Human Giant Hijacks MTV

We don't know how something as original, subversive, and hysterical as The Human Giant can be so successful, but apparently it is, because MTV is letting the group take over their network (and its sequel channel) for 24 hours this weekend starting Friday at noon. This sounds as crazy on MTV's part as parents leaving their six-year-old twins in charge of the house for the weekend, but you the viewer get to reap the rewards. Aziz Ansari assures that they have free reign to do whatever they want to do for 24 hours, including airing any show they want and inviting any guest they want, so of course they've invited a superteam of comic heroes like Bob Odenkirk, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Showalter, Jon Benjamin, Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Jon Glaser, Eugene Mirman, Andy Blitz, and Rob Riggle, many of whom have already appeared on the sketch show. There will also be musical guests and, presumably, some Human Giant episodes or something. The Crazy Police will be on call in case, you know, things get too crazy.

Join them live at your television set for the full extravaganza if you can, because there's not a whole lot of 24-hour torrents out there.

This Week in Funny 3/5/07-3/11/07

Tuesday, March 6:



New on DVD: Borat - Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (click here to buy)
New on DVD: Zach Galifianakis - Live at the Purple Onion (click here to buy)
New on DVD: South Park - The Complete Ninth Season (click here to buy)
New on DVD: Fast Food Nation (click here to buy)
New on DVD: Let's Go to Prison (click here to buy)
New on DVD: The Loop - Season 1 (click here to buy)
New on DVD: Confetti (click here to buy)
Ken Davitian on The View (ABC)

Wednesday, March 7:



Season Premiere South Park: "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" (Comedy Central)
New The Sarah Silverman Program: “Batteries” (Comedy Central)
Rob Corddry on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)
Chris Rock on Tavis Smiley (PBS)

Thursday, March 8:

New Scrubs: “My Fishbowl” (NBC)
New 30 Rock: “The Fighting Irish” (NBC)

Friday, March 9:

New in Theaters: The Host

Sunday, March 11:



New The Simpsons: “Rome-Old and Julie-Eh” (FOX)
New The Winner: “Broken Home” (FOX)
New Family Guy: “Bill and Peter’s Bogus Journey” (FOX)
New The Winner: “What Happens in Albany, Stays in Albany” (FOX)
New Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!: “Chunky” (Adult Swim/Cartoon Network)
New Saul of the Molemen: “Work” (Adult Swim/Cartoon Network)



Live Comedy Watch:

3/5: Maria Bamford at Dennison College in Dennison, OH
3/6: Zach Galifianakis at University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL
3/6: Doug Benson’s I Love Movies with guest Mary Lynn Rajskub at UCB Theatre in LA
3/6: Doug Benson, Andy Kindler, and Andrew Daly in Comedy Death-Ray at UCB Theatre in LA
3/6: Ron Lynch and Craig Anton in The Idiots at Steve Allen Theater in LA
3/7: Bob Odenkirk, Paul F. Tompkins, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Greg Fitzsimmons, Jen Kirkman, Derek Waters, Mike Phirman of Hard ‘n Phirm, and Jimmy Pardo at You’re Welcome at Mbar in LA
3/7: Todd Barry at Opolis in Norman, OK
3/7: Eugene Mirman, Bobby Tisdale, and Reggie Watts in Invite Them Up at Rififi in NYC
3/7: Stephen Lynch at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, NE
3/7: Tig at University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI
3/8: Todd Barry at the Cavern in Dallas, TX
3/8-3/11: Marc Maron at the Improv in Chicago
3/8: Stephen Lynch at Moore Theater in Seattle, WA
3/9: Jerry Seinfeld at Murat Theater in Indianapolis, IN
3/9: Zach Galifianakis at Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR
3/9: Todd Barry at Emo’s Lounge in Austin, TX
3/9: Stephen Lynch at Aladdin Theater in Portland, OR
3/10: Bill Cosby at L.J. Willians Theater in Visalia, CA
3/10: Zach Galifianakis at Moore Theater in Seattle, WA
3/10: Todd Barry at Walter’s on Washington in Houston, TX
3/10: Paul F. Tompkins in the Thrilling Adventure and Supernatural Suspense Hour at Mbar in LA
3/11: Stephen Lynch at the Warfield in San Francisco, CA
3/11: Free ASSSSCAT at UCB Theatre in NYC
3/11: Free ASSSSCAT at UCB Theatre in LA
3/11: The Whitest Kids U’Know at Pianos in NYC

