Remote Control (show)

Remote Control
Genre	Game show
Presented by	Ken Ober Colin Quinn with Marisol Massey (Season 1) Kari Wührer (Seasons 2–3) Alicia Coppola (Season 4) Susan Ashley (Season 5)
Starring	Craig Vandenburgh John Ten Eyck Adam Sandler Denis Leary Roger Kabler Steve Treccase
Country of origin	USA
No. of seasons	5
Production
Location(s)	Matrix Studios Manhattan, New York (Seasons 1-2 and 4-5) Disney-MGM Studios Orlando, Florida (Season 3)
Running time	30 Minutes
Release
Original network	MTV (1987–90) Syndicated (1989–90)
Original release	December 7, 1987 – December 13, 1990

Remote Control is a TV game show that ran on MTV for five seasons from 1987 until 1990. It was MTV's first original non-musical program. New episodes were made for first-run syndication from 1989 until 1990 which were distributed by Viacom. Three contestants answered trivia questions on movies, music, and television, many of which were presented in skit format.

The series was developed by producers Joe Davola and Michael Dugan.

It was written by Jeff Kahn, and directed by Dana Calderwood.

Remote Control was hosted by Ken Ober and featured Colin Quinn as the announcer/sidekick. John Ten Eyck played several walk-on parts, joined in later seasons by Adam Sandler, Denis Leary, and Roger Kabler. Steve Treccase provided music; Marisol Massey (Season One), Kari Wührer (Seasons Two and Three), Alicia Coppola (Season Four) and Susan Ashley (Season Five) were the hostesses. Although uncredited, Jani Berry provided the off-camera voice as the character of Ken Ober's mother.

The show's premise was that Ober desperately wanted to be a game show host and set up his basement (at 72 Woopingkof Lane; the spelling was indicated by a street sign prop seen on the set) as a television studio. The opening theme song sketched out the scenario:

"Kenny wasn't like the other kids (Remote Control)
TV mattered, nothing else did (Remote Control)
Girls said yes, but he said no (Remote Control)
Now he's got his own game show (Remote Control!)"

Shows were sometimes interrupted by the disembodied voice of "Ken's mother," and the studio was indeed set up to resemble a basement, complete with a washer and dryer, cheesy bric-a-brac, and a giant Pez dispenser that resembled Bob Eubanks.

The basement was a mainstay of the show throughout its run; however, its cheesy decor was "rearranged" slightly every season. The contestants sat in leather La-Z-Boy recliners with seat belts (their purpose explained below), complete with retro kidney-shaped tables and scoreboards, facing host Ober and his retro-styled Zenith television. Behind Ober were autographed pictures of his idols, game show hosts such as Eubanks, Bob Barker, Bill Cullen, Bert Convy, Monty Hall, and Tom Kennedy. Musician Steve Treccase set up his keyboard behind a cluttered bar, at which Quinn and the hostess usually sat for the duration of the show. More clutter could be found around and behind the audience, very frequently including props used in previous seasons. Finally, the contestants' chairs were placed in front of breakaway walls, through which they were pulled if they were eliminated.

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