Editing TV Funhouse (section)

==Fox Pilot==
In 1998, Fox commissioned a pilot from Smigel and Stamatopoulos. An earlier version of what would become Comedy Central's show, "Saturday TV Funhouse" was a dark parody of [[Bozo the Clown|Bozo]], with Smigel playing Prozo, a half-drunk clown. While living in [[Chicago]], Smigel became fascinated with [[WGN-TV]]'s ''[[The Bozo Show|Bozo’s Circus]]''.<ref name="pmcd">{{cite web|last1=Patrick |first1=McDonald |title=TBS Just For Laughs: Robert Smigel Brings Bozo Circus Parody to Chicago|date=June 18, 2009 |publisher=Hollywood Chicago|url=https://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/7998/tbs-just-for-laughs-robert-smigel-brings-bozo-circus-parody-triumph-to-chicago|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201172055/https://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/7998/tbs-just-for-laughs-robert-smigel-brings-bozo-circus-parody-triumph-to-chicago |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 1, 2023}}</ref> He researched old television shows, and with the help of [[Doug Dale]], who played fellow clown Looky, found footage of 1970s children shows such as ''[[Gigglesnort Hotel]]'' and ''[[The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show]]''. After that they started coming up with ideas for the show.<ref>{{cite web |author=Mr. Beaks|title=Robert Smigel and Dino Stamatopoulos Open Up Their TV FUNHOUSE to Mr. Beaks!!|date=July 28, 2008 |publisher=Ain't It Cool News|url=http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/37689|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222104111/http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/37689|archive-date=December 22, 2023}}</ref>

The pilot began with an episode of "Fun With Real Audio." Next in the studio, a character named "Ringmaster Ted" introduces the show and its characters as he stands in front of the audience filled with children and parents. Prozo, “most people’s favorite clown,” played by Smigel; his “kooky pal Looky,” played by Doug Dale; “the mysterious Wizzy,” played by Stamatopoulos; a cat puppet that is licking itself named Furball; and a three-piece TV Funhouse Band, fronted by [[Floyd Vivino]]. Some of the segments featured include: Prozo leading the studio audience in song: "If you're Jewish and you know it, clap your hands!"<ref name="tad">{{cite magazine |last1=Friend |first1=Tad|author-link=Tad Friend |title=Unseen TV|date=November 11, 2002 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2002/11/18/unseen-tv|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240516214829/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2002/11/18/unseen-tv|archive-date=May 16, 2024}}</ref> a sketch in which the clowns reenact the [[Camp David Accords]] between [[Bill Clinton]], [[Yasir Arafat]], and [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] with a trolly full of pies, and an episode of ''[[The Ambiguously Gay Duo]]'', among others. A deleted scene showed a sketch featuring Bozo and a speaking [[outhouse]], voiced by [[Stephen Colbert]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ess|first1=Ramsey|title=Clowns, Guns, and Talking Outhouses: A Look Back at Robert Smigel's Original TV Funhouse Pilot|date=November 5, 2018|publisher=Vulture|url=https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/robert-smigels-tv-funhouse-fox-comedy-pilot.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511003244/https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/robert-smigels-tv-funhouse-fox-comedy-pilot.html|archive-date=May 11, 2023}}</ref>

In 2002, Smigel said of Fox declining to show the pilot: "I know this thing is all about 'Fuck the networks! They're idiots! But I don't know...This show has a disturbing element."<ref name="tad"/> In June 2009, [[Just for Laughs]] sponsored an event at the Lakeshore Theater in Chicago to present the pilot, “I wanted to do the Bozo parody as close to the real thing ([[Bob Bell (actor)|Bob Bell]]) as possible,” Smigel said in the Q&A after, “I didn’t want to do the angry clown thing.”<ref name="pmcd"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lynch|first1=Tom|title=Smiling at Smigel: Robert Smigel comes to Chicago|date=June 23, 2009|publisher=New City Stage|url=https://www.newcitystage.com/2009/06/23/smiling-at-smigel-robert-smigel-comes-to-chicago/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928210712/https://www.newcitystage.com/2009/06/23/smiling-at-smigel-robert-smigel-comes-to-chicago/|archive-date=September 28, 2023}}</ref>