By: koalafriend
Game Show Grit: How MTVs Remote Control Taught Adam Sandler To Turn Rejection Into Comedy Gold
OMG you guys. When you think of Adam Sandler, what comes to mind? Is it the iconic rage-scream from Billy Madison? The legendary fight with Bob Barker in Happy Gilmore? Or maybe it is his current reign as the king of Netflix and the unintentional fashion icon behind the whole Sandlercore trend. We are talking baggy shorts forever!
But what if I told you that long before he was pining for Drew Barrymore or making us laugh on Saturday Night Live, the Sandman was honing his craft on a chaotic, messy, and totally awesome MTV game show?
Get ready for a major throwback because we are diving deep into the origin story of a comedy legend. And it all starts in a fake basement.
Welcome to Remote Control The Ultimate 80s Trivia Show
Picture this: The year is 1987. MTV is THE cultural epicentre. And in the middle of all the Bon Jovi and Madonna videos, a new show appears. It is called Remote Control.
Hosted by the late and legendary Ken Ober, the show was a slacker’s paradise. Contestants sat in comfy La-Z-Boy chairs and answered pop culture trivia from bizarre categories like “Dead or Canadian?” and “Brady Physics.” It was loud, irreverent, and pure 80s bliss. It was also the secret training ground for some of comedy’s biggest names.
Hidden amongst the writers and occasional performers were future stars like Denis Leary, Colin Quinn, and a young, pre-SNL Adam Sandler.
Enter the Trivia Delinquent
Before he was Opera Man or Canteen Boy, Adam Sandler had a few recurring roles on Remote Control. He was the studly but clueless character Stud Boy and, most memorably, the Trivia Delinquent.
This wasn't some huge starring role. We are talking about a bit part. Sandler would come out, do a quick, goofy character bit, and try to land a few jokes. He was a writer on the show, grinding it out day after day, trying to get his material on air.
And this, my friends, is where the magic happened. This is where he learned the single most important lesson for any comedian: how to fail spectacularly.
The Comedy Crucible Rejection Live on TV
Here’s the tea. The set of Remote Control was a high-pressure environment. Ken Ober was quick-witted, and the show moved at a lightning pace. Sandler and the other writers would pitch jokes and sketch ideas, and many of them would get shot down. Sometimes, they would get shot down live during the taping.
Can you even imagine? You write a joke you think is hilarious, you perform it for a national television audience, and the host basically tells you it is a dud. The cringe!
But for Sandler, this was his boot camp. Instead of crawling into a hole of embarrassment, he learned to lean into the rejection. He learned to use the awkwardness. He discovered that the failure itself could be the punchline. That bomb, that joke that didn't land, became part of the performance.
This is the absolute core of Sandler’s comedic genius. It is the ability to be the butt of the joke and still be the one in control. It is the foundation of the lovable loser persona that would make him a global superstar.
From MTV Basement to SNL Stardom
The skills Sandler sharpened on Remote Control were the exact ones he needed to survive and thrive on Saturday Night Live. SNL is a live show where things go wrong all the time. Jokes bomb. Props break. Performers forget their lines.
Sandler arrived at SNL already battle-tested. He knew how to recover from a failed joke with a goofy face or a silly voice. He wasn't afraid to look foolish. In fact, he built his entire brand on it. That grit, that resilience forged in the fires of a low-budget MTV game show, made him unstoppable.
Think about it. The frustration of Happy Gilmore, the childish absurdity of Billy Madison, the vulnerability hiding under the jokes in The Wedding Singer—it all connects back to that kid on Remote Control learning to turn a moment of rejection into a shared laugh.
So next time you are scrolling through Netflix and click on a new Adam Sandler movie, or you see a paparazzi pic of him in his signature oversized basketball shorts, remember where it all began. It wasn't in a fancy comedy club or a prestigious acting school.
It was in a fake TV basement, surrounded by La-Z-Boy chairs, where a young comedian learned that sometimes the biggest laughs come from your biggest failures. And for that, we have MTV Remote Control to thank for giving us the Adam Sandler we know and love today. What an icon
Leave a Reply