THE COMEDIANS Funny, Not Fresh

Article originally published as THE COMEDIANS Review on Seat42F.

FX’s new series THE COMEDIANS stars comedy veterans Billy Crystal (When Harry Met Sally) and Josh Gad (Book of Mormon) as themselves. Or, rather, they play versions of themselves that are hired to do a sketch show for FX called The Billy and Josh Show. There is not actually a Billy and Josh Show; THE COMEDIANS is a fake documentary about two people who have the same backstory as the actors who play them, but with (presumably) more antagonistic personalities.

My first thought upon watching THE COMEDIANS is that it is not in the slightest bit original. The mockumentary style has certainly been done many times before, from The Office to Modern Family to Christopher Guest films. The person-playing-themselves hook has also been used a lot lately, some examples being James Van Der Beek in Don’t Trust the B- in Apartment 23 and (the gold standard) Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm. The format here is most like Showtime’s Episodes, which stars Matt Leblanc as Matt Leblanc, in that Josh and Billy are like the writers of Pucks who are forced to work with the former Friends star against their will. They clash and bicker, and yet they are stuck together by circumstance, to keep careers alive, and because of financial need.

The Comedians is funny, though. In the pilot, we see a couple of their sketches, or aftermaths of the sketches, and they work. The story provides ample opportunity for humor both big and small, with some physicality used sparingly, yet well. I don’t know how much of the sketch show-within-a-show we’ll end up seeing, and honestly, I hope it’s not a lot, but what we do see if terrific.

Josh and Billy themselves are great. Both can make the room uncomfortable very well. Crystal is the more established, and so his actions are more predictable. Josh plays expertly off of him, presenting someone that both represents a generation and who can also be quite his own person. Both have undeniable talent with differing sensibilities, and the others in the cast realize that, but Billy’s long resume gives him the upper hand in most situations, at least for now.

More so than Episodes, though, which has a strong ensemble, The Comedians is going to need to rely on its guest stars. Billy and Josh are great, but they can’t just interact with one another all the time. Their go-between, Kristen (Stephnie Weir, MADtv), is not a likeable, relatable character, and while playing to Weir’s strengths, is just not that essential a part. The other two main cast members, Mitch (Matt Oberg, Hart of Dixie) and Esme (Megan Ferguson, also Hart of Dixie), don’t make much of an impression, though whether that’s because of the actors or because they haven’t been given meaty material yet remains to be seen.

Because of who Billy and Josh are, it will take some very strong players to rise to their level. Luckily, THE COMEDIANS, while failing to stock their home team, has a strong roster of visitors in both recurring and guest capacities. I won’t spoil who all of those are, but two of note are Dana Delany (Desperate Housewives, Body of Proof), who plays Billy’s wife, and Steven Weber (Wings, Helix, Studio 60), as a director hired for The Billy and Josh Show. The former, we only hear, not see, in the pilot, and latter doesn’t show up until the end of the first half hour. Weber’s presence, though, and the part he’s playing are the main reason I’m excited to watch episode two as soon as possible.

I’m cautiously optimistic about THE COMEDIANS. I wish it had taken more chances and gone in a bolder, fresher direction. But what is present is entertaining, and it definitely feels like a show that can grow into something really cool given time. Or not. We’ll see.

THE COMEDIANS premieres Thursday at 10 p.m. ET on FX.

Ugly Americans enjoys a "Wet Hot Demonic Summer"

     This week finds the return of Comedy Central's Ugly Americans with "Wet Hot Demonic Summer." Presumably, the title is a parody of the film Wet Hot American Summer, but without having seen the film, it's hard to know how much of the episode is, too. The demons want to wipe out the wizards, who are heaving a convention. Knowing Mark's (Matt Oberg) connection to Leonard (Randy Pearlstein), a wizard he shares an office with, Twayne (Michael-Leon Wooley) tricks Mark into thinking he is running a summer camp near the wizard meet. When Mark goes to get a signature from Leonard for a census form, Twayne and the demons invade the conference. But so does Grimes (Larry Murphy) with his new bear clan. Chaos ensues. Meanwhile, Mark's roommate, Randall (Kurt Metzger), leads the other camp counselors to dig below the grounds in an abandoned silver mine.


     This animated series about a social worker helping supernatural beings and ugly monsters integrate into New York City is hilarious, and taking the action into the country doesn't hurt it at all. The voice actors are talented, and the jokes are funny. For instance, when Mark's demon girlfriend, Callie (Natasha Leggero) takes off her bikini, another, smaller one, is revealed underneath. And when Randall and the others get trapped underground, they vow to eat weepy koala Doug, a plan they decide to continue even after Doug digs them out. Using a zombie as main character lets the writers go for such dark humor.

     At the wizard convention, Leonard is supposed to be handing over his reigns to an apprentice, who is a very clear knock off of Harry Potter. But true to character, Leonard is too lazy to spend fifty years actually training his replacement, so he picks him up at the Chinese restaurant when Leonard dumped him with only days before the transition. The joke is on Leonard, though, as failing to have a suitable apprentice means another five hundred years of work for him. If only Leonard had thought about the consequences.

