■ TV review
New Comedy Central sketch show
premieres with a <hollow> beginning
"The Hollow Men," the work of four British
comedians, feels uninspired but shows some promise
BY RYAN NYBURG
PULSE EDITOR
Sketch comedy is a precarious art
form. Like poetry, it's very easy to do
badly. The right combination of cre
ative talents can lead to excellent
humor, but anything less than that is
usually dull, worthless and painfully
mediocre. Comedy Central's new
original sketch comedy show, "The
Hollow Men," shows that it has the
seeds of a good sketch comedy
program, but is still lacking the sort
of willingly absurd attitude it takes to
push a project like this forward.
The show, which premieres
March 10, is the work of four British
comedians attempting to re-create
the best of "Monty Python's Flying
Circus," but who unfortunately lack
the pure force of personality needed
to make some of the sketches come
off. The group's name, taken from a
T.S. Eliot poem, becomes oddly ap
propriate through the first two
episodes. The actors have no distin
guishable personality, nothing that
separates them from one another. In
turn, their characters also become
bland and interchangeable.
The show's writing is not espe
cially low par, but it rarely passes
above the level of the average Satur
day Night Live sketch. The more ab
surd sketches, such as one in which
someone sells an old couple at an
antique show, often feel forced
ratherthan natural. It's surrealism
that is always looking over its shoul
derto see if anyone is watching.
The more standard sketches
follow a simple setup/punchline
formatthat just feels tired and rarely
ever works. The look of the show is
also unappealing, coming off like
"Kids in the Hall" without the sense
of technique. The camera acts as if it
doesn't know where it wants to be,
zooming in at bad times and chang
ing angles at a distracting pace.
Part of the problem stems from
the fact that the performers seem
used to a stage setup rather than a
television format. Many of the
sketches feel written for stage as
well, with the performers looking out
at an audience that often isn'tthere.
But there is some hope forthe
show. When the sketches work, they
work well. One sketch in the first
episode involving a police interroga
tion shows the group in perfect
stride, hitting every note all the way
to the follow through.
But despite some excellent mo
ments, the creators of "The Hollow
Men" don't seem sure of what they
are trying to accomplish. Lacking
any kind of political or artistic
consciousness, the show is simply
covering well-marked territory,
treading water until it can come up
with something original. Comedy
Central has put forth some excellent
programming inthe pastfewyears
(as well as its share of flops), with
the twisted absurdity of "Trigger
Happy TV" orthe brilliant satire of
"The Daily Show." Among all of this,
"The Hollow Men" seems like little
more than a space filler.
It is important to remember,
though, that even the best sketch
comedy shows, such as "Monty
Python" and "Kids in the Hall,"
usually get off to a rocky start. But
most of them usually show why they
are worth the trouble in the first
place. It just seems difficult to see
where "The Hollow Men" is headed.
ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com
Heads up Penny
Winter Family
. Weekend .
February 18-20, 2005
■
For schedule information and to register, visit
http://studentlife.uoregon.edu/programs/
familyjprog/index.htm
o
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
For more information, or for disabilities accommodations, call the Office of Student Life (541) 346-3216.
The University of Oregon is an EO/AA/ADA institution.
Your place for
. ... NEWSreader polllnd more
classifieds
Www.dailyemerald.com
H
You want a meaningful career.
You want to inspire others.
You want to make the world a better place...
DENVER
...You want to become a teacher.
Let the University of Denver Teacher Education Program
help you accomplish your dreams.
TEP offers:
9 month licensure program
Automatic half-tuition scholarship
Competitively priced for out of state students
Option to complete a master’s degree with four
additional classes
Cohort system of supportive learning communities
We begin in August, 2005. Contact us at 303.871.2503, ext. 123 or
tepinfofaidu.edu
Students
Fly Cheaper
spring break, study abroad & more
Sample roundtrip Student Airfares from Eugene to:
San Francisco $124
Denver $168
Atlanta
$212
New York $212
London $545
Paris $555
Tokyo $651
Sydney $1044
Visit StudentUniverse.com for cheap student airfares
on major airlines to 1,000 destinations across the US
and around the world.
TT?iAI! !o?Lare b8'£?l(^roundlnp lmv^ ** ***** a StuctorUUmverse service lee of $5 Fates displayed to US destinations and to destination* within 250 rmles
of the US/Mexico or US/Canada border include 7 5% US Transportation tax Other taxes and fees vary depending on the itinerary and are not included Fares
disptoynd to ail other destinations do not include taxes and tecs Visit StudcntUmverse.com tor complctn rutos
Fares are subject Ig availability and change without notice
Eugene symphony
Thursday, February 24, 8 pm
Milagro Vargas, Mezzo-soprano
Eugene Symphony Chorus
You can hear the ice crack in Prokofiev's gripping
filmscore, a monster work for orchestra and chorus
written for the Eisenstein classic "Alexander Nevsky."
Concert Sponsors
Kebnutt
ft Co.
STERLING fatf
SAVINCS BANKtf?J
Artist Sponsor Eugenc-irkutsk Sister City Committee
pbb—coiicaBT Tam
Meet Music Alive Composer-in-Residence
Philip Rothman-7 pm, Studio One
student
tickets
0nlv$10
Call Now or Order Online 24/7
682.5000
www.eugenesymphony.org