Karin Sabin
Staff Writer
Photo courtesy Jon Schmidt
Forget Jay Leno or David Letterman. Pepperdine has late-night talent of its own.
“The Robby Mooring Show,” a student-run comedy television show, airs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 11 p.m. on Channel 26.
Set up in a late-night talk show format, complete with a jazz band, the show stars Robby Mooring, a senior telecommunications production major.
“We get a lot of our inspiration from the Conan O’Brien show,” Mooring said. “We love that show because it is really well done, but has a definite goofy side to it. That’s ultimately how we want to make this show, ridiculous but as professional as we can make it.”
Like “Conan,” the show is live to tape, meaning there is no post-production work. However, “The Robby Mooring Show” is scripted and all the guests and hosts are in character. Other than that it follows the late-night style with a band opening, a monologue, small bits like 10 second talents and then interviews with guests.
The guests are imposters or substitutes for famous names. For example, Mooring’s cousin in exchange for Catherine Zeta-Jones or a Bush impersonator for the actual president.
Mooring and much of the show’s cast and crew are not new to Channel 26. Mooring previously starred on “RiptideTV” and “Ubetcha.” The inspiration for “The Robby Mooring Show” came from the crew of last year’s game show, “Ubetcha,” who all decided to switch gears to talk show comedy.
“We thought by having a TV show, girls would be impressed and we would get more dates,” Mooring joked. “Yeah, that really hasn’t panned out.”
Mooring’s favorite part of the show is his sidekick, Doc McGee, played by senior Drew Hoff.
“He’s just absolutely hilarious,” Mooring said. “We have a lot of chemistry and feed off each other well.”
Senior and telecom production major Hood Whitson is the co-producer, writer and set/lighting designer.
“The show is a parody of sorts,” Whitson said. “As a theme, the show is always going wrong, and Robby is about to lose control, but he saves it in the end.”
With their new show, the crew has encountered a few obstacles, said senior and telecom broadcast major Jon Schmidt.
“We have mental roadblock trying to come up with ideas for jokes and ‘bits’ to put on the show,” co-executive producer Schmidt said. “Also, because we’re not a ‘real’ show, we can’t attract big name guests like real talk shows do. So we have to be creative in the way we do guest segments.”
Mooring sees the obstacles in a different way.
“Our crew has so much creativity that it’s hard to pack in all the ideas in a 30-minute show,” he said. “So that’s the main problem, other than me being a complete ego-maniac. I’m working on it.”
Mooring said the show has received much support from the Telecom faculty and staff.
“It’s kind of foul that the show is called ‘The Robby Mooring Show,’” Mooring said. “I just feel like a jerk about it sometimes. But I have to admit, it is pretty cool.”
The crew works well together, under the direction of senior Bri Dellinger. Dellinger is mostly involved with the actual filming of the show, which can be a difficult task because the show does not edit the footage after taping.
“Our director, Bri Dellinger, is irreplaceable,” Whitson said. “She isn’t new to Pepp TV, having created ‘IP: Florence,’ but she is new to directing. She has dived in and is doing an incredible job.”
The team tapes the show every two weeks in the communication building TV studio. The week starts with a production meeting for segments, jokes and ideas for guests. A team of writers comes up with bits for Mooring’s monologue. Then the field production begins, led by Amy Florom, where they shoot footage outside the studio.
“We have a really talented crew, just a group of people who are really funny,” Mooring said. “I am extremely proud of all the work the crew puts in, and I love being a part of it.”
Schmidt describes working on the show as “an emotional roller coaster.”
“It’s stressful at times, because you have to manage people, personalities and ideas,” he said. “I love the butterflies I get just before the show. It’s satisfying making something genuinely funny. It’s television in its purest form.”
10-28-2004
