Eileen....you live in CALIFORNIA!! It's a "midwest thang"...every bit rings true to me....but I am sure not to you.
You gotta remember the radio stations broadcasting Lucille and Leanna Driftmeier and the ads for baking powder, and know all about Hot Dish and a town where half are Catholic and half are Lutheran and never the twain shall meet.
You are urban....and in California...you shouldn't get it!! LOL!
Linda C

Me either. It sure must be a Midwestern thing. I do like some of his Lake Wobegon soliloquies, since all my grandparents were Swedish/Norwegian and a lot of it rings true, even for East Coast Scandinavians, but the rest of it is just another variety show and most of the performers I don't know of and/or don't enjoy.

On the other hand, I do have cable television and enjoy it. And I listen to some NPR programs, though I can't listen to Diane Rehm anymore. I do like Morning Edition and ME Saturday is my favorite. I listen to All Things Considered, though Michele Norris is getting kind of tedious. I've been listening to Puplic Radio since the Watergate hearings.

Love Garrison!

Born and raised on the East coast. 17 years in the mid west.

DH can't stand him. Same background. Go figure.

Adele

I don't get the appeal either, but I can listed to Marshall Dodge, Time Sample or the Wicked Good Band all night, so it is definitely regional!

Alexa

Here is a link that might be useful: Tim Sample

I am not a fan of PHC or Garrison Keillor, either. I do agree it is Midwestern, but obviously not appealing to all Midwesterners! LOL

Linda

So I simply lack the appropriate Midwestern historical cultural references. :) That explains it. I do remember liking "The Red Green Show" but the memory is vague. And I've never been anywhere even close to Canada!

I went to see the movie a few years ago. It had moments but seemed mostly just odd.

It reminds me vaguely of Fargo - a movie I just did not get the appeal.....

Alexa

I'm right with ya! This CA girl can easily switch channels when it's on NPR.

Good lord, is he still on?

I go through a like/dislike thing with it. Overall, I like it, but only in small doses. (The station in KY used to play it FOUR TIMES during the weekend, and that, IMO, was three times too many.

The "ya gotta be from there" doesn't always work either, though. I never did think the Andy Griffith Show was entertaining. Liked everyone on it in other things, but couldn't stand that show.

I grew up in Montana, and have relatives all over the West and mid West. I don't love him, but I like the show, and the News from Lake Woebegon sounds very familiar to me. My kids--born in Los Angeles--like it too. The other performers are a mixed bag, and I can live a long time before I ever hear any more close-harmony singing.

I think there's a big jump in sophistication from Andy Griffith which was hokey-from-Hollywood (Andy might have been a downhome guy, but his writers weren't) and Keilor's fond but skeptical look at small town Midwestern life.

Here it follows "Car Talk" and "Wait, Wait" on weekend mornings. Those are both shows I like to listen to while I do other things. So I end up listening to PHC as well. After PHC I get a nice dose of jazz. I wish there were other public radio station in range as there are some very good ones in the SF Bay Area and in Sacramento but the signal doesn't reach this far. I know about internet radio but I forget about it and it tends to drop in and out anyway which I find annoying.

Yes, Renee, four times in one weekend is at least three times too many! I think it's just twice here, Saturday and Sunday mornings. Yeah, I get it all again on Sunday morning. Silence is good, too. :)

I liked "The Andy Griffith Show" except for the barber Floyd. I found him irritating. The show had a sweetness about it.

Oh, I love listening to Prairie Home Companion! For awhile I was planning my grocery trips around the time the show would come on. I would listen to it on the way there and if lucky on the way home too!

Now as for Tim Sample, I grew up listening to him and Marshall Dodge. I can remember being very small listening to the tapes in the car, while traveling with my mom and dad, not really understanding but laughing just the same, anyone familiar with Bert and I? We used to listen to those tapes as well.