     Mark is a great straight man to the bunch of misfits, though the fact that he is dating a demon gives him a little depth, and keeps him from being boring. His upbeat attitude is what drives the show, when everyone around him would rather be apathetic. Mark comes off as a bit annoying as he urges others to get into the spirit of camp, but it shows his loyalty that he would bring some of the beings he helps in his job and his roommate out to join the fun. He is a nice, naive guy, something needed in such a zany, offbeat comedy.
     Be sure to watch Ugly Americans Thursdays at 10:30 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.

     If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter!

     Buy Ugly Americans Volume One on DVD.

The Onion Double Dose

     For fans of the newspaper The Onion, which originally began as a college project, the brand has been expanding these past few years. With editions in several cities, online videos and audio clips, books, and even a movie, there is no shortage of The Onion's distinct type of humor. This month, The Onion also launched two television shows: Onion SportsDome on Comedy Central and The Onion News Network on IFC.

     As a fan of the video and audio clips, but not one of sports, I was initially disappointed at Comedy Central's announced series. Because the sports-themed clips released online frequently had nothing to do with actual sports stories, but rather parodies of the genre of sports reporting, I found them entertaining. But I assumed a full half hour would have to take its source material from current events. Not necessarily the case. In the first few episodes, SportsDome plays more to the stereotypes and trends in the industry, rather than specifics. The hosts, Mark Shepard (Matt Oberg, Ugly Americans) and Alex Reiser (Matt Walton, One Life to Live), are incredibly funny, and get plenty of barbs in on each other. Even for the non-sports fan, the program is worth checking out.

     The Onion News Network is slightly different, in that the jokes are not about sports, and it stars only one host, sharp tongued Brooke Alvarez (Suzanne Sena). She is joined by a number of other 'reporters' and 'commentators', including some like Duncan Birch (Brian Huskey, Free Radio) and Lauralee Hickock (Julie Brister) who appeared in the online video clips. Some of the previous clip segments continue, such as my favorite, "Today Now!", so that the series feels like a longer version of the shorter videos released on the web.

     ONN tackles specific stories, though not necessarily real ones. For instance, in recent episodes, a judge decided to try a young, white girl as a black man in a court case, and assassins from the future came back in time to kill Suri Cruise. It's goofy humor, a mix of reality spoofs and commentary on what is wrong with our society. 

     Both shows pretend to be on a 24 hour network of their topic, such as CNN and ESPN. I'm glad they don't attempt more than 30 minutes a week, though, as I have a feeling the jokes could get old real fast. However, I was skeptical that either show could keep a consistently funny weekly half hour, but am glad to be proven wrong.

     Onion SportsDome airs Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central, and Onion News Network runs Friday nights at 10 p.m. on IFC. Give them a try!

Article first published as TV Review: The Onion Double Dose on Blogcritics.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional TV news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

Ugly Americans returns tonight

    Last spring, Comedy Central aired a seven episode first season of Ugly Americans.  It's an animated series set in New York City, except that humans share the place with monsters and demons of all sorts.  I thought it was a pretty funny show, though I never wrote a full review.  I just watched tonight's season premiere, "Better Off Undead", and I have to say, it went a little too gross for me.

     The show revolves around Mark Lilly (Matt Oberg), a social worker for the Department of Immigration, or something like that.  He counsels creatures to help them get their lives on track.  This week, Mark tried to help a two-headed worm guy and his roommate, a Zombie named Randall (Kurt Metzger).  The left side of the worm guy was being abused by the right side, and there were parallels made between worm guys and slavery, as well as spousal abuse.  There is already a worm guy who is a regular in Mark's group, but that guy's two halves live in harmony.  Anyway, about the new worm guy.  Mark convinced the weaker half to get separate from the stronger half.  The weak half moved into Mark's apartment, and began acting like a servant.  Eventually, Mark grew tired of his company, and had him get reattached with his tormentor.

     Meanwhile, Randall was stalking his ex-girlfriend, trying unusccessfully to win her back.  She has a restraining order against him, so that complicated things.  Randall checked himself into a zombi rehabilition place, to learn to be a better zombie, and to better stalk people.  I twas a bit goofy, but eventually, Randall realized that he had to be who he was.

     Then Mark got cursed by his co-worker, a failed wizard named Leonard (Randy Pearlstein).  Mark was turned into an exact replica of Randall's ex-girlfriend.  You see, Leonard was drunk, and didn't know what he was doing.  He actually put a curse on Mark, who aged rapidly, and could not return to himself unless he had sex, as a woman, with a male, to completion.  Mark's demon girlfriend, Callie (Natasha Leggero, a judge on the recent season of Last Comic Standing), was very understanding, and helped him find a man to do the deed with online.  Sadly, the only man who responded to the female Mark's ad was Mark's gross, gruff co-worker, Lt. Grimes (Larry Murphy).  Mark hooked up with Grimes, and then very grossly, pulled himself out of the dead old lady skin in the morning.  Grimes found out just who he slept with, but he was weirdly ok with it.

     For me, the dead skin, and Randall accidentally eating his own fingers was more sick than I care to see.  However, generally the show is fairly entertaining.   Ugly Americans premieres tonight on Comedy Central at 10:30pm.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional tv news, follow Jerome on Twitter.