The Simpsons will occasionally reference some obscure television show like The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo and Herman's Head. The latter is special to The Simpsons, however, because it featured two of the voice actors from the series, Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson) and Hank Azaria (Moe, Chief Wiggum, Apu, and countless others).
The show, which ran for three seasons on FOX in the early nineties, centered on Herman Brooks, played by William Ragsdale, fresh from his role in Mannequin 2: On the Move. Oh yes, everyone said no one could top the first Mannequin, that no one could embodied the lead like Andrew McCarthy, but he proved them wrong. Who's laughing now, huh? Actually, I never saw that movie. Anyway, Herman was an aspiring writer who worked as a fact checker for a magazine. Inside his head lived four beings who each represented a different part of his psyche: lust, fear; sensitivity (played by a woman, natch), and intellect. Smith played a secretary at Herman's office, while Azaria played his womanizing best friend. It was a rather cheesy premise, and the show, save for the odd premise, didn't venture too far from normal sitcom stuff. Still, it had a fun, kooky feel to it. And really, if it weren't for occasional reruns of The Simpsons tossing the show back into the public consciousness now and again, it would probably have been long forgotten.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-23-2006 @ 2:28PM
Kristin said...
I used to watch this all the time. I recognized Yeardley Smith right away from 'The ledgend of Billy Jean,' but I didn't realize that Hank Azaria was also on. Wasn't the actress who played Ross' ex-wife, Carol, on 'Friends' also on?
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5-23-2006 @ 2:30PM
Federico said...
I can honestly say i've never forgotten about this show. For years I've been wanting to see and episode just so i can remember what it was like again. I remember there was this other show that ran with it. The premise was that 5 or 6 ppl all had bought this beach house but didn't know it so they decided just to live together on the weekends or something like that. Does anyone know the name?
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5-23-2006 @ 2:48PM
nOva said...
I used to know this show's opening verbatum as a child, that was before they changed it.
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5-23-2006 @ 2:49PM
niccomm said...
I remember this being a pretty good show. It was quirky, so probably a bit ahead of its time. Come to think of it, it was kind of like Andy Richter Controls the Universe (or I should say ARCtU was like Herman's Head).
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5-23-2006 @ 2:49PM
Jon said...
The show you mention sounds a little like Whoops!, which was about strangers who had to live together after a nuclear war killed most of the Earth's population. (Yes, this was a comedy, and it lasted only about 5 episodes, I think.)
I'd also like to see Herman's Head again, as well as another show it was paired up for while, Flying Blind, which starred Tea Leoni.
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5-23-2006 @ 2:50PM
Miguel said...
I, too, remember Herman's Head fondly. Federico, the other show was called "Down the Shore".
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5-23-2006 @ 2:54PM
tanawana said...
Wasn't Yeardley Smith a cast member of that Herman's Head??
The Voice of, I believe, Lisa Simpson.
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5-23-2006 @ 3:30PM
Mike Hoffpauir said...
Omg yes! Hermans Head used to be my favorite show. Loved the interaction of the people in his head especially the fat guy who I knows done other stuff too. Also Flying Blind with ugh cant think of his name John Cryer? from 2 and 1/2 men was on it and that was a good show too. But the true crime of fox was getting rid of Andy Richters show. I love The Office and it reminds me a lot of it. I hope his new show is even half as good. But getting back to HH I would so buy the DVD set if they came out with one. When was it on like early 90s?
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5-23-2006 @ 3:52PM
Randy said...
Loved that show... especially since the actors popped up all over. Like Smith in Billy Jean, or the lust dude in Down Periscope - actually, it would probably make a great nexus for the Kevin Bacon game, considering that I don't think ANY of them have started opposite him. Was very entertaining... and should be on DVD soon, no? :)
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5-23-2006 @ 4:15PM
Chris in Cincinnati said...
Azaria's character also brought us "Brrrrrisss-ki" (to be said whilst face buried between a woman's breasts)
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5-23-2006 @ 4:36PM
Bebop said...
This show is how i learned what a lesbian was. I was 6 years old and it was the episode where Herman's ex girlfriend pays him a visit and reveals she's a lesbian. Chaos ensues as he contemplates whether he made her a lesbian and so on and so forth. During one of the commercial breaks i remember running to my parent's room and asking, "Mommy whats a lesbian?"
I still remember the priceless look on her face.
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5-23-2006 @ 4:43PM
Gig said...
Funny show. Bill Ragsdale (Herman) lived right down the street from me when I was growing up. I still see him from time to time when he's in town to visit family.
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5-23-2006 @ 4:43PM
LC said...
Nother bit of trivia. The actor who played Lust was the voice of Baby Bob from the Quiznos commercials.
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5-23-2006 @ 5:03PM
Fred said...
Wow! I lived right down the street from a Quiznos when I was growing up! (Just kidding.)
According to IMDB, there was a porno called "Herman's Bed" -- so you know the show must have been at least something of a success for Fox.
I remember it...well maybe not "fondly" and maybe not "well," but I know that I watched it when it was on. There ought to be "Not Really Brilliant But Y'know It Was On Once, We Think, But Cancelled" for shows like this.
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5-23-2006 @ 7:11PM
Tim said...
So, where's the DVD package for Herman's Head? I'd love to see that in a box set with Flying Blind, another really funny show that Fox killed with a poor time slot and no promotion.
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5-27-2006 @ 2:39AM
TedSez said...
The basic plotline of "Herman's Head" was clearly based on (you could even say ripped off from) Jay McInerney's best-selling novel "Bright Lights, Big City." Like the main character in that book, Herman was a fact-checker at an urban magazine who wanted to do more with his life; and he was often sidetracked by his hard-partying, club-hopping friend (who, in case you didn't get the reference, was named "Jay"). But given that the book pretty much defined '80s culture, it was an ambitious reference for a sitcom.
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