The Tomorrow Show - Punk & New Wave
"May I say, Kim," Tom Snyder says to a heavily made-up Kim Fowley, "You look ridiculous tonight." So begins one of late night television's more bizarre interviews. Spanning the musically volatile years from 1977-1981, these eightTomorrow Showepisodes all focus on the burgeoning punk/new wave movement. To his credit, Snyder doesn't pretend to like or even understand it, but nor does he criticize (although he does chuckle on occasion). Mostly, he lets the musicians speak for themselves and play a few tunes. All the while, he looks thoroughly bemused, comfortably enveloped in a nimbus cloud of cigarette smoke--along with a few of his guests, like a soft-spoken Paul Weller (the Jam) and surly John Lydon (Public Image Limited). Other participants include Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, the Plasmatics, the Ramones, Patti Smith, and Joan Jett (circa the Runaways, who were produced by Fowley). Smith, Jett, and Lydon, joined by PiL band mate Keith Levene, do not perform. The rest do. The Plasmatics make the most of the opportunity with "Master Plan," during which Wendy O. Williams spray-paints, smashes the windows, and then blows up a car. Other notable numbers include Pop's "Five Foot One" and the Jam's "Pretty Green." Because these programs are shown in their entirety, several non-musical guests, like Frank Capra and Ricky Schroeder, also put in appearances (and to Joey Ramone's chagrin, Kelly Lang is the fill-in for Snyder during the Ramones segment).--Kathleen C. Fennessy