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| Pete Holmes |
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.
There is this strange middle ground that I have had with comedian Pete Holmes. While I enjoy his comedy for being lively and authentic, he also does seem to be almost too aggressive about it. While his comedy album "Nice Try, the Devil" is one of the year's best comedy albums, his podcast You Made It Weird is a different story. While not a terrible interviewer, the concept of laughing at your own material is something that will isolate your audience, and Holmes is quite the offender if you listen to any of his guest star parts on shows such as Doug Loves Movies. He can be really funny, but left to his own devices and he'll probably just find himself as funny as you do. While it doesn't bother some people, it does sometimes become irksome for me.
Though I can't be upset with the decision to give him his own talk show. In the Channel Surfing series, we have covered a lot of late night shows and my fascination continues with TBS' the Pete Holmes Show, which airs directly after Conan, whose host Conan O'Brien also produces this show. It is the perfect slot for the "anything goes" attitude that runs through the series and at only a half hour long, it almost seems to be restrained for a man whose podcast usually runs closer to two and a half hours. Brevity is not his strong suit, and while it does lead to some fascinating stream of consciousness moments, it did prove to be a challenge for a half hour show.
In fact, the argument for Holmes' lack of brevity is brought immediately into question in the opening skit. In it, he plays a reluctant James Bond in Skyfall bloopers as he continually gets drunk while asking for martinis and screwing up his lines. The segment goes on for four minutes, splicing between gags lasting under 10 seconds. In a great hit-and-miss fashion, he does deliver some funny moments, though it does continue into a point of absurdity. Even if this was to fill in the show's lack of content, it still suggested that while he has great premises, he does sometimes go too far with them. Even if there is little to argue against the Skyfall gag, the man who famously played Batman in Youtube videos proves that his satire can translate to TV, even if it also just works as a Youtube video.
The rest of the show is more a matter of dealing with his personality. His observations are funny, though he does laugh at quite a few of them. It is true that comedians like Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon do this all of the time, but they seem almost more restrained in their approach to it. Holmes is unadulterated with it, choosing to let out high pitched cackles whenever he pleases. It sometimes even distracts from the jokes. It could just be because he is only on his third episode of the show's run, but there's a sense that he needs to mellow down. Then again, there's a reason that it is called the Pete Holmes Show, and that is to get the comedian as he is. At a midnight slot when most nobody cares, it almost seems adequate that we let these things slide. If the Eric Andre Show can get away with far worse a half hour later, then the Pete Holmes Show can just be a little loopy at midnight.
That is the charm of the show. However, he does seem to borrow a bit from the O'Brien book of thought. This is notably true with the self-deprecating humor. As he shows at various points during the episode, he is very much a prototypical white male who knows very little about sports. In the closing segment, he plays basketball poorly for laughs. Earlier, he interviews James Harden after claiming to not know a single thing about sports. The interview is actually the best part of the entire episode as both men are very candid and crack up at each other's jokes. Even the meta moment in which Holmes claims that "nobody is going to watch this" because it is on at midnight almost makes me believe that Harden has no idea who Holmes is and why he is asking about shaving habits.
In that instance, his show's purpose is realized. It isn't really a prank interview, but it does capture an awkward lack of familiarity without being insulting. It is fun and while the Jim Jeffries interview is far more straightforward, he seems to be more of an expert when it comes to talking to people. It all depends on who it is, though, as he has the ability to sit back and let his guests talk a little more if they need to. I do believe that he is still working on the kinks and that he will be a better host in time. However, I do worry that because it is a midnight show and he seems raw and outrageous, that he is going to use cursing as a gimmick. He references the lack of censorship on the show twice and uses profanity as a joke. Again, this is probably an issue best solved in time.
Otherwise, the show has an interesting, lowkey feel to it. Holmes doesn't wear a suit and his backdrop seems like a juvenile version of the Tonight Show. It has a very low budget feel and almost helps to make the content more central to the host. It doesn't have too many segments beyond interviews and with a brisk running time, it doesn't need it. Where I complained that Talking Bad suffered from too many segments, I feel that the Pete Holmes Show reaches the right amount of portions of the show. We manage to get enough variety while not cutting any other thing short, save for the Skyfall skit.
It is fascinating that almost every comedian has been getting their own show. Even Chris Hardwick has his own with @Midnight. It is impossible to keep up with all of them and it almost seems that the Pete Holmes Show survives because it doesn't seem to care about the competition. Much like You Made It Weird, it is an acquired taste and once you get into the rhythm, there is nothing like it. He may be like a hyper O'Brien sometimes, but that is why he is following the legendary late night host. Much like O'Brien, his madcap ways premiered after the biggest name in late night and this is just TBS' version of it. It may take awhile to even compare to NBC, CBS, or the CW if it ever does, but I think this is a welcome addition to the late night roster. It is upbeat and edgy while not being too offensive. Hopefully in time, Holmes will work his magic and find a solid balance for a show that at very least is funny and has potential.
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