Oh, God, Oddville!
As you may already know,
WO was all over MTV when their videos first got picked up. But one of the lesser-known and should
stay that way appearances was this low-budget hodgepodge show with an
appropriate name. Even Wikipedia
doesn’t have much to say about this show.
Apparently it was directly based on a public access show the host used to
do, and MTV picked it up.
The reason why I have not
posted this show is because my copy is horribly off-sync. I'm attempting to rip
and resync the audio, but it's not in great quality anyway. The only good thing about this
appearance is the acoustic version of "Supernatural". It should have been
recorded and put out as a B-side, it's that pretty. Also, Stacy can tuck her
feet behind her head and hobble on her knees, and Renee can't whistle. Nifty
trivia.
The first thing you will
notice is the garishly-colored set and the Woody Allen-wannabe host. The girls are announced individually,
and then WO is announced as the musical guest. Nowhere does it say that Stacy,
Stefanie, and Renee actually are
Wild Orchid. At first it’s very
standard; the girls come out, tell the WO story, sing a bit, and are cute. Then it all goes downhill
fast.
You see, Oddville is a
variety show, and not a good one.
This is open-mic night at your kid brother’s junior high…for special
needs…in the year 1978. Why is WO
here??
There are 4 regulars on
this show: the annoying host, a guy in a monkey suit, the chirpy announcer girl,
and the silent, er…Ed McMahon guy with a Beatles haircut who just sits and
sulks. WO attempts to tickle him
into smiling. He freaks out and
runs away. Man! Leave Shemp alone! It was painful to
watch.
Then WO is forced to
remain on the couch as Gong Show rejects come on with their “talents”. First is some guy who can hang 40+
clothespins on his face. No, you
read that right. Stacy thinks he’s
a hit at parties, and Renee is concerned (for the guy, that is, although she’d
probably be justified to start worrying about Stacy). Then there’s a woman obsessed with Vlad
the Impaler, a guy who can stand on his hands and whistle, a woman who just
laughs and cries repeatedly. That’s
our show, folks!
Really.
Finally, just as you are
about to change the channel, they let WO sing. With only one guitarist, they give a
sweet performance of “Supernatural”.
This is one instance where you would not be angry at me for leaving out
most of the show.