Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
I figured that a great way to start this column would be with a shout out to the Ben Show, which is premiering tonight on Comedy Central (check local listings for times). One of the puzzling things about Comedy Central is how many new shows they have picked up after Key & Peele turned into a massive hit for the network. Shows like Kroll Show and the Jeselnik Offensive are other current additions to the stable, and while it shows a network trying new things, it isn't exactly the most exciting stuff. However, as a fan of both subsequent shows, they will be future Channel Surfing topics, as well as IFC's latest cartoon series Out There.
Hoffman was a talent, who I hadn't seen much of since the show's unfortunate passing. He co-wrote on Norm MacDonald's Sport Show and had a brief cameo on New Girl, but it wasn't until last Fall when Comedy Central announced that they were picking up a show from him that I grew ecstatic. I have tried to follow the former Infomania clan closely, and I immediately jumped on the opportunity to watch the clips and first episode as they were made available.
So how does the Ben Show live up to its competition, or more specifically, a post-Infomania career? I will admit that particular clips left me leery that the show is going for ribald humor with plenty of cursing and insults. A segment in which a football coach yells at his team was just that, with very little that I got out of it. I also just wondered how they were going to be able to allow a show with excessive use of profanity premiere before 2 AM. On the flip side, there was "Gangsta Granny":
For those familiar with his Infomania persona, this is very much in his wheelhouse. He takes a situation, amps it up with a ridiculous notion, and plays it straight faced. Sometimes he takes the butts of the jokes, but often he manages to be ribald without being offensive, which comes across more shocking than any insult humor could. In "Gangsta Granny," he has elderly women read scripts clearly intended for a violent action movie, and depending on your stance of old women cursing and acting crazy, it is at times hilarious, if just because it feels like they sincerely are trying to get the part.
That was enough evidence for me that this show could be great. Upon seeing the first episode (available for free here), titled "Ben Buys a Gun," the most that I can say is that it has a lot more potential than the already weak Kroll Show. What is so endearing about the show compared to Comedy Central's other shows is how there is no sense of a studio audience. I have long considered the sketch shows on the network to be spliced together by the host talking to an audience, like Key & Peele or Chappelle's Show. There is no sense of that here.
What he has replaced it with are absurd interviews in the vein of the Craigslist Files. Somewhat serious, partially delusional, Hoffman introduces a premise (buying a gun), and then spends the transitional portions talking to people about why he needs a gun, as it is like having a second dick. This is only made funnier by his insistence of doing Da Ali G Show type lead ins that forces the guests to laugh at videos they never saw. True, his interviews rarely make sense in recognizing opposing viewpoints, but it is all worth it to hear the guests read ludicrous transitions to the next video.
Hoffman definitely has a formula with promise here. Partial man on the street, he manages to weave that concept into a loose narrative that makes him at very least unique in his approach to Comedy Central's sketch show history.
However, the sketches are all over the place at times. There's plenty of easy fat jokes made throughout the episode and at times seems to be inspired by pushing the envelope. Yet what gives the show promise is the parts that do work. There are a couple segments carried over from Infomania present, and it isn't a shock that they are the most established. Jokes about deer on the loose, sliding cars, and Twitter show Hoffman at his creative best. Whether it is performing songs over footage, or just going crazy, he has a control over his sketches, and that is important. There is this sense of delusional fun and while it seems raw now, he has great ideas from the start, including the Yobitchuaries:
My biggest concern for this show is that it has pointless cursing in order to seem edgy. However, Yobitchuaries is a puzzling addition, as the concept seems ingenious. Have someone rap about people that have died. However, it also has a level of inappropriateness that is only shadowed by the execution. There isn't anything necessarily offensive about most of it, save for calling dead people dumb. Probably the appeal of the segment, as with Hoffman's humor, is that while the jokes are often aggressive, there is this weird sense that the joker comes off worse than the subject. Yobitchuaries is a tough subject to gauge, as multiple viewings convince me that it is more shock than content that is offensive, which kind of gives it an edge.
Overall, the Ben Show has a lot of potential to be great. I am not calling the premiere episode spectacular, but it definitely keeps my love for Ben Hoffman strong. He is doing great stuff here, and if "Gangsta Granny" and Yobitchuaries are signs of what's to come, then maybe this show will put Hoffman into the stratosphere of great Comedy Central shows, like Key & Peele. I suppose my one concern is that he's just keep getting more and more ribald and the language more profane. Maybe it will tune itself in time, but for now, this is a naughty Freshman show that I feel is successful in at least establishing itself as one to watch.
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