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Sadly, "Flat TV" reminds us of the talent Phil Hartman truly had, what was possible and what was lost. This Phil Hartman tour-de-force was essentially a precursor of The Simpsons - a day in the life of a 50's dysfunctional American family, the Sphincters, with all voices (except the women) provided by Phil. Its' skits around the television, and within the television - a family eating dinner by the TV, or news and commercials on the TV. The master tapes of "Flat TV" were thought to be lost for many years and Phil never noticed because he was preoccupied with SNL. Now, another generation of people will have the opportunity to enjoy the brilliant lunacy of the comic mastermind of Phil Hartman. Phil was a chameleon. He could be quiet, gentle, and reflective but at the drop of a hat, he could also become any one of a boxful of characters, many of whom are featured here, including John Wayne, Johnny Carson, Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Howard Cosell and Peter Lorre. This is the only Phil Hartman work that he created that was not subject to censorship and the liner notes were written by Phil's brother John and producer Chad Stuart. Work was also started on an animated feature length version of "Flat TV" and selected clips are available online for promotional use.

Track Listing

Sales Points

• An animated film based on Flat TV was started and clips from it are available for promotional use
• While a member of the Groundlings, Phil and Paul Reubens created the character Pee Wee Herman
• Phil does all but the female voices (28 voices)
• This is the only uncensored work Phil ever did
• He was known as the 'glue' on SNL
• September, 2018 is the 20th anniversary of Phil's death
• He was Capt. Carl of 'Pee Wee's Playhouse' and was the writer for 'Pee Wee's Big adventure'

Press Quotes

...holds up very well, even some four decades later...

     —David Mogan, Robot Butt

...although it can be easily interpreted as the schizophrenic work of a comedic genius, it works on even deeper layers as well...

     —Illogical Contraption

Hartman was a pioneer in graphic design, having created album cover artwork for bands America, Steely Dan and Poco early in his evolving career

     —Matt Fulton, My Geek Culture

..you can't really quantify humor, because there's an emotional element...

     —Phil Hartman to Stanley Moss, BOMB