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Your Last updated: December 10, 2007 07:44 AM. Original material (excluding quoted material) © 1997-2004 Mark Simonson. Mark's Very Large National Lampoon Site is not affiliated with National Lampoon or its parent company, J2 Communications. Click here for the real thing. Powered by |
July 2005 Archive |
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July 26, 2005
Department of Corrections: 
For those who care, I have re-written my answer to question #36 about the 1979 HBO special "Disco Beaver From Outer Space" which was produced by National Lampoon. I hadn't seen this until recently. I must admit that it has its funny moments, but the overall impression was that it was a little short of the mark. It's quite possible that the production quality, which is quite crude by today's standards, made it more difficult to appreciate. Those who viewed it when first aired probably had a more favorable impression (especially judging from the frequent emails I receive regarding the show). I was surprised to see Michael Simmons (son of former NatLamp publisher Matty Simmons) crooning country western in several of the bits. (Thanks to Michael as well for providing some details about the show.)
Posted July 26, 2005, 08:11 PM
July 6, 2005
He's Got It Covered. One of the things you won't find at Mark's Very Large National Lampoon Site is every cover of National Lampoon. It's not my intent to chronicle the entire history of the magazine, just the first five years. But have no fear: Robert Winters has posted scans of every single National Lampoon cover from the promising April 1970 (Sex) issue to the appropriately-themed November 1998 (Failure) issue, the magazine's last.
Posted July 6, 2005, 01:59 PM
July 3, 2005
The New York Times today has published a pretty succinct summing up of the history of National Lampoon—how it started, where it's been and where it is now. A sad but true story. (I admit to being one of those fortysomethings mentioned in the article who is rather dismayed at what it's become.) Read it before it gets moved to the NYT pay-per-view archive. (Thanks to Joe and everyone else for bringing this to my attention.)
Update: Or it may be a sad but not so true story. Read what Matty Simmons has to say about the article.
Further Update: It should be noted that there are some factual errors in Mr. Simmons' letter, such as the the part about Hendra and Kelly not being among the contributors to early issues (which would be true only if you count the first three as early issues). So, a sad but (as far as I know) true story which some people take issue with. Sometimes I wonder if this site is worth the trouble...
And a Clarification: When I called the NYT article "A sad but true story" above, I was not commenting one way or the other about the factual accuracy of the story (heck, a lot of it was news to me), but rather on the main point of it--that National Lampoon isn't what it once was.
I have no doubt the NYT did their homework, but I also know that peoples' memories are not the most reliable things. I only know what I read, and much of what I have read about National Lampoon has turned out later not to be perfectly accurate. I was not there, except as a reader of the magazine. I'm just this guy, you know? In any case, I don't want my site to turn into a forum for debate about the article. Have a nice day.
Posted July 3, 2005, 05:12 PM