Reviewing the Stevenator's show. -- Saturday Night You Bull Sessions

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Date Posted: 15:30:26 09/12/05 Mon
Author: Jim Bevan
Subject: Reviewing the Stevenator's show.
In reply to: Jim Bevan 's message, "Thanks, Prateek." on 21:25:50 09/10/05 Sat

All right, our last show of the mock season had a rather somber pall connected with it, due to Hurricane Katrina and the havoc it wreaked on New Orleans. It was tough to find a reason to laugh, but we all did our best considering the situation. Now, time for a review, but before that, I apologize for my horrid Richard Laymer joke:

A Message from Christopher Walken: Okay, this was incredibly short, and incredibly unfunny. Christopher Walken parodies, much like the Donald Trump/Paris Hilton/George W. Bush as an immature child parodies have been done to death. In addition to that, there was nothing funny about it whatsoever. Calling the hurricane a whore, wishing the world was dead, that was horrible.

Steve Carell's Monologue: I couldn't really find this funny, because I didn't think it was appropriate to make light of the New Orleans disaster. Sorry.

Gun Happy: This was hilarious. First, I loved the way you built up Crest's incompetence in all his shootings, and placing such absurd situations around each of the shooting incidents (opening fire in front of elementary schools, shooting the dog for looking like it had rabies) were great. And having him pull out the gun in the courtroom was very nice. Superb sketch.

The Jay-C Show: Not the funniest outing for this recurring character. There weren't a lot of humorous lines, and most of the jokes and the situation with Hillary Duff were more disgusting than funny.

The Actress: Again, a lack of funny lines killed the impact of this sketch. Making references to old sitcoms and poking jabs at actors and actresses that have already been done by Leno and Letterman don't serve as substitutes for comedy.

The Laugh Shack: I didn't expect to see this sketch again, but I'm pleased I did. The premise, admittedly, was the same, but the products Jared and Norman were trying to unload were incredible. Again, each new "novelty" topped the previous one in its outlandishness, and they thankfully weren't carbon copies of the gags from the first "Laugh Shack" skit. The giant fan bit and Worthington Quincy Palpebon were very nice. The ending had a rather interesting twist.

Wasting Away at the Train Station: I have to say my favorite part of this sketch was the character of Ernest. It's been a while since we've had the chance to see a truly socially-awkward misfit. His bizarre outbursts and behavior were quite amusing. I particularly enjoyed when he rummaged through the one guy's luggage, his admiration for lighting his farts, and his attempts to mimic Willy's one-liners were gold. Willy had some good bits as well, my favorite was his "ugly tie in a pile of turds" line. I think that you went a little overboard with the corny jokes regarding Johnny Depp, I would have appreciated a little bit more backstory into why Willy got thrown out of his mother's house, and I don't really think that Michael Jackson's #1 fan was necessary for the skit. It did, however, serve as a good segue for the tranquilizer gun. All in all, a good sketch. But I'm going to be up at night wondering what the ticket taker meant when she talked about the gargoyles and non-stick surfaces.

The Lootin' Shopping Network: When I read the premise for this, I gritted my teeth in fear that this would be another completely inappropriate hurricane-themed sketch. Thankfully it wasn't in too bad taste, but there was nothing really enjoyable about this bit. First off, there were some done-to-death black gangsta stereotypes that were quite annoying. Secondly, the whole concept of selling off a pregnant lady for a quickie in the closet was rather sick. The "Crazy white people" and "Crazy bitch Katrina" lines weren't funny, and the ending was lame.

Okay, that's it for my review. I guess I was a little harsh in my critiquing as well, but I agree with what Prateek that harsh reviews will make our comedy better. You can't improve on your writing if everyone tells you that your sketch was great even if it wasn't. Negative feedback is just as good as positive feedback - when you get a bad review you know what you need to change in order to make your work better. So, if you think something sucked, let the writer know you thought it sucked! Let them know what you found wrong with it so it can help them change and become better.

(deep breath)

And I'm done now. Later on I'll try and get a WU review in. If anyone else could review, that would be great. And hey, if you didn't like my sketch, Goldenrod Greeting Cards, don't be afraid to let me know you thought it sucked and why you thought it sucked.

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