The Showbiz Show with David Spade (2005– ) User Reviews (10)

Better than I expected

[MovieAddict2016 · 16 September 2005]

Comedy Central continues to surprise me. A few years back, most of their original television shows - for lack of a better word - stunk. A lot of the crap they had on just wasn't funny.

A few years have passed and now they're airing hilarious original programs such as "Reno 911," "South Park," "The Daily Show," "Too Late with Adam Carolla" (not hilarious but entertaining) and now "The Showbiz Show with David Spade." Spade was really famous for a while and had his face on a few TV shows and movie covers, but Hollyweird roared its ugly head and he basically ended up being the next cruel joke of Hollywood - "that skinny blonde guy who was in the movies with the fat guy." When I first saw ads for his new Comedy Central show, I thought to myself, "Oh no, he's not only lost his career, he's selling out to Comedy Central." And the ads seemed to imply David was now on the outskirts of Hollywood (which was somewhat true) and giving us "the scoop" on the insanity of Hollywood... the beast he was once very much a part of. It seemed kind of contradictory or hypocritical.

Nevertheless I was surprised by the first episode. Sure, it's got a few loose ends that could be tightened and some segments are a bit lame, but for the most part it's quite funny.

The show opens up a la "SNL's" Weekend Update (which Spade used to host, so he's at home here) - he satirizes media headlines. Next he interviews a "geek" about MTV, which I thought was really funny. There were some good points. And considering David is the writer of the television show, as well as presenter, it's nice that he took a stab at himself - the geek tells him something to the effect of, "You have to walk around with a ten-year-old copy of 'Tommy Boy' to remind everyone of who you are." Very nice.

Overall this show isn't the best on TV and does have some loose bits (like the coverage of the Rolling Stones concert - good potential, but it goes on too long and seems like a Daily Show rip-off). Not exactly the most original television show to be airing right now, but quite funny if you're in the mood.

Sharp,smart&engaging-no wonder no one gets it!..

[tskilove · 10/10 · 25 May 2008]

I always kinda liked David Spade,as he said himself,he plays snarky to a tee,so I was looking forward to seeing him get more spotlight:this show is the kind of reality check long-overdue for TV&Hollywood,but it is also consistently better written&paced than most "Hit" comedies:as funny as Dave is,he's often out shined by a great cast of correspondents,all able to hold their own&be every bit as cutting as Davey boy,especially the dry as dust Andrew Daly,the fantastically over-the-top(as Lost,Greys etc obsessed fan)Colleen Smith&the acerbic Jessi Klein as well as the rest(the web troller guy etc.).Skewering hollywoodland&crap TV should be easy,but to make it this consistently funny&original,and to give the always hilarious Nick Swardson a regular gig bespeaks of taste&genius,so it's no wonder it's probably dead&buried by average TV fans who also don't get quality comedy like Sara Silverman,Idiocracy or Arrested Development,but would prefer to watch reality shows or lame talent-shows that we all should have either outgrown in High school or kept as a guilty pleasure for our dotage (Ballroom dancing,3 card monty with suitcases&freakshow sorry "talent" shows are primetime quality???) so,I recommend getting this on DVD if possible,it's a mark of it's quality that a gossip-inspired show stays funny long after the gossip has changed,moved on or been recycled.

An abysmal excuse for comedy

[four10000 · 1/10 · 14 March 2007]

To speak the truth I have never found David Spade to be very good. Excreting one bad sitcom after the next, David Spade can only be seen as mildly humorous when pigging back off of Chris Farley. In short, David Spade makes Carlos Mencia look like Richard Pryor. This new show is the result of taking wet, loose fecal matter and digitizing it. It is all one act; David Spade pretends to be morally superior to everyone else while dishing out sub par observation jokes. Comedy Central has been releasing one bad series after another. From Crappy sitcom "The Sara Silverman Program" to the poor man Chappell "The Mind of Mencia," but the showbiz show takes the cake. If given the choice to watch another episode of his show, or to stab my self in the eye with a soldering iron, I would choose the latter.

Grade: 0

NOTE: All other comments on this page that support David Spade are obviously misguided.

A complete waste of time

[enjay_ · 2/10 · 23 June 2006]

This show is poor. Really poor. The 'comedy' is awful, the presenter - yes Mr Spade, you - is uninteresting and pathetically dull, and quite frankly anyone who likes this show simply doesn't have any idea of what decent comedy is.

Spade is unanimated - he reads off the autocue like he's reading a book with the intention of putting you to sleep. If there was a bit more life in his presenting then maybe their would be more to enjoy - once they've brought in a new writer also.

Bottom line is this. The sooner this pile of useless rubbish is taken off the air, the better.

Spade's Back - Great Show!

[johnmadsenIII · 8 November 2005]

Yeah, at first, I was a little disappointed, but the last four or five episodes have been awesome. Spade's been himself and seems to be having fun doing it. The jokes have been dead-on funny. And best of all, he's brought back his Hollywood Minute (though it's now called Hollywood Ending, but still just as funny). There are still some bits that still bomb, but overall, 8/10, could be 10/10 if it just was a little more biting.

Behind South Park and the Daily Show, it's probably the best show on Comedy Central. I like Colbert, but nobody can beat Spade at the top of his game.

Oops

[Absoluteless · 1/10 · 1 June 2007]

Oh dear. I feel for Mr. Spade. He seems to be kinda trying here. I guess now that he has yet to find another co-star to insult, he must insult me on his new show "Showbiz blah blah blah." I chuckled a few times, and then searched for something else to watch the rest of the time. I guess he feels like he is "bein himself" or just "tellin it like it is." But sadly, his holy- er than thou shtick is just not working for me. I just can't get past the tragic reality that the Hollywood hasbeens he is mocking are usually in much better shape career-wise than he is. Can't he come up with something original?

Now, I've liked Spade in the past. But I am just not gonna watch this show because he WAS funny once. He insults me, the people of my generation, and he does so poorly. He is also obviously drunk, or at least he slurs his speech during each show, so it is rather uncomfortable to watch as well.

I don't think that his career should be over, but I'm just not interested in this show at all. If he keeps making nerd jokes, or jokes about people who aren't blond, 115 lbs., and narcissistic, than I guess we know that it is all he can do.

Sorry Mr. Spade, but I got better stuff to do.

Grrrrreatttt!

[master_collosus · 15 December 2005]

Well to put it simply, this show is pretty amateur, as it has only been out 3 months or so. But so far, its doing awesome. The comedy is ranking from normal to great. And David Spade makes it all worthwhile even though sometimes the jokes aren't that great, he manages to pull most of them off. Kudos to the guy who thought of using the camera pointed down to ridicule celebrities-i could watch and actually pay just to see those episodes-they are absolutely hilarious. However, the other jokes are pretty average, but like i said before, Spade pulls em off without a problem-Michael J Fox imitation alone is amazing. Total Grade for this show: a solid A.

Spade hits his stride--Too bad it's such a short stride

[dumelongswain · 6 October 2005]

David Spade has mastered the art of conveying that he actually is "too cool for the room," even as he seems not to care about how cool the room is. It's a tricky thing to do because you have to bring the audience along in a way that allows them to feel cool by association. Spade does this well by slashing merrily to the right and left and by making an obvious effort to let no-one off the hook. The hard part is overcoming the audience's cautious laughter as they realize that Spade's double-edged sword could easily slash in their direction next. This is where Spade falters.

His perpetual smirk and sardonic arrogance do little to compensate for the stale jokes and easy shots. (David: Two signs that you're in trouble are: You comment on air about how good the jokes really are when the audience doesn't laugh, and no-one on your production staff has the balls to tell you that the joke sucks or that the segment should be cut.)

The show needs better and brighter writers who are not mired in old news stories. It also needs to take more risks; just bleeping two or three expletives doesn't drag the show into the "Cutting Edge" category, but that's where the Showbiz Show desperately, and obviously, wants to be.

Can it be saved? Depends. Spade needs to stretch and get outside of his comfort zone. As it is, this show won't last.

the laughs don't come in Spades to say the least

[movieman_kev · 28 September 2005]

I like David Spade, he was great on the Hollywood Minute segments of "Saturday Night Live". I also enjoyed "PCU", "Tommy Boy" and even "Joe Dirt" to varying degrees. But this new show of his is pretty awful thus far. Think of "the Daily Show" when Jon Stewart just had taken over as host from Craig Kilborn, That year or so was simply death warmed over. Such is also the case her, the jokes stale, the comic timing non-existent, and the writing leaving so very much to be desired. Seems that Comedy Central only puts shows that are either great ("South Park", "Chapelle's Show", "Reno 911" etcetera) or shows that are complete ass. Sadly this is in the latter, which is a shame, as I do still like Spade.

My Grade: D-

Another "Comedy" Show

[General_G · 21 September 2005]

I knew this show would suck even before it premiered and I must be psychic because I was right. It sucks! David Spade is so overrated! He is just so unfunny! I have never seen anything good with him in it. This show seems like something out of Saturday Night Live and I hate Saturday Night Live. This show is like a very bad The Daily Show with Jon Stewart where they only talk about entertainment. The last thing the world needs is another show just about entertainment. There's this and Entertainment Tonight and The Insider and Access Hollywood and so on. There are also these weird things before commercial breaks that don't make any sense. One was River Pheniox and Jack Lemmon, separated at death. What the Hell does that even mean!?!? River Pheniox never did any acting together and they didn't even die at the same time. There was also this word scramble that had no real words in it. It was just qkfhvbzxikgbnxkgjd pg0r74jfhdghjep9. We need to stop talking about celebrities constantly. Cancel this garbage show Comedy Central!