Brand X with Russell Brand

First off, I would like too say I still don't completely understand the concept of this show. That being said you will either like it or you won't.

I myself am not a huge fan of Russel Brand (Though I did enjoy his work in Forgetting Sarah Marshall), but his show was on after Louie so I decided to check it out. Ehhhhh. It wasn't great nor was it terribly bad. One of those shows that if absolutely nothing else is on then you watch it, not something you go out of your way for. It's just their.

Brand himself makes the show and yet breaks it at the same time. His personality makes for a sporadic, blunt, humorous, and annoying show all at once.

Each episode begins with a topic of discussion. Brand takes it from there with many different comedic views on the topic. Some funny, most not. But what sets this show aside from most is the audience interaction. Brand often walks into the audience to get opinions or he'll just poll them with a system similar to that of AFV. This is not a new concept, but offers the show something different than just an annoying British guy on stage.

All and all I don't think this is a show that will attract a major audience like FX's otherwise fantastic line up of shows or will continue past two seasons. But a show that may just be different enough to attract a cult following.

I thought I would hate this show, but I have become a fan. Brand's frenetic verbal riffs and "off the tracks" demeanor make for a very entertaining TV show. Jonesy adds punk cred to the show, which is really an anti-talk show, but I wish he had more to say (getting a word edgewise with Brand around is no mean feat).

Brand filibusters in his shrill, staccato English accent, sometimes tending toward Cockney. His thoughts are often difficult to unpack, but mostly I've been impressed by his insights. He's clearly well educated and can be erudite when it matters.

His interaction with the audience borders on abusive, but they love it. Likewise, he tests the limits of his guests' patience. In one episode, two ladies from a puppy rescue came on the show, puppies in tow. Apparently Brand didn't think they were upbeat enough, so he screamed at them and threw a coffee cup full of water, shattering it on the side of an Airstream caravan that had been set up in the studio. He later tossed another cup of water on the audience and demanded they "wake up".

Being a huge Mighty Boosh (and Luxury Comedy) fan, I've thought of Brand as a sort of Noel Fielding rip-off. Fielding has basically said the same in interviews. But show biz makes for strange bedfellows. Fielding's guest appearance on the show was brilliant. He and Brand seemed to get on well, especially when they butchered the hair of a female audience member. Fielding returned on the next episode to apologize to the woman.

Its a bold statement, but.... I think Brand X is the paradigm for the future of late night TV talkshows. Irreverent, youthful and unpredictable.

I've watched a few episodes, and I was well entertained and had some good laughs, but I feel the show hasn't yet reached its full potential. Russel Brand really wants to bring up important issues, and make deep, meaningful points - but when he gets too close to doing that, it seems he gets scared and flimsy, and pulls a bunch of sex jokes out of the pocket of his skinny jeans.

I don't have a problem with balancing serious with funny, I love that concept, but Russel the producer should tell Russel the performer to chill once in a while, and actually explore a subject deeper, even if it's not instant laughs every two seconds.

Russel Brand has a very warm personality, and he connects with his crowd in the studio so well, he takes us to the brink of awkward, but brings us home safe:) I want to see this show evolve!

The first few shows left me feeling a little perplexed. It wasn't comedy, but rather a comically dressed person trying to express his world-views in a funny and vulgar way. With every episode, the show has become more enjoyable, but I think that the theme of exploring today's world basically stuck.

Since I was expecting more comedy, I didn't enjoy the show that much at first. I identified with some of his views, but that is not why I watched it. Gradually, the comedy part caught up with the rest. However, what I love about the show now is mainly the 'philosophy behind his mental illness'. He tries to portray the most extreme individuals as people (spoiler: 'as long as they don't have sex with animals') and, tries to open a dialogue free of condemnation. While he (or any of this) can't be taken seriously, I think he's still trying to send an important message.

The laughs are solid and I think most people will enjoy his more recent shows. I am giving this a 10/10 because I like what he's doing.

Mr. Brand gets dinged sometimes for inconsistency, but who among us is 100 24/7/365? Whether one series of his is deemed stronger than another is less important to this reviewer than the generally high observational value presented at any time.

So why is it that humorists with English bloodlines (a nod to Konstantin Kisin here too) are often at the front of the satirist line? Deeper literary genes perhaps. Close geographical vulnerability to aggressive forces in two World Wars maybe too.

Whatever the nature of the decidedly English truth-to-power acumen, it typically rings deeply to the observer paying attention. And Mr. Brand carries that tradition with joyful aplomb.