Next!

I agree completely. The Fox comedy execs don't know what they're doing. They do a pretty good job picking dramas, but they are clueless as to what comprises good comedy. They pick a good one now and then, but I think it's just from the law of large numbers. Watch the first episode of "Family Guy" after they returned (only after DVD sales kicked the execs in the ass) for plenty of examples. They also replaced "Arrested Development" with "Stacked". What a bunch of boobs. Fox does not deserve "Next".

One of the problems Fox has is their refusal to find a slot for a show and stick to it. During the first run, "Family Guy" bounced around on the schedule so much it took a full time assistant to track it. It's like they were playing "keepaway". TV audiences are creatures of habit, and Fox hasn't figured that out yet.

I was fortunate enough to receive two pilot episodes of Next! mailed to be by Bob Odenkirk, the show's creator. I met him out in Los Angeles in the Summer of 2002 at the signing for HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David. This happened right after Fox broke the news that they were going to pass on the show. Bob seemed quite distraught over the situation and really wanted people to see it. I think if given the chance, this show could have survived for quite a long run on a network like Comedy Central, but as usual, Fox executives wouldn't know a good show if it crapped comedy gold all over their collective faces. Next! had loads of talent and solid writing with a fresh editing style. What's worst of all is that Fox passed on Next! to do the horribly unfunny and short-lived "Cedric the Entertainer Presents."

The two completed episodes of this show are floating around the internet, along with some extra deleted scenes. Mr. Show is probably my favorite all-time sketch show, and "Next!" is basically Mr. Show II, the network version. Bob Odenkirk, Jay Johnstone, Jill Talley and Jerry Minor are in almost every scene, and there are clutch appearances from David Cross & Brian Posehn as well. The sensibility is somewhat similar to Mr. Show's 4th season, dark and weird at times, Bob playing lots of arrogant frustrated guys, the way he does so well.Fred Armisen and Galifianakis were clutch additions to the cast, and both went on to success on other shows.

Mr. Show, of course was, on HBO, and this was developed for Fox. As you might imagine, the humor is dumbed down a bit for network audiences; there are some poop jokes, nerds in chat rooms are zinged, and the recurring segment with Fred Armisen as a German version of James Lipton who cruelly mocks his guests is just plain unfunny.

But there are some insanely great skits as well; the newscasts are great, Jay and Bob as inept car salesmen, Fred Armisen in an airport security training video reminiscent of F.F. Woodycook's. It's a damn shame this got passed over. MadTV has been on the air for 13 years, and has sucked for the last 10.

I am a HUGE Bob (and David) fan, and I was lucky enough to find this little gem. There are so many great people on this show: Jay Johnston, Jerry Minor and Jill Talley from Mr. Show, Fred Armison, Zach Galafinakis, and the awesome Brian Posehn. I really loved the two episode of this show, nearly as much as I love Mr. Show. In fact, a lot of the sketches play a little bit like Mr. Show sketches. If Bob, David and friends wrote more of the comedy on TV, the world would be a better place. My only complaint about the show has to do with the current events that are dealt with. I guess that this show was made for network TV and that's part of it. Still, I felt that one of the most important things about Mr. Show was that there was no time sensitive material that would some day be less funny.