‘Tim_and_Eric_Awesome_Show’ Returns for Another Season of Nightmare TV
Ubiquitous
ON first viewing, the comedy sketches on “Tim and Eric Awesome Show,
Great Job!” can seem like outtakes from a public-access channel that’s
broadcast only in hell. They are full of shoddily produced, sloppily
edited talk shows about acne and commercials for utterly unnecessary
gadgets, and populated by people who should never stand within 50 feet
of a camera lens.
When these elements appear in a typical television program, they’re
usually a result of accidents, budgetary restrictions and bad choices.
When they appear on “Awesome Show,” they’re intentional.
“We have a very strict set of rules of what we think is funny,” said
Eric Wareheim, who created and stars in the series with Tim Heidecker.
“And,” Mr. Heidecker added, “I guess those would be, in no particular
order: darkness, discomfort, confusion and things that shouldn’t exist.”
Lovingly described by its architects as “the nightmare version of
television,” “Awesome Show” (which returns to the Cartoon Network’s
after-hours Adult Swim lineup Sunday night for its third season) revels
in an aesthetic of awkwardness. It favors quick sketches about pathetic
office workers and desperate on-air pitchmen, and music videos for
scatological songs. It elevates people recruited from the streets of Los
Angeles to the status of celebrities and treats the celebrities who
appear on the show as unwanted extras.
If, as its creators argue, there is humor in aberration, then “Awesome
Show” is their vision of a nonstop laugh riot. “You know you’ve got
something great,” Mr. Heidecker said, “when it makes you say out loud,
‘Why is this on TV?’ ”
Since meeting as film students at Temple University in the 1990s, Mr.
Heidecker and Mr. Wareheim, both 32-year-old Pennsylvania natives, have
noticed that their comedic sensibilities differed greatly from societal
norms. At college they created short films that anticipated their
“Awesome Show” milieu — e.g., a sloppily edited promotional trailer for
a cat film festival — and eventually grew brave enough to send their
reel (and an invoice for $50) to the comedian Bob Odenkirk, the
co-creator of the influential sketch series “Mr. Show With Bob and
David.”
Mr. Odenkirk did not pay the enclosed bill, but he enjoyed Mr. Wareheim
and Mr. Heidecker’s shorts enough to become their mentor. “My first
question to them was, ‘What scene are you in?’ ” Mr. Odenkirk recalled
in an interview. “I thought maybe they knew everyone in New York and
played their films in the clubs. And they were like, ‘What are you
talking about?’ ”
“It occurred to me,” Mr. Odenkirk added, “that they aren’t being
influenced by anybody. They’re in their own little world, and that’s why
they’ve gotten good at this.”
With Mr. Odenkirk’s help, Mr. Heidecker and Mr. Wareheim found an agent
and struck a deal with Adult Swim to produce an animated show, “Tom Goes
to the Mayor,” about a hapless inventor and the small-town politician
who constantly ruins his plans. The cartoon was canceled after two
seasons, but in their occasional live-action experiments for the series
— fake advertisements and infomercials; a behind-the-scenes video
podcast — the two men developed the funhouse-mirror sensibility that
would eventually inform “Awesome Show.”
On “Awesome Show” (which made its debut with a 10-episode season in
February 2007) Mr. Wareheim and Mr. Heidecker sometimes appear as
themselves, but more often they play various grotesque characters: a
tacky, overly affectionate husband-and-wife team of television news
anchors; a facially disfigured singer and his garishly attired brother.
“There’s nothing less funny than someone who looks cool,” Mr. Wareheim
explained. “There’s nothing more unappealing.”
To populate their twisted universe they frequently cast average-looking
actors (and nonactors) recruited from Web sites like Craigslist, who
bring an additional layer of deliberate amateurishness to their skits.
The roster of real-life characters on “Awesome Show” now includes David
Liebe Hart, a puppeteer and public-access television host, and James
Quall, an aspiring comedian who specializes in inadvertently terrible
voice impressions.
“We know that it’s not good,” Mr. Heidecker said. “We’re not idiots. But
to James Quall he’s doing a great job. And he’s on TV. So everybody kind
of wins.”
Authentically famous people can also appear on “Awesome Show,” as long
as they fit into the producers’ skewed notion of fame and are willing to
poke fun at themselves. The actor Tom Skerritt has been featured in a
skit in which Mr. Heidecker and Mr. Wareheim hope to revitalize his
career by composing an idiotic jingle for him. And John C. Reilly, the
Oscar-nominated star of “Chicago” and “Boogie Nights,” frequently
appears as the wild-haired Dr. Steve Brule, a self-styled health and
fitness expert who knows alarmingly little about the subjects.
The Brule character has proved so popular that he is being given his own
six-episode spin-off show, tentatively titled “Check It Out!,” starring
Mr. Reilly and produced by Mr. Wareheim and Mr. Heidecker. “So much
happens in a day of him improvising and us throwing stuff at him that
you want to use it all,” Mr. Heidecker said of Mr. Reilly.
