Videogum Home - inspired by Guilherme Rosa's work in the colors issue of Idea Fixa
May 12, 2008

David Cross And Bob Odenkirk's HBO Sitcom Is Supposed To Be Good, Commercially Viable

thumbnail icon: David Cross And Bob Odenkirk's HBO Sitcom Is Supposed To Be Good, Commercially Viable

The AV Club's Josh Modell saw the taping of David's Situation, the new pilot Mr. Show With Bob And David's David Cross and Bob Odenkirk are doing for HBO. Mr. Show fans have been waiting with bated breath to hear two things about this pilot, in order of importance:

1. That it's good.
2. That people who have never heard of Mr. Show might also think it's good.

Luckily, the news is cautiously fantastic on both fronts.

David Cross, after falling too hard for the trappings of Hollywood but finding no real meaning, has quit show business. He now shares a house with two wacky roommates--an idiot uber-liberal (Upright Citizens Brigade's Matt Besser) and a gruff uber-conservative (played by Eric Hoffman with an assist from a wardrobe department with a keen eye). Except for Cross, who's always best at playing himself, the characters occupy a weird sitcom world: They're no less believable or ridiculously broad than on most sitcoms, but with Cross as the voice of reality (as it were), they work.

...the plot, which took pointed, funny shots at fairly easy targets--To Catch A Predator and fleeting Internet fame--but brought exactly the sort of slight sophistication to them to steer far, far clear of MadTV territory while never seeming schoolmarmish. (Those who like Cross' stand-up, but only to a point, should be just fine.)

There are tons of details in the full recap (Zach Galifianakis gets mistaken for a child predator, Andy Dick makes an appearance, a new boner catchphrase is born). Like all reasonable people, I didn't begrudge David Alvin And The Chipmunks for one second, but hopefully HBO will pick up David's Situation and he can afford to say no to Chipmunks 2.

Posted by Lindsay at 5:41 PM in ,
Tags:  |  |  |




3 Comments

Scott

This is good to hear. Also, David wrote the forward for this new book about bad tattoos. http://www.radaronline.com/features/2008/05/no_regrets_bad_tattoos_david_cross_aviva_yael_pm_chen_01.php

Posted by: Scott profile link at 05/12/08 7:44 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

it's scott! our leader! everyone bow down!

thank god HBO picked this up.
this will do way better than conchords.
i like conchords...
but...
i'd like to see something new.

Posted by: ian g at 05/12/08 11:32 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Not so sure about this one. So Bob is only behind the camera?

Posted by: TigerMachine profile link at 05/13/08 5:30 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


 

Write Us

tips@videogum.com

Search




Sort by:date relevance

Information

  • Contact:
  • About
  • Press
  • Advertising
  • Videogum RSS Videogum RSS XML Icon

Staff

Founder/Editor-In-Chief
Scott Lapatine
Senior Editors
Gabe Delahaye
Lindsay Robertson
Executive Editor
Amrit Singh
Technology & Operations
Jim Jazwiecki
Angela Williams

Facebook logo

All Videogum Posts

Logo by Guilherme Rosa

The Hunt For The Worst Movie Of All Time logo
After watching Death Sentence, a terrible movie starring Kevin Bacon as a father in search of vigilante justice directed by Saw's James Wan, Gabe embarked on The Hunt For The Worst Movie of All Time. This is his sad journey.

The Hunt For The Worst Movie Of All Time: Dan In Real Life

Pain is relative, duh. On the scale of human suffering, my Sunday nights are ICE CREAM SOCIALS. That doesn't mean that I don't actually cry out in pain during some of these movies. I do. But I recognize that there's...

MORE »

Double Dog logo
Blogging about TV and movies isn't all fun and videogames. Every week, Lindsay or Gabe will be presented with a physical or mental challenge that tests their bravery, patience, and taste.

Double Dog: My First And Last Survivor Audition Tape

The Challenge: Despite being averse to cameras, teamwork, exotic foods, travel, haircuts, and physical exertion, I have to submit an audition tape to Survivor. The Result: As with the Saw marathon challenge, once again I find myself rocking back and...

MORE »

Friday Fight logo
Even though Lindsay and Gabe are friends, they very rarely agree on anything. Every day, they have a fight about something. On Fridays, we publish one.

Friday Fight: What Could Replace The Live Puppy Feed?

Lindsay: What should be the next live puppy feed? Gabe: uh oh Gabe: i never even considered that the live puppy feed Gabe: might go away Lindsay: uh oh Lindsay: puppies grow up, gabe Gabe: shut up Gabe: you don't...

MORE »

You Can Make It Up logo
Gabe loves fan fiction. You Can Make It Up features his own personal alternate adventures starring some of our favorite characters.

You Can Make It Up: Robert Pattinson Meets An Actual Vampire

Robert Pattinson stood in front of the mirror and mussed at his carefully unkempt bedhead for only 30 minutes that morning, rather than the usual full hour. He was in a hurry. Last night he'd been out partying with a...

MORE »