Party like it’s 1979!

TV Party was the Studio 54 of television Arriba!

William O’Donnell, staff

As the ’80s started to rear its confused, androgynous head around the corner, New York was a breeding pit for the most oddball of artistry that, at times, seemed too weird even for the underground. TV Party was a next-to-no budget cable-access show based in Manhattan and a showcase for noise rockers, punk “scenesters” and other assorted musicians and artists that were living in New York’s budget-friendly lower East side.

Danny Vinik catalougued TV Party in a documentary of the same title, which will be playing March 22 at Cinematheque. It follows the show’s mastermind, Glenn O’Brien, and the cavalcade of unusual guests and crew that made it the pseudo-psychedelic, sometimes political, cult-hit party show that it was for the few short years it existed.

The show based itself on Hugh Hefner’s Playboy After Dark talk show; the audience often doubled as the guests, and it was always a party. O’Brien was the host alongside Blondie’s Chris Stein, both of whom appeared like New York chapter representatives of some sort of Hunter S. Thompson gonzo brigade. The guests ranged from unknown painters to rock stars like David Bowie, David Byrne and Iggy Pop.

Drugs were a major part of the show and part of their rebellious stance against the “establishment”; they continuously smoked pot, often literally blowing smoke in the faces of the audience. This might be an explanation for the music that was prevalent on the program; members of the TV Party crew admit that much of the music, mostly by the “TV Party orchestra,” was just noise.

There are many present-day interviews with the TV Party people and it is fascinating to see who burnt out and who did not change at all. But these segments make for only minor chapter headers and snippets along distant stretches of clips from the original program.

The documentary gives a great sense of what the original show might have been like, for better or for worse. Not that it matches the utter chaos of the original TV Party ; rather, it seems uncharacteristically striated. This film is split into segments that cover different aspects of the show: celebrities, calls, music, themes and so on. To counter this, we get plenty of examples of extreme guests, bringing back the show’s particular vibe. The sheer obnoxious volume of some of the musical acts might test your stamina, but there is always some fun around the next corner to ease the discomfort.

Certainly an acquired taste, “the cocktail party that could be a political party” had a rich mixture of responses. The show had fans like David Letterman (who once proclaimed it to be his favourite talk show) and haters that were given a whole segment on the show to call in and spark insult-wars with the hosts and guests.

Though TV Party did not change society as much as it may have intended, it certainly changed many lives (a confession made by Debbie Harry, a regular guest). It stands as a fun, quirky expression of a mood that transitioned the ’70s into a new decade of understanding in politics and the arts.

TV Party is playing for one night only, so don’t be lazy if you want to catch this interesting slice of New York’s underground and pop culture’s history.