Everything about The Magic Hour totally explained
The Magic Hour was a talk show hosted by basketball legend
Earvin "Magic" Johnson that debuted on
June 8,
1998 on
syndicated television. The talk show was lambasted by critics and consumers alike, with many pointing to Johnson's lack of television experience. The show was canceled after eight weeks on the air.
Sheila E. was the band leader on the short lived program.
Howard Stern
Perhaps the most memorable episode was the one that featured
Howard Stern as a guest (along with
Drew Carey and
Playmate Karen McDougal). Booking Stern on the show was a risky move considering the radio personality had spent weeks ruthlessly mocking
The Magic Hour on
his popular morning show (at one point saying that A.I.D.S. stood for "Athlete in Dumb Show"), but ratings had dropped off to a dangerous level and there was inherent drama and tension in a Stern-Johnson confrontation. Indeed, Stern wasn't shy about making jokes about Johnson's pre-
HIV womanizing and telling Johnson that even though he was HIV-positive, at least he'd fun contracting the virus. Clearly offended, Johnson retorted that no one has fun contracting HIV. In a future episode, Johnson had a
chimpanzee give the absent Stern raspberries.
Cancellation
After its cancellation,
MADtv began to parody the idea of Magic Johnson having other types of shows, including game show host and judge. Each sketch consisted of Magic (portrayed by
Aries Spears) struggling to read. For example in the game show sketch, which parodied
Jeopardy!, Magic stumbled over the clues. In another sketch he struggles to read a
Dr. Seuss book to children. However, the closing of the sketch would always consist of two words Magic could understand: '"You're Canceled!"'
The sitcom
Unhappily Ever After also made fun of the show in a fall-1998 episode. Ryan (
Kevin Connolly) makes a pass at a girl, who turns him down, saying she's watching a magic show. However, she's referring to the short-lived talk show, and the producers superimpose an on-screen graphic lampooning the show. At the end of the episode, another graphic appears on the screen:
"RIP 'Magic Hour', 1998-1998."
In a memorable appearance on the
Bob and Tom radio program, Johnson's sidekick
Craig Shoemaker said Johnson was earnest, but ridiculed him for taking little interest in the program. According to Shoemaker, Johnson usually showed up at the studio shortly before the taping was set to begin, asking the staff,
"So, what are we going to do today?"Further Information
Get more info on 'The Magic Hour'.
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