Stepping out of the fog of business travel for a few moments yesterday, I was saddened to hear about the passing of Ken Ober, former host of MTV’s game show Remote Control.
Honestly, I was never a big fan of Remote, and it’s hard to wax nostalgic for a show that pushed Adam Sandler, Colin Quinn and Kari Wuhrer on an unsuspecting world. But Ober always seemed to rise above it all, giving knowing glances to the camera as if to acknowledge to all of us watching at home that, yes, this sucks, but he really needs to eat.
That said, having consumed a night’s worth of Remote Control re-runs being shown on MTV2 to commemorate Ober, I gotta say the show holds up as a handy if wince-inducing Cliffs Notes version of growing up in the late ’80s. And the “Beat the Bishop” segment, in which contestants have to answer questions before a guy dressed as a bishop completes a lap around the studio, is bloody genius.
Anyway, godspeed, Mr. Ober, to that podium in the sky.
