Cheap Seats (2004)
Cheap Seats without Ron Parker, commonly shortened to Cheap Seats, is a television program broadcast on ESPN Classic hosted by brothers Randy and Jason Sklar. The brothers appear as fictional ESPN tape librarians who amuse themselves by watching old, campy sports broadcasts and wisecracking about them. Cheap Seats debuted on February 4, 2004, with an episode that showed ESPN sportscaster "Ron Parker" getting buried under a shelf full of tapes, forcing the Sklars to fill in, as they were behind Parker on the "hosting depth chart". The founding production team behind "Cheap Seats" included Mark Shapiro, Showrunner, Todd Pellegrino, James Cohen and Joseph Maar. Cheap Seats was originally an hour-long program. There were about 10 one hour-long episodes in the first season, all of which were subsequently cut down to fit a 30 minute time slot.
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Episode 1 - Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest
Release Date: 2005-09-19Here at Cheap Seats we often embrace some or all of 7 Deadly Sins so it's only natural that something dealing with Gluttony would intrigue us. Watch for Japanese eating machine Kobayashi as he tries to break all his opponents in half, dunk them in water and consume them. Special Guests: David Cross, Eugene Mirman, Joe LoTruglia and Brian Husky.
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Episode 2 - 1995 Spelling Bee
Release Date: 2005-09-26More smart kids who need to get out more. Yes, it's another Spelling Bee and we do a little home schooling in our own language of origin, so check it out.
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Episode 3 - Women's Sports
Release Date: 2005-10-03Our salute to women in sports, get your poles out (stop that train of thought) for some Bass Fishing. Then it's two women in the squared circle for a little womano a womano. Finally we look back at Ann Meyer's tryout for the Indian Pacers from 1976. Special Guest: Zach Galifianakas.
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Episode 4 - Kids Putt-Putt-Double Dutch
Release Date: 2005-10-10Where's the windmill, the Castle with the moat, the oversized clown head on 18? That's what we asked as two teams of kids square off for the 1995 Junior Putters Association Championship. Then it's a jump roping extravaganza as kids try and avoid getting hog-tied as they twist and hop through the whirling ropes. Special Guests: Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn.
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Episode 5 - 1999 Ultimate Heavy Athletics-Wide World Hurling
Release Date: 2005-10-17Have you ever wondered if strong men can throw stuff farther if they are wearing kilts? If so, you're in luck because we got lots of that but keep your fingers crossed that the wind doesn't pick up. Then it's off to Ireland for a hurling match from Wide World of Sports. It's kind of like soccer, kind of like field hockey and kind of like idiotic.
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Episode 6 - 1989 Holiday Bowl-BYU vs Penn State
Release Date: 2005-10-24Blair Thomas, Ty Detmer, Jo Paterno and a cast of tens square off in a touchdown fiesta. You'll see what was called "the best catch of the decade" and be sure to watch for the visit to Sea World. We had no idea Shamu spoke perfect English.
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Episode 7 - 1995 High School Slam Jam-2003 NHL SuperSkills
Release Date: 2005-10-31Think you got the skills to pay the bills? Quite honestly we don't think you do, so we put together a show featuring guys who can. First up it's the 1995 High School Slam Dunk Contest and 3-point shootout featuring future stars- Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Paul Pierce and also Louis Bullock. Then it's the 2003 Superskills competition from the NHL All Star Game. Fedorov, Roy, and of course Todd Bertuzzi will be available to hand out cheap shots as warranted.
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Episode 8 - 1996 U.S. Poker Championship
Release Date: 2005-11-07Started by Donald Trump and taking place at his Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, it's the World Series of Poker's combed-over half-brother. Top player and top antagonist Phil Helmuth is at the final table and you have to check out his shirt. Gabe Kaplan of Welcome Back Kotter fame hosts the festivities. We also feature some commercials for a few new poker shows hitting the airwaves.
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Episode 9 - On the Road at Busch Stadium
Release Date: 2005-11-14Randy and Jason take Cheap Seats on the road in a quest to try and save Busch Stadium from it's planned demolition. They'll let nothing, including already well-laid architectural and demolition plans get in their way to try and save their beloved Busch. Along the way, they'll watch some footage from the Demolition of the Seattle Kingdome, some Celebrity Demolition Derby from Wide World of Sports and the Demolition of a man's psyche. Just ask Kenny Mayne.
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Episode 10 - Dog Show-World Beard and Mustache Championship
Release Date: 2005-11-21Three words: Ann Rogers Clark. The Dog Show Aficionado returns for more examination of a dog's nether regions. Randy and Jason even pay tribute to Ann with a special Def Poetry Jam. Then it's off to Carson City, Nevada where it's a cast of hundreds (99.5% of them men) showing off their meticulously groomed facial hair. Did you know it was possible to grow your beard to look like a Hot Wheels track?
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Episode 11 - 1977 Superstars
Release Date: 2005-11-28It's back to Rotonda, FL and another installment of the Superstars. The esteemed Keith Jackson is on hand to host with some help by Reggie Jackson and Bruce Jenner though one could argue they harm more than help. Athletes include Jim Taylor, Kyle Rote Jr, Lynn Swann, the lovable Steve Garvey, Billy Whiteshoes Johnson and everyone's favorite French hurdler, Guy Drut. You don't want to miss Guy's trash talking clinic. Guest appearance by Andre DeBouchet.
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Episode 12 - On the Road
Release Date: 2005-12-05Randy and Jason take a road trip to the rolling hills and glowing trees of New Jersey to spend an episode watching some ICW Wrestling from fan Gina Mitolo's couch. They'll ransack her house, exploit her friends and even try to sell her prized possessions. Guest appearance by Don West.
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Episode 13 - 1996 Spelling Bee (Part 1)
Release Date: 2005-12-12It's the last episode of Season 3 and Charles Barkley always taught us to finish strong. It's an all-star cast featuring Rebecca Sealfon the year before she won the whole Bee, the Quiet Storm Prem Trivedi and everyone's favorite Mogwai- Wendy Guey. It's our season ending show and if Lost taught us anything it's that you should leave your viewers hanging for 6 months with hundreds of unanswered questions.