Upright Citizens Brigade

I loved it originally on comedy central, but I think it is even better sans commercials on the dvd. The fact that it is just the four of them, and that it is so well written, directed and acted, makes me enjoy it all the more. Shows like "KIDS IN THE HALL", "THE STATE", and "SNL" are ok, but seem silly by comparison. I have been turning my friends on to the show and my copy has become a hot commodity amongst them. Kudos to the UCB. I look forward to season 2, which I hope will be released soon.

An absolutely hilarious sketch comedy series that followed in the foot steps of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "Kids in the Hall" where being absurd is a large part of being funny. The show was smart, fresh and well written with a seamless conclusion at the end of each episode where all the sketches would come together. Unfortunately, the show was too funny for the average Comedy Central viewer (who worshiped stale fart jokes from "South Park") and it was canceled. Thanks to a large fan base season 1 was released in 2003, but Comedy Central (currently the home of 24/7 reruns of Mad-TV) has not mentioned any plans to release the following two seasons.

UCB was sketch comedy at a new level, especially when compared to the banality of the modern bit show. The writers and cast presented skits that other productions would have disregarded as too "sophisticated", or just too unorthodox. In doing so, I feel they explored the limits of sketch comedy and brought us closer to the edge of the surreal, better than any comedy production today.

The "Brigade" is bent on causing chaos everywhere they venture to, and they do not disappoint. From Santa forcing a man to take sample of his "Santa Liquor", to an authoritarian school bus driver, crushing a children's revolution with her backside.

Now, the dialog was very suggestive and risqué at times, but the writing is non the less very creative. I feel that it is necessary to ignore the sometimes superfluous vulgarity's in order to "get" this show, particularly if you have dismissed it for being too odious. The UCB, in their creativeness and witty verbiage, have heavily diluted the crudeness to which a story is presented. I guess this is comparative to another comedy central production, "South Park", where you just have to ignore or look beyond what offends you, to appreciate what really is being presented to us. Most important the UCB was there to entertain, and cause us laughter, and this they did with alacrity.

It ended it's run in 2000, and is still missed 6 years later.

The Funniest, smartest, and most original show ever on television. It's a crime that they took this show of the air, but Comedy Central has no problem showing you 12 reruns of SNL in a day. If you haven't seen the show, do yourself a favor and pick up season 1 on DVD. You will never laugh harder in your life.

I really hope they follow up with seasons two and three. The show only got funnier over time. One of the best ones is the cyborg episode from season one. The show trumps every other show that is or was on Comedy Central. Saying no to this show is saying no to America, and babies. But mostly America.

Opinions of this show seem to be split right down the middle. I for one loved it. Finally we had OUR Kids in the Hall, and without those annoying Canadian dialects and cross-dressers! But, like anything with any true integrity on Comedy Central, the UCB just didn't get recognized as the flaming orb of comic brilliance that it was. This was probably the best original show Comedy Central has ever produced. But on a station full of ridiculous, second-rate, low-brow programs like Strip Mall and Strangers With Candy, a show like this has no audience. A show with this much genius should have started a dynamite run on HBO, where it would still be going strong today, as a nice way to kick back and have some laughs after the serious and hard-hitting prison drama of Oz. And if you ask me, Comedy Central should temporarily hault their endless imagination and ability to crank out mind-numbing dreck, and take a moment to figure out just what Comedy Central means. Shouldn't the phrase "Comedy Central" denote that this is the place for ALL comedic tastes, and not just little independent ventures and Britcoms? Why don't they expand their range and give those of us who don't proudly sport homemade mullets something to watch? Oh well, I can dream, can't I?