Remembering MTV’s Remote Control – More Relevant Than You Think

Likely overlooked by most in entertainment news this weekend was the death of Ken Ober at the age of 52. Ober had been working in Hollywood for more than 20 years, more recently working as a producer and writer.

However, for those of us who watched MTV as a “music television” station whose content was based almost entirely on music videos or shows based around music videos, Ken Ober was the straight man on one of the first shows that not only addressed pop culture but was based entirely around it, Remote Control. Again, for the under-25 set, this may be hard to comprehend, but MTV in the 1980s was basically a visual radio. There were a smattering of hosts (“VJs”) that would sometimes be seen (but were often just voiceovers while an MTV animation played) and the occasional show based on music videos (like the Top 20 Video Countdown, which went over the top videos of the week; Dial MTV, which was the precursor for TRL but with Adam Curry in front of a greeenscreen instead of a live studio audience, and various genre-related shows like 120 Minutes for alternative music, Headbangers Ball for hard rock and metal, and Yo! MTV Raps for hip-hop.) Occasionally you’d have stoic Kurt Loder pop in with a little bit of music news, but that was pretty much it.

Kari & Colin

In the late 80s, perhaps realizing that the channel wasn’t going to last if they relied on music studios for 100% of their content, MTV started to explore other types of programming, in-house. The first one of those programs was a game show called “Remote Control.” While it still was dripping full of music video content (the final round consisted of the contestant having to name the artist in nine music videos), the show was all about pop culture and the age group that was watching MTV. Questions about celebrities, television, and music were the basis, and even more straight-forward things like math, geography, and current events were wrapped around subjects like the Brady Bunch, Leave It To Beaver, and Gilligan’s Island.

Just an excuse to post another Kari pic.

I was in high school when Remote Control was on, and it was a must watch. I probably had enough geek cred to be on Teen Jeopardy or something like that at that time, but that didn’t have the appeal that Remote Control had. The show was pure chaos. Bits were obviously scripted, but any set that had Denis Leary and Adam Sandler – both trying to make a break for themselves so anything went – was going to be out of control. To Ober’s credit, he played the straight man in the group as well as anyone possibly could have. Colin Quinn destroying some pop song, Sandler walking out in a Speedo as “The Stud Boy”, Leary dressing up like Andy Warhol and trying to not be Denis Leary (which in itself is impressive since Leary hasn’t dropped the “Denis Leary” act since Remote Control ended almost 20* years ago), Kari Wuhrer looking like… well, Kari Wuhrer – it’s easy to understand how someone like me who could nail all the questions at home would have had trouble if actually sitting in one of the La-Z-Boy recliners having cheese balls dumped on me. The closest I could come was the Remote Control Commodore 64 game, and Kari Wuhrer in 320×200 resolution just wasn’t cutting it.
*Really? 20 years? Dear lord.

Adam Sandler as THE STUD BOY

Remote Control is so often overlooked because of what it was – a goofy, pop culture-based game show on MTV. But without anything official in front of me, the fact that there was a NES and C64 version of it available (maybe Apple too – that wasn’t my bag) can give you an idea of the popularity of the show. Remote Control lasted for five seasons, and building off of that run developed other less music-oriented shows such as Liquid Television (which would eventually give us Beavis & Butthead and launched the career of Mike Judge), The Ben Stiller Show (Ben Stiller’s first real mainstream work), The Jon Stewart Show (which launched Jon Stewart’s career), and The State. Sandler would go on to Saturday Night Live after his run on Remote Control, eventually leading to his movie career. Leary himself became symbolic of the “new” MTV, with segments in constant rotation on the channel in the persona he uses today, showcasing MTV no longer as just visual radio, but as a hip channel for the high school and college demographic that would actually watch the channel, and not just have it on in the background.

Ken Ober, host extraordinaire

Ober never achieved the fame that his castmates did. Discovered as a comedian on Star Search (winning in his debut, then losing the following week), Ober as host wasn’t able to stand out amongst the other characters on the show. He would end up doing more hosting duties for MTV, including the Rock N’ Jock specials, then hosting a handful of other game shows in the 90s, none of which were as successful as Remote Control was.

Loder, in a statement on the MTV site, called Remote Control “a once-in-a-lifetime score”, and I don’t think the show (or Ober) get the credit they should. Unfortunately, as is so often the case with death, it will likely take this passing for that to happen.

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