Commercial Parodies began as nothing more than a way to kill time at recess.  And over six years, it finally developed into what it was truly meant to be....a way to kill time at lunch.  The idea behind C.P. actually owes a lot to "In Living Color."  This show was a favorite of mine, and one day, while sitting around at recess with my friend Matthew, I proposed the idea that we make up funny skits and perform them for each other.  Looking back, that idea was pretty dumb.  But at the time, and to the mind of a sixth grader, it was the greatest idea since Super Nintendo.  At first, C.P. was called "In Dying Color," the reason being that it was kind of a parody of "In Living Color."  Get it?  Get it?  That kind of cutting edge comedy would come to be our trademark. But after a short time, it was just kind of decided that the name should change.
	But regardless of what the name was, it was all the same kind of thing.  We would run out to our spot, (which we called the "studio") and do parodies of game shows.  That was pretty much it. "The Price Is Wrong," "You're In Jeopardy," "Wheel Of Misfortune."  Stuff like that.  (keep in mind, we were like 12).  Sure, we did the occasional movie parody, and here I'm thinking of "Gayliens," but mostly it was just game shows.  Eventually, the show began to find itself.  It never really got funny, but it started to feel right, and as the years began to slide on by, I found myself spending a goodly amount of my time thinking and writing skits for the C.P. show.  And here I should clarify something.  We never actually wrote any of this stuff down.  It was all completely improvised from a title and an opening line.  As a matter of fact, one of our unwritten rules was that there would never be a script allowed at the show.  When you do something like we were doing, a script, no matter how well done, just interrupted the flow, and didn't fit in.  It's not until now, when I look back, that I realize just how intricate the process became, and how talented my cast was.
Various things were added as the years went on.  There was the Commercial Parodies Awards, which we would do twice a year.  As with most everything we did, the Awards started out as a parody themselves.  But somehow, they took on a life of their own, and by the Third Awards show, it was becoming one of the most anticipated times of the year if for no other reason than the fact that we knew that for about a week, we wouldn't have any stupid skits.  (However, usually we were wrong).
	Cast members would come and go.  We fluctuated from having ten at one point, to a stretch where we only had three.  As a matter of fact, I was the only one who was there from day one to day two thousand whatever.  The reason is simply that this show became my baby.  I can't explain why, but little gave me more happiness and comfort then writing and performing this little lunchtime show that nobody watched.  Perhaps it borders on pathetic, but in my biased opinion, it was worth all the work.  Especially that final season.
The final season was the senior year of high school.  The show itself had gotten into a comfortable groove and was fairly consistently funny.  But near the end of the year, we began to realize that it would all soon be over, and due to that, a different mood came over the show.  The clock was audibly ticking.  The final show was not the best show, nor the worst.  As expected, it just kind of was.  I tried to use the time to thank everyone for their contribution, but the attention deficit disorder that we all seemed to suffer from got the best of us.  I managed to quiet everyone down to say the last words of C.P. which, to no one's surprise, were stolen from elsewhere.  This time, they were Johnny Carson's words from his final show.  "As so it has come to this.  I would like to thank everyone for all they have done and I bid you all a very fond goodnight."  A bit goofy, yes, but it's all I wanted to say.
	A normal day in the life of C.P. was fairly simple.  Sometime between the time I got to school and lunch, I would write six to eight parodies (just the titles) on a special card.  This usually took no more than three or four minutes.  Then later on, I would write a  comedy bit which we would do before the show.  This was a ten minute process, tops.  Then, come 12:30, we would all gather at the studio, where we would talk and complain and mock each other.  Then, the bit would be performed (it was usually a Bottom Ten List or some Letters To C.P.).  After that, the show would begin.  The theme song would be sung, and then the hilarity would ensue.  And that about says it all.
