Television Tuesdays - Let Them Eat Cake

Some of you readers may have heard of the comedy duo of French and Saunders, composed of comedians Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. While they are most famous for their eponymous sketch comedy show which ran for nine seasons between 1987 and 2007, they have also featured in many other television programs, both together and separately - shows such as "Vicar of Dibley" and "Absolutely Fabulous" - and they've usually had a hand in the writing. Fewer are the programs they've starred in that they haven't written or created. One such show is the period comedy "Let Them Eat Cake".

Set in 1782 in the palace of Versailles, the writers had probably intended the show to lead up to Revolution, but it never made it past its first nine-episode season in 1999. The story centers around the Colombine, Comtesse de Vache (Saunders) and her staff - a maid (French) and a couturier (played by Adrian Scarborough). She is the most hated and reviled woman in France for she has the dirt on everyone at court, and has a standing rivalry with Madame de Plonge. I'm surprised the show was cancelled. I think it's quite hilarious. The chemistry between the trio is quite amazing, and the writing is excellent. Ah, well. Luckily we are able to enjoy the existing episodes on Youtube:

"The Pox"


"Murder"


"The Portrait"


"Making Voopee"


"A Marriage of Convenience"


"The Royal Command Performance"

Keep in mind those are all the first parts. You should be able to click through to parts two and three for each episode. Enjoy!

Music Mondays - "Mah Nà Mah Nà" and Henri Salvador

"Before I begin today's post I would like to say I'm sorry for my sudden halt in posting. I've been going through a lot lately and quite frankly I had to let a lot of things slide, this blog included. I'm back again just the same as ever, but I've decided the best thing to would be to limit myself to posting twice a week - Mondays and Fridays. This way I can be more certain to keep posting consistently while juggling my school and social lives, but enough about me! On to the post."

I stumbled onto today's featured performer completely by accident. You see, I'm a big fan of what can be called Youtube binges. I'll click on one video then go on an endless parade of related videos into infinity. Well this time I really struck gold. It all started when a friend of mine posted the original "Mah Nà Mah Nà" skit from Sesame Street - not the one from "The Muppet Show" that most of us are familiar with. This got me thinking: Is "Mah Nà Mah Nà" an actual song? Turns out, it is! It was written by Piero Umiliani for the 1968 film "Sweden: Heaven and Hell". Here's the original:

So, from here I was led to a parody made by a funny-looking Frenchman named Henri Salvador: "Mais Non, Mais Non", roughly translated: "Of Course Not, Of Course Not!" It works a lot better in French, obviously. Suddenly I was bombarded with a series of very funny, quirky skits from the plethora of hosting jobs he had on French television in the 1960s. Here are my two favorites. Yes, they are in French, but they're easy to follow because of his expressive face.

A true artist.

Juanita Banana: The story of a Cuban Banana Farmer's Daughter who longs to be an opera star despite her father's misgivings. She runs away to join the theater and of course once her father hears of her success he leaves the plantation for the stage!




Minnie Petite Souris (Little Minnie Mouse): This guy is doing everything he can to kill this poor mouse, but she's not having any of it.



There are plenty of other skits and songs of his on Youtube, but most of the others are too difficult to understand if you don't speak French. What I found most interesting about Mr. Salvador is that he's known for recording some of the first French Rock songs. In addition, his song "Dans Mon Ile" is said to have been Anotonio Carlos Jobim's inspiration for pretty much the entire Bossa Nova movement. Pretty neat, huh?

Henri Salvador

He was also the voice of Sebastian in the French dubbed version of "The Little Mermaid".

Goof-ball, Musician, Talking Crab. Henri Salvador.