When it first aired I was in Highschool. I caught most of the episodes of the very short-lived series and I remember thinking it was just the coolest show ever! I remember thinking it was hip, daring and original. When it was canceled I was one of the ones groaning: “How could they cancel one of the greatest shows ever?!?!?!?”
So, I recently bought the DVD set which includes the entire series. I’ve finished watching each of the episodes and my feelings?: blah.
I don’t think it’s bad. I definitely don’t have any trouble sitting through an episode- I had no trouble watching all thirteen over the course of a week. I definitely get a few laughs watching it. And there are some really great moments. Bono’s interview with Sherman Hemsley was great- I loved the U2 version of “Movin’ on up!”. And anyone who’s ever worked at a corporate owned chain restaurant can appreciate the brilliance of the T.J. O’Pootertoot’s sketch. But over-all I definitely wouldn’t include the show in a list of all-time great comedies.
So, what’s the problem? Is it simply that 11 years ago I was looking at it through a teenagers eyes, applying a teenager’s standards and now that I have broadened my horizons I can see it for what it is?
Or is it that it really was a great show and, being so great, it inspired a new take on the sketch show so that subsequent shows, building upon the innovations set by this show, are held to higher standards- leading a few of which to have since surpassed the original show that inspired them leaving the original show to now seem deficient?
Nah. Even if we keep it in the sub-genre of sketch comedy, Old SNL from the 70’s is till funny, Monty Python’s Flying Circus is still funny, going back even further I crack up watching all the Sid Caeser stuff, Your Show of Shows, etc.
I found the website where they have all the old clips from the State and I still loved it. Of course, they may have seperated the wheat from the chaff, I know there were more skits than the number of clips the site had up. Gotta love that pudding sketch.
Now I have to rent the Ben Stiller DVD and judge for myself. Just thinking about U2 playing the Lucky Charms song still makes me smile.
Don’t our memories of a thing always improve in hindsight?
My feeling about the Ben Stiller show was: Great comic ideas, lousy execution. Sort of like the later Berke Brethed. They weren’t all that good at making a funny concept as funny as possible.
The first episode I ever saw of “The Ben Stiller Show” was uproariously funny. It was so original, so off-beat, and it had me in hysterics. I watched 3 more episodes, however, and I didn’t laugh a single time.
I had a similar experience with “The Kids In the Hall.” The first episode I saw was one of the funniest TV shows I’ve ever seen- but the following week, there was only one brilliant sketch and a lot of lame stuff, and franbkly, I NEVER saw anything funny on that show again.
So, I don’t know if Ben Stiller’s comedy is dated- it may be that he just didn’t have a great QUANTITY of good material.
I think of Stiller and TKITH the way I think of ? and the Mysterians. They had ONE great moment, and the one great thing they did still holds up well. But that’s about all they had to offer.
I didn’t know there was a Ben Stiller show. Not that it matters: The guy is downright unfunny. If he weren’t so blah I might actually be able to dislike him.
A whole show? Yikes.
My explanation: He’s a one-note comic. Maybe funny the first time. Less and less funny as you see the same sort of stuff over and over. Some people tire of it right away, other’s take longer.
Didn’t everyone love “In Living Color”? Try watching that outdated crap today, it just doesn’t work. Timing is essential in comedy, not just in delivery, but in current topical relevance. Timeless stuff is really, really hard to come by. Any guesses on what if any of today’s comedy might be considered timeless in the future?
I don’t think the Pink Panther movies hold up either. My mum bought me a box set of them because I loved them as a kid and I’m just finding them tedious.
The Muppet Show on the other hand I could watch forever. Go figure!
I remember when this was all the rage. I finally watched an episode. It was terrible. Maybe 1 sketch in 20 (usually involving Jim Carrey) was funny, the rest were incredibly lame, laugh-track burdened, crap. They reminded me of the silly, goofy 70s variety show comedy sketches like Carol Burnett and Sonny & Cher.
As for The Ben Stiller Show, I thought it was great. As with any ‘high-concept’ style comedy when it worked it was absolutely hilarious. But when it didn’t, it was unbearably bad and tedious. I think TBSS worked more often than it didn’t.
Some highlights:[ul]
[li]The Maaaaaaansooooon Lassie parody[/li][li]Amish Studs[/li][li]Cape Munster[/li][li]U2 managed by Mr. Kincaid from the Patridge Family[/li][li]Medieval ‘Cops’[/li][/ul]
Correct. The problem with “The Ben Stiller Show” isn’t that the material was too topical (although all the 90210 parodies don’t hold up well), it’s that it was spread too thin. There were definitely nuggets of good ideas there, but everything just kind of petered out.
It also relied way too much on Stiller himself instead of being an ensemble thing; the guy is funny only when he’s paired up with a good partner. Andy Dick and Bob Odenkirk are not good partners (for Stiller, at least – “Mr. Show” is awesome). And Janeane Garafolo just can’t do sketch comedy; she’s funny as her one character, but that’s it.
I remembered it being really good, too, and I’m guessing that it was all because of the presentation. At the time, it just seemed like the perfect example of early 90’s cool. Weird film stock, quick editing, pseudo-documentary style, and music. There just wasn’t enough substance.
And “B- Time Traveler” is the best thing the show ever did.
Well, it isn’t today’s comedy but I’ve always thought of The Kids In The Hall as timeless. I’ll love the show until the day I die (or, you know, sooner). I need the DVD box set.
I just got a box set of them too, and I’d been meaning to start a thread about it. They’re a real mixed bag. There are some that are very funny and some that are very unfunny. Since they all have similar titles, I keep forgetting which is which. :smack: