2 for 1 reviews: Zach Braff and Michael Ian Black -- Saturday Night You Bull Sessions

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Date Posted: 18:46:20 08/10/06 Thu
Author: Jim Bevan
Subject: 2 for 1 reviews: Zach Braff and Michael Ian Black
In reply to: Patrick 's message, "Re: REVIEWS: Michael Ian Black 7/29/06" on 09:13:30 08/02/06 Wed

I figured a review of these shows was long overdue. Hey, they're both short, so that's a bit of a bonus. You may find some comments on my sketches peppered throughout the piece. I'd really like to know what the rest of you thought of my pieces, if nobody minds. Thanks.

ZACH BRAFF
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Pre-Show Pep Talk: I've never seen Scrubs, so I don't know how John C. McGinley's character acts on the show. It was a little amusing to see him grilling Zach on the show, especially his reactions to hearing what the sketches would be (thankfully we were spared another Carol sketch.) Nicely done.

Monologue: Yeah, it's not the best I've done, but I wanted to do a shaggy dog story. So I tried to come up with the most absurd series of events I could, then cap it off with an ending that explained how a shaggy dog story prevented the host from writing his own shaggy dog story. Call it bad use of metahumor, but as the old saying goes, "I never metahumor I didn't like."

Tourism International: Pretty good current events piece, but a little short. I think there could have been more, like the ad promising that all hotel security was provided by strategically placed Hezbollah strongholds.

Pardon Me: This is one of those sketches that I was able to get written in one sitting, which I'm pretty proud of. The inspiration came when I realized that I had yet to write a piece that has someone die in it. From that basis, the ideas came quickly: a gas chamber, a game show, "Mister Molesto" and literature trivia.

He's Back: Delightfully absurd, a great premise cleverly executed with weird and humorous dialogue. The ending was a little predictable, but still carried out very well.

Let's F*** My Girlfriend: I had a little trouble following this, and it didn't really appeal to me that much. Also, I didn't think the Kevin Smith cameo was really necessary. Sorry.
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MICHAEL IAN BLACK

... Gaza Subway: Inspired by a true event that happened to me; I was on the trolley and a Muslim woman got on, she had a bulge around her waist, and she did not appear to be pregnant. I was praying in my head "please don't let her blow us up" until I got to my stop. Despite this frightening situation, I knew in the back of my head it had comedic potential.

Monologue: Sorry, but I didn't really find this that funny. Michael's lines weren't all that humorous, but I did find the bit about him chaining himself to the Staples desk good.

Who's the Rat?: Really liked this one. It was nice to see a new twist on the "obvious mob informant" sketch, where the snitch is seen constantly checking to make sure his microphone is picking up. This would have been great televised due to the visual incongruity, but it's fun to imagine, and the dialogue really carries it home.

It's Not You, It's Dick: I wanted to do an absurd sketch in the vein of Michael's comedy trio "Stella." I can't tell whether I succeeded or not, though I'm pretty sure that this is the dumbest piece I've ever written.

House Fire: A bit of a stale topic, guy goes overboard listing expensive items that were lost in an accident to screw over the insurance company. I liked how increasingly outlandish his lost possessions were, along with the museum revelation at the end, but it fell a little flat since it wasn't anything new. Sorry.

Names: Another joke theme that I've seen done many times before, though again, it was picked up with the use of some clever dialogue.

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