#if you have any suggestions for sketches you'd like me to cover lmk! i don't have all of them in my collection of course

[magentagalaxies]

Kids in the Archive: Episode 3

hi everyone you know the deal - i uncovered a bunch of original scripts for kith sketches with the help of the wonderful bruce mcculloch and now i'm here to bring you all a behind-the-scenes comparison of script and screen!

Previous Episodes: Episode 1 - armada finale ("do we make it?") Episode 2 - fran & gordon: the vacation

today's episode is dedicated to @ofkithandmckinney as we cover the script of their favorite sketch, s2e1's "comfortable"

the thing that immediately sets "comfortable" apart from all the other scripts i own is the multicolored paper is it printed on, with some parts being on pink and others on blue. this is not accidental - each color denotes a specific revision date which is standard practice for tv production, though comfortable is the only script in my collection in this style. the date for pink revisions is may 22nd 1990, while blue revisions were june third of the same year. while taking photos of the scripts, my phone tries to color-balance the images automatically to make it look like black text on a white background, so i had to trick my phone into letting me show off the pink pages here today

The Casting

since the opening of this script is near-identical to what we seen onscreen, I decided to use this section to highlight an interesting (and at times confusing) element of this script, which is that dave and mark's roles are occasionally switched. at times dave is designated as scott's character's wife and mark as the other husband. on a related note, this also wasn't initially written as a nina sketch, with the character being referred to as "marion" in this draft. all in all, while thinking about this alternate version of "comfortable" is fun, i frankly cannot imagine anyone else playing these roles, as all of them bring the perfect type of energy. plus, this nina appearance relates it to my web of kith sketches that exist in the same universe

The "Improv"

this script also allows us to clear up a misconception i've seen in the youtube comments of various uploads of this sketch: people claiming "i want you in me" was improvised

i can see where this misconception came from - while adhering to the script very faithfully, at this point in the sketch things feel like they're starting to fly off the rails, and each of the actors are struggling not to break. plus, this is totally something scott would do. there's a chance this could have been improvised during a rehearsal or table read (it is on the blue pages after all) but in the version that was broadcast this line was expected. however, there is a possibly-improvised moment in the recording which wasn't in the script. after scott's character takes his pants off there's a moment where he starts singing hava nagila - in the script it just says "da da da da". why scott chose to commemorate this moment with hava nagila we may never know

The Ending

unlike our past few sketches, there's no big difference between the script's ending and the final moments of the sketch on tv. all the beats are accounted for, with most variations stemming from the goldmine that is getting nina in this situation

as soon as i saw this script in storage i knew i needed it in my collection (with bruce's permission of course), and with all these fascinating production elements it certainly delivered. beyond that, comfortable is one of my favorite sketches as well, because i vividly remember the first time i watched it in the summer of 2022

pre-2022 i'd seen some kids in the hall before, but they'd always been scattered sketches and individual episodes all from season one. when i got into season 2 i didn't know what to expect. would this increased attention and production value make the kids less willing to push the boundaries? would they end up like snl? looking back it's hilarious i could ever think that about this troupe, but i identify "comfortable" as the sketch that really set the tone for what i was in for with season 2. the living room setup and premise of an awkward gathering feel similar to any number of middle-of-the-road snl sketches, which lulled me into a false sense of mundanity, until scott keeps pushing the limits and eventually starts straight-up fucking kevin mcdonald on the table. of course this season wasn't going to be your standard fare sketch show, as pretty soon after followed sizzler and sizzler and the iconic "touch bellini" contest, but as i saw the world of these suburban couples' descend into chaos it was comforting that this punk rock sensibility wasn't over yet.

#kids in the archive #time for a jessay #kids in the hall #scott thompson #kevin mcdonald #dave foley #mark mckinney #sketch comedy #comedy analysis #script to screen #90s vintage #i didn't expect to do another one of these so soon but i'm bored and i wanted to highlight this script for ofkithandmckinney #if you have any suggestions for sketches you'd like me to cover lmk! i don't have all of them in my collection of course #but my kids in the archive tag has the full list of what i have so far #i'm not sure exactly how i'll switch up the formatting for unaired sketches but i'm excited to find out