BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) THE KIDS IN THE HALL
This list doesn’t include Mad TV. Mad TV had a small handful of sketches that didn’t absolutely suck. The show was just bad and I don’t know why it lasted so long. I would watch it hoping for something good, but it just never worked for me. It lasted for a long time, but that doesn’t make me like it any more. Hell, I would have picked the old Nickelodeon show “All That” before I’d go with Mad TV. Instead of all that, I went with The Kids In The Hall. The cast was great and they put out sketches that nerds like myself still randomly reference. The “I’m crushing your head” sketch is enough to get on the list alone.
(THREE) IN LIVING COLOR
This would be number one on most lists and I’m not against it. In Living Color is easily one of the best sketch comedy shows of all time. It showed up on FOX and introduced the world to a lot of solid talents including the Wayans, Jamie Foxx, David Allen Grier, and this dude named James Carrey. James would start going by Jim once he got into some bigger movie roles. There are iconic characters and sketches from this series and I’m glad it’s coming back. I still found myself relating to and enjoying the first two a bit more.
(TWO) THE WHITEST KIDS YOU KNOW
There is something about this show that just connected with me. Their darker sense of humor, their attitude, their “DIY” thing, and their whole approach to comedy and their show is something I relate to and at least want to relate to. I catch myself saying “Now ya fucked up!” the way Abe Lincoln did in one of their earlier sketches. I loved Trevor Moore’s music video sketches. I enjoyed them even more than the best of SNL’s Digital Shorts. I missed a lot of the last season or so, but I’m still in favor of this show. I really hope they all find places in other shows and projects that I can watch or already do. I say send the five of them to SNL or give them a NEW show. Dammit… I say!
(ONE) MR. SHOW
I’ve gone through phases with this show. When it was on, I loved it. I was a younger kid and didn’t get to see “alternative comedy” that often. The sketches and things they were doing made my adolescent head explode. A few years later I rewatched a season and wasn’t all that impressed. I just couldn’t get into it. Then even more recently I watched and loved it. No matter my bipolar relationship, I still love this show. Bob Odenkirk and David Cross rule the world. They along with a who’s who of “alt comedy” crossed so many lines and pushed tons of envelopes along the way. If you get a chance, do yourself the favor of watching the four seasons on DVD.
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