Sketch Comedy - Good, Bad and Ugly

[Mojambo]

The Good

It begins and ends with Monty Python of course.

1. Mr Show - My favorite sketch comedy show of all-time. David Cross and Bob Odenkirk are fucking geniuses and there is nothing else to say about it. The show is subversive but accessible and creative in the extreme.

2. SCTV - Kind of before my time but from the re-runs I've seen it is phenomenally funny.

3. Kids in the Hall - Heralded for good reason. Cross dressing has never been funnier. This show has made me a lifelong fan of Dave Foley.

4. Upright Citizens Brigade - A tough show to get into, but once you get the rhythm it's a can't miss. Amy Poehler's work here will make you very sad at how mis-used she has been on Saturday Night Live.

The Bad

Saturday Night Live - a once brilliant show that has lost its way. The show could be fixed without too much trouble however. I think the show is bloated and confused. Cut the cast in half. Immediately. Next step would be to find an identity. If you're going to do political satire, then do it and do a lot of it. If you want to be a quirky, offbeat variety show (what I would like to see) then stick to that. This show is all over the map these days and it is hurt badly by the lack of focus and the gigantic cast size. No more than 6 full-time cast members and maybe 2-3 featured players is idea.

The Ugly

Mad TV - They did alright for the first couple of seasons. Phil Lamar, Nicole Sullivan, Mary Scheer, and (especially) David Herman and Artie Lange formed a formidable cast. They've been brutally untalented in the last few years.


So, that's my take. Feel free to share your favorite sketch comedy shows and opinions...

[Dogmudgeon]

1. What? No Goonies?

--bkl

[CBGLuthier]

12. Do you mean Goodies

Or is that a reference the The Goon Show? Please illuminate. :-)

[Dogmudgeon]

14. The Goon Show

--bkl

[tridim]

2. Notice how "the good" are all either canceled or have run their course

and "the bad and ugly" shows are still on the air. That really sucks.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

3. Have you seen SCTV on DVD?

Or on TV? Just curious because it's been cut to death on TV-loses alot of its impact.

[Mojambo]

4. Mostly on TV

I want to get the DVDs soon.

[Tikki]

5. 'Young Ones'

...marrow, meringue, boomerang...long blue boomerang.

[CBGLuthier]

6. Your Show of Shows

Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Howard Morris, Carl Reiner and some of the greatest comedy writers of the 20th century.

Monty Python. Can't believe no one has mentioned them yet.

I agree that Mr. Show is one of the best in years. Loved The Upright Citizen's Brigade.

Mad TV has never ever been funny to me. About the only funny thing I ever saw them do was a hollywood squares starring the "stars" of UPN. Had a Klingon and a black woman and they kept moving from square to square. Otherwise totally bad and borderline racist.

Is Saturday Night Live still on? :-)


Flip Wilson's show. Now running on TV Land. Have fond memories of it. Now mostly fun just to see those that are gone and others when they were young.

[Mojambo]

8. Actually, I mention Monty Python straight away. n/t

[CBGLuthier]

10. Yes you did

Sorry, missed the first line of the post. Long day.

[Kat45]

7. The Ben Stiller Show was great!.

Only lasted a season or two, in the early days of the Fox network. I saw how much talent Stiller has when I watched this show, and it saddens me to see him going the stupid comedy route in movies. Janeane Garafolo was also on the show.

[Mojambo]

9. Ben Stiller show was tight

Bob Odenkirk got his start writing on that show IIRC.

[cedahlia]

11. Anyone else remember "The State"?

It was a sketch comedy show that aired on MTV in the early 90's. VH1 staple (and very funny guy) Michael Ian Black was on there, as was a good number of the cast of Reno 911.

I used to love that show. Wonder if that'll ever make it to DVD?

[fizzgig]

17. freaking awesome show

one of my faves. didn't they get some of the same cast members together for another show on MTV (?) a couple of years later but with much less funny results?

[cedahlia]

23. hmmm

It's possible there was another show later on, but my memory isn't the greatest!

FWIW, I don't find Reno 911 to be funny either. It's a shame, too, because all those guys were so good together on The State. :shrug:

[CBGLuthier]

13. I forgot one

The League of Gentlemen. Just a bit sick and twisted but still love it. Especially the vet who killed every animal he touched.

[LTR]

15. Da Ali G Show

Just hilarious!

For bad, how about "Fridays", a lame SNL knockoff from the late 70s.

[Tom Kitten]

18. yeah "Fridays" was pretty lame...

But it did give Michael Richardson his start, in fact he was just about the only redeeming quality of that show. (His character "Dick", who would go to the beach and try to pick up women wearing a pair of plaid Bermuda shorts and wingtip shoes with black socks, I thought was funny)

Incidentally I've read (on one of the internets) that they wanted to released tapes or dvds of that show but cannot because Richardson had a it written into his contract that they had to have his approval and he has refused to do so...

[AP]

21. Brass Eye, French & Saunders, Smack the Poney are also good...

[Malikshah]

16. Sorry, MAD TV is head and shoulders above SNL

SNL has been too enamoured with their insided jokes for way way too long. They have been living off their fumes of their past glory for a good decade or so.

On the other hand, I've never been too linked w/ pop culture hits.

[Abelman]

19. Mr. Show

Just started watching this on reruns on TBS. The episode with Jeepers Creepers (The JC Superstar parody starring Jack Black). Good Golly, that show is hilarious.

[AP]

20. Kids in the Hall is one of the most consistently funny sketch shows of all

time in my opinion. Every episode of that show had something funny, and some of those sketches are INCREDIBLY funny, like Chicken Lady.

[Mist]

22. SCTV

The best ever. Couldn't get into SNL nearly as much after seeing SCTV.