originating on websites.[1] In addition, Puckrik would interview the creators of the web content presented. Viewers were also encouraged to submit their own web content, such as video, audio, and image files.[2] The show was a co-production with the television channel Oxygen, and episodes were planned to air afterwards on Oxygen after being broadcast on ABC.

The show replaced The Trouble with Normal on ABC, which had been cancelled after five episodes as part of a troubled post-TGIF attempt to relaunch the night with adult-targeted sitcoms. Dot Comedy did even worse, being viewed by 4.1 million viewers in its only aired episode before also being cancelled. The remaining four episodes never aired.[3]

Critical reception

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Bob Curtright of The Wichita Eagle gave the show a mixed review. He thought that the show had the potential to display humorous content on the Internet and give a platform through which content creators could gain exposure, but criticized the Sklar Brothers' hosting as "superfluous".[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "'Dot Comedy' clicks with ABC primetime". Variety. November 15, 2000. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  2. ^ Tim Brooks, Earle F. Marsh (24 June 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. p. 382. ISBN 9780307483201.
  3. ^ Armstrong, Mark. ""Normal, Ohio" Sent Back into the Closet". EOnline. Archived from the original on February 18, 2006. Retrieved September 13, 2006.
  4. ^ "ABC's 'Dot Comedy' tries to mine the Internet for laughs". The Wichita Eagle. December 6, 2000. pp. 5B. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
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