This Week in Funny 2/26/07-3/4/07

Monday, February 26:

Jim Gaffigan on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC)

Tuesday, February 27:



New on DVD: Stranger Than Fiction (click here to buy)
New on DVD: Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (click here to buy)
Steven Wright and Tracy Morgan on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)

Wednesday, February 28:

New The Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show: “T-Bones TV” (Comedy Central)
Billy Connolly on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)

Thursday, March 1:

New Scrubs: “My Night to Remember” (NBC)
New 30 Rock: “The Source Awards” (NBC)
New The Sarah Silverman Program: “Muffin’ Man” (Comedy Central)
Seth Macfarlane on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)
Rob Corddry on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC)

Friday, March 2:



New Monk: “Mr. Monk Goes to the Hospital” (USA)
New Psych: “Scary Sherry 2: Bianca’s Toast” (USA)
Charles Grodin and Dan Naturman on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
Patrick Warburton on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)

Sunday, March 4:



New The Simpsons: “Yokel Chords” (FOX)
Series Premiere The Winner: “Pilot” (FOX)
New Family Guy: “Airport ‘07” (FOX)
New The Winner: “The Single Dates” (FOX)
New Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!: “Salame” (Adult Swim/Cartoon Network)
New Saul of the Molemen: “Fun King” (Adult Swim/Cartoon Network)


Live Comedy Watch:



2/26: Zach Galifianakis at Juanita’s in Little Rock, AR
2/26: Todd Barry at Lolita Bar in NYC
2/26: Demetri Martin at Ohio State in Columbus, OH
2/26: Maria Bamford at Tigerlily in Los Feliz, CA
2/27: Ricky Gervais at Portsmouth Guildhall in Portsmouth, UK
2/27: Zach Galifianakis at University of Arkansas Alltell Ballroom in Fayetteville, AR
2/27: Comedy Death-Ray with Bob Odenkirk, Andy Blitz, and Todd Glass at UCB Theatre in LA
2/27: Emo Philips at 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, CA
2/28: Ricky Gervais at Colston Hall in Bristol, UK
2/28-3/3: Emo Philips at Punch Line in San Francisco, CA
3/1-3/2: Ricky Gervais at International Centre in Bournemouth, UK
3/1-3/4: Harland Williams at the Improv in Chicago
3/1-3/3: Louis CK at Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia, PA
3/1: America’s Best Comic with Matt Besser and Andrew Daly at UCB Theatre in LA
3/1: Tig at University of N. Iowa in Cedar Rapids, IA
3/2: Jerry Seinfeld at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, VA
3/2: Zach Galifianakis at Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia, PA
3/2: The Benson Interruption with Doug Benson, Todd Barry, Aziz Ansari, Graham Elwood, and Arj Barker at UCB Theatre in NYC
3/2: Stephen Lynch at Shriver Hall in Baltimore, MD
3/2: Billy the Mime at UCB Theatre in LA
3/3: Zach Galifianakis at Lisner Auditorium in Washington DC
3/3-3/4: ASSSSCAT 3000 DVD Taping with Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Matt Besser, Horatio Sanz, Sean Conroy, Chad Carter, and Andrew Daley at UCB Theatre in LA
3/3: Stephen Lynch at SUNY in Albany, NY
3/4: The Whitest Kids U’Know at Pianos in NYC


For more live dates this week, watch for our Aspen U.S. Comedy Festival breakdown tomorrow!

Tim and Eric's Bogus Journey

Tim and Eric, creators and stars of Tom Goes to the Mayor and the new Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, are taking their act to the streets with an 8-date American tour, which will include "a 70-minute mix of live segments and video clips pulled mainly from their two Cartoon Network shows, video podcasts, and website." Check 'em out:

New York (February 26) – Knitting Factory
Philadelphia (February 27) – Franklin Institute
Chapel Hill (February 28) – Local 506
Atlanta (March 1) – Earl
Seattle (March 3) – Crocodile Café
Portland (March 4) - Someday Lounge
San Francisco (March 5) – Rickshaw Stop
Los Angeles (March 6) – Echo

The duo will also be appearing at the South by Southwest festival on March 17. If you don't live in any of these fine cities, do not start crying. The Atlanta show will be webcasted live on the Adult Swim site for all to enjoy.

