I’ve never considered myself much of a history buff. I always got good grades in social studies and history classes but I’d say that was more because of my ability to quickly memorize facts than it was due to any interest. The Spanish/American war? The Great Depression? Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…
However, if my history classes were taught using visual aids and narrated by someone who gets increasingly drunk as the story goes on, I’d have been a lot more interested. Wait-I’m not so sure that wasn’t the case in some of my classes. Hey, if you were dealing with unruly New York City public school kids, you’d carry a flask too.
At any rate-Drunk History is my latest fave rave and the premise is just the way I explained it a paragraph ago. Created by comedian Derek Waters, and apparently a recurring feature on Funny Or Die, the Comedy Central series is absolutely hilarious.
Anything that gives Lisa Bonet employment is an automatic plus for me. Check her out on “Drunk History.”
Even if you don’t find drunkenness amusing, you’ll still dig the history part. In the show’s first season (which just wrapped,) you’ll learn about the Alamo battle, J. Edgar Hoover’s smear campaign against Martin Luther King, and the Patty Hearst kidnapping, just to name a few. You’ll also find yourself playing the “spot the famous face” game, as actors appearing in the reenactments have included Jason Ritter, Jack Black, Dave Grohl, Lisa Bonet, Terry Crews, “Happy Endings”‘ Casey Wilson (as Dolly Parton) and a gang of current/former SNL stars including Kristin Wiig, Taran Killam, Bill Hader, and the immortal Horatio Sanz. Another cool feature is that each episode is centered around a particular city. So far, Nashville, Detroit, San Francisco, my good ol’ Boston and others have been covered.
Have I convinced you yet? If so, fire up your OnDemand service and binge watch this shit before the next season starts! You’ll be glad you did. You’ll also laugh until you puke—not unlike some of the show’s narrators, and apparently Watson himself.
Now, to figure out how to get myself on the show. I’ve certainly had some practice, if you’ve listened to a couple of the Blerd Radio podcasts.