From six years, through four schools and countless hours, Commercial Parodies meant a great deal to a small group of people.  On occasion, even now, I find myself thinking of things which would make great parodies, but which will never become reality.  However, at the same time, I am glad to be done.  It was one of those things which was ready to end, and I think we were all, however reluctantly, ready to move on.  And yet now, we are back, in a different form.  What will happen here?  It's hard to say, and that perhaps is where C.P. is always the most comfortable.  In that realm of uncertainty where anything can happen and anything usually does.  Enjoy your stay. C.P. Founder Matt - April 20, 1999
ONE YEAR LATER - When I wrote those words, almost one year ago, I had no idea how things would turn out. In the back of my mind, I figured that this website would just amuse the few people who were inside enough to know what I was talking about. Imagine my surprise when things started to happen. About two weeks after the site debuted, Founder Pat and I put out our very first Commercial Parodies Bulletin. The Bulletin began as a way to hype the site and drive the hit counter up. It accomplished this goal, and then exploded into something bigger. The first Bulletin was e-mailed to roughly 20 people. Our last Bulletin went out to over sixty people. It has become one of three pieces of a new part of the growing Commercial Parodies puzzle. Part two is the CD.
	Our first CD, "Commercial Parodies Presents..." was released earlier this year to the fanfare and critical acclaim that you would expect for a project based on C.P. And it represented a new era for C.P. An era where C.P. was more than just an improv show based in a small California town. It had a CD, one people could buy, and from Texas to Washington DC, buy it they did. Then of course, there is part three of the New C.P., a part which goes by the name C.P. After Dark. As with the Classic version of the show, C.P. After Dark started almost by accident. The group of us were just hanging out one night, deep in the orange groves of Mentone, California, when we just started performing. It took a couple times to figure it out, but soon we realized that we were doing C.P., even though it was almost midnight and we were surrounded by citrus. C.P. After Dark happens rarely. It's hard to get us all together these days, but when we do, it's just like we do it every day. C.P. is like riding a bike, I guess. You never really forget how to do it.
So, okay. It's been a year since we started this website. In that time, more has happened to C.P. than at any point in its history. And the amazing part is, things are continuing to happen. This is perhaps the most exciting and scary time that this show has gone through. We thought C.P. was dead, but it just refuses to die. And although I never would've admitted this a year ago, I'm actually quite glad. Enjoy the new improved C.P. On-Line, and stick around. Big things are on the way, and we'll be just as suprised by them as you.  Founder Matt - April 18th, 2000

	As I sit down to write this, the third edition of this highly incomplete "History of C.P.", it strikes me that C.P. - The Website has become as much of a self-contained world as C.P. - The Comedy Show. At the beginning, the site was meant to be a look back. After the first year, it became half a look back and half a look forward. Now, as we head screaming into Year Three, the looking back has become almost an afterthought. While looking back in the archives (yes, as much as we joke about it, there actually ARE archives), I noticed that most of the things I found seemed like ancient history. Five and six years isn't a long time by any means, but memories get foggy at the strangest times.
The site itself has continued to grow like any kid would. Sometimes we may deny that we're the parents, but we're always proud of it. The C.P. Site and it's brother Freakin' Weird Stuff were joined by a new sibling last year. It's name was Hazel On-Line, and it focuses solely on the life and times of my cat. Yet another thing done based on a phrase that begins with "Wouldn't it be funny if we did...". Surprisingly, it turned out that the answer to that question was yes. There are big ambitious plans for Hazel in the coming months. Quite impressive for a cat who only stares at me unamused when I tell him he has a web-site.
	One of my personal favorites of the last year is the ever-growing number of fully-written C.P. Episodes. There are five now, and each one does a fairly good job of taking the off-the-cuff madness that was C.P. and getting it into the confines of a half-hour show. I never would've believed such a thing was possible a few years ago. I would've explained, rather heatedly, that C.P. must never, ever be scripted. To write an episode of C.P. would be an abomination against all things decent and good. Commercial Parodies is an improv show, I'd say, and that means no friggin' scripts! We would be right to slap that Matt across the face and tell him to shut up. Many of the core beliefs of C.P. have been modified over the last couple of years, and in almost every case, it's been for the better. If the show has learned anything since this site went up, it's that we need not always fear change.
In the next twelve months, this feeble show will doubtlessly encounter many more landmarks. The biggest one will take place December 18th, when the show itself turns ten years old. This first decade has been a doozy. I can't wait to see what the NEXT decade holds. As I've said before, Commercial Parodies is my baby. As a father, I've never been prouder. Founder Matt - April 23rd, 2001

back to "the show"