Tracey Takes On...

American comedy series in which British-born Ullman `takes on' a particular subject each episode and parodies it through various characters.

Tracey Ullman is, without doubt, a very talented performer. Accomplished actress, singer (with some hit singles to her name), dancer, comedienne, television personality - she can do it all. Assuming countless guises in this show (all convincing and some completely unrecognizable), she proves that if you were casting a film, one only need cast Ullman for ninety percent of the characters.

Unfortunately, it's the material which lets her down. Lame jokes, unfunny skits and poor writing sink what could have been a terrific series. Understandably, it's geared for an American audience, with in-jokes and a very American point of view - most of which fell completely flat in front of this Australian. In addition, her likeable characters seem to feature much less than the loud-mouthed, obnoxious ones.

Had Tracey enlisted some better writers, the show would've been a winner. Still, she performs admirably given what she's got and the show is tolerable, simply to watch Ullman's ability to portray so many characters believably.

Remember back in the mid to late 90's at times in my college dorm room when nothing was on I from time to time to get a good laugh and to see a spin and take on current pop culture would tune into this "HBO" variety show "Tracey Takes On". The parody and skits and comedy of acting featured Ullman was spot on as her performances looked at current times of culture and fashion. Plus the song played at the end credits are fine as the tune "They Don't Know About Us" was a hit in the 80's.

I love this show. If you don't have HBO I suggest you run out and rent a few videos. This is sketch comedy at its best. She takes on any and every character you could imagine. The gay airline steward, Trevor. Then there's a Leslie Abrahamson type attorney, Sydney. Former make-up artist to the stars turned lush Ruby Romaine. The list goes on and on. If you're an Tracy Ullman fan you won't be disappointed. Check it out!

A charming blend of old favorites (Kay), new faces (Linda Granger, Ruby Romaine), strong guest stars, and inventive sketches. My favorites were Ruby and Linda, but I loved nearly every single one. A truly entertaining and wildly creative series, and a superb showcase for Tracey.

"Tracey takes on" is a sketch comedy show on HBO, and each episode finds Tracey Ullman in a well-done disguise (ala Eddie Murphy in Coming To America), making fun of some minority group or whatever. It's a shame, however, that Tracey's talents lie not the least bit with comedy, for the show totally sucks, and sucks hard. Each "character" she portrays is a racist sterotype (the Black "homegirl" airport clerk, the Korean grocery store owner, the Jewish "yenta", the Arab taxi driver, etc...), and they aren't even clever parodies- she just kills the viewer slowly and painfully by acting how she thinks these people must act- black people speaking hardcore jive and the like. The skits themselves aren't the least bit funny, unless you maybe beat yourself senseless over the head with a dead skunk for about an hour or two, and THEN only maybe. What I want to know is who the hell's been signing the checks for this show? Do they really look at this mess and say, "Damn, that's quality entertainment! Next let's make a Cool As Ice series! Call Vanilla Ice, quick!" Anyway, in case you couldn't tell by my rant, Tracey Takes On is horrible and must be cancelled instantly, with all copies of previous episodes destroyed by a great big bonfire that I personally will dance around. Humanity will only prosper.