‘The Gong Show’ Revival Gets a Trailer (VIDEO)

Back in the late 1970s, Chuck Barris was accused of lowering the bar of pop culture when he created The Gong Show. Now that said bar has gotten so low it might as well be buried, the time is ripe for a Gong Show revival. Arrested Development star Will Arnett is producing the revival, and will appear as a celebrity judge, but he will not be hosting. Those duties have fallen to a man named Tommy Maitland, a fictional British comedian played by Mike Myers.

Myers must have decided that nobody likes him when he's not playing a character, so he's buried himself under layers of latex and dusted off his Austin Powers accent to bring Maitland to life. No word on whether or not the host himself can get gonged off the show. 

If you're unfamiliar with The Gong Show, it was a place for people to come and exhibit their nominal talents in hopes of winning an even more nominal prize—typically a check for $516.32, the minimum daily rate for a member of the Screen Actor's Guild. Most contestants saw their hopes dashed when Jamie Farr, Rip Taylor, Arte Johnson, Phyllis Diller, or some other 70s personality on the judging panel would hit an oversized gong to stop whatever atrocities were being committed in the name of entertainment. 

I can only imagine that, in an age where people readily make an ass out of themselves to attain internet fame, this is going to be a staggering new low for pop culture. Needless to say, I'll be tuning in when the series premieres on ABC on June 22.