Category: Skit Happens - Dan Fiorella: Writer @ large

Dan Fiorella

Barely Home Companion - HOUSE OF CHIA (12/01)

12/18/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell 'prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

Leading up to Christmas time seems like a logical time to make fun of some of the Christmas gift commercials that actually get on the air. Except at PHC, where topical is atypical. The idea was silly and funny and I thought short enough to get too analyzed. But it relies way to heavily on pop culture and TV, always GK's blind spot. Needless to say, they didn't use it.

HOUSE OF CHIA

Barely Home Companion - Digital Shortage (Oct 2001)

10/29/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell 'prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

I forget what triggered this skit, but I remember liking the idea right away. It was silly, but I thought it made a solid point about conservation and the Bush White House, where drilling was their solution to everything. People forgot, that things were always being referred to as crisis back then, to the point where the White House set up a color-coded chart that would inform us as to exactly how panicked we should be, especially around election time. So much foreshadowing back then to what the GOP was capable of and what it would evolve (devolve) into.

It felt good to get silly again and start ramping up the brain again. But it didn't get picked. So, here we go:

Digital Shortage

Barely Home Companion - Halloween Stuff (Oct 2001)

10/27/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell 'prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

Halloween was a big deal for PHC. Halloween was a big deal for me. I pulled out all the stops for October 2001, I created a couple of sketches that I kinda knew wouldn't work for them, but they were Halloween and where else was I going to place them? Then I came up with a anthrax-inspired horror movie parody (at the time the National Enquirer and NBC were receiving anthrax in the mail). Here's the thing; I posted these bits on the blog before, so, back when I was doing it all as Skit Happens for a big Halloween countdown to push my book, Halloweenies. I'm just going to link them below:

It Came From the Mailroom!

Hiding Dragon, Crouching Pumpkin

The House Without a Pumpkin Tree

Barely Home Companion - 9/11 Cafe Boeuf (Oct. 2011)

10/8/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell 'prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

After the horrific terror attacks of 9/11/01, the entertainment industry kinda shut down. There was too much to process and too many to mourn to allow ourselves to simply slip back into day-to-day life. But, even in the darkest tragedies, people get antsy for something more. Our basic needs still exist, to eat, to drink, to be among others. And social interaction leads to other things; the need to enjoy. The need to laugh.

In so many ways, all eyes were on New York City. Not just for what had happened, but for what and who we were. NYC is one of the broadcast centers of the nation. And, slowly, the media began to shake off the darkness. We all know how Letterman, John Steward, SNL and even Howard Stern started up their shows-both trying to acknowledge the change while conceding that some things, like the need to laugh, never change.

Half way across the country, PHC had been on its hiatus with reruns for the summer. Their season opener was set for 10/10/01. Not for nothing, but by that time, my day job had been back up and running in Lower Manhattan for weeks. We were pressing forward, step by step, with the ashes and smoke still drifting out of Ground Zero. Work pushed us forward. But, on the freelancing front, try writing comedy.

I tried. I alternated between bits that acknowledged the attack and others that didn't. It wouldn't be until the end of the month, with Halloween, that I went back to normal. Until then, it was working it out through the show's established characters. And a theme became the near-commercialization of the tragedy. Everyone and every business seemed to be jumping on the patriotic wagon, so that became a subject that I could poke fun of. As is a theme of these posts, this wasn't used. I thought it quite topical and whimsical, but it didn't make the cut. So, I've been trying to post these around the time they were created, (in lieu of the actual anniversary of 9/11), we present:

Cafe Boeuf

Barely Home Companion: Season Finale! (7/7/01)

7/21/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell "prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

It was the season finale so I decided to go all in and do a parody of season finales. Right off the bat, it was a tough sell, GK wasn't much of a TV guy, and that's what I was selling. I have vague recollections of using it for Style Without Substance. Which came first? I don't recall and I didn't make a note of it. It has a Style feel to it, using the whole cast, the silliness, the meta aspect. Obviously, it wasn't PHC enough, 'cause it didn't get picked.

Season Finale! 7/7/01

Barely Home Companion: St. Paul Weight Loss Program (7/7/01)

7/15/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell "prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

The 2000-01 season was finishing up and this was my last shot before the summer. I had done weight-loss parodies before and I think the idea just grew around the phrase "cramming food into my pie hole." I don't know what I was thinking. It's kinda rude, there were a number of typos and I should have had the woman say at the end, "Wait, what?" Don't even know if "Wait, what?" was a thing back then. It's one of those (now) comedy clams that people throw in everywhere, but I really like it, because it comes with a sense of befuddlement. Anyways, they didn't take it, so here it is...

St. Paul Weight Loss Program

Barely Home Companion: What are ya, Stupid? (6/2001)

7/9/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell "prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

Here's one of those bits I had forgotten about. The show's season was winding down and I was pretty much putting every pet peeve of mine into a sketch. It didn't get picked, and I can't argue the point. It's a weird, angry little bit...

What are ya, Stupid?

Barely Home Companion: House of Tea (6/2001)

6/11/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell "prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

The second bit I sent the week PHC was in Seattle was naturally going to take on coffee culture. This is actually a reoccurring theme in my body of work, store commercials for owners that are in over their heads. So a guy running a tea shop in Seattle seemed like a perfect bit, I know I've pulled it out and submitted it elsewhere, but it never got picked up. So now it's on my blog! That's something, right? Enjoy!

Dave's House of Tea

Barely Home Companion: The Old Story Teller: Seattle (6/2001)

6/9/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell "prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

PHC did its broadcast from Seattle that week, so I tried to come up with a couple of Seattle-themed skits, which is tricky, when my entire knowledge of Seattle was from coffee franchises, and the shows "Frasier" and "Here Come the Brides". First up was a sequel to the Old Story Teller bit I had written earlier that year. Again, it was a collection of facts I gathered online and simple silliness. But, it didn't make the cut. So the present:

The Old Story Teller: Seattle

Barely Home Companion: Land's End R&D (6/2001)

6/2/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell "prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

Frankly, I don't remember much about this skit at all! I know Land's End was one of their regular sponsors but for the life of me, I don't remember what prompted me to write a sketch about the sponsors. Weird. Hey it was a long time ago and there was a lot of material churned out. My journals don't say much beyond things I sometimes submitted or was awaiting payment on, leading me to the conclusion that I'm a lousy journal keeper. Anyway, it was a no-go, so, here it is...

R & D

comedy, writer, Dan Fiorella, Daniel fiorella, screenplay, sketches,radio,computer games, television writer