About

Mr. Show

Mr. Show was a sketch comedy series featuring former Saturday Night Live writer Bob Odenkirk and stand-up comedian/actor David Cross. It appeared on HBO from 1995 to 1998.

Each episode of Mr. Show essentially consists of a series of skits, each one transitioning into the next by way of some sort of tangential association, called a link; for example, sometimes a minor character in one skit is followed as the major character in the next. Often common storylines or themes are returned to at different times throughout a given episode. The show is highly unpredictable and often quite absurd. It is justly regarded by sketch comedy aficionados as containing some of the best work of its era, though as a pay cable show its audience was limited.

Cast members on the show included Bob Odenkirk, David Cross, Bill Odenkirk, Brett Paesel, Brian Posehn, Dino Stamatopoulos, Jay Johnston, Jerry Minor, Jill Talley, John Ennis, Karen Kilgariff, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Paul F. Tompkins, Sarah Silverman, Jack Black, and Tom Kenny.

The show also included some notable guest appearances, including Ben Stiller, Brian Doyle-Murray, Dave Foley, Patton Oswalt, Janeane Garofalo, Jon Cryer, Jon Stewart, Jonathan Katz, Jeff Goldblum, Julia Sweeney, Kato Kaelin, Laura Kightlinger, Maynard James Keenan, Michael McKean, and Vince Vaughn.

Mr. Show also spawned a spinoff movie, Run Ronnie Run, that went straight to DVD.

The format of Mr. Show is heavily influenced by the British sketch comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus, particularly in the linking of one skit to the next, a strong point for both shows, as it negates the tendency to expect each sketch to end on a punch line or similar high note (a common criticism of more traditional sketch comedy shows such as Saturday Night Live). The interweaving of taped bits and stage-performed skits found in Flying Circus is prevalent in Mr. Show. Both shows depend greatly on absurdist humor and both avoid satirizing current events that would have quickly dated the comedy. The show contains a strong, confident contrarian viewpoint that at times mocks or satirizes organized religion, global capitalism, and America. Cynicism plays a heavy role in the show and there is little respect for traditionalism. Hence, the show, particularly its later seasons, tends to polarize people between those who love or hate the show. David Cross continued and perhaps refined this in his stand-up comedy albums, Shut Up You Fucking Baby! and It's Not Funny.

Fanlistings