PHC comes on here at 5 on Saturday....Has for more than 22 or more years. My DH and I first listened on the way home form football games...and it passed the drive veryw ell....then we got sort of hooked....and it would be on whilew e were getting ready to go out...or having a drink after working in the yard...
I don't think I would like it in the morning either!
I at first thought the music was hokey...but have come to love it....for an hour!!
Didn't like Andie Griffith....hated Hee Haw...hate Red Green.;...but I kind of like PHC.
Linda C

I haven't heard many shows, but enjoyed the movie. My dad liked it so much he bought the DVD. We have watched it a few times. I have read a couple of the books and found them quite enjoyable. Some really hilarious stories. Of course I am from the midwest and am Lutheran (non-practicing) but I don't think that matters. Just depends on your sense of humor. Everyone has a different sense of humor, and let's face it...some people have little or none. Those people make me sad because laughing is the best thing in the world IMHO. Some people might say sex, but I say humor and laughing is even better...far less messy...but then again some folks might inter-twine those two things! .....not going to comment on that possibility......

...bye....bye...

Duane

There are things I do like about PHC, Garrison Keillor's singing is not one of them. And maybe I never recovered from the news of his affair. Affairs among the well-known are certainly not unusual but he just seemed like one of the good guys. Not that I ever knew anything about his personal life or temperament, I didn't, nor did I much care, he just SEEMED like he would be an honorable sort of guy. When the obvious bad boys stray it's no surprise, but he surprised me. Naive, I know!

I don't know Marshall Dodge. I was a kid when Hee Haw was on, it made me cringe a little even then. And I have NO idea what makes Lutherans so amusing! What is that? :)

Barnmom, I'm with you. Love Car Talk and Wait Wait, but I can't change the station fast enough when PHC comes on. I kind of get the folksy humor, but it is the sound of Keillor's voice that makes me crazy. He always sounds like he needs to blow his nose or cough up something disgusting.

A lot of the humor reminds me of life in small PA towns like the one where my parents grew up. Lots of church events and covered dish dinners, etc. I'm a city girl for sure, so it's got nothing to do with me.

On the other hand, I just loved Fargo. Can't look at a wood chipper without thinking of it.

I still like PHC after about 25 years of listening. Garrison's singing is getting past its prime, IMO, I will admit that.

We used to get our singles Sunday school class together for snacks and wine and listen to the show together. This was when I was in my late 30's early 40's and was new to the singles scene. We had a great group of people and I really enjoyed them all. It was a close knit group which made listening to PHC very companionable.

Teresa

PHC Movie??? Don't think I would like that!
And Garrison was "immoral"??
La La La,,,I don't hear you!!!!
And, yes he does sound a little "thick" but most people in the midwest sound like that in the winter! Goes with the territory, don't cha know? ( hack....snort..)

A little bit of Garrison goes a long way. I like folk, country and old timey music so I usually like his show. He's been on for so long, he's getting a little worn around the edges. I've been listening for 30 years, and it could be wickedly hilarious in the old days. His first book, Lake Woebegone Days, is also hilarious. But he has a particular kind of Midwestern humor. It's subtle, and the sarcasm goes over a lot of people's heads if they haven't experienced small town Midwestern life and some of the cultural references. I grew up in Mayberry/Lake Woebegone, so I really enjoy it. But really, his best bits are long behind him. He has plumbed that schtick for material for a bit too long. But I cut him slack just out of respect for the great laughs I have gotten on occasion, and also because I am very homesick for the Midwest so I take what I can get.

I have picked up a lot of expressions from that show! My favorite is regarding sex, "If you didn't want to go to Minneapolis you should never have gotten on the train." Totally nonsensical unless you grew up in a small town living in fear of what might happen to you in the "big city" of Minneapolis, or in my case, Chicago. I have friends who are still afraid to go to the big cities!

I like Guy Noir.
I didn't like the movie at all - where was Sue Scott??

We only catch it once and awhile, but we find it funny and we live in California. I did live in the Midwest for 15 years but that was a long time ago, over 32 years ago. My favorite skit is Guy Noir. And I liked the movie more than I thought I would.
Clare

Love Fargo and Garrison Keilor (but I don't catch him any more for some reason) and All Things Considered. I hear you, ded, about the wood chipper, LOL.

I listen to Pretty Good Jokes on our road trip from NY to FL every year :) I only have 2 cd's but I see there are more - gotta get the new one for our next trip!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pretty Good Jokes

(Hey Pam we own that model chipper LOL)