Talk:A Prairie Home Companion/Archive 1

Ralph's inspiration?
The article states that PGP ("Pretty Good Privacy") is the inspiration for "Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery", a fictional "sponsor" of the show. Is there any backing for this claim? I believe (but am not sure) that Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery predates PGP -- I think it's mentioned in Keillor's book Lake Wobegon Days. 64.236.170.228 18:23, 7 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Check the article again. It claims that PGP's name was inspired by Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery, not the other way around. That puts things in the right order, timewise. -- dcclark (talk) 19:10, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

The Joke Show
Should the joke show be added? It has gone every year, excluding 2006. Crowstar caws 00:08, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Catchup Advisory Board
Several people have reverted the "Catchup Advisory Board" bit to "Ketchup Advisory Board." In fact, it is spelled catchup: for example, in this script. I've put back the correct spelling, and added an HTML comment to that effect as well. Just adding this here so that I can point future editors this way. :) -- dcclark (talk) 16:58, 9 July 2006 (UTC)


 * It's referred to both ways by the show. For example, in THIS script -- Iglam (talk) 15:05, 12 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Interesting fact: the script you posted is from 1999, while the one I posted is from 3003 (check it for yourself)! Apparently our spelling has shifted somewhat, 1000-ish years into the future. :P I believe that it actually has changed, in the show, since the older script you cite -- specifically that the "catchup" spelling is a "compromise" spelling between ketchup and catsup. I could be wrong. -- dcclark (talk) 15:42, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

Program name
"The earliest radio program to have this name bears little resemblance to what is currently heard on Saturday evenings. A Prairie Home Companion was originally a burlesque show running from 6 to 9 a.m. on Minnesota Public Radio.

After researching the Grand Ole Opry for an article, Keillor became interested in doing a variety show on the radio. On July 6, 1974, the first live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion took place."

These unsourced summaries of the origins (as currently stated in the article) are confusing. What is a "burlesque" radio show? Did Keillor have any connection to the earlier show? How and why was the name tranferred, by who? What sources explain all this?

Are there any archives of the early shows? The current online archive has some 1985, then jumps to 1996. -69.87.204.236 (talk) 19:41, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Film in lede
I've added a sentence in the lede referring to the film; I think that the film is an important enough consequence of the programme to merit inclusion. Fleshing out of my sentence is more than welcome. 140.247.45.72 (talk) 04:50, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

APHC on TV?
Is this shown on TV? Because if it is, we should find it for the article.
 * Nope. TrbleClef 22:58, 22 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I think it was spoofed briefly in an early Simpsons episode, but that's it ;-) &mdash;Mulad (talk) 17:52, May 28, 2005 (UTC)
 * Actually, some episodes of APHC back in the '80s were "simulcast" on TV on PBS and on public radio. I remember watching (and listening) to these shows with my folks as a kid back then... misternuvistor 21:05, 31 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Let's not forget that the last few months of the original run (including the final show and a few of the "annual farewell performances") were broadcast on the Disney Channel edited into 90 minute shows, usually a few hours after the radio broadcast. There was also PBS New Year's special in 2006 (more or less in the show format, but heavier on the music and arguably not part of the series proper) and at least one other '06 PBS broadcast to tie-in with the movie. --Enwilson (talk) 07:46, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

Wouldn't this be a good time for a piece of rhubarb pie? -Walking Armless
 * Thanks for the reminder, that's a much more common commercial than the Fearmonger's Shop! Added it to the article. --Dcclark 19:18, 26 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Dcclark is right about the Whippets. It's a "town ball" team. The Minnesota Amateur Baseball championship was held over Labor Day weekend in 2005, and the teams were mostly from towns like Lake Wobegon. I can't recall if the school teams have a "name."

I recall "60 Minutes" did a segment on GK & PHC. "Great Preformaces" also did a simucast of the last show of the 2006 season & a special New Year's show. Not really much to see, just a bunch of actors reading from scripts -joseph.thacker@baesystems.com

Writer?
Garrison credits "Sarah Bellum" as the only writer on almost all shows. I assume that this is a pseudonym, and that he writes all the material himself, but I have not been able to verify this on the web. Can this be verified & included in the article? David Lark


 * I think he used to credit "Emmanuel Transmission" which certainly sounded like another pun.


