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Volume CXXXII, Number 16 |
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Pre-gaming with the Bowdoin Cable Network
GREG T. SPIELBERG
ORIENT STAFF
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| Seniors Bill Day, Eric Abrams, and Dan Flack examine a curious photograph with the wonder of three school boys in funny hats. Like the comic twists that define their show on BCN, their costumes capture an ineffable eccentricity. From the ashes of Bear Essentials comes the Pre-Game Show. (Greg T. Spielberg, Bowdoin Orient) |
In this time of turmoil and orange terrorism alerts, one thing remains constant: good, clean, BCN fun. Bowdoin Cable Network presents The Pre-Game Show every Thursday night from 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Like a Phoenix rising from its Bear Essentials ashes, this half-hour of comedy has reinvented the way the Bowdoin Bubble looks at humor.
This fresh, new take on the world around us reveals that "taboo" is only a word, and "politically correct" merely a totalitarian construction. Seniors Eric Abrams, William Lee Day, Dan Flack, and partially estranged Andrew Miness entertain students with witty observations, abstract skepticism, and back-alley bathroom language.
Along with their self-proclaimed fifth anchor-alcohol-the show is a must-see for those with a predilection towards a loose, intoxicated start to the weekend.
On the February 20 episode, the three regulars overcame the skepticism of their BCN bosses resulting from the loss of Miness. An undisclosed source reported that he had been last seen sleeping outside the Christian Science Center.
However, along with Brunswick High School protégé, "Austin," Abrams, Day, and Flack put together one of the season's best thirty minutes. In this week's opening segment, the three seniors brought together polar opposites in uniting the ever-popular Millard Fillmore with the music of Tupac Shakur.
W.L. Day dissected the laughter-inducing possibilities of Millard's last name, playing with the "Fill-More" pun like a Siamese cat with Persian yarn. Upon completion, the hosts simultaneously broke into a culturally transcendent rendition of Pac's "California Love."
Abrams, a performer on the now defunct Bear Essentials, said, "This show is an effort to bring the community together in order to promote and kick off another fantastic weekend.
To take people's minds off their trivial problems and sip from the fruits of life." The D.C. native's eccentric sense of humor and redneck demeanor is the perfect glue to hold the seams of Pre-Game tight and together.
Along with his trademark sailor's cap, this Gilligan still seeks his Maryann, a quandary surely to be solved with Abrams' new BCN fame.
Flack, the show's sleeper, consistently smashes the viewer's expectation like a child with animal crackers. Dressed in an imported silk shirt and tinted glasses, this Armani-American is proud of his paler roots. "I think my Irish good looks add a lot to the show. Also, I come with a logical point of view. Most of all though, I bring the flava...that's a.v.a."
After belittling past executive-in-chiefs, Pre-Game segued into a skit titled, "Doctor Advice." Although jayvee sound problems did not help, the doctor helped with many a Bowdoin problem. With the help of an outside medical consultant, the show helped students deal with schoolwork stress, excessive whorism, intimacy problems and unexpected pregnancies.
Like Woodward and Bernstein reincarnates, Pre-Game exposed senior class financial troubles and recreational heroin use amongst the politically powerful. One poignant episode of Ann Landerism led to the camera crew's violent expulsion from a makeshift smack house.
With no commercials, Pre-Game shows the audience that its no one's step child and offers the advice to corporate America: back off or get back-slapped. One wonders what inspires these comedians whose stark outlook on life reminds many of the late Lenny Bruce.
"Our topics come from the streets. Vis-à-vis, life encounters in Brunswick. Every time I walk down those sidewalks, ideas just come in my face. You know, it's like the comedy-the art just seeps up from this town's character," said Day. Next week, Pre-Game goes international with its "Sports Special." Guest stars include Bolivian Nick McLean ''03, Yao Ming, and Ethan Bullard '03.
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