MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES Mysteriously Hilarious

Article first published as MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES Review on Seat42F.

MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES premieres next week on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. What is MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES, you may ask? Well, imagine you and your buddies got high, watched a bunch of old episodes of Scooby Doo, and wondered what the show would be like if retired boxer Mike Tyson starred in it. Then, toss in an Oscar-winning screenwriter (who also appears in a zany sitcom), a semi-washed-up comedian who doesn’t always get the respect he deserves, and a bunch of jokes that only an on-drugs college student, possibly an English major, could come up, and you have this show.

Which is why MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES is awesome!

In the animated series, Mike Tyson (who also acted in The Hangover films) voices a version of himself taken to extremes. Mike lives with his adopted, eighteen-year-old, Asian daughter, Yung Hee (Rachel Ramras, Mad), a guy who was turned into a pigeon by his ex-wife and who now goes by the name Pigeon (Norm MacDonald, Saturday Night Live), and a closeted gay, gentleman ghost, Marquess of Queensbury (Jim Rash, Community). They form a team that solves mysteries together, because, why not?

The program is created by Hugh Davidson, who is famous for writing and performing on Robot Chicken. Obviously, Hugh gets some of the random gags from his experience there, but puts together a more cohesive story for this project. What he is doing works extremely well.

I’m not sure exactly why I love MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES so much. It’s part nostalgia, to be sure, as the style and tone references older works for children that I grew up watching. It’s partially the inane sense of humor, often dirty, which Adult Swim is known for. It’s somewhat due to the intelligent references, proving the writer is educated. And it’s just all cleverly woven together, bringing subplots back around full circle and letting even the most insane one-liners actually mean something to the larger picture.

Let me give you an example of this. In the first episode, Mike receives a letter from Pulitzer Prize-winner Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) asking him to help find an ending to his latest book. Mike tosses out a crazy theory as to what the mystery might be, which everyone else scoffs at because it seemingly has no basis in reality. A series of mishaps occur that takes the team to McCarthy’s place, even bringing a second author into the story, and then it all wraps up as Mike predicted, to certain extent. The script isn’t predictable; there aren’t clues connecting point A to point B. But in the end, it all makes a strange kind of sense.

Now, I don’t know if McCarthy voices himself or not, and can’t seem to find confirmation on the internet as of yet. But Mike Tyson, who has had a mixed reputation based on past press coverage, must have a sense of humor about himself to participate in this. The fact that McDonald and Rash, both respectable people, signed up to join him should lend weight to the show, too.

Now, I’m sure MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES is not for everyone. It’s off-the-wall enough that it probably will attract a wide variety of viewers, but not everyone likes their comedy this goofy. It’s far from a traditional family sitcom or a show one can watch with one’s kids. But to a thirty-year-old male critic who watches far too much TV, it tickles the funny bone and strikes me as nearly the most original thing to hit the adult animated scene in years, even with its generous borrowing of other works.

MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES premieres Monday at 10:30 p.m. ET on Cartoon Network.

Sports Show With Norm Macdonald like extended Weekend Update

     It looks like Comedy Central is trying to expand its talkshow lineup. With the success of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report dominating one hour four nights a week, Comedy Central tries to put other shows like them, but not too much like them, in the ten thirty slot from time to time. The highest rated so far is Tosh.0, which has run for several seasons. The Onion SportsDome isn't as timely, but still pretty funny. Now, comedian Norm Macdonald tries his hand with Sports Show With Norm Macdonald, which in its debut episode, proved it can hang with its peers.

     Rather than smash other series in at 10:30 on weekday nights, though, wouldn't it make more sense to build a solid Friday nights eleven to midnight? That way Comedy Central could run original, fresh programming five nights a week. Norm could easily be a weekly thing almost year round, like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are, with The Onion filling in the ten weeks or so a year Norm takes off, as its episode can be aired any old time. Tosh.0 could probably put up reruns on weeks it doesn't have fresh material, and a whole new must-see hour is born. Unless you don't like Tosh.0, because it is admittedly a terrible show. But it's popular, hence the suggestion.

     Norm begins the show by delivering fast-paced one-liners, a la Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update. Norm once held the Update chair, and he has not lot his touch at the job at all. He is witty, and only having to do it once a week, he can keep things fresh and exciting. This is the strongest segment of his show, running for the first ten minutes or so. The one-liners can be broken up with occasional longer bits, such as his "Wait, What?" where he shows a polar bear getting in the way of a skier, or his trivia contest where viewers are supposed to guess which one of six dancers is about to be hit by an ice-cream truck. The answer is obvious, but the humor still sails across just fine.

     In the second section, Norm left the studio to do a bit, much like The Daily Show often does. This week, Norm 'had makeup put on him to look like NBA star Blake Griffin'. It began with Norm in a makeup chair, then Norm provided voice while the real Griffin stumbled around looking foolish. Strange, yes, but also effectively funny. Griffin is a good sport, mouthing whatever words Norm wrote for him to mouth. The payoff at the end of the sketch isn't necessary, but works as a capper.

     The third portion consists of Norm standing in front of a screen like Tosh's opening or The Soup. This isn't quite as good as the first act, but does allow Norm to do longer jokes, such as "What the H". This week's topic of the bit is Tiger Woods. While the content may be slightly dated, as everyone got tired of making fun of Tiger months ago, Norm can be forgiven for doing it because his series has just premiered. It doesn't feel like Norm arrives late to the party, as he takes a different stand than almost any other comedian, siding with Woods. By the end of the joke, many audience members may have been swayed to agree with him. However, this could be in the first segment as well, so perhaps he should try doing an interview in place of a second run of short quips.

     The show ends with Norm doing 90 seconds of 'garbage', which is an apt term. The ending needs work. But not too shabby. While Norm's stand up may not be so fresh any more (his recent special is nearly unwatchable), he has proven he can still do something well. Hopefully, Norm will soon become a more permanent part of the Comedy Central lineup.

     Sports Show With Norm Macdonald airs Tuesday nights at 10:30 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.

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