Mostly Harmless (TV series)

Mostly Harmless is a public-access Sketch Comedy program, broadcast on SCTV public access in the town of Simsbury, Connecticut and can be found on YouTube here. It started on January 3rd, 2009.

Not to be confused with the book of the same name.

"Problem: I find myself unusually paranoid... Solution: Don't be paranoid."
 * Antimatter, Black Matter, and Unobtainium: Suggested by Jay Chandler as possible causes of recent economic downturn.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: Lampshaded.
 * Captain Obvious: Otto Hines, author of Help Me Help You: A Guide to Insane Living, who offers such solutons to problems as suggesting a woman who thinks her clothes make her look fat buy new clothes.

"All the characters and situations in the following presentation are fictional. Real events are used and completely taken out of context for the sake of parody. Any similarities between the characters and situations on this program and real ones are completely coincidental. SCTV takes no responsibility for the content of this program nor the unintended consequences of its showing. After all, SCTV's job is to provide a public forum for discourse, and not produce any content of their own. P.S. Enjoy the show! )"
 * Cast Full of Writers
 * Chroma Key: Frequently employed, but a notable instance is during the Dr. Blick interview in episode one, where the background behind him changes every time he's cut away from.
 * Content Warnings / This Is a Work of Fiction: Before each episode.

"Jay Chandler: The Senate Bipartisan Emergency Senate Emergency Committee met this week with the Galactic Nonpartisan Galactic Senate Ladies Auxiliary Committee held an emergancy meeting concerning the need to shorten the names of their respective committees."
 * The Danza: Philip Gatcomb as PG.
 * Deliberately Monochrome: The film noir parody that opens episode two.
 * Department of Redundancy Department:

"Dr. Blick: I suggest we use Double-Speak acronyms that nobody can understand their true purpose, such as H.O.P.E.L.E.S.S. or M.I.S.D.E.A.D.."
 * There's also the Homeland Department of Homeland Fatherland Security Organization Association Committee on Homeland Defense namedropped in the Teenager Liberation Front sketch.
 * Film Noir: Parodied in the second episode with the used car salesman sketch.
 * Fun with Acronyms: Dr. Blick suggests these to make the names of the Senate Committees mentioned in Department of Redundancy Department more concise.

"Newscaster: The video also included an inside look into the computer games these terrorist teenagers use to practice their horrific acts such as flying."
 * Hilarious Outtakes: At the end of episode two.
 * Idiosyncratic Wipes: Static is shown in between each sketch.
 * Internal Monologue: PG in the "Walking Memories" sketch.
 * Left the Background Music On: The driving scene in episode two's film noir sketch. "You didn't have to turn [the radio] off, I like jazz!"
 * Murder Simulators: Parodied in the Teenager Liberation Front sketch, with the newscaster believing video games were practice for such activities as space travel and launching atomic missiles.

"I can remember one time when we were getting some food and I thought that you had ran out on me, just to find you lying on the ground nearby."
 * Non Sequitur: Dr. Blick randomly breaking into the stories of Jack & Jill and Echo & Narcissus during his interview.
 * Not So Dire: Inverted. At first it seems PG (the "Walking Memories" man) is contemplating a failed relationship with a girl he was too clingy with, but in fact he's lamenting

"Dr. Blick: The economy, as we in the field like to say for lack of a better term, sucks worse than the egg drop soup that you were force-fed on Christmas Eve when you were a kid."
 * Private Eye Monologue: Naturally, Jack Plinkin, the used car salesman in episode two's film noir parody.
 * Shout-Out: The first season finale is a massive Monty Python tribute, using a handful of classic Python gags and borrowing from the program stylistically.
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Jay Chandler.
 * Sophisticated As Hell:


 * Strongly Worded Letter: The head of the Homeland Department (and so on) is deeply concerned that this may be the Teenager Liberation Front's next move.
 * Telepathy: PG uses it to ask someone for a hot dog.
 * Watching the Sunset: PG does this at the conclusion of his monologue.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?: Played for laughs in the Teenager Liberation Front sketch--the teenagers form a terrorist gang to protest the grave injustices of curfews and not being allowed to play loud music. Said acts of terrorism are playing loud music and throwing rocks through steel mill windows, which are treated as horrid crimes such by the news media.