- Fishing with John
infobox television
show_name = Fishing with John
caption =
format = Fishing show
runtime = 147 min
creator =
starring =John Lurie
country =USA
network =
first_aired =1991
last_aired =1991
num_episodes = 6
website =
imdb_id = 0139776
tv_com_id = |"Fishing with John" is a 1991 cult
TV series directed by and starring actor and musicianJohn Lurie . On the surface, the series resembles a standard travel or fishing show: In each episode, Lurie takes a famous guest on a fishing expedition. Since Lurie has no expert knowledge of fishing, the interest is in the conversations between Lurie and the guests, all of whom are friends of Lurie. Nothing particularly unusual actually happens, but the show is edited and narrated in a way to suggest that Lurie and his guest are involved in dramatic and even supernatural adventures. The deadpan, laconic style of the show is heavily influenced by the films of directorJim Jarmusch , who appears as the guest in the first episode.Besides Jarmusch, the guests featured are actor
Matt Dillon , musicianTom Waits , actorWillem Dafoe and actor-directorDennis Hopper . The series ran for 6 episodes, each featuring a different guest and locale, except for episodes 5 and 6 which both feature Hopper inThailand . Each episode hasvoice-over narration by Robb Webb, which is sometimes bizarre and off-topic. The soundtrack is by Lurie.Episode breakdown
Availability
The entire series is available on
DVD fromThe Criterion Collection and features acommentary track by Lurie on each episode.References in popular culture
Scenes from the episode with Jim Jarmusch were used in the
SpongeBob SquarePants episode, "Hooky".In the popular
Strong Bad Email cartoon segments at theHomestar Runner website, the email entitled "Lures & Jigs" references the Jim Jarmusch episode: When you see Strong Bad and Coach Z in a fishing boat, the casio sound effect preceding Jarmusch's line "Why am I here?" is heard. Homestar Runner creatorsThe Brothers Chaps point out this reference on the Strong Bad Email DVD commentary.References
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070517143918/http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=42&eid=58§ion=essay Criterion Collection essay by Michael Azzerrad]
External links
*imdb title|id=0139776|title=Fishing with John
* [http://www.citypaper.net/articles/061198/20Q.shtml Interview with John Lurie regarding "Fishing with John"]
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