Mr. Show with Bob and David

i just saw these guys live in Philly, and their show is one of the greatest things to ever grace the television set. the shows are all remarkably written, with scenes and themes flowing in and out of one another. there are a lot of modern sketch-comedy shows that i consider ground-breaking, such as "The State", "The Kids in the Hall", "TV Funhouse", and even "Saturday Night Live". However, "Mr. Show with Bob and David", despite its short, four-season lifespan, does the best job of re-inventing sketch comedy, in a form that is like no other. Lots of characters, lots of childish, scatological humor, lots of laughs, all packaged into one hell of a show that for all of its silliness is extremely intelligent.

The comparison to Monty Python is inevitable (both Bob Odenkirk and David Cross have acknowledged their debt to their predecessor in interviews), but make no mistake: "Mr. Show with Bob & David" is refreshingly original and brilliantly funny. There have been so many hilarious moments on the show that it would be impossible for me to name a particular favorite. The sketches are so finely crafted that even when the jokes fall flat (which is extremely rare), they're still quite engrossing ("Coupon: The Movie" is an example). I've been watching the show faithfully since its second season and each new episode only leaves me wanting more. The show's strong ensemble cast featuring John Ennis, Jill Talley, Tom Kenny and especially Jay Johnston are part of what makes the show work so well.

Being on HBO, they're pretty much able to do what they please, but while there is plenty of profanity (not an issue for me at all), they are in no way reliant upon cussing for laughs. In fact, one of the more memorable sketches involved a take-off of "Goodfellas" being edited for television in which the cuss words were replaced with such phrases as "mother-father" and "Chinese dentist".

HBO deserves to be praised for recognizing the talent of Bob & David and keeping the show on the air in spite of its small - albeit fiercely loyal - number of viewers.

The next time HBO airs a "Mr. Show" marathon, don't just watch it, tape it!

one of the funniest sketch comedy shows around.bob and david were excellent on this program and hopefully they'll collaborate again in the future.look out for the donnie sketches and the "jeepers creepers superstar" musical number.if you like any of the following:the state,exit 57,monty python,snl,kids in the hall,the dana carvey show,ucb,the ben stiller show,or sketches from "late night" with dave or conan then you will like mr. show. some funny s***e going on here.what's a gagortion??

"Mr. Show With Bob and David" is so incredibly funny, you might just wet yourself from laughing so hard. There is no other criticism to offer except that it is consistently hilarious. They certainly cross over the line of good taste often, but for those with an appetite for edgy humor, there is no equal. Bob Odenkirk and David Cross were originally writers and performers for the short-lived "Ben Stiller Show." Bob also wrote for "Saturday Night Live." Along with "Kids In the Hall," this is by far the best sketch comedy program in the past ten years. It puts "SNL," "Mad TV," and the rest to shame.

Mr. Show is one of those rare sketch comedy shows that is actually funny.On top of that, they manage to tie each sketch to the previous one for added comedy goodness.The most important thing is that 20 years later, it's not dated.Try watching SNL from 20 years ago and most of the jokes don't make sense because they were about something that was only in the news for a week or two.Not the heavily edited SNL that plays on TV now, a full episode.You won't even recognize most of the people they parody.Proving that SNL has been a huge waste of videotape.Bob Odenkirk and David Cross are comedy geniuses who were smart enough to bring other great comedians to the show.People who would go on to huge success like Jack Black,Jay Johnston,Paul F. Tompkins,Brian Posehn,Tom Kenny(SpongeBob),Dino Stamatopoulos,Jerry Minor,Sarah Silverman,Mary Lynn Rajskub(Gail The Snail) and more great guest appearances than I could ever mention.It's amazing how unknown this show is considering everything Bob Odenkirk has done.He wrote for Letterman,Get A Life(Chris Elliot's show) and SNL.He has also been involved in producing,writing and acting in almost everything Tim & Eric have ever done, not to mention his involvement in many other Adult Swim shows.Watch this show.