In this comprehensive post on Rotten Tomatoes, Nathan Rabin explores the long and impressive legacy of the criminally-underrated Chris Elliot vehicle, Get A Life. This show was far and away one of my favorites growing up, and I could barely explain it to anybody I knew. It was just a weird thing with this weird guy on this weird new-ish network. In retrospect, it was my first exposure to the kind of surreal comedy I’d come to love years later with things like Mr. Show and the films of Charlie Kaufman. Then it shouldn’t be surprising to me that Kaufman and Bob Odenkirk, among many others, got their start on Get a Life. A partial list of folks that contributed to the show:
- David Mirkin, who would go on to produce seasons 5 and 6 of The Simpsons
- Adam Resnick, who would go on to write for The Larry Sanders Show and Letterman
- Seinfeld writer Marjorie Gross
- Roseanne producer Steve Pepoon
- Dexter writer/producer Jace Richdale
- Wings writer Ian Gurvitz
- Mr. Show creator and current Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk
- Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman
And among work that the article cites as being influenced by the show (we need to verify these):
- The Simpsons
- Community
- 30 Rock
- Arrested Development
- Eastbound & Down
- Cougar Town
- The comedy duo Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster