Short-Lived Shows: Sifl and Olly

I don't even know where to begin talking about Sifl and Olly, one of the weirdest, most difficult to describe shows ever based around two sock puppets. It ran on MTV from 1998 to 1999 and isn't comparable to anything that came before or after it. It did, however, manage to amass a pretty hefty cult following in that short time, and I was definitely a part of that following. I was interning at a magazine in Dallas, Texas when it first aired, and had the same kind of reaction I did when I saw Mystery Science Theater 3000 for the first time: Dear God, they've tapped into my brain and made a show just for me.

Where to start? The show was the creation of Liam Lynch and Matt Crocco. Lynch played Olly, a white sock puppet, while Crocco played Sifl, a black sock puppet and the more down-to-Earth of the two, taking into consideration their version of "Earth" included bisexual flatware and walls made of waffles. The show was split into different segments, such as Calls from the Public, Precious Roy's Home Shopping Network ("Buy my Civil War corpses!"), and the occasional visit from Chester, a fidgety, soft-spoken puppet who somehow managed to be weirder than Sifl and Olly combined.

Although both Crocco and Lynch are American, the show originally aired on MTV in the UK. It also boasted some kick ass songs, all written and performed by Crocco and Lynch. Even those who loved the show had to admit to themselves it wouldn't last long. It was just too surreal and too inexplicable to last, even on MTV. Since its demise both of its creators have tried to get episodes released on DVD but with no success, save for a collection of lost episodes which is no longer available.

A less thoughtful person might have described the show as "drug-induced" but that's really selling it short. It was a show made on Lynch and Crocco's own bizarre terms, and an awesome treat for anyone lucky enough to catch it when it appeared, then immediately vanished, from the screen.