 * I think "Sarah Bellum" is a pun for "cerebellum"... :-)


 * Atlant 21:35, 18 June 2006 (UTC)


 * At one time a laundry list of "pun" names were credited as being "writers", including Sarah Bellum, Amanda Reckonwith, Guy Wire, Warren Piece, and Ella Mentry. Fwgoebel 05:23, 21 December 2006 (UTC)


 * It's an ongoing NPR joke. Click and Clack also use puns during the credits.  Every once in a while, Morning Edition or All things Considered will also slip a pun in. 99.18.52.2 (talk) 01:49, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Retired segments, regular stars, and other older bits
I have lots of juvenile memories of the show from the '70's and '80's that are too vague to be added to the article, but probably deserve a mention by someone who can remember them better. For example, Buster the Show Dog was a long-running segment. Chet Atkins has been a regular guest star. And there are notable shows like "Bruno the Fishing Dog" and "Pontoon Boat" that might deserve mention. 99.18.52.2 (talk) 01:53, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Moving incomplete section
Moving this here. It was placed as a subset of the section on the film, which makes no sense. It's also not accurate; the show airs at different times in different markets. Where I live, it initially airs in a 7-10 pm ET slot on Saturdays (tape delay), with a rebroadcast Sundays from noon-2 pm. The piece I'm moving needs correction/expansion, or deletion.


 * ===Times===
 * The show is avalible at 6:00pm eastern time on Saturdays.

71.200.140.35 (talk) 19:16, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

Ireland?
Why is this article part of WikiProject Ireland? --Mainstreetmark (talk) 19:34, 18 March 2009 (UTC)
 * No reason that I can see, so I removed it. Jonathunder (talk) 22:36, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Air Dates
The airdates in the infobox makes it seem like the show isn't on the air anymore. Pirate Argh!!1! 21:58, 1 July 2009 (UTC)
 * It should be more clear now. Jonathunder (talk) 22:56, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

Dead link
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!


 * http://www.tsa-usa.org/news/Garrison-Keillor.htm
 * In Guy Noir on 2011-03-22 16:18:09, 404 Not Found
 * In A Prairie Home Companion on 2011-06-20 02:21:44, 404 Not Found

--JeffGBot (talk) 02:22, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

Music types
I have expanded the music type section of the article. One of the things I strongly approve of in Garrison Keilor is that he uses many music types on the program. Yes, mostly american folk, but classical, opera, many musics. But I did not include hip-hop, because I have never heard that on APHC - not that I miss it. Has a hip-hop artist been there? if someone knows, edit the article to include that item. --Dumarest 16:30, 6 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Of course not. That would involved black people.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.171.176.183 (talk) 13:42, 3 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Not necessarily (Eminem). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wukai (talk • contribs) 19:23, 3 November 2011 (UTC)


 * I'm pretty sure hip-hop has been parodied on the show (because I can hear the sound effects guy faking the synth-drums), but I don't know whether an actual hip-hop artist has appeared on the show as a musical guest.


 * Atlant 16:45, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

I always found it interesting how he had preformers using different instraments for songs that are never expected to play that way, like Rodeo on hand bells or over the rainbow on a saw.

Reviews
Why are there no reviews or awards listed? Most other radio and TV shows (and films, albums, books etc.) have a section for critical reviews, sales/viewership numbers and/or public reaction. Dreslough (talk) 22:47, 30 June 2012 (UTC)

"Starring"
Shouldn't Scott, Russell, and Newman, who appear weekly, be listed in the "Starring" section of the infobox? p b  p  19:58, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Advertising
"Because the program is aired on noncommercial radio, it is forbidden from carrying real advertisements." Commercial advertising has been commonplace on American public radio (and TV) stations and networks. for decades now. They pretend otherwise, using various preposterous denial mechanisms, but it's clear: APCH has commercial sponsors, and their advertising is aired during the show. There is no reason for Wikipedia to go along with this ridiculous lie. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.7.62.214 (talk) 23:29, 28 February 2015 (UTC)

Merger complete
✅ Information from Richard Dworsky has been merged into this article, per the merge result at Articles for deletion/Richard Dworsky. North America1000 22:35, 1 July 2015 (UTC)

Where can I get lyrics?
I loved the homage to San Francisco at 7 minutes in today's show. Especially the part about tax shelters. Where can I get the lyrics? 2601:283:4401:5EBA:8DB0:BF07:1413:1C97 (talk) 23:08, 18 July 2015 (UTC)

Where should Piscacadawadaquoddymoggin sentence go?
When I added the sentence about "Piscacadawadaquoddymoggin" in 2007, it was at the end of an "other recurring bits" paragraph, but the other bits were all commercials that were later made into a Sponsors section. I don’t know where the sentence about "Piscacadawadaquoddymoggin" should go, since the word crops up both in the Features skits and the Sponsors skits, but the sentence ended up at the end of the News from Lake Wobegon section, which is one place where it doesn’t belong. Maybe in a new Recurring Bits section, fleshed out with other bits that are shared by both the Features skits and the Sponsors skits. Can you think of any other such free-floating bits? Maybe Garrison's favorite joke, about the penguin looking like he's wearing a tuxedo? danwWiki (talk) 15:39, 3 January 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 one external links on A Prairie Home Companion. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20160102083224/http://www.rte.ie/radio1/garrisonkeillor/ to http://www.rte.ie/radio1/garrisonkeillor/
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20160102083224/http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/phc/ to http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/phc/

