We're still humming "Bye Bye, Li'l Sebastian" to mourn the end of our beloved Parks and Recreation. The show would have been nothing without Amy Poehler, which NBC and Michael Schur knew when they decided to craft an entire sitcom around her. Parks and Rec and SNL were many viewers' introduction to the magic of Amy Poehler; however, members of the sketch and improv community had known about her comedic chops for a long time. Take, for example, this newly unearthed pilot from 1995, which features a 24-year-old Poehler being an improvisational superstar.
Comedy blog Splitsider dug into The Second City archives and found footage from a pilot that never actually saw the light of day, despite the fact that it starred Amy Poehler and improv legend Del Close. Matt Dwyer, who also appeared in the pilot, told Splitsider that few details are known about the show, which was called RVTV. He did recall that it was written by Adam McKay and Tom Gianas, who both went on to write for SNL and many other projects. Dwyer also remembered that Del Close and Amy improvised a lot.
Above all, Dwyer recalled that, "It was a great deal of fun, and I remember both Amy and I were thrilled to be working with Del. Del was an icon to all of us."
According to the brief clips of RVTV available on YouTube, the show was entirely ahead of its time. Poehler railed against the establishment, Republicans, gun control laws, and the surveillance offered by the rapidly expanding information superhighway. We always knew she was ahead of her time, right down to her perfect 1995 eyebrows. (Splitsider)
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