Sketches from a powerhouse group of comedy writers lead by Ben Stiller, what we end up with is a bit of a dated flop, with very few laughs, and a new appreciation for Stillers work in other things, especially his future production and character acting (Tropic Thunder, Zoolander, Severance). For a bit of history, I recently also watched The State, another MTV sketch comedy, and what I called "the first" MTV sketch comedy, that initially airing in 1993. However, in 1992 MTV aired short sketches from its own new and truly first for the network sketch comedy, The Ben Stiller Show, interspersed between music videos. After its mild success MTV would go on to green light The State, producing the show at a full 22 minute format, however the network would then also cancel that first rendition of The Ben Stiller Show. Fast forward 3 years to 1995 and Fox Network decides to buy the rights, and produce its own The Ben Stiller Show. At only 13 episodes, starring and writing along side the namesake himself was Janeane Garafalo and Bob Odenkirk, fresh off some earlier writing on SNL (which Stiller famously also joined then quit dramatically prior to his MTV show stint), and Andy Dick in his first TV role. Finally produced by the budding Judd Apatow, fresh off The Critic and a few years before Freaks and Geeks. With all it had going for it, it felt like a show that just had to be good, but then wasn't, and most seemed to agree even at the time, being promptly canceled before a full season even aired. In mentioning the earlier The State, which came from a comedy world of improv and from a sketch troupe prior to the series, The Ben Stiller Show is now from the other vein of sketch comedy, where some show writers come together to write skits. These bits are often much more topical or introspective, and in The Ben Stiller Show case it tends to be pop culture jokes around celebrities of the time, likely stemming simply from one of the four being able to do a decent impression. If sketches about Bono and Bobcat Goldthwait just get you roarin' you're sure to have a great time, but for most of the rest of the world I wouldn't likely recommend.
Review of The Ben Stiller Show
