Edge, The

1 9 9 2 – 1 9 9 3 (USA)
20 x 30 minute episodes

This sketch comedy series from FOX

featured Jennifer Aniston, Tom Kenny and Wayne Knight (Newman from Seinfeld) in the ensemble cast, but the star was Julie Brown – the former MTV humorist whose parody of Madonna was surpassed only by the singing star’s own Justify My Love video.

Episodes made extensive use of animation and computer graphics to give it an unstructured MTV look. There were commercial satires, celebrity satires, and parodies of TV series such as Beverly Hills 90210, Sally Jessy Raphael, Studs (“Sluts”) and videos.

There was a lot of cartoon-style violence in The Edge – most episodes began with the cast assembling onstage and then being decapitated, crushed, blown up, or otherwise destroyed just before the first commercial break.

One recurring sketch showed a giant Delta Burke from Designing Women plucking people from houses and eating them.

Armed Family (pictured) was about a pleasant middle-class family who continually shot each other (and everyone else) at the slightest provocation.

Another was a bizarre animation of a guy in a suit who reacted to situations, metamorphosed, and then disassembled.

The series created an uproar when powerful Hollywood producer Aaron Spelling threatened to sue over the wild lampoons of his sex-driven shows. In one 90210 send-up, an actress portraying Tori Spelling (his real-life actress-daughter) hogged scenes and kicked other cast members, screaming, “I can do that because it’s Daddy’s show!”

Spelling demanded a public apology, which producer David Mirkin refused to give.

Mirkin subsequently left the show, although the production company claimed there was no connection.

One of the featured performers, Julie Brown, also wrote and produced some of the sketches.

Several of the players from this short-lived show furthered their comedy careers in more successful ventures.

How often do you think Jennifer Aniston thanks God that she was released from this monstrosity in time for Friends?

Julie Brown
Jennifer Aniston
Tom Kenny
Wayne Knight
Carol Rosenthal
James Stephens III
Jill Talley
Paul Feig
Rick Overton
Alan Ruck
Edd Hall
Bill Plympton