The comedy of Robert Smigel is often hit-or-miss, but always offensive. He is Conan O’Brien’s head writer, the creator, puppeteer and voice of Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog, and he is the guy who does all those animated shorts on Saturday Night Live over the past decade or so, also called TV Funhouse.
Smigel’s comedy is edgy and often appalling. He’s not made for prime time, and he’s not part of the Bill Cosby, polite comedy crowd. Now, that either makes him appeal to you, or it doesn’t, and your response to that will largely determine whether you find this DVD collection, Comedy Central’s TV Funhouse, to be an entertaining romp, or an offensive pile of garbage.
The important thing to realize is that TV Funhouse is a satire of children’s television programming, but one that is definitely not in any way intended for kids; it’s intended for adults in their 40s and older who remember the Howdy Doody Show or Captain Kangaroo or Mister Roger’s Neighborhood, and can appreciate the source material Smigel’s making fun of.
The collection includes skits like Wonderman, a near-perfect replica of the old Fleischer Superman cartoons of the 1950s or so, except that Wonderman only performs his heroic deeds to get his civilian alter-ego in bed with a woman.
That’s only scratching the surface; in this complete series collection, you’ll see sights like masturbating chickens, animals snorting “Christmas cheer” in cocaine-style fashion for weight loss, and the host getting “drunk and laid” with Robert Goulet in Atlantic City. Robert Goulet? See what I mean about this being for the 40 and older crowd yet? No one in the “12 and under” crowd would even know who that is. Most 20-somethings wouldn’t.
What it all boils down to is this: the show lasted a mere eight episodes on Comedy Central before being canned, largely because the controversy it generated never translated into ratings. And that’s what Smigel is like; you’ll either think he’s a genius or a parolee of some state’s Sex Offender program, and you’ll either laugh or you’ll think it’s trash. Sometimes, you may even experience both reactions.
But for those who appreciate Smigel, especially when he’s on-target, this collection is a must-have. Those easily offended shouldn’t even bother.
