Television Show Review: Ugly Americans

What can I say about the animated television show Ugly Americans on Comedy Central? That it makes Archer look classy, Futurama look like genius, and compares to pure anime like Bleach or Ghost in the Shell about the same way that you might compare Green Acres to The Matrix.

There is just about nothing I can say that I like about this television program. The writing is boring, the art is lazy, the concept is a wasted and half-thought out refuse. Perhaps the only audience that this show can be successful with is the college students wasted on liquor or other items demographic. And that is still iffy.

There is a reason why Viacom will not let Youtube show a single video clip of the show. Because once you get beyond the highly edited and mixed commercials, what you are left with is truly the bottom of the barrel.

I'm not saying this because I watched just one episode. I've seen several, trying to make sure that it wasn't just a bad day or the animators, writers, voice actors, and directors were all still trying to find their mark.

Maybe I'm just too old to get it. And if that is the case I'm very happy to be my age. Because this television show is one of the worst programs I have seen since Homeboys in Outer Space (which was worse, marginally). Still I don't think age is the factor. Viacom just wanted to throw something at a wall that might be able to compete with Adult Swim and Archer. This isn't it.

Usually there is something worthwhile in every television show. Almost anything has a positive that can be noticed even casually. Even with that, the race to the lowest common denominator occassionally dredges up the reason why the bottom is just that. Ugly Americans is that reminder.

Do yourself a favor and avaoid it.

Masters of opinion clash

Yes, the battle of titans came togather once again. The first such meeting since President Obama has been in charge. What it might reveal about both and their respective viewpoints is sure to create comments for months, perhaps years.

If somehow you have failed to see the Jon Stewart Daily Show, I can't imagine it. While the program is geared towards the college crowd, it loses none of its humor for those of us a bit older. It is parody and political satire often at it's best. It is also a highly liberal and Democrat friendly program.

If you are unaware of the O'Reilly Factor, you are likely in love with President Obama and Democrats. Ok, that's a joke. Seriously, the program is a well organized commentart on issues of the day, based on the center-right, that includes the voices of the left, far-left, as well as those on the right.

In listening to both men one thing is immediately clear. They are both intelligent, passionate men that believe they are serving the public via the mechanisims they employ. To that end both must be praised. Beyond that, well it comes down to personal views.

I think that Jon Stewart did quite well on the show. He made interesting observations, while defending his well-known left of center personal views. I believe he was treated fairly, and was as aggressive as he received aggression.

Though I will note that the comments by Stewart on how President Obama should weild more power and control over Congress was a bit disturbing. It clearly marked a direction towards an imbalance of power that President Bush was raked over coals for even hinting at, particularly by Stewart.

But here is the interview, let me know what you think of part 1. Part 2 will be on tonight.

3 times and Ron White is out

Bad news for fans of comedian Ron White. The latest comedy album Behavioral Problems will be the last. That makes three hit albums for him and he feels that's as close to perfection as he will get.

I tend to agree with his grandfather who said (in White's retelling)

"That boy has a lot of quit in him."

Somehow I don't believe this will be like the final performances of Cher, Jay-z, Barbara Streisand, and other entertainers that keep coming back. Ron White just won't make another album. But that does not mean we won't be able to enjoy his comedy.

Plans are still moving forward for the Ron White Show. This will be a new show on Comedy Central, featuring White discussing the various news headlines from across the nation. He will be focused on the middle of the nation, as always, and of course he will give his unique brand of storytelling to the mix.

On top of that White will continue to cross the nation, or at least the mid-West, doing live performances. He has been on the road about 50 times a year since 1986, and plans to continue. In his own words

"The live show is staying real steady. That's not true for everybody, so I'm happy about that. People don't have the disposable cash that they did."

Just don't expect him to keep the old jokes coasting along. He feels that comedy isn't a song. The joke won't work if you know the punchline. Which I agree with. And that makes his live performances really worthwile, since you will now be getting stuff that you won't see or hear elsewhere. That's worth the price of admission.

Ron White makes a move with Comedy Central

Good news for fans of comedian Ron White. For some time now White has been the least seen member of the Blue Collar Comedy troup. Which is a shame as the man is just funny.



It’s simple observational average joe funny. Unlike Larry the Cable Guy it does remain above elementary school intelligence, but White’s style is a far cry from say Dennis Miller or even the lightning pace of Dennis Leary. Though you can’t be surprised from a man who has a nickname of Tater Salad.

And in following his comedic style, with a uncharacteristic flurry of extra work, White will be launching a new comedy show on Comedy Central. A half-hour a week will be dedicated to The Ron White Show.

The exact nature of the show is still unknown. It will focus on stories about the American heartland. How that will happen is what boggles my mind. But I would expect that this will succeed, as have his specials.

So be prepared, the Tater Salad movie just might be down the road.

Viacom (and maybe Jon Stewart) doesn't like Black Entertainment USA. Maybe.

So it would seem that Jon Stewart doesn't like what I had to say. Either that, or the lovely people at Viacom (the same joyous people responsible for BET, Flavor of Love, and numerous other insults to African Americans) finally got pissed off. I believe that it is a combination of both.

Now to be fair they have a valid reason for they have done. I had a video on youtube of a portion of the Jon Stewart Daily Show, where he interviewed Mike Huckabee. Those that visit my political website, VASS, likely read my post about their conversation already. I had the video to present the actual conversation, and then expanded on it with my views. There was no question that the video was of Comedy Central's show.

That said, I am unfamiliar with how often Viacom asks Youtube to pull a video. It wasn't something they found randomly. I can say that as there is no dearth of video clips of Stewart on his show on Youtube. Thus they specifically sought out my video for deletion. So I caught someone's attention.

Now I understand how they can claim this was copyright infringement. But I really would have enjoyed anyone from the Daily Show replying to my comments. I'm a big boy, I can take sarcasm and criticism. Even better I would have enjoyed an honest debate. Because this seems to validate my view that you can say anything to far-left liberals and their programs - as long as you agree with what they have to say.

And if it was the Viacom suits that came after me, I really would love to have them make comment. There is a wealth of issues I have with their programming.

Either organization is more than welcome to contact me, or leave comment, and have a discussion that I will provide verbatim to you my readers, if they have the balls. That isn't an insult, it's a challenge. And yes I will come to you if you prefer.

On the positive side though, it is nice to know that I am having an impact. I can't wait to see a response from 50 cent, Snoop Dogg, OJ Simpson, Caroline Kennedy, Senator Hillary Clinton, Representative Barney Frank, or