The Great American Dream Machine
Encyclopedia
The Great American Dream Machine was a weekly satirical
variety television series
, produced in New York City
by WNET
and broadcast on PBS
from 1971 to 1973. The program was hosted by humorist and commentator Marshall Efron
. The show centered around skits and satirical political commentary. The hour and a half long show usually contained at least seven different current event topics. In the second season, the show was trimmed down to an hour.
Other notable cast members included Chevy Chase
. Contributors included Albert Brooks
and Andy Rooney. Some of the skits ended up being revamped for the movie The Groove Tube
.
There were also occasional short films presented on the show, most of them "experimental" or documentaries about artistic endeavours. Some of these were subtitled.
Each week there was also a Great American Hero segment. One week was Evel Knievel
; played over Evel's hospital footage was a honky-tonk song about putting body parts back together. The song was written and performed by Martin Mull. http://www.stevemandich.com/evelincarnate/knievelrock.htm
Another piece involved Efron attempting to cook a lemon meringue pie by using the mainly artificial ingredients found listed on a box of frozen pie. But, in his words, "pure pie." This piece is shown, in a continuous loop, on a video screen in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry
.
One other piece had Efron taking the audience on a tour of his apartment, in a "non-event" style that was very much ahead of its time. He presented his "stuffed cat," which proceeded to wake up and look around.
A most memorable segment trumpeted the Trash Compactor appliance. Efron's tagline: "The machine that turns 20 pounds of trash into 20 pounds of trash!"
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
variety television series
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
, produced in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
and broadcast on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
from 1971 to 1973. The program was hosted by humorist and commentator Marshall Efron
Marshall Efron
Marshall Efron is an American humorist originally known for his work on the listener-sponsored Pacifica radio stations WBAI New York and KPFK Los Angeles, and later for the PBS television show The Great American Dream Machine...
. The show centered around skits and satirical political commentary. The hour and a half long show usually contained at least seven different current event topics. In the second season, the show was trimmed down to an hour.
Other notable cast members included Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
. Contributors included Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks
Albert Lawrence Brooks is an American actor, voice actor, writer, comedian and director. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his role in Broadcast News...
and Andy Rooney. Some of the skits ended up being revamped for the movie The Groove Tube
The Groove Tube
The Groove Tube , written and produced by Ken Shapiro, was a low-budget comedy film. It satirized television and the counterculture of the early 1970s. The film was originally produced to be shown at the Channel One Theater on East 60th St...
.
There were also occasional short films presented on the show, most of them "experimental" or documentaries about artistic endeavours. Some of these were subtitled.
Each week there was also a Great American Hero segment. One week was Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel , born Robert Craig Knievel, was an American daredevil and entertainer. In his career he attempted over 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps between 1965 and 1980, and in 1974, a failed jump across Snake River Canyon in the Skycycle X-2, a steam-powered rocket...
; played over Evel's hospital footage was a honky-tonk song about putting body parts back together. The song was written and performed by Martin Mull. http://www.stevemandich.com/evelincarnate/knievelrock.htm
Consumerism
Efron also participated in some skits, especially those taking a critical look at consumerism. One notable skit focused on the different size descriptions on cans of food, that time being prior to significant government regulation and standardizing of labels. Efron sarcastically compared cans of olives with sizes like "Giant," "Jumbo," "Extra Jumbo," "Super Jumbo," "Colossal," and "Super Colossal." The "Super Colossal" can contained one olive that filled the entire can.Another piece involved Efron attempting to cook a lemon meringue pie by using the mainly artificial ingredients found listed on a box of frozen pie. But, in his words, "pure pie." This piece is shown, in a continuous loop, on a video screen in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry
Museum of Science and Industry
MOSI may refer to:* MoSi — molybdenum silicide, an important material in the semiconductor industry* MOSI - Master Out Slave In, a signal on the Serial Peripheral Interface Bus* MOSI protocol, an extension of the basic MSI cache coherency protocol...
.
One other piece had Efron taking the audience on a tour of his apartment, in a "non-event" style that was very much ahead of its time. He presented his "stuffed cat," which proceeded to wake up and look around.
A most memorable segment trumpeted the Trash Compactor appliance. Efron's tagline: "The machine that turns 20 pounds of trash into 20 pounds of trash!"