SWC season 2 isn't the ONLY thing coming out November 4th...

[sketchrules]

yeah, it is a kind of weird name. having "silly" in the title just breeds a feeling of triviality. which is kind of the opposite of the trend. "upright citizens brigade" and "the state" for example, are both titles that make the shows seem uber-iportant.

but of course, sketch comedy IS trivial. so whatever. i don't mind the name so much.

[sketchrules]

oh yeah, and i love the lonely island too. it's not really my thing - it's more of a twisted sitcom format - requires a MUCH longer attention span. but, hey, for some reason, brooke shields is in one of their shows.

[Spooky]

I don't know if this was said- I'm too lazy to read all the posts, but didn't the cast of UCB (or at least some of them) move in this order?

The State(MTV) --> Viva Variety(CC) -->UCB(CC) --> Reno 911 (CC)?

[Protoclown]

I watched that Lonely Island video about the teeth whitener a while ago and I remember it being funny as shit. I'll have to check out the rest soon. I do recall the quality of the video wasn't that good though. Are there better versions out there somewhere?

[sketchrules]

spooky, you're close. viva variety was a spin-off of a state sketch. and much of the state cast is now in reno 911. the state cast also made a movie called "wet hot american summer," which featured ucb member amy poehler. but other than that, there is no connection between the state and ucb.

as for higher quality videos of thelonelyisland.com stuff, i haven't seen any. but the www.spidermonkeyfiasco.com videos are pretty decent quality. so if video quality is what you're looking for definately check out spider monkey. as for the quality of the comedy, you will have to judge for yourself.

[Mockery]

Wet Hot American Summer is one of the best movies ever. Gene is such a hilarious character too. Christopher Meloni is the man.

[sketchrules]

hey, i just noticed today that statemedia.net has added the state's 1995 cbs special to their site. i haven't seen this since it was first broadcast 8 years ago! and even then, i missed the first half of it. this is so much fun to see again!

the video quality isn't super (not up to spider monkey, or even lonely island standards) but for me, it was never really about video quality to begin with.

[sketchrules]

here's another interesting sketch comedy site: www.oldeenglish.org

it's not all consistently great, but the "rap video" sketch is one of the funniest things ever.

[inahuff]

search for "sketch comedy" in google and you'll get some pretty lame sites. It seems like everybody thinks they can do sketch comedy.

I believe sketch comedy is a dying genre. It's either hit or miss. A sketch is good or bad. Generally bad.

That's why the State or Mr. Show redefined the genre...if a sketch sucked, which they often did...at least they tied in to the show and made it clever. Alas, all we're left with is a struggling SNL that relies on viewers wanting to see their favorite celebs act "silly" and MADtv which I just don't know about anymore.

I wish people would realize this. I'm sick of people filming stupid commercial spoofs, parodies, and lame sketches and then throwing them together and calling it a TV show.

Be clever. But be funny. What are you going to do?

Always,
InAHuff

[sketchrules]

i've never heard it expressed better!

the sketch shows of the mid nineties were born out of long form improv formats like the harold, which emphasized reincorporation of ideas. unfortunately, on television, people who tune into sketch are looking to satisfy their short attention spans. they want to see some characters and situtations that they can meet and understand quickly, and then they can get to the punchline immediately and they never have to think about it again. that doesn't leave much room for the innovative formats of ucb, the state, mr. show etc. - they don't sell the week-to-week stories of a sitcom, and they focus too little on the appeal of the short attention span. for a network, they just fall into a nether region they can't qualify, and that scares them away.

that's why i like groups like "olde english" and "spider monkey." they seem to be embracing the joy of linking sketches and reincorporating ideas. it's more evident in spider monkey than olde english, but it's present in both. and they're both doing a pretty good job, considering they seem to be doing it without a budget. that gives me hope for the future of the format.

[Jixby Phillips]

A review: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=8130

[whoreable]

I have had it since saturday. It totally kicks ass. Almost through the whole thing set already,

There's a lot of really great stuff on this two disc set, including the original pilot that I'd never seen until now. It's different than the seasons that would follow in a number of ways. First, it has a shot-on-video look that's indistinguishable from any number of other sketch comedy shows. Second, the pilot was taped in front of an audience, which rapidly became grating. The material should be familiar, at least to anyone who waded through the first season before giving the pilot a peek. Aside from the opening golf revenge sketch and a few scattered gags, the remainder of the pilot found its way into a few different episodes, including the "ugly" "woman", preparation for revenge against the bus driver, and the 'Toad' tale that would become the central focus of one episode without any editing or alteration whatsoever.

The pilot is wierd. I totally agree with this when they say it is indistinguishable form other sketch comedy shows. It is amazing how unique the real show became with the absence of a laugh track, better production, and the background music.

get this dvd.

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=COM030023

[Mockery]

Whoreable, you lucky early-DVD-gettin' bastard, did they answer my question (which Jixby kindly submitted) in the Q&A section of the DVD?

[whoreable]

I havent been through every commentary yet. but no mention of i-mockery so far.

[Esuohlim]

Tomorrow I'm going to wake up with a boner that won't go away.

I getting one of these sets right off the bat, and maybe buy the other one this weekend. I'll probably get SWC, since I know this show and therefore want it more.

But then again UCB sounds like the most orgasm-inducing show ever, and I may want to watch some good sketch comedy first.

Fuck, I wish I had more money.

[Cap'n Crunch]

When I get some money I am going to get SWC, UBC, ATHF, and SGCTC.

[whoreable]

the ucb set looks like a much better deal than the swc set. you can order it for like half the price and it looks like there are alot more features, at least it looks like it.

get it first

[Sicktodeathmx]

The best...
The State
Mr. Show
Kids in the Hall
Space Ghost is good too~

[Esuohlim]

I decided to get SWC. I watched two episodes an hour ago. I'll watch the rest probably by tomorrow.

ISN'T THAT AWESOME?

[Cap'n Crunch]

I can't wait for Space Ghost to come out on DVD. They won't cut out all of the good jokes on the DVD.

I'm going to get UCB first because I saw it for only 20 bucks at some place but I didn't have enough. I'll get it tomorrow.

[Jixby Phillips]

I'm guessing the UCB couldn't really say I-mockery.com on the commentaries, but they mentioned that the fans that bothered Comedy Central a lot did help a lot.

I suggested that Amy should cuss in the commentary over the bleeps in the sketch where shes the airline pilot training for her death and she did it :D