Every Classic Show Parodied On The Greatest Event In Television History
Which classic TV shows were parodied on The Greatest Event In Television History? Airing on Adult Swim between 2012 and 2014, The Greatest Event In Television History is the brainchild of Parks And Recreation star Adam Scott and his producer wife Naomi Scott and was inspired by the cheesy shows Scott watched as a kid in the 1980s. The show is a series of comedy specials that take the form of a mockumentary in which Scott and several of his actor pals play fictional versions of themselves attempting to recreate the opening credits of classic 1980s TV shows.
Scott assembled a first-class cast for each episode of The Greatest Event In Television History which included Amy Poehler, his long-time friend and Our Idiot Brother co-star Paul Rudd and Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Chelsea Peretti and Jason Mantzoukas. Director Gus Van Sant, two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks and musician Billy Joel also had cameos with Survivor presenter Jeff Probst acting as host.
A total of four episodes of The Greatest Event In Television History aired on Adult Swim, with each ending with a recreation of a particular TV show’s title sequence. Read on for a list of each classic 1980s TV show parodied on the series.
The very first episode of The Greatest Event In Television History saw Paul Rudd directing a remake of the opening credits of detective series Simon & Simon. The original show starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as brothers Rick and A.J. Simon who run a private detective agency in San Diego. The recreation saw Mad Men star John Hamm play Rick and Adam Scott play A.J.
Hart To Hart was another 1980s detective show that starred Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as wealthy couple turned amateur sleuths Jonathan and Jennifer Hart. In this recreation, Scott plays Jonathan and his Parks And Recreation co-star Amy Poehler plays Jennifer while actor-comedian Horatio Sanz plays the couple’s butler Max.
San Francisco-set 1980s sitcom Too Close For Comfort focused on a family living in a duplex and was the next show to get The Greatest Event In Television History treatment. The recreation of the sitcom’s opening credits starred Adam Scott, Chelsea Peretti, Kathryn Hahn, Jon Glaser and Catherine O’Hara – the latter of whom was convinced she was really filming the next Star Wars movie.
The finale episode of The Greatest Event In Television History featured a parody of the opening sequence of Bosom Buddies, a 1980s sitcom that gave Tom Hanks one of his earliest roles. The recreation featured Paul Rudd as Hanks’ character Kip and Adam Scott as his co-star Peter Scolari’s character Henry.