photos by Andrew Langager
--- "Oxymorons" is a sketch comedy show on ISUTV, which was formerly Cy46, ISU4, and ISU9, Iowa State University's student-run television station. My friend Andy Langager and myself created the show in the Fall of 2000, after having spent the past summer working on "Escape Velocity," a motion picture produced by Fourth Circle Productions and directed by Dan Mundt. That movie won first place in the narrative category of the Broadcast Education Association's 2002 International BEA Festival of Film, Video, and Media Arts, a festival for faculty-directed projects.
Anyway, Andy and I shot a sketch entitled "Wipe Guy" in September of 2000, when "Oxy" was nothing but an embryo. We acquired five other members soon after, including then-producer Dustin McDonough, current cast members Cody Jans and Isaac Drew, and two other guys that didn’t hang out with us long after they saw that we were unorganized and strange. The five (remaining) of us shot a few more skits, including "Hospitality" and "Study Time" (a pair of near-masterpieces that are seriously lacking deleted scenes), before the end of the year. By that time, we were no longer ambitious about the show and were questioning whether we would actually go through with producing it.Around that time, we decided on the name. We wanted something funny, but not lame. Creative, but not stupid. I said in a show meeting that I had always envisioned it as being sort of an oxymoron. Andy replied quickly with, "How about Oxymorons?" The rest is history.
On a day of shooting in early 2001, we suddenly found ourselves sitting in a big pile of efficiency we had never before experienced. Andy had written the script for "The Interview," whose characters included Mr. Billings and Mr. Spivey. We set up to shoot that skit, and saw a production unfold before our eyes. Shortly after, we shot "Sea Breeze," the "We’re Listening" commercial, and "Broken Spines," a National Lampoon’s Animal House spoof. We edited "Sea Breeze" on the spot, and it made us realize that we were beginning to put together a show. After that, ideas were plentiful, and four shows were born.
We have since added another cast member to our show, John Meyers (also known as John Meyers #6). Our fourth show was a half-hour long episode of "Billings and Spivey." Show five (also known as Oxy 4, or "I Taught Socrates to Drive") was our best work yet, and was well-liked among people who saw it. We recently finished show six, the second half-hour installment of Billings and Spivey, and may even continue the legacy...
Origins of Oxymorons Skits (in case you cared)
Show #1 --- "Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Ernie Keebler"
Show #2 --- "The Palindrome Episode"
Show #3 --- "Stickball"
Show #4 --- Billings & Spivey "Nine to Five"
Show #5 --- "I Taught Socrates to Drive"
Show #6 --- Billings & Spivey II — Untitled