Root of All Evil

I like Lewis Black. I REALLY like Lewis Black. So it seems strange that I'd say "there's not enough Lewis Black in Lewis Black's show", but that's EXACTLY the problem with "the root of all evil". It FEELS like LB is phoning it in!

OK, so we have Lewis Black, and two guys who take each side of the debate. (Catholic Church vs. Oprah in this case.) That's all well and good, but most of the show is THE TWO OTHER GUYS! While they weren't bad, I didn't tune in to the show called "two other guys: the root of all evil", I tuned in to "LEWIS BLACK: the root of all evil". If it has your name in it, YOU SHOULD HAVE THE MOST LINES AND SCREEN TIME, PERIOD!

Was it funny? In spots I genuinely laughed. But I couldn't help but feeling that this would be SO much more funny if Lewis Black just got up there and riffed the way WE KNOW he can riff on a subject. That's what I wanted to see, what the title PROMISES I'll see, and the show just doesn't deliver that.

So if you're expecting something along the lines of LB's stand up routines, or a long form version of LB's rants on The Daily Show, you'll be soooooooorely disappointed. On its own without preconceived notions (just pretend it's called "two other guys with a special appearance by lewis black"), it's OK... not stellar, but not awful, either.

That's my prediction! I can't even finish watching it. So unfunny, that they had to use a laugh track over the studio audience! Seriously, you can see people sitting there perfectly still, and unimpressed, while it sounds like the audience is breaking out in riotous laughter. Unbelievable. Just another example of Comedy Central thinking it has some great newsy show that people will look to for some sort of legitimate opinions. Instead it's just perpetually unemployed angry comedians. It's just a tired concept... "Let's complain about people and religion, they're so controlling and they think they're better than us!" Get over it.

I've had the opportunity to see Lewis Black's stand up specials. I liked the way how he made fun of contemporary political and social issues. His new show on comedy central follows the same pattern. "Root of All Evil" is basically a reality show that features Lewis Black as a judge of a court in which celebrities and other pop culture related issues are brought in to be determined as "The root of all evil". The routine is that two comedians contend for whatever is brought to the court and at the end of each episode Lewis Black makes a verdict by revealing the root of all evil for the episode. My personal favorite episode so far is Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney. I don't want my comment to be biased. But I was certainly happy to see both of those people being poked fun at. I also enjoyed American Idol vs. High School. So far this show is definitely more than average and definitely deserves another season.

On paper I liked the concept here. With my experience of Black mostly limited to his rage-fuelled bits on The Daily Show, it sounded like a show totally set up for him to lay judgment into things that wind him up would work really well. Unfortunately the delivery of this doesn't make the most of its strengths and, although has some good bits here and there, generally feels a bit average throughout.

The format, while sounding good, is actually part of the problem. In a 20 minute show it is very fragmented and scripted; I get that it is television, not improv or stand-up, but the stiffness of it and the very precise delivery of bits tends to rob it of energy and life. The comedians deliver their short bits in a way that never feels natural – indeed even the moments of banter between them feel over-rehearsed and lacking spark. The subjects chosen offer potential and to be fair in each episode I would say there is at least one or two good laughs or chuckles to be had, but mostly it is material that feels like it needed a bit more work on the writing in order to have some flair to it, and then a bit more freedom to deliver it.

This feeling extends to Black himself; he is really hemmed in by the format, delivering his material in very strict blocks and never having the time and freedom to build as well as I have seen him do on TDS. His lines may occasionally be funny, but not very often. The sense of material lacking refinement, a format that seems to know it is not really working, and comedians not really consistently on their best form, is all made that little bit worse by the production itself. The set itself looks a bit second-rate, but it is the audience that is the issue – well, not so much them, but the way the audience is presented. All through the show we have what is clearly canned laughter, and I found it really quite annoying and distracting to have the taped audience trying to force me to believe that a rather so-so line was actually the most hilarious thing ever. It doesn't help again that we can actually see the audience in the background of many of the shots and thus we see them let out a sort of smile/snort reaction at a time when the laugh track would have us believe everyone is rolling in the aisles.

It is a shame because maybe with a bit less production and a bit less rigidity, this could have been quite fun, but unfortunately it is really very little to talk about. The most immediately noticeable mistake is that Black himself is wasted as a resource due to the format, but sadly it is only the first of many things that really fall below the required level in this show.

I love Lewis Black, I've been a big fan for a long time. So when I heard he was finally getting his own show, I knew it was going to be darkly ironic, cutting, and different.

And boy was I not disappointed.

The first episode puts on trial Oprah Winfrey and The Catholic Church. To decide once and for all which is the root of all evil between them.

I won't tell you how it ended, but I will say this. The debates on both sides were sharp, and funny, and with Lewis Black as the much deserving judge, I very much enjoyed the show, and intend to keep watching.

Good stuff Mr. Black, good to have you back.