‘Yacht Rock’ Man Sends Jeeves on Retirement Cruise
|
Written By Reprise Media | February 24, 2006 | Share This
|
|
By now you’ve all heard the news that Jeeves, Ask.com’s custodial mascot of ten years, is hanging up his tuxedo. The search site has been lovingly putting the butler to bed all week, and yesterday evening the AskJeeves Blog announced a special retirement gift: “Jeeves Leaves,” a five minute spoof bidding the butler adieu (now showing on YouTube), produced by “Yacht Rock” creator J.D. Ryznar, whose series of online shorts sending up smooth rock stars of the late ’70s and early ’80s has attained online cult status.
“Yacht Rock” first set sail from Channel101.com, a “network” of zero-budget five minute TV shows that’s become a breeding ground for viral online hits starring the likes of Jack Black, Sarah Silverman and Public Enemy rapper Flavor Flav. Channel101 has even helped launch a career or two; before moving to Saturday Night Live, the team behind the immensely popular “Lazy Sunday” sketch (we had more here last week) produced the site’s longest-running series, an homage to “The OC” called “The ‘Bu.” And other ‘101 stars, including Ryznar, have signed on with talent agencies thanks in part to the site’s popularity and press - “Yacht Rock,” for instance, got coverage in several magazines, including Spin.
Ryznar met the Ask folks via mutual friends, and “we thought it would be cool to see if J.D. could come up with a funny idea for a comedy short about Jeeves’ departure…and heaven help us, we actually went ahead and had him write, direct, produce and star in it,” says the AskJeeves Blog. Essentially, Ryznar grabbed the Jeeves suit and went to town. “Ask.com has been great to me, really giving me the freedom to do whatever I want…they really just wanted me to do my thing,” he says.
Those unfamiliar with Ryznar’s thing can expect some clever references to ’80s pop culture and deadpan performances from “Jeeves Leaves,” which ultimately gives the butler a warm, sweet send-off amid some silly humor. And longtime fans can look forward to “a ‘Yacht Rock’ nod or two,” says Ryznar. We don’t want to give anything anyway, but suffice it to say that you’ll learn a little bit about Jeeves ‘the man,’ very, very little about basketball, and a bit about how Ask.com has ultimately outgrown their dear old man. So long, Jeeves.
Topics: Search: News |