The Spud Goodman Show - Show Format

Show Format

The show was hosted by Spud Goodman; a hip, cynical and occasionally mean-spirited underachiever. Goodman was joined by his co-host and boyhood friend Chick Hunter, who was credulous, sincere and naive. The differing world outlooks of the two men made for good character interplay as well as entertainingly disjointed interviews of the program's guests. The show's guests usually fell into one of two categories: eccentric celebrities or scripted pseudo-celebrities, and it was sometimes difficult to tell which type of guest was being interviewed, which added to the show's "edgy" character. In an effort to maintain control of frequently anarchic program, Goodman often admonished Hunter to "know your role" and limited him to one question per guest.

During the run at TCI, the show began to acquire the repertory company that carried it through to its end. Accordion Joe, the world's only accordion playing Elvis impersonator, served as the program's ersatz studio orchestra. Goodman and Hunter were also joined by Spud's divorced parents, Sparky and Saffola. Still contentious after their bitter divorce, they tried to pull Spud's career in different directions which they saw as advantageous to both his future and their own. Spud's cross dressing cousin, Samuel, yearned for a career as a TV weather man. After moving to broadcast, Spud's Uncle Steve joined the group. Although not a ventriloquist, he never went anywhere without his ventriloquial figure Jerry, who could channel Greg, the Ancient Inca Warrior. Spud also was forced to deal with Jeff Larson, who was at times a self-obsessed yuppie, a rabid Rush Limbaugh fan, and in a character reboot, the program's producer. By the time the program arrived on broadcast TV, it had grown even more ambitious than the live version had been on cable, and while it was pre-recorded without a studio audience, it maintained much of the "circus atmosphere" of its previous live version.