There is a 2010 film called Dark Shields which virtually nobody has seen (no votes at IMDb, no external reviews).
But what caught my eye was the cast of characters. Check out the last name on the list.
From the comments:
This begs a question, probably not the first time it’s been asked, where did “Uncle Scoopy” come from? My guess, you once owned a Baskin Robbins?
It’s Scoop, as in a news exclusive, not as in an ice cream shape.
Just before my internet days, I was wondering around the world doing marketing analysis for various oil companies. In my reports back to the office, my serious analyses and observations were always accompanied by the reports of a fictional reporter that I created, a certain N. Robert “Scoop” Parking who supposedly traveled with me, and told of his foreign experiences through his own eyes, those of an ignorant good ol’ boy from Texas. His first name was actually No. His momma named him No Parking so he would always have a sign designating his parking space, like a big shot. Of course he was from Texas, where a double first name is required by law, so No Robert Parking became “No Bob.” When he decided he was a famous travel correspondent, ala Charles Kuralt, he needed a more distinguished name than No Bob. After all, nobody called the other guy Chuckie Kuralt. So our boy became N. Robert Parking. He added “Scoop” because he was a reporter, and that sounded like a big-time reporter name, like in his dad’s old comics. (Scoop Scanlon worked as an investigative reporter for a newspaper called the Bulletin in DC comics during the late 1930s and early 1940s.)
So that’s how N. Robert Parking became “Scoop.” Because I played first base in my softball leagues, the name seemed appropriate for Greg as well, and it stuck.
When I started my first web page, I basically lifted the name of the Fun House as a play on, and tribute to, a TV special called “Uncle Andy’s Funhouse” (Andy Kaufman), the obvious direct inspiration for Uncle Scoopy’s Fun House. That was the first time that “Scoop” had undergone the metamorphosis to “Scoopy,” and it happened only because it fit the meter in place of “Andy.”
In the first year or so, the Fun House was written by Scoop Parking in his character voice, but people have a difficult time with that kind of parody. They think that the things said ironically, in the words of a character you’re making fun of, are what you truly believe. Even Stephen Colbert had a problem with this on his old show, when he would get inundated with mail and comments from people who really believed he was an ignorant, right-wing bigot. And I don’t have the fame or subtlety of Stephen Colbert, so I just decided to drop the character voice and write as me. The old persona was soon forgotten, and I’m guessing that nobody reading these words even remembers those days, but the moniker endured.
The Scoop, like the Dude, abides.
This begs a question, probably not the first time it’s been asked, where did “Uncle Scoopy” come from? My guess, you once owned a Baskin Robbins? 😛
it “raises the question”. not “begs the question.” very different meaning.
You raise a good point.
or perhaps he begs a good point?
You got a good point there. Maybe wear a hat so it don’t show.
All these years I wondered. Nice story. Thanks for sharing.
Funny that you mentioned Stephen Colbert. When my wife first came to America, she absolutely hated him. Because she didn’t understand the satire and that he was actually making fun of the far right while pretending to be one of them. She absolutely loves him now after realizing what he was doing.
Been here a long time. Remember when I had to sneak in the back door through the dudes site because credit card fiasco of some type.
I enjoy this place so much that I usually start my day here.
I feel like this place to me reflects what someone once said about the difference between Letterman and Leno.
Leno shows stuff you want to see but Letterman shows you stuff you should see. I come here to see what I should see.
Thanks and I promise I’ll donate with pleasure at the end of the month.
weird definition of what “you should see.” but you do you, pops.
Love these old stories
Ok,I can’t be the only one thinking, please do a week in the character’s voice.
Respectfully decline.
I felt more comfortable with that back in the free-wheeling 90s. The atmosphere is too charged these days. As you all know, I still write ironically from time to time, but I try to keep the toxicity down.
Plus I remember what Tom Lehrer said when Kissinger got a Nobel Peace Prize – that the world had exhausted its capacity for irony. And the world has doubled and redoubled down since then. The world no longer needs No Bob. The internet is full of guys who seem to be ironic, but are completely serious. They sound just like No Bob, except that they don’t drop their final “g’s.” From reactions on this page alone, we have found that the Onion’s headlines are often indistinguishable from real ones.
Interestingly, or maybe not, I was a big fan of conspiracy theories and UFO lore back in the 90s. So much so that when my nephew was born I was somehow christened Uncle Spooky after Fox “Spooky” Mulder on the X-Files. I was also a big fan of the show… My son’s middle name is Fox. But I digress… by the time my niece was born the name had stuck. So much so that while they are in their late 20s they still call me that. Funniest thing is… when I first met their high school friends ten years ago… they all called me Spooky without prompting. They already knew who I was. I don’t think any of them even know my real name.
The Scoop abides. I don’t know about you but I take comfort in that. It’s good knowin’ he’s out there. The Scoop. Takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners.
‘Course I can’t say I’ve seen London, and I ain’t never been to France. And I ain’t never seen no queen in her damned undies, so the feller says.
I pretty much love everything Sam Elliott does, but especially this scene in the bowling alley, which in context, made no sense, and yet all possible sense! Ol’ Sam figured the scene was kind of out in left field, but he just trusted the Coens and did his thing.
Where is the Oscar for this guy? I guess they don’t have one for best voice-over, or he would win every time he narrates.
I actually do remember the character’s voice you wrote with, as I was a regular visitor in the old days (I did have a paid subscription at one time). I loved it, and thinking back on it, as well as the site in general, fills me with nostalgia. I appreciate your dedication, Scoop.