And now, A&E takes you behind the scenes of Caroline's Comedy Hour.
Caroline's the place to be.
Yeah.
From Times Square in lovely New York City is Caroline's Comedy Hour.
2 p.m.
Rehearsal.
And it's six hours before showtime as cast and crew of A&E's Caroline's Comedy Hour
rehearse the script for tonight's double show taping, a script which will undergo many changes.
It's comedy, so what ends up happening all the time is that you have what we call a signed
off script, which invariably the moment we walk into the club changes because somebody
thinks of something funny again and it starts evolving.
Here host Richard Jenney, supermodel Carol Alt, and comedian Rich Francesi run through
a sketch satirizing the game show Jeopardy! and modeling.
Hands on buzzers.
Something you put on your face to look prettier.
And Carol?
Uh, makeup.
You have to phrase it in the form of a question.
Uh, makeup?
Basically, there's no way to know if anything's any good until you see it on its feet.
There's constantly a lot of arguing back and forth between everybody about what's funny
and what's not.
The trouble is you can't prove it.
After two hours of rehearsal, the piece is performance ready and a short break gives
us a chance to visit what is appropriately called the writer's bunker at Caroline's.
It seems that Caroline's Comedy Hour and perhaps other comedy shows have a prerequisite and
that is that all writers on our show must be somewhat insane.
A lot of the writers in comedy for shows like this and many other shows come from the standup
world.
You're not just dealing with writers, you're dealing with comedians.
They're a great bunch of guys and they're the type of people who I'd get together with
quite a lot if it wasn't for the fact that I can't stand them.
So what I'm trying to say is I love them very dearly and if they all drop dead I wouldn't
care.
Any sound effects that you may do into the mic, we want to hear them so we can set the
proper levels for those so please let us know.
It's now under three hours to taping and co-producer Joel Falziano is covering the do's and don'ts
with tonight's roster of comedians.
Anything as far as language or content we need to go over with you, it's broadcast standards
just like you do in Letterman or Tonight Show.
My last birthday was really pretty terrific.
My kids all got together and asked me if I wanted a new windbreaker and I said no I'll
just stay with the old part I married to.
It's not having to do with the body function.
The crowd in Caroline's lobby anticipates entrance to the main stage.
The truck makes final preparations and backstage performers wait for their seven minutes on
stage, seven minutes which will feel like seven seconds or seven hours depending on
the audience response.
We have got a fantastic show for you and we're going to get it started right now.
After weeks of planning show number 101 begins and Richard Jennings tees off on golf.
You know what would make golf more exciting?
Defense.
Arnold Palmer is stepping up to the tee, he's got both feet planted firmly.
Whoa, Nicholas clubs him in the head with a forward.
We love Richard.
He's just able to respond quickly and he's great at the writers meetings and he's got
a great stand up back.
The Jeopardy sketch gets a lot of laughs.
Carol you still picked.
Cosmetic.
Hey getting dangerous.
This brownish red powder is brushed on the cheeks for a healthy appearance.
Tony.
What is a cinnamon?
And after ten comics, two shows and one duck, Richard Jennings says good night but not without
this important advice on the art of delivery.
The actual slogan is time well spent, A&E but it could be you know come off very badly
if you said A&E is time well spent.
Ruined, gone.
So the important way to say it is Caroline's on A&E is time well spent.
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Go amongst prostitutes.
It's not every day we have mission business party.
The Lord works in mysterious ways.
I was just telling Emily how important sex is.
Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, The Missionary, Sunday on A&E.
As America rushes off to work, a little girl waits.
As we check our watches to see if it's time for lunch, a little girl waits.
As we gripe about the cost of prescriptions, a little girl waits.
And as we watch news footage of children by the thousands dying of hunger and disease
and think the problem's too big, what can I do?
A little girl like this waits and hopes.
She hopes that someone like you will realize that even though you can't save the world,
you can save one child.
It takes just $21 a month through Christian Children's Fund.
Please call.
CCF is the world's oldest and most respected child sponsorship organization.
Call the number on your screen and we'll send you the picture and story of one child you
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One child you can save.
The mystery.
The power.
The intrigue of the Bible.
Find out how age-old questions continue to reveal startling new answers.
Answers that could change the way you look at the modern world.
Answers of the Bible on ancient mysteries.
Tonight on A&E.
Coming up on New Wilderness.
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