Fernwood 2 Night is a comedictelevision program that was broadcast weeknights from July 1977 to September 1977. It was created by Norman Lear and produced by Alan Thicke as a spin-off/summer replacement from Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. It was a parodytalk show, hosted by Barth Gimble and sidekick/announcer Jerry Hubbard, complete with a stage band, "Happy Kyne and the Mirthmakers". Barth was purportedly the twin brother of Garth Gimble from Mary Hartman. Like Mary Hartman, Fernwood 2 Night was set in the fictional small town of Fernwood, Ohio. The show satirized real talk shows as well as the sort of fare one might expect from locally produced, small-town, midwestern Americantelevision programming. Well-known actors usually appeared playing characters or a contrivance had to be written for the celebrity to appear as themselves. After one season of Fernwood, the producers revamped the show for 1978 as America 2-Night. In this second version, Barth and Jerry's show moved from Fernwood to Southern California and was broadcast nationally on the fictional UBS network, whose slogan was "We put U before the BS". The change to a Southern California setting made it more plausible for real-life celebrities to appear on the program as themselves. In 2001, Mull and Willard reprised their roles in a stage appearance and retrospective at the US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. The pair also worked together in other projects, appearing together in the final seasons of Roseanne as a gay couple. Reruns of Fernwood/America 2-Night were broadcast on Nick at Nite from 1990 to 1993 and TV Land in 2002 as part of their "TV Land Kitschen" block, also hosted by Mull and Willard.
Recurring characters
Mayor Merle Jeeter
William W.D. 'Bud' Prize, Fernwood's "Ambassador at Large" from the Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor's supposed energy expert. Prize invariably arrived wearing his elaborate "chindodontic" headgear which was designed to correct his underbite.
Tony Rolletti, an enthusiastic, if only marginally talented, lounge singer. Notable for his particularly unstable toupee.
Susan Cloud, the spaced-out owner of the Butterfly Deli, a local health food restaurant.
Virgil Simms, the local mechanic who offered automotive advice.
Garth Gimble Sr., Barth's father, who was also the cheerfully incompetent studio security guard. Almost always seen with his lethargic dog Louie.
Lou Moffat, a "consumer affairs expert" who always ended up plugging products distributed by Gimbleco Enterprises.