Mr. Wareheim and Mr. Heidecker are also developing a game show for Adult
Swim that would star the comedian Neil Hamburger. Mr. Wareheim described
it as “a mixture of a Japanese bizarre game show and ‘The Price Is
Right.’ ” And like everyone in Hollywood they would eventually like to
make feature films. (“We’d like our first movie to be a pretty pure Tim
and Eric vision,” Mr. Wareheim said, “before we get sucked into the
Apatow system.”)
On the Web the duo can be seen with the comedian Zach Galifianakis in a
series of viral videos promoting Absolut Vodka, not to be confused with
the satirical videos Mr. Wareheim and Mr. Heidecker made last summer, in
which they appeared, without irony or fright makeup, to promote the
release of “Shrek the Third.”
“People really thought we got paid by DreamWorks to do that,” Mr.
Heidecker said. “We lost some fans that way. ‘We thought you guys were
cool, but you sold out.’ ”
--
It is simply breathtaking to watch the glee and abandon with which
the liberal media and the Angry Left have been attempting to turn
our military victory in Iraq into a second Vietnam quagmire. Too bad
for them, it's failing.
jorge_ri62
for selecting alternate channels and a button that turns it off. Is
there maybe some very vocal segment on the [as] boards that's been
shouting from the rooftops about Tim & Eric being the funniest thing
ever? They must be getting positive feedback from somewhere, and I don't
really want to venture onto their boards myself to find out.
In article <s66dnalcMcX3KxDV...@giganews.com>,
Cuddles Petunia
The writer of the article sounds like a fan. I wonder how many people will check out the show for the first time because of
it, and how long it will take them to change channels.
The Eternal Lost Lurker
"Cuddles Petunia" <cuddles...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
*snip* Please don't quote an entire post to add a two or three line
response. It's bad netiquette.
--
The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com
The Eternal Lost Lurker
> "We have a very strict set of rules of what we think is funny," said
> Eric Wareheim, who created and stars in the series with Tim Heidecker.
Too bad for them only drunks, stoners, and retards share their opinions on
funny.
Ubiquitous
>> "We have a very strict set of rules of what we think is funny," said
>> Eric Wareheim, who created and stars in the series with Tim Heidecker.
>
>Too bad for them only drunks, stoners, and retards share their opinions on
>funny.
That, sir, is a slur against drunks, stoners, and retards!
Ubiquitous
>web...@polaris.net wrote:
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/arts/television/27itzk.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin
>
>The writer of the article sounds like a fan. I wonder how many people
>will check out the show for the first time because of it, and how long
>it will take them to change channels.
Three-point-five seconds.
Syvyn11
"Ubiquitous" <web...@polaris.net> wrote in message
news:5eSdneLmbIoScojX...@giganews.com...
> cuddles...@yahoo.com wrote:
>>web...@polaris.net wrote:
>
>>>
>>> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/arts/television/27itzk.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin
>>
>>The writer of the article sounds like a fan. I wonder how many people
>>will check out the show for the first time because of it, and how long
>>it will take them to change channels.
>
> Three-point-five seconds.
I want to say that T&E is the biggest piece of crap on Adult Swim, but the
sad fact is there are worse things..
Morel Orel
Saul of the Mole Men
Xavier, Renegade Angel
Squidbillies
Dave Turner
> cuddles...@yahoo.com wrote:
>> web...@polaris.net wrote:
>
>>> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/arts/television/27itzk.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin
>> The writer of the article sounds like a fan. I wonder how many people
>> will check out the show for the first time because of it, and how long
>> it will take them to change channels.
>
> Three-point-five seconds.
>
>
Antonio E. Gonzalez
wrote:
>cuddles...@yahoo.com wrote:
>>web...@polaris.net wrote:
>
>>> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/arts/television/27itzk.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin
>>
>>The writer of the article sounds like a fan. I wonder how many people
>>will check out the show for the first time because of it, and how long
>>it will take them to change channels.
>
>Three-point-five seconds.
It's certainly an aquired taste, but these resurections of Andy
Kaufan obviusly have viewers . . .
--
- ReFlex76
Antonio E. Gonzalez
wrote:
>
>"Ubiquitous" <web...@polaris.net> wrote in message
>news:5eSdneLmbIoScojX...@giganews.com...
>> cuddles...@yahoo.com wrote:
>>>web...@polaris.net wrote:
>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/arts/television/27itzk.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin
>>>
>>>The writer of the article sounds like a fan. I wonder how many people
>>>will check out the show for the first time because of it, and how long
>>>it will take them to change channels.
>>
>> Three-point-five seconds.
>
>I want to say that T&E is the biggest piece of crap on Adult Swim, but the
>sad fact is there are worse things..