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 19:04, 27 February 2016 (UTC)


 * I researched the two archive links above, results:
 *  www.rte.ie/radio1 , a streaming service should not have been matched to an archive, which match was useless, and currently they don't seem to stream PHC anymore -- solution removed this link altogether
 *  www.hollywoodbowl.com/phc , bot selected wrong archive version that was in error, repaired, found a working an earlier archive copy
 * My work is done here  WurmWoode  T   16:19, 3 July 2016 (UTC)
 * My work is done here  WurmWoode  T   16:19, 3 July 2016 (UTC)
 * My work is done here  WurmWoode  T   16:19, 3 July 2016 (UTC)

on BBC7: What's underwriting.
"There are also no underwriting credits, as BBC and RTÉ do not use underwriting as a means of funding broadcasts. However, some of the programme's fictional sponsors are credited at the start of the show."

What's underwriting? I tried to look it up, but I just got translations near to this meaning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwriting which seems to me to not fit in this context.

Sorry, my fault, I found the meaning you want on the bottom of the afore mentioned wikipedia article.

-

I think they newer versions of the Garrison Keillor's Radio Show include the underwritting. At least I've heard underwritting on it on the April 26, 2008 show. May 1, 2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 20.137.18.50 (talk) 18:13, 1 May 2008 (UTC)


 * "Underwriting" is a weasel word used on US "public" broadcasts, to maintain the pretense that advertising is absent or prohibited. The difference between advertising and "underwriting" is an arcane system of legalistic fiction. The notion that PHC does not carry advertising is patently absurd, and does not belong in an encyclopedic article without a simple and clear exposition of the scam. PHC is commercially sponsored, and its sponsors are advertise during the show's broadcasts, plain and simple — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.49.176.208 (talk) 23:14, 29 October 2016 (UTC)

Actors
The actors should appear at the top of the list of cast members. HowardMorland (talk) 02:16, 30 May 2016 (UTC)
 * ✅ Actors, sound effects, and short list of repeat vocalists moved up in article, so lest section ends with long visiting musicians list. Also converted short lists to prose, remove white space, and began dealing with sourcing issues indicated below. Le Prof Leprof 7272 (talk) 20:18, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

Bogus "citation needed" spew
I see  all over even though there is "enough information to locate the source". These are inappropriate clutter and should be removed. --Elvey(t•c) 17:28, 7 April 2015 (UTC):
 * ❌ You are entitled to your perspective, but the fact of the matter is that policy and guidelines such as WP:VERIFY require inline sourcing for all non-common knowledge facts. The article as it stands, far from being overdone with regard to sourcing, is a flagrant violation to souring policies and guidelines. Placing tags can help, during the process of bringing an article to encyclopedic standards, by indicating which sentences within an otherwise sourced block of text that are not yet sourced, and by elsewhere marking particularly egregious cases of unattributed (plagiarised) material. (The  offers the same in terms of unsourced quotations.) Please contribute to improved encyclopedic status rather than appearance—add no further content without citations, and leave the attempts of other devoted editors, who are adding citations that should have been here from the start. Le Prof Leprof 7272 (talk) 20:25, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

Atrocious state of article
An article that has longstanding block after longstanding block of unsourced content—what manner of illusion is it, that we consider this encyclopedic? How can large swaths of factual information not be plagiarised, if it is not attributed to the source from which it came? How can large swaths of descriptive information not be editor original research, if it, likewise, states no source? Seeing the persistence of such major articles in such a state, in clear violation of WP:VERIFY and WP:OR, makes me despair for this encyclopedia. The regular committed editors here need to stop having patience with past and continuing violations—no new material should appear without citation, to inhibit the article's decay, and past unsourced material must be systematically checked and replaced with material tied to sources. Otherwise there is no hope for the article, long term, and with it, lessened hope for the encyclopedia as a whole. (And until such is done, the article cannot be used as material for students to use.) Le Prof 73.211.138.148 (talk) 17:06, 30 November 2016 (UTC)


 * While significant editing has been done, with some sources appearing, and some unsourced material being deleted, the fundamental problems remain:
 * * Editors in past repeatedly added individual lines of material (e.g., on someone they knew to have appeared on the program), doing so without source of authoritative scope of understanding of the overall program; and
 * * Editors coming here still, as of this date, continue to assume old material is sound, and so remove tags without checking each line—see "Actors" subsection under "Cast," for how line-by-line checking has resulted either in individual sentence citations, or tags.


 * As a result, I am placing a call for expertise, for the one section, "Cast," so an expert from Radio or Biography can work with the accrual of individually added lines which remain (see following). Until it receives such attention, the section (and other parts of the article) remain a willy-nilly composite that omits important individuals and events, and includes others less so.


