Martin Short, Jimmy Fallon and Steve Martin Star in the Soap Opera Tensions

Posted on November 7, 2015

Martin Short was a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy brought up the surprising fact that the two starred in a short-lived soap opera in the 90s called Tensions. It was cancelled after only three episodes, but the three that aired certainly did have a lot of tension-filled scenes.

Jimmy and Martin played a wealthy husband and wife named Maxwell and Lillian Vanderbilt. Martin explained that he had to play the wife because, "There were no women in Hollywood at that time." The director of the show wanted there to be maximum tension in ever scene, no matter how mundane and he definitely got what he wanted.

In teh first scene Maxwell was trying to eat his turkey sandwich. But a suspicious Lillian grilled him about the sandwich's ingredients. When he left out an ingredient she became enraged and threw a drink in his face.

In the second clip Lillian flew into a rage when Maxwell blinked. He expalined that it was a natural function, but Lillian wasn't buying it exclaiming, "I need answers and I don't need lies!" This time Maxwell got slapped and got a vase cracked over his head.

But the third clip is the real gem. This time Maxwell is suspicious that Lillian is having an affair with a man who show up at their house "every day for the past six months." At that point the mailman arrives, played by Steve Martin. He said he was just there to deliver the mail and, well, you'll have to watch the clip to see what else he was there for. In this episode everyone got slapped, hit or knocked on the head giving it a Three Stooges vibe. Steve Martin really makes this bit. Take a look:


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