Meanwhile, their new show is currently airing new episodes each Friday on adultswim.com and on Sunday on Cartoon Network. So far, the episodes have featured appearances John C. Reilly, Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis, and co-producer Bob Odenkirk, and future episodes have already tapes with the likes of David Cross, Fred Willard, Neil Hamburger, and "Weird Al" Yankovic. If you're not familiar with the program, allow this incoherant promo to explain it to you:

TBS Gives New Web Shows to Every Comedian Ever

TBS has launched a new broadband channel called Super Deluxe, which aims to be the largest website of its kind and will surely provide our ongoing Battle of the Cheap-Ass Web Shows with some stiff competition.

"Cheap-ass" couldn't apply enough here, as nearly every webisode we took time to watch couldn't possibly have cost more than a good toothbrush. But TBS may have finally found the secret to web-TV success. They've taken all the money they could have spent on expensive sets, costumes, special effects, or even writers, and they've just called up a fucking laundry list of alternative and underground comedians and let them do whatever they want.

The lineup already features Dave Foley, Eugene Mirman, Maria Bamford, and dozens of rising performers and sketch troupes. The comics seem to be able to upload whatever they want, however often they want, and they've already fallen into semi-regular programming such as Foley's Can't Sleep, a show he seems to literally film in his bedroom after his wife falls asleep. Meanwhile, Mirman hosts a talk show from the moon in Space Talk from the Planet Eugene. Clicking around the many, many offerings, we couldn't exactly find anything hilarious yet, although Bamford's one-woman camera-mugging "my mother freaks me out" routine is far better than it sounds on paper.

But this is just the beginning, and TBS has high hopes for the future, continuing to add even bigger (funnier?) celebrities to their roster, including David Cross and Bob Odenkirk (separately, not reunited), Horatio Sanz, Dave Attell, Jay Johnston, and even Wayne Brady. We'll safely bet that the recent rumor about UCB's Matt Besser working on a TBS project had something to do with this too.

It's cheap, it's messy, and it's not even on real TV, but let that all sink in for a minute. Key members of Mr. Show, Kids in the Hall, and Upright Citizens Brigade have brand new recurring shows for you. There's bound to be something funny in there somewhere, right?

The so-called professional clips will mix in with viewer-submitted content, all of which is subject to the same user rating system, putting everyone on an equal playing field, which is actually kind of cool. Expect CBS' Innervision, Comedy Central's Motherload, and all the other billions of online stations popping up all over the place, to attempt to match TBS' gusto.

Rainn Wilson Is Unkillable

Rainn Wilson, from the Americanized version of The Office, has signed on to star as the titular character in Kanan Rhodes: Unkillable Servant of Justice, from a screenplay by B.J. Porter, Scott Aukerman, and Bob Odenkirk, who will direct. Odenkirk says the script, about a ruthless subpoena server, has been sitting on the shelf for years, waiting for the right actor to come along. Which could easily be showbiz speak for "We decided we love money enough that we'll pull any old rejected script out of the recycling bin to jam it into theaters as quickly as possible." Regardless, Odenkirk thinks Wilson has just the right demeanor to make the character as despicable as necessary without "coming off as a dick."

The film will go into production through MTV Films this May, during Wilson's hiatus from The Office.

This will be the fourth feature directorial effort from Odenkirk, who claims to have mostly retired from acting. His Brothers Solomon will be in theaters next year, and acts as executive producer and frequent co-writer on Adult Swim's Tom Goes to the Mayor, as well as its upcoming semi-spinoff Tim and Eric, Awesome Show, Great Job!

Wilson was also recently announced as the writer and star of Bonzai Shadowhands, the story of a "once-great ninja now living in mediocrity," which will be directed by Thank You For Smoking's Jason Reitman.

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