 * Note, the issue is both with paragraphed text, and bulleted lists. (Prior to recent editing, the the paragraphs were mostly just short lists comparably unsourced, like the continuing long lists.)


 * FInally, an example of the need for expert attention can be seen in the consequences of the edit by Primefac, in response to the lack of citations for any names appearing in one such long list. Their edit eliminated many bullets in the long list—see here —on the basis of whether the listed individual had a Wikipedia article or not. As I have discussed with Primefac, this improves the matter only slightly, because:
 * * Wikilinks cannot substitute for (indicate compliance to) the WP:VERIFY and related policies/guidelines (i.e., the remaining wikilinked list entries are still unsourced, and so violate WP:VERIFY);
 * * The existence or absence of a Wikipedia article in any case does not guarantee relative notability—there are important artists without Wikipedia articles.


 * Hence, expert attention is needed to add/add back notable individuals, wikilinked or not, to remove non-notable individuals, and to provide broad authoritative sources to cover the rest of the poorly sourced material in this section. Cheers. Le Prof 209.252.28.98 (talk) 17:44, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

Commercials
"Because A Prairie Home Companion airs on noncommercial radio, the program is forbidden to carry real advertisements." This is nonsense. Public radio in the USA has included commercial advertising for decades. Is anyone still pretending that there is no commercial advertising on public radio — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.49.176.208 (talk) 23:36, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

For instance, tonight's show included an advertisement for Magoosh Test Prep. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.49.176.208 (talk) 00:12, 12 February 2017 (UTC)

Can we make this page historic?
See the first entry on the talk page for A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile's talk page. The new article A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile describes the show under Thile, and it makes sense that new occurrences on APHC, since the show is radically different without Keillor. I think we should make this page "APHC w/ Garrison Keillor" in past tense and have "APHC" generically link to the new page. Thoughts? damperpedal (talk) 23:46, 22 January 2017 (UTC)

Rename v. New Article
Once a new name is determined, should this article be renamed, or should there be a new article created on the Chris Thile-hosted show, while this one stays focused on the Garrison Keillor era? power~enwiki ( π, ν ) 04:42, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * As per above; A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile is the article that would be renamed. power~enwiki ( π, ν ) 04:43, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Late Show and The Tonight Show have separate articles for each host.--Pharos (talk) 19:25, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Back in October 2016 (when the show switched over) the pages were distinct. I stopped watching the page when a disruptive editor to the page was finally blocked, but it looks like the "Chris Thile" version has been forgotten. I would support a return to this page being "up to Keillor's departure" with the new version at the "with Chris Thile". Primefac (talk) 19:29, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Is this such bad content? Why redirect it here, seems like it could be a good start to what we need?--Pharos (talk) 22:47, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * I honestly thought I'd be reverted within ten minutes. I also thought that since no one seemed to be editing there, I might as well go for it. Primefac (talk) 22:48, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * If you or someone else has the energy, I say restore and update the other page as The Show with Chris Thile, and make the PHC page past-tense.--Pharos (talk) 22:57, 4 December 2017 (UTC)

New name
I'm quite certain the new name is not "Town Hall". I was at the first performance, and he began with "Welcome to Town Hall", but this was in reference to the venue of The Town Hall in Manhattan. Leviathan3k (talk) 04:07, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * I agree, and have moved it back. Note that the Guardian has retracted notice of a new name being chosen.--Pharos (talk) 04:13, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Another retraction from Reuters.--Pharos (talk) 15:12, 5 December 2017 (UTC)
 * I've moved it back, as the name change reports are false, and not from MPR. Watch this listing for when it actually changes. The temporary name is The Show with Chris Thile, fwiw.--Pharos (talk) 22:31, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Might I draw attention to the elephant in the room, and the fact that should really be what we're discussing? I turned it into a redirect because no one seemed to care that the page existed (and kept updating this one) but "A Prairie Home Companion" (the original) will always exist. If we're going to be move-warring over something, let's move-war over the "...with Chris Thile" article. Primefac (talk) 22:35, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Sure, I guess someone should restart that article (not sure if there is content salvageable from the old version), maybe call it The Show with Chris Thile for now.--Pharos (talk) 22:39, 4 December 2017 (UTC)

PHC Userbox
As part of WikiProject Userboxen I have created the Prairie Home Userbox. You may see it here: — Preceding unsigned comment added by Xeno (talk • contribs) 14:48, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Section break
When I try to access "Live from Here" i only am allowed to view it for about about 7 seconds. Why? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 1archie99 (talk • contribs) 18:50, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * , what do you mean? Are you looking for the Live from Here article? Primefac (talk) 18:55, 21 December 2017 (UTC)