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Just Say Julie

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Just Say Julie
DVD cover for Just Say Julie
GenreSitcom, Satire, Music Video
Created by
StarringJulie Brown
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons3
Production
Executive producers
Running time30 mins.
Original release
NetworkMTV
ReleaseFebruary 15, 1989 –
February 1, 1992

Just Say Julie is an American comedy/music video show created by and starring comedian and singer Julie Brown.[1] The series aired from 1989 to 1992 on MTV[2] in the United States, where it aired on Friday nights during its run.

Series background

Though Brown was considered an MTV VJ, her only function in playing videos came through her show. The show was extremely popular because it went against MTV's image of playing patsy to popular artists of questionable talent. Brown, as a satirical valley-girl version of herself, would often introduce or speak after a video with negative, scathing comments about the artist. Teen stars like Tiffany and Debbie Gibson were frequently mocked. Another notable example: after playing a Sheena Easton video, Brown quipped that "maybe we should all sleep with Prince so he'll write songs for us." Easton, whose songs were produced by Prince (including "Sugar Walls"), was reputedly outraged, although she would appear as herself in one episode of the series. In another episode Julie provides a running commentary as Tawny Kitaen while the Whitesnake video, 'Here I Go Again' plays, saying "Here's my boyfriend David Coverdale... He's the reason I model in a video, because I'm sleeping with him." Julie would also aim barbs at the MTV audience, such as in 'The Nuclear Show': "Hello, MTV-ers. Let's talk about personal hygiene a moment, shall we? For you MTVers that simply means taking a bath. ...You may not care about the way you smell, but think about your co-workers who have to be close to you behind the counter at Burger Boy. Don't they count"'

A popular target was Madonna; Brown insinuated that the young boy in her Cherish video was the love child of Madonna and a dolphin. In the episode "How to Date" Julie says "Don't underestimate the value of parking in cars. Look what it did for Madonna!", and in "The Nuclear Show": "There's more to life than watching MTV, shoplifting and having meaningless sex with people you don't know or care about. Right, Madonna?" Brown would go on to do a scathing mockumentary of Madonna called Medusa: Dare to be Truthful.

Most episodes would also feature a "plot" that was used to string together the videos. In one episode, Julie sells her soul to the devil. In another, a blonde supermodel thinks too hard and accidentally blows her brain out of her ear and onto the floor. In the episode "Just Say Bon Jovi" Julie claims to be Jon Bon Jovi's girlfriend, and plays only Bon Jovi videos. At the end of the show Jon Bon Jovi appears via video to thank Julie for her support, although he initially confuses her with Downtown Julie Brown. During the run she hosted two editions of "Julie's Choice For The Julie's" a parody of the Emmy's complete with a song and dance from Brown.

She even got her chance to show the video for her 1984 song that MTV refused to air, "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun", in the episode 'My Evil Twin' where her "sister" Debi (the "Homecoming Queen" from the video, who was "shot" to death, but survived) escaped a mental institution to seek revenge on Julie, and succeeded.

Another recurring gag was that each episode would include a product ostensibly endorsed by a popular celebrity, but which was inherently flawed. For instance Julie enjoyed a new breakfast cereal called "Prince Puffs", but found a fly inside the box; when the fly was exposed to Julie's "Sheenapoo" (Sheena Easton shampoo) it became a mutant.

At times Brown was jealous of having her show on the same network that featured another person with the same name, "Downtown Julie Brown", who was the host of Club MTV and whom she would refer to as the "Evil Julie Brown". That 'rivalry' would result in an episode in which the two would meet face to face.

Many celebrities found their way to Julie's condo including "Weird Al" Yankovic (in the pilot), Michael McKean, Gene Simmons, Linda Blair, Kip Winger, MTV VJ Martha Quinn, and Elvira.

The show served to make way for the persona Brown became known for: an egocentric, over-the-top, kooky valley girl with an attitude. She would take this character into her film Earth Girls Are Easy, which is considered Brown's crowning achievement in mocking the valley girl persona.

Toward the end of the series run she adopted the "Eco-Gal" persona and along with "Recycle Man" they drove around looking for wrongdoers (like spotting Stevie Nicks twirling around in her driveway and throwing her mail all over the ground).

In 2006 Brown bought the rights to the show and released a DVD called "The Very Best of Just Say Julie Volume 1". The DVD is available exclusively through her website and was released by "Just Say Julie Productions".

Cast

  • Julie Brown - Star of the show, a valley girl with attitude.
  • Larry Poindexter - Plays cute guys Julie would usually flirt with, like the Nuclear Technician in 'The Nuclear Show' or Recycle Man in 'Eco Girl and Recycle Man'. He is introduced in 'How to Date' as: 'Musician, actor and man about Hollywood, Larry Poindexter.'
  • Stacey Travis - Longtime friend of Julie Brown, she is in almost all of her videos. On the show she plays cute blondes like the model Lake Arrowhead in 'How to be a Model', Sissy White in 'Just Say Bon Jovi 2' and Ashley in 'Salute to Animals'.
  • Charlie Coffey - The associate producer of the show, he usually plays the stage manager, as in 'The PMS Show' and 'Just Say Bon Jovi 2'.
  • Jodi Carlisle - Plays 'Mom' types, such as a contest winner that Julie gives a make-over to in 'How to Be a Model', and Abbey Landers, the advice columnist that attacks Larry in 'How to Date'.
  • Celia Arden - Julie's real-life Mom appears as herself in some episodes, such as 'Popo the Clown' and 'My Very Own Movie'.
  • Paul Brown - Julie's real-life brother plays himself on the show. He is usually broke and tries to borrow money from Julie, as in 'How to be a Model' and 'My Very Own Movie'.

References

  1. ^ Dougherty, Margot; Alexander, Michael (June 5, 1989). "Earth Girls Didn't Come Easy for the Unsinkable Julie Brown, but Success Has Been Topsy-Turvy". People.
  2. ^ "Valley Girl Is Only One Shade of Julie Brown". The Los Angeles Times. February 8, 1990.
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