>
>Morel Orel
A wonderful parody of Davey and Goliath, too bad it got cancelled
prematurely, thought they still got off a good final episode. Trully
a case of Too Good To Last . . .
>Saul of the Mole Men
A bit of an extreme parody of Land of the Lost, but more than a few
fun moments . . .
>Xavier, Renegade Angel
Less said about this one the better . . .
>Squidbillies
>
More than a few cringe-worthy moments, but still surprisingly fun .
. .
>>
>>
>> --
>> It is simply breathtaking to watch the glee and abandon with which
>> the liberal media and the Angry Left have been attempting to turn
>> our military victory in Iraq into a second Vietnam quagmire. Too bad
>> for them, it's failing.
>>
Yes, we all know invading Iraq was a huge mistake, that mess will
take quite a while to clean up . . .
--
- ReFlex76
goldenc...@gmail.com
> By DAVE ITZKOFF
>
> ON first viewing, the comedy sketches on �Tim and Eric Awesome Show,
> Great Job!� can seem like outtakes from a public-access channel that�
s
> broadcast only in hell. They are full of shoddily produced, sloppily
> edited talk shows about acne and commercials for utterly unnecessary
> gadgets, and populated by people who should never stand within 50 feet
> of a camera lens.
Thankfully there is a place on the *boob tube* for experiments like
this. It's the best couple of hours on the TV...Aqua Teen Hunger
Force, Squidbillies, SeaLab, and a few others are refreshingly
inventive...if cryptic. (Unknown Hinson should be a household name.)
Ubiquitous
>>> cuddles...@yahoo.com wrote:
>>>>The writer of the article sounds like a fan. I wonder how many
>>>>people will check out the show for the first time because of it,
>>>>and how long it will take them to change channels.
>>>
>>> Three-point-five seconds.
>>
>>I want to say that T&E is the biggest piece of crap on Adult Swim,
>>but the sad fact is there are worse things..
>>
>>Morel Orel
>
> A wonderful parody of Davey and Goliath, too bad it got cancelled
>prematurely, thought they still got off a good final episode. Trully
>a case of Too Good To Last . . .
Ironically enough, it was cancelled because they followed [adult swim]'s
suggestions to "make it darker".
--
It's now time for healing, and for fixing the damage the Democrats did
to America.
Antonio E. Gonzalez
wrote:
>AntE...@aol.com wrote:
>>"Syvyn11" <robhor...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>"Ubiquitous" <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>>>> cuddles...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>>>>>The writer of the article sounds like a fan. I wonder how many
>>>>>people will check out the show for the first time because of it,
>>>>>and how long it will take them to change channels.
>>>>
>>>> Three-point-five seconds.
>>>
>>>I want to say that T&E is the biggest piece of crap on Adult Swim,
>>>but the sad fact is there are worse things..
>>>
>>>Morel Orel
>>
>> A wonderful parody of Davey and Goliath, too bad it got cancelled
>>prematurely, thought they still got off a good final episode. Trully
>>a case of Too Good To Last . . .
>
>Ironically enough, it was cancelled because they followed [adult swim]'s
>suggestions to "make it darker".
Obviously *too* dark! In spite of that mistake, the show still had
a good run . . .
--
- ReFlex76
Ubiquitous
>On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:01:28 -0400, Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net>
>wrote:
>>AntE...@aol.com wrote:
>>> [Moral Orel] A wonderful parody of Davey and Goliath, too bad it
>>> got cancelled prematurely, thought they still got off a good final
>>> episode. Trully a case of Too Good To Last . . .
>>
>>Ironically enough, it was cancelled because they followed [adult
>>swim]'s suggestions to "make it darker".
>
> Obviously *too* dark! In spite of that mistake, the show still had
>a good run . . .
Fer sure.
Have you seen the "lost scripts"?
Antonio E. Gonzalez
wrote:
>AntE...@aol.com wrote:
>>On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:01:28 -0400, Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net>
>>wrote:
>>>AntE...@aol.com wrote:
>
>>>> [Moral Orel] A wonderful parody of Davey and Goliath, too bad it
>>>> got cancelled prematurely, thought they still got off a good final
>>>> episode. Trully a case of Too Good To Last . . .
>>>
>>>Ironically enough, it was cancelled because they followed [adult
>>>swim]'s suggestions to "make it darker".
>>
>> Obviously *too* dark! In spite of that mistake, the show still had
>>a good run . . .
>
>Fer sure.
>Have you seen the "lost scripts"?
Can't say I have . . .
--
- ReFlex76
Ubiquitous
wrote:
I'll have to remember where I saw them (Dino or [as]'s site?) but he had
some interesting eps lined up that would have filled out the missing parts
of the final ep. One I do remember was Orel having to share a bed with
Clay's father, who is dieing of cancer and moved in.
Antonio E. Gonzalez
wrote:
Well, that's the way it is . . .
--
- ReFlex76