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Mr. Show

 
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Mr. Show
Image:Mrshow logo.gif
Format Sketch comedy
Created by Bob Odenkirk
David Cross
Starring Bob Odenkirk
David Cross
John Ennis
Tom Kenny
Jill Talley
Jay Johnston
Country of origin USA
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 30 episodes, 2 specials
(List of episodes)
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel HBO
Original run November 3, 1995 – December 28, 1998
External links
Official website

Mr. Show (also known as Mr. Show with Bob and David) was a sketch comedy series featuring former Saturday Night Live writer/comedy actor Bob Odenkirk and stand up comedian/actor David Cross. It aired on HBO from November 3, 1995, to December 28, 1998.

Contents

Description

Each episode of Mr. Show essentially consists of a series of sketches, each one transitioning to the next by way of a tangential—or sometimes direct—segue, called a link. For example, a minor character in one sketch might return as the major character in the next. Often, common themes or storylines are returned to at different times throughout an episode. It is regarded by sketch comedy aficionados as perhaps the best of its era[citation needed], though as a premium cable show its audience was necessarily limited. DVD editions, however, have sold briskly, opening the show to a broad new audience.

Format

The format of Mr. Show is heavily influenced by the British sketch comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus, particularly in the linking of one sketch to the next, a strong point for both shows, as it negates the tendency to expect each sketch to end on a punch line or similar high note (a common feature of more traditional sketch comedy shows such as Saturday Night Live). The interweaving of taped bits and stage-performed sketch found in Flying Circus is prevalent in Mr. Show. Both shows depend greatly on absurdist humor.

In later seasons, the show would satirize celebrities in an indirect fashion, by changing the name and some of the aesthetic idiosyncrasies of the celebrity, while maintaining a transparently obvious parody. For instance, "Willips Brighton" was a character spoofing Brian Wilson, Marilyn Manson became "Norma Jean Monster" and later "Marilyn Monster," Carrot Top became "Blueberry Head," and Dr. Demento became "Dr. Retarded."

The show contains a strong, confident contrarian viewpoint that at times mocks or satirizes organized religion or global capitalism. Additionally, many of the show's sketches were constructed with a strong critique of modern television in mind, whether it be infomercials or sitcoms. Cynicism plays a heavy role in the show and there is little respect for traditionalism.

Conventions

Every episode begins with an individual introducing the hosts, Bob and David. This role was filled by Mary Lynn Rajskub in the first two seasons, while in the latter two seasons Bob and David would be introduced by a character from a sketch in that given episode. In the opening dialogue, Bob is often dressed in a suit, while David is dressed down in more casual attire.

Every episode's title is taken from a line of dialogue heard during the episode, with three exceptions. The title of the first episode in season one, "The Cry of a Hungry Baby", does not appear anywhere in the episode but in fact came from a sketch that was eventually cut from the debut episode. The title of the seventh episode in season three, "Bush is a Pussy", comes from a t-shirt worn by one of the characters. The title of the seventh episode in season four, "Eat Rotten Fruit from a Shitty Tree", is a lyric from a song that only appears in instrumental form.

Certain lines of dialogue are often repeated by different characters during the course of a single show (e.g., "I was on the eighteenth hole!" in "The Biggest Failure in Broadway History" and "Who let you in?" in the episode of the same name).

Fake special thanks

In addition, at the end of each episode's credits, there is a random niche celebrity in the "Special Thanks" section placed there for fans to hunt out and not for the purpose of thanking. For example, the first episode's random special niche thanks credit celebrity was Rick Dees, and the third episode's was Greg Maddux. This is referred to as a "Fake Special Thanks".

Spin-off movie

Mr. Show also spawned a spin-off movie, Run Ronnie Run, that went straight-to-DVD. Bob and David both had numerous disagreements with the film's director, Troy Miller; ultimately, Cross and Odenkirk disowned the final version.[1]

Mr. Show Live: Hooray for America!

In September 2002, original cast members Bob Odenkirk, David Cross, John Ennis, Brian Posehn and Stephanie Courtney took Mr. Show: Hooray for America!!! on the road. The two month stint featured distillation of some of Mr. Show's best sketches, such as "The Burgundy Loaf", and also added new material.[2] In the stage show, the large fictitious mega-corporation Globo-Chem ("We own everything, so you don't have to!") sponsors David's stage persona to run for the presidency of the United States[3] The performance venues varied from the elegant Warner Theatre in Washington, DC to the converted warehouse of the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, PA. [4] Some elements of the live show were ad libbed, and changed from night to night. David Cross sometimes broke scene, to directly address loud or drunk crowd members.

Cast

During the ending credits, the actors appearing on the show were credited as "Main Cast" or "Featured Cast", though some "Featured" cast members (like Brian Posehn or Mary Lynn Rajskub) appeared regularly. Mr. Show's main cast for the entire run consisted of David Cross, John Ennis, Tom Kenny, Bob Odenkirk, and Jill Talley. Cross, Ennis, and Odenkirk appeared in each season. Kenny left the show after the third season to pursue other projects, and he returned for one episode of season four. Talley appeared in all episodes but four towards the end of the third season, which she missed because she was pregnant. Jay Johnston, who was a featured performer throughout the series, was credited as a member of the main cast for the final episode of the show.

Main cast

Featured cast and frequent collaborators

Writing staff

Contributing writers

Episode list

Main article: List of Mr. Show episodes

Characters

  • Ronnie Dobbs (David Cross) is a habitual criminal regularly caught in the act on Fuzz, a COPS-like program. Dobbs epitomizes many stereotypes of 'white trash' in his behavior.
  • Terry Twillstein (Bob Odenkirk) is a foppish, manipulative, British television producer who discovers Ronnie Dobbs, and is always looking to use Ronnie for his success.
  • Senator Howel Tankerbell (Bob Odenkirk) is an ultra-conservative Southern Dixiecrat Senator.
  • Three Times One Minus One (T.T.O.M.O) is an R&B duo made up of Pootie T. and Wolfgang Amadeus Thelonius Van Funkenmeister The 19th and 3 Quarters (Played by David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, respectively). They are the performers of the song, "Ewww, Girl, Ewww", which is designed to promote literacy, as well as the song "Goodbye 2 Every 1 Ever," written in memory of "everyone that's ever died."
  • Droopy (Bob Odenkirk) is a Dirty and chronically congested take on the "lazy twenty-something slacker" stereotype. He loves to messily eat chocolate and, for an unknown reason, wants to work at the front desk of his local museum, though he has few qualifications.
  • Dylan (David Cross) is an incredibly pretentious man clad in glasses and a long scarf, even in hot weather. He shuns popular American culture and modern technology, but is surprisingly friends with Droopy. In audio commentary, castmates describe Cross's first impression on them being reminiscent of Dylan.
  • Fancy Pants (Bill Odenkirk) is a dandy who makes occasional silent, yet noted walk-ons. First seen clad in Elizabethan garb he makes his second appearance in a more Edwardian style.

References

  1. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20070607210342/http://www.bobanddavid.com/interviews.asp?artID=116
  2. ^ Adams, Sam (2002-09-19). "Mr. Show: Hooray for America!". http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2002-09-19/artpicks4.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-12-05. 
  3. ^ Sullivan, James (2002-10-03). "'Mr. Show' time". http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/10/03/DD176439.DTL. Retrieved on 2007-12-05. 
  4. ^ Sullivan, James (2002-06-30). "BOB AND DAVID IN “HOORAY FOR AMERICA!”". http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=221. Retrieved on 2007-12-05. 

External links

Sister project Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mr. Show
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Mr. Show
Episode list · Movie
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