The wit of Larry Holmes
I enjoyed the bottle below last night while watching possibly the greatest TV show in the entire history of TV: “What the Heck Were They Thinking?” with Larry Holmes.
Seriously, you have to catch this show - 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays on Channel 51 out of Allentown. The barely literate Easton Assassin, showing nominal affects of repeated blows to the head, is teamed with a guy named Mike Mittman, whose sole talent is the ability to read from note cards on his desk.
Everything about this show is entertaining, from the set (filled with Larry Holmes memorabilia, including a weird trophy that, thanks to camera positioning, looks like a crown atop the champ’s head) to the musical interludes (snippets of MOR jazz by Larry Holmes and Marmalade) to the commercials.
The content is completely random - basically the first 5 stories on Google News. On any given night, the two could be discussing Chinese investment in America, Susan Boyle, LeBron James, Obama, AIG… well, as Mittman says, “if it’s wild and whacky, happening around the world, and we catch ya doin’ something stupid, we’re going to ask the question, ‘What the heck were they thinking?’” Last night, while discussing the Air France crash, Holmes said that if he was aboard the jet in bad weather, he’d have told the pilot to turn around. Pause… then the two of them look directly into the camera and chorus, “What the heck were they thinking?”
Inevitably the talk gets around to how Hall of Famer Larry Holmes is the greatest world champion ever, which gives them a chance to replay some old video from an Ernie Shavers fight.
Here’s a clip from the intro - go check it out. But to do this show justice, you have to put your feet up, crack open a cold one and tune in for 30 minutes of pure TV gold.
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