I got hooked on 'The Edge' when it was shown in a late night Saturday night slot on 'Sky One' round the mid-'90's. Partly because it was funny in a hit-and-miss sort of way, but also because I had the hots for its star - the red-haired, extrovert Julie Brown. Imagine Lucille Ball with a dirty mind and you've got her. The show was the creation of David Mirkin, the man behind 'The Simpsons'. Each episode commenced with a jazzy title sequence featuring photos of the cast dancing about like puppets and a catchy theme tune ( which they later stupidly changed ). The assembled cast would then greet viewers, and - in a running gag - would 'die' on screen, either by being shot or eaten by aliens.
Many sketches were parodies of hit shows of the day, such as 'Beverly Hills 90210' and vicious impersonations of pop stars including Wilson Phillips and Madonna. There was Pythonesque animation from Bill Plympton, usually featuring an average-looking guy whose head keeps changing shape, and a spot called 'What ? Is Doing Right This Minute'. One of the best of the latter featured the very first monkey sent into space. It was found by aliens, who were so appalled by Man's cruelty to animals they destroyed the Earth out of revenge. We also saw ex-'Monkey' Davy Jones busking outside a zoo, and complaining: "I should have worked out a better royalty deal, shouldn't I?". Wayne Knight did a blinding take-off of horror author Stephen King, churning out manuscripts every few seconds. Another regular feature was a soap opera about a gun-obsessed American family. Julie also played 'Barb Douglas' of Minnesota, a plucky woman prepared to do the most awful jobs imaginable to supplement her husband's low income, such as porn chat lines and visiting women prisoners.
Not many episodes were made ( 19 in all ), but it was good, post-pub viewing, and launched Jennifer Aniston on the road to stardom.