The 7 Most Insane Moments from Cable Access TV

By Ross Wolinsky February 26, 2007 603,786 views

Before American Idol came along, people relied on cable access television for their fix of second hand embarassment. With the only barrier for entry being an inexplicable belief that you deserved to be on TV, the no-budget broadcasting platforms drew a flood of some of the most bat-shit insane characters ever seen outside the gates of an asylum. Here are seven of the most terrifying, surreal and all together hilarious moments ever broadcast on cable access TV.

Sondra Prill - Nasty Boys

The Story: Take a minute to decide whether you feel like laughing or crying, then hit play. Back in the mid-80s, Sondra Prill thought she was going to be the biggest thing to ever come out of Tampa, Florida. It might have actually happened if it hadn't been for one minor detail: she didn't have a lick of talent. None. When you watch clips from her short-lived show (which was creatively titled "My Show"), it's hard to tell if she's actually serious. Watch a handful of her other videos on YouTube and you might start to think that it was all an elaborate joke, that Sondra Prill was just some bizarre performance art piece or something. Take this as either proof that she was for real, or proof that she took the joke way too far: In 1992, Sondra rented out a 900-seat Tampa amphitheater to put on something called "A Musical Fantasy" as a Hurricane Andrew fundraiser. She charged up to $50 a ticket-the same theater hosted acts like Al Green and Patti LaBelle around that time for a maximum ticket price of $25. Amazingly, she managed to sell 41 tickets to the show. Which might mean that she did end up being the biggest act to ever come out of Tampa, Florida.

Why It Rules: While the borrowed fur (and the borrowed footage from another music video) help bring this clip to the brink of awesomeness, it's Sondra's complete dearth of talent that really gives it that extra push. Each awkward pelvic thrust, each attempt at a sexy come-hither look (which all come out looking more like demonic possession) put yet another nail into the no-talent coffin. Every time she screams "NASTY!" try to remember that she actually thought she was going to be a star. Every time she bugs her eyes out all crazy, try to remember that she probably thought it looked sexy. Remember this all, then listen to her lovely singing voice and die a little inside. As an added bonus, the dancer at 1:33 looks a lot like Val Kilmer in Real Genius, so it's got that going for it, too.

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79 Comments

F1RST! Oh, wait...

3/23/2009 8:03:35 PM

FridayUnion

Bignuts, the link you gave now directs to a movie starring The Rock.

3/22/2009 12:17:41 PM

CrackedEgg

http://www.porkolt.com/other/The-Merrill-Howard-Kalin-Show-42091.html .... This link was posted June 19 2007. Funny how the first paragraph in this article is almost exactly the same as the description on this other website. What's up with that?

2/10/2009 11:22:30 AM

Bignuts

Jesus looked down from heaven, saw "Spirit of Truth", went to God and went "Dad, please, MAKE IT STOP! This is worse than crucifixion!"

2/9/2009 1:11:04 AM

UdoShan

The hell was going on in the backroud of #2? It looked like the were just looking at random s**t around the studio and putting it on there.

1/16/2009 4:30:56 PM

UndeadMonkey

you gotta see the whole spirit of truth thing its like 8 minutes but he be goin bad on em. its this one part some female calls in and he say "i dont give a f**k what u think b***h!" possibly the best moment in public access tv ever recorded

1/10/2009 7:12:23 AM

drewdeze

lol@ that girl telling him she wants to succ his dicc hahaha the painter guy hahaha yell

1/8/2009 7:26:41 PM

BOX5

the spirit of truth is my equal,i remember chopping it up with that equal bacc in theday,still got a couple of his episodes on tape that ain't hit youtube yet yell

www.myspace.com/panhandoelrcorp

1/8/2009 6:57:38 PM

BOX5

How is The Spirit of Truth not at the number one spot?! That dude is going to make you accept the salvation of Jesus Christ, even if he has to cuss yo mutha f****n' ass out!!!

1/8/2009 3:27:18 PM

Zenobia

poor number four. that gu was getting completely destroyed. Proves the point that there are quite a few assholes out there, or at least people that don't like Ken Sander (maybe he's a pedophile)

1/3/2009 8:31:41 AM