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Jackass Cancelled

Guest murta

By Guest murta
in Ye Olde Harbour

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Guest murta

Guest murta

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(From Knoxville News):

 

Prankster Johnny Knoxville leaves MTV

 

By Terry Morrow, News-Sentinel television writer

 

After a controversial year on MTV and 24 episodes, Johnny Knoxville is bringing his hit comedy series "Jackass" to a close.

 

The last new episode will air at 10 p.m. tonight.

 

Knoxville, whose real name is P.J. Clapp, is a native of South Knoxville. The show, which features the cast's stunts gone wrong, has been the subject of national controversy this year when young viewers, mainly teen males, have tried to imitate the stunts and were seriously injured.

 

One boy in Connecticut suffered serious burns after trying to copy a stunt in which Knoxville tried to barbecue himself. Another boy in Kentucky was run over by a car while attempting another stunt.

 

Former vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., called for the show to reform itself or for MTV to take it off the air. The channel did not cancel it, and, in fact, reaped the benefits of the publicity. Knoxville's show was MTV's highest rated weekly series most weeks.

 

While Knoxville kept silent during the controversy, the program fueled his career. During the show's run, he made three feature films and has another project in the works.

 

Up until his MTV series debuted, the 30-year-old Knoxville was an unknown actor in Hollywood, having garnered only a few small acting parts in commercials and movies during the past 10 years.

 

MTV proposed another 22 episodes as late as Thursday night, but Knoxville was not interested.

 

Telephone messages seeking comment from MTV were not returned by Friday evening.

 

"We told (MTV) we would do specials down the road," Knoxville said Friday during a telephone interview from his home in Hollywood. "But this is enough. We have done enough."

 

Many of the major television networks have expressed interest in Knoxville doing a series for them, he said.

 

However, CBS entertainment President Nancy Tellem said last month during a TV critics meeting in Pasadena, Calif., she wasn't certain if Knoxville would be the right fit for the Tiffany network.

 

Knoxville says TV network executives asked him to create a "hybrid reality" show, though Knoxville could not specify what the executives meant by the term. Knoxville co-created "Jackass" with Jeff Tremaine and Spike Jonze, and the three are partners in their own production company.

 

If Knoxville makes a return to weekly television, "it wouldn't be like 'Jackass.' It has been done. All we wanted to do was be as cool as (the song) 'White Man in Hammersmith Palais' by the Clash. We nearly got there."

 

While shooting segments for the current crop of episodes, Knoxville was in Paris this past spring and wondering if continuing the show was a good idea. MTV had nixed several spin-off projects, including a book and a soundtrack.

 

Controversy certainly cooled MTV's enthusiasm to promote the show. It used to air one episode up to 10 times a week, drawing more than 20 million viewers in total. Since the controversy of copycats, the channel moved the show to a later time slot and pared the airings to only once a week.

 

The lack of promotion irritated Knoxville and the show's cast and crew.

 

"It was frustrating for us on one hand," he said. "But, in MTV's defense, it was an extraordinary case of events, and no one really knew what the right move was. I'm sure they would have liked to have done things differently."

 

He wanted "the show to be special. I wanted to quit while it was still special. With this kind of comedy, people become inured to the shock value."

 

MTV plans to continue showing all 24 episodes, but they will be heavily edited, Knoxville said.

 

"The most objectionable things will be taken out," he said. "All the funny things will be gone."

 

As the series grew more successful, pranks were not as easy to pull off, he said. The public became too familiar with Knoxville and his cast.

 

"It was a little more difficult," he said. "We got nailed a few times. We still have so many (ideas) of things we wanted to do. I'm not going to tell you what they are because we want to use them in a special."

 

As for his post-MTV career, Knoxville is movie-bound. "Big Trouble," a comedy in which he co-stars with Tim Allen, hits theaters on Sept. 21. A movie with rapper-actor Ice Cube is being considered.

 

He also has a role in "Men in Black 2," playing a two-headed alien. That sequel will be out next summer.

 

 

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murta@escapemi.com

 

[This message has been edited by murta (edited August 21, 2001).]

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MegaMonkey Newbie

MegaMonkey

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That's annoying. I'm not annoyed 'cause the show ends, but because MTV CUTS DOWN ALL THE FUNNY PARTS!

 

It's Knoxville's show - of course they should show all the craziest and crazier stuff!

 

But no. Lame MTV.

 

I'm waiting forward to see how Knoxville's movie-career will spin off. I hope we'll see a lot of this comedian, and hopefully those specials will come soon smile.gif

 

Like one says, enough is enough - and too much of certain humour will end the humour.

 

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NFGB = Nerd Fuck3r and Gates's B1tch!

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