Root of All Evil

I like Lewis Black. I REALLY like Lewis Black. So it seems strange that I'd say "there's not enough Lewis Black in Lewis Black's show", but that's EXACTLY the problem with "the root of all evil". It FEELS like LB is phoning it in!

OK, so we have Lewis Black, and two guys who take each side of the debate. (Catholic Church vs. Oprah in this case.) That's all well and good, but most of the show is THE TWO OTHER GUYS! While they weren't bad, I didn't tune in to the show called "two other guys: the root of all evil", I tuned in to "LEWIS BLACK: the root of all evil". If it has your name in it, YOU SHOULD HAVE THE MOST LINES AND SCREEN TIME, PERIOD!

Was it funny? In spots I genuinely laughed. But I couldn't help but feeling that this would be SO much more funny if Lewis Black just got up there and riffed the way WE KNOW he can riff on a subject. That's what I wanted to see, what the title PROMISES I'll see, and the show just doesn't deliver that.

So if you're expecting something along the lines of LB's stand up routines, or a long form version of LB's rants on The Daily Show, you'll be soooooooorely disappointed. On its own without preconceived notions (just pretend it's called "two other guys with a special appearance by lewis black"), it's OK... not stellar, but not awful, either.

I've had the opportunity to see Lewis Black's stand up specials. I liked the way how he made fun of contemporary political and social issues. His new show on comedy central follows the same pattern. "Root of All Evil" is basically a reality show that features Lewis Black as a judge of a court in which celebrities and other pop culture related issues are brought in to be determined as "The root of all evil". The routine is that two comedians contend for whatever is brought to the court and at the end of each episode Lewis Black makes a verdict by revealing the root of all evil for the episode. My personal favorite episode so far is Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney. I don't want my comment to be biased. But I was certainly happy to see both of those people being poked fun at. I also enjoyed American Idol vs. High School. So far this show is definitely more than average and definitely deserves another season.

The best thing about Root of All Evil is it is a good vehicle to give stand-up comedians exposure without burning up any of their routines on TV.

The worst thing about Root of All Evil is probably Lewis Black. He comes across as a bombastic parody of himself and while a lot of his lines work, it has the same scripted quality that his later Daily Show spots had.

However, the core of the show, two comedians debating a ludicrous point works very well. The format particularly suits the deadpan character work of Andrew Daly, Paul F Tompkins' raconteur delivery and Andy Kindler's deconstructive approach and the show is a special delight when any of those three are on screen.

The applause makes it seems as if there is a large audience and they're laughing head over heels but whenever they are shown on camera, there are only a few people applauding which makes me suspect there is a laugh track.

Anyway, I saw the first episode and it was funny throughout, especially if you like Lewis Black's rants. They covered politics, religion and celebrities which makes me hope there will be more of this show in the future.

Despite the suspicious audience, this show deserves to be given a chance.

This show takes place in a faux courtroom setting as two comedians argue their case before a judge (Lewis Black) over which of two different (usually fairly unrelated) societal ills is more evil.

It's a novel idea that might not have legs to last several seasons, but good enough to allow those talented under-the-radar humorists like Andrew Daly, Patton Oswalt, Greg Giraldo, Andy Kindler and Paul F Tompkins to riff on various topics in what sort of plays as a comedic sport. Lewis Black could stand to play a larger role in the show. Every comic has their own unique style and everyone has their own preferences. I get a kick out of Tomkins and Daly who take themselves as seriously as lawyers because they're suddenly dressed in suits. You can also never get enough of the debate over which is worse: Beer or Weed, American Idol or High School, Donald Trump vs Tila Tequila, etc.