Series synopsis
Cheap Seats is an American comedy television series that premiered on ESPN Classic on February 4, 2004. It ended on April 18, 2014. It stars Michael Showalter, Jason Sklar, Randy Sklar and H. Jon Benjamin.
Cheap Seats without Ron Parker, commonly shortened to Cheap Seats, is a television program broadcast on ESPN Classic hosted by brothers Randy and Jason Sklar. The brothers appear as fictional ESPN tape librarians who amuse themselves by watching old, campy sports broadcasts and wisecracking about them.
Cheap Seats debuted on February 4, 2004, with an episode that showed ESPN sportscaster "Ron Parker" getting buried under a shelf full of tapes, forcing the Sklars to fill in, as they were behind ...
Premise
Cheap Seats without Ron Parker, commonly shortened to Cheap Seats, is a television program broadcast on ESPN Classic hosted by brothers Randy and Jason Sklar. The brothers appear as fictional ESPN tape librarians who amuse themselves by watching old, campy sports broadcasts and wisecracking about them.
Cheap Seats debuted on February 4, 2004, with an episode that showed ESPN sportscaster "Ron Parker" getting buried under a shelf full of tapes, forcing the Sklars to fill in, as they were behind Parker on the "hosting depth chart". The founding production team behind "Cheap Seats" included Mark Shapiro, Showrunner, Todd Pellegrino, James Cohen and Joseph Maar. Cheap Seats was originally an hour-long program. There were about 10 one hour-long episodes in the first season, all of which were subsequently cut down to fit a 30 minute time slot.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Michael Showalter
- Jason Sklar
- Randy Sklar
- H. Jon Benjamin as Gene Stapleton
- Paul Rudd as Dave Penders
- David Cross as Dr. Gail Timlin
- Kate Walsh as Rochelle
- Judah Friedlander as Steven Gregory
Guest cast
- Justin Roiland as Rhonda's Son
Episodes
This series spans 5 seasons with 80 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 1 | ||
| Season 1 | 26 | February 4, 2004 | November 11, 2004 |
| Season 2 | 14 | March 7, 2005 | April 18, 2014 |
| Season 3 | 13 | September 19, 2005 | December 12, 2005 |
| Season 4 | 26 | April 17, 2006 | November 20, 2006 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Quest For Cooperstown |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mid South Wrestling 1980 Randy and Jason delve into the bygone era of Pro-Wrestling, when a pair of Speedos and a potbelly virtually guaranteed you a spot on the show. The Iron Sheik headlines the Main Event. Guest appearances by: Jon Benjamin, Ian Roberts and Michael Showalter. |
February 4, 2004 |
| 2 |
Stanford-Cal: The 1982 Big Game Witness the startling similarities uncovered between the 1982 Stanford-Cal college football game featuring 'The Play' and the 1984 screen epic, 'Revenge of the Nerds.' John Elway and Ted McGinley are more alike than you think. |
January 1, 2004 |
| 3 |
Wide World: Part 1 Globe-hop with legendary announcers Keith Jackson and Al Michaels in ABC's Wide World of Sports. It's Cliff Diving from Acapulco, Wrist-Wrestling from Petaluma and Ice Boat Racing from some frozen lake somewhere. |
January 1, 2004 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Best of Cheap Seats The inaugural season of Cheap Seats was filled with both highlights and lowlights. From Steve Garvey bill fishing to Rebecca Sealfon spelling, it was an undertaking of epic proportions and filled with many trials and tribulations. How better to tell the "history" of Cheap Seats than to do our own SportsCentury documentary. Of course, we're basically broke so we had to use a lot of interviews from other shows. |
March 7, 2005 |
| 2 |
Creative Breaking Championships-K-1 Fighting The Karate Kid's got nothing on Randy and Jason. In this episode, the brothers offer up their martial arts expertise and overdubbing skills as they watch the 2002 Creative Breaking Championships from Disney World and K-1 Fighting from Tokyo, Japan. Cheap Seats also welcomes a few very special guests to the show to give some commentary of their own. It's a mystery that is grounded in science but full of theater. |
March 14, 2005 |
| 3 |
2000 Great Outdoor Games Lake Placid, NY probably hasn't seen a competition that rivals the inaugural Great Outdoor Games. Guns, romance, chopping wood. Desperate Housewives wishes it had drama like this. Don't miss the shocking revelation that rocks the skeet shooting world and the end of the show. |
March 21, 2005 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest Here at Cheap Seats we often embrace some or all of 7 Deadly Sins so it's only natural that something dealing with Gluttony would intrigue us. Watch for Japanese eating machine Kobayashi as he tries to break all his opponents in half, dunk them in water and consume them. Special Guests: David Cross, Eugene Mirman, Joe LoTruglia and Brian Husky. |
September 19, 2005 |
| 2 |
1995 Spelling Bee More smart kids who need to get out more. Yes, it's another Spelling Bee and we do a little home schooling in our own language of origin, so check it out. |
September 26, 2005 |
| 3 |
Women's Sports Our salute to women in sports, get your poles out (stop that train of thought) for some Bass Fishing. Then it's two women in the squared circle for a little womano a womano. Finally we look back at Ann Meyer's tryout for the Indian Pacers from 1976. Special Guest: Zach Galifianakas. |
October 3, 2005 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
This Is Inside Cheap Seats Enter the sacred arena where the episodes you see on air are developed, written and shot. On this special episode we take a look at the intense physical and psychological preparations that go in to making a ½ hour show with two of the most demanding stars on the sports comedy television circuit. The Answer Dog, Beamy, and The Score Settler return to shed some light on intricacies behind, above, and inside Cheap Seats. |
April 17, 2006 |
| 2 |
1996 Spelling Bee (Part 2) Lingering questions are answered and familiar faces return for the conclusion of the 96' Bee. While Rebecca Sealfon concentrates on word origins and crazy people impersonations, Randy and Jason concentrate on keeping their jobs. Ron Parker has one thing on his mind, and it’s not figuring out a way to get the Cheap Seats flat screen home. He is after that elusive comeback host of the year award. The award he is after may not exist, but the new season of Cheap Seats does. Special guests: Paul Rudd , Michael Showalter |
June 5, 2006 |
| 3 |
1985 Rollergames Roller skates may be considered passé today, but it doesn’t take long to see why they rocked in the 80’s. We take pride in bringing you the most exciting sport involving competitors racing around an oval track on four wheels. Sorry NASCAR fans, but it’s true. And if the skating isn't hot enough for you, watch as women and men lift their skates in a steamy work out video. |
June 12, 2006 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | ESPN Classic |
|---|---|
| First aired | February 4, 2004 |
| Last aired | April 18, 2014 |
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
| Status | Ended |