Hype

I had the unfortunate experience of seeing Hype for the first time last night, and I must say I've never seen a show -- intended to be a comedy -- which has angered me more in my entire life.

In a recent Entertainment Weekly article, the cast was described by a show PR person as being great impersonators, and a breath of fresh air.

Hype is nothing more than a stale attempt by the WB to make a foray in to the sketch comedy game, when really sketch comedy is on the way out.

Not once during the 30 minutes did I laugh... not even once... all I could keep repeating is "my god, they're making fools of themselves."

If you want to watch something funny, dig up those old tapes of the "Dana Carvey Show" -- a much more valiant effort at risque sketch comedy.

Bottom line -- don't believe the hype the WB is creating over HYPE... its bland, boring, dull, and the worst example of sketch comedy on the tube today.

This show is hilairious. I laughed so hard I almost wet myself. This show is similar to Mad TV and In Living Color. It's definetly worth a look. Jennifer Elise Cox (Brady Bunch Movie) is funny and sexy. Like the stars of In Living Color and Saturday Night Live, these cast members should be going places. Keep up the funny.

For those of us who love flat-out comedy but can't seem to stay up late enough for "Saturday Night Live", "Hype" is a refreshing alternative. That acting and writing was excellent. This one will be around for awhile, and all of the cast will be able to make names for themselves just as the SNL originals did back in 1975. Let's all hope this one lasts the season and will fare better than most comedies seen on the WB network. I don't think I've laughed this hard since "The Wedding Singer", and I'm hard to please. I believe that this one is a definite keeper for Sunday nights.

"Hey, remember that SNL/Mad TV show-type on the WB a couple years back?" If somebody asked this the answer's obvious. "Hype" is remembered by few and never lasted long enough to make a big impression. The first impression it made on me was from a skit aggressively mocking celebrities, and how off-putting it was. "Hype" used the sketch comedy format to ridicule what is overexposed and inane when it comes to fame. At the same time many of the performers probably aspired to similar name recognition of those they lampooned--and failed at it. Out of all the names in the credits there's only one recognizable name and that's comedian Frank Caliendo, and I hadn't known he was on this show.

I'm generally interested in wasting an a half hour or an hour to watch what would normally be set to be a bunch of comedians run around making fun of stuff for no apparent reason than to make money for themselves in laughs. Laughing is good, but given the fact that I could possibly fall asleep through this show I won't be amazed the cast of SNL-rejects making up the show aren't living in cardboard boxes by now.

Hit skit-comedy rely on making fun of at least then current news and mixing in what would hopefully be original events and characters. And while shows like SNL have gotten less favorable in recent years, other shows like MadTV have actually managed to gain some popularity. But the writers of Hype have missed the boat entirely. Not only do they try and make fun of the unfunny (such as Tom Hanks in "Good Actors, Gone Bad" and terrible cross over ideas such as "Touched by a Dark Angel") but the fact that the entire show is just based on making fun of already existing media and celebrities means it falls flat. The added fact the comedic acting level is to that of a loaf of bread from most of the cast doesn't help things.

Hype didn't outlast it's first season, and given the level or writing and acting displayed in the two episodes I saw I'm not surprised at it one bit. If you want a good show full of skits, stick to your usual... "Don't believe the Hype."