drakejones

Jon Stuart's had-picked successor, Trevor Noah, is a complete flop. That is not a topic for debate; it's a stone cold fact. Google it. Whether Stuart chose a surefire loser intentionally to "protect" his legacy is a question only he can answer, but whatever the excuse, I'm disgusted with Jon Stuart for forcing Noah on us. His (Noah's) "stellar ratings" are pure BS. IMDb is using a rating system that artificially inflates the show's ratings by leveraging Stuart's justifiably fantastic ratings; i.e., Pre-Noah when the show was a smashing success hosted by none other than, yes, Jon Stewart. Noah is out of his depth, has zero charisma, and should NEVER have had the opportunity to host a venue as important as the Daily Show. Comedy Central is/was HOPING that the lower echelon of the left-wing demographic (read: well intentioned, smart but inexperienced and under-paid 14-22 year olds) would "grow" with Noah and remain loyal for the next 18-20 years. Well, forget about it. They will out-grow him and find diversion elsewhere. This may prove to be the most obtuse and misguided programming decision Comedy Central has ever made. Like Stuart, Sam Bee, Cobert, and Conan are authentic geniuses; Noah is not.

Samantha Bee is comedic genius… And conservatives HATE that.

IF you are a Fox News aficionado, the humor will not appeal to you. IF you are a prude, bigot, a racist, a sexist, or a supremacist of virtually any stripe, you will not appreciate the humor. In fact, you and your ilk will be offended – mightily so. And you should be! You are the butt of the jokes, exposés, and brilliantly dissected anti-social chicanery that Samantha Bee delights in shining the cleansing light of satire upon. Conservatives are not known for what the civilized world knows as humor. Racist "jokes", bloody orifice "jokes", crude taunts, and other kinds of conservative "humor" are really nothing more than hate speech. Enter Samantha Bee! The woman has a razor sharp wit and is a keen observer of the human condition. Her shows are brilliantly composed and delivered essays; heady social commentary that strikes at the very heart of the smug and the ignorant. I love Samantha Bee's show and I would love it even more if it ran for an hour rather than just twenty minutes. That so many self-described moralists so deeply resent Samantha Bee's snarky bashing of their egregious hypocrisy is the most flattering accolade any political satirist could wish for. God bless Samantha Bee! If there is one… God, not Samantha – she is inarguably 100% real.

The concept had potential, but the story lines were typically so absurdly over the top and implausible that the only real demographic possible was teenage girls. "Teenage girl" also describes Eric McCormack – a teenage girl's mind in a man's body. McCormack's shamelessly self-indulgent method acting and tortured narratives were dreadful. To add insult to injury, McCormack sings and plays piano – and neither well at all – much like the deluded Mandy Patinkin when he played God in Chicago Hope. And, speaking of playing God: McCormack literally treats his loyal caretaker "Max Lewicki", like a black house boy in the Old South, expecting his sidekick to leap at a moment's notice. McCormack barks "Lewicki!" and Max appears in a shirt and tie ready fulfill to McCormack's every whim. McCormack may play himself off as a liberal, but he clearly has a serious Bwana complex. If "super agent" Mark Ovitz hadn't shoved this high-budget community college theater production down the network's throat, Perception would have died a quiet and merciful death after the pilot episode. Ovitz should have quit the biz after he was fired from Disney.

I would enjoy the show more if Louie didn't do a stand up routine at the beginning of each show. A 45 year old man telling mediocre to just plane unfunny dirty jokes is off putting for most people. I appreciate a dirty joke as much as anyone - as long as it is funny. Louie's monologue humor is not funny; it's the kind of stuff that drunk boys might find hilarious, but not people who are serious about comedy. His musings on his doughy pot belly, masturbation and smarmy sexual fantasies are way past wearisome as comedic topics. The main stories in the show are almost invariably a stream-of-conscience exhibition of the life of a loser who is capitalizing on being slightly below average and is trying with all his might to keep it that way. He does try for the occasional "heartwarming" life lesson vignette, but even those stories fall short leaving one feeling unsatisfied and that the mark was missed. His costars and guest actors often deliver remarkably compelling performances played off Louie's incessantly dumbfounded character. Louie often plumbs the depths deep to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, no matter how strained and predictably unfunny he has to be to steer the storyline there. That said, Young Ursala Parker, the brightest star in the Louie universe, really brings something special to an otherwise sophomoric and occasionally impossible to watch display. A little (or a lot) of on screen personal growth would go a long, long way for Louie in broadening the appeal of the show and he might want to consider a slight tweak in the way he develops and presents the common, underlying premise of all of the show's episodes: the loser loses again. With Louie, we always know how it's going to end and obviously, so does the character. Louie's lack of character breadth, combined with his heavy reliance on "dick" jokes means the audience, much like Louie's own oft spoken of "appendage" will wither with time. The supporting cast talent is there. Whether Louie C.K. is able to grow as a comedian/actor and keep up with the comedic zeitgeist remains to be seen.

SNL hasn't been consistently funny for about 20 years or so. Of course the show will be occasionally funny - it happens, but not often enough. Loren Michaels tends to choose cast members who look like successful cast members from the past (anyone else notice?), trading off players' physical appearance for talent. He also has a policy of promoting writers from within who are just not able to carry the show. I'm talking about the Luke-warm comedy of Seth Meyers. Weekend Update is only mildly amusing on a good night. With the phenomenal talent pools in New York, Chicago, Toronto, and LA, Michaels could put together blockbuster ensembles, but that won't happen. Why? You'll have to ask Dr. Evil himself for the answer to that question.

RIP Eureka. It was a novelty and pleasant dinner time entertainment. A few of the characters were drifting into caricature, but the cast, by and large, carried well. Alas, the artless programming execs at NBC/Comcast have killed another hit and flipped TV Land the finger - again! Expect a succession of flops to replace the hit show Eureka. Advertisers get suckered into buying time on "new" shows at inflated prices. When the show flops, the programming droids commission another flop and so the cycle goes. Hit shows seem anathema to programming execs - especially at NBC. Perhaps canceling hits and finding new shows makes them feel needed. They are not.