Yesterday's news about the untimely death of Ken Ober is still being felt by family, friends and colleagues. As Kurt Loder wrote in his remembrance of the veteran comedian and TV producer, "Remote Control" was so ahead of its time that the rest of television has yet to really catch up to it. "Remote Control" was a remarkable half hour of programming, somehow simultaneously supporting the quiz format, sketches, stand-up, music videos and the occasional foray into pick-up baseball.
The game show portion was especially brilliant, as it brought together the sort of knowledge found in dusty boxes of "Trivial Pursuit" with garbage facts left behind after hours of television viewing (movie theme songs, cast members on "The Partridge Family," details about "The Facts of Life"). In essence, Ober was a nerd who managed to spin his obsession with junk culture into a point of view and a career. In the age before the Internet, this was a remarkable accomplishment.
There may be no more definitive 90 seconds of "Remote Control" than the clip below. Ober introduces a lightning round called "Gershwin, Beethoven or Partridge Family," wherein he names song titles and the contestants must choose which of the above wrote that particular tune. It's followed by Ober's casual dismissal of the contestant, a wacky stunt exit and an incredible blast of audience participation. It's an incredible amount of comedy and zaniness crammed into a minute and a half, and it's all fueled by Ober's lightning fast wit.