It’s always fun to complain about SNL. It’s also easy to do so
because well, watch their latest episodes.
Instead of complaining about how terrible SNL is of late or waiting for the new great Key and Peele episode to air, may I suggest that you dig into the
vault and try out Mr. Show? Mr.
Show starred David Cross and Bob Oedenkirk and ran in the mid to late 90’s
on HBO. The sketches all lead into each
other and the material is refreshingly counterculture and rather daring compared
to that “Live from New York” show. The
show is also a who’s who of pre-famous celebrities with people like Tom Kenny
(and his wife Jill Talley), Sarah Silverman, Scott Aukerman, Paul F. Tompkins, Mary
Lynn Rajskub, and Brian Posehn making up the rest of the cast. They usually fill the supporting roles as Bob
and Dave get all the best lines and parts.
If I had to pick some of my favorite sketches from the show I’d have to
go with the audition in which David Cross auditions for a role in a tv show
with a very meta monologue. Another
classic has Bob Oedenkirk playing a teenager who becomes the new Dalai Lama and
has to endure a culture clash when his slacker friend, David Cross, comes to visit. The sketch then somehow transitions into a
parody of camp movies where the monks have to beat the kids from the rich fat
kid camp at the camp Olympics. My
description does not do the bit justice and they must be seen to be believed. Mr.
Show fully displays the benefits and power that come when a comedy show
airs on an HBO like channel. They have
no sponsors to suck up to and are free to do what they choose. In the first episode, David Cross breaks
character and goes on a hilarious mini-rant about how little effort HBO put
into the show and how shitty the sets look.
Only the Simpsons throw such
barbs at the hand that feeds them.
Another benefit to Mr.
Show is the clear voice and perspective behind it. The satire is never muddy or watered down and
the intro banter with Bob and David does a great job of making fun of the
convention of a comic playing off his straight man partner. Another upside is the wealth of original
material in each episode. Recurring
characters are only really employed in the episode they are introduced in as a
way to tie up other sketches or set up the next one or even continue the
strange continuity throughout the episode.
This isn’t lazy catchphrase comedy and at most I can only remember three
characters returning in different episodes.
Mr. Show is a pitch perfect
example of how great a focused sketch comedy show can be and I implore all to
watch the 30 episode grandeur that is Bob Oedenkirk and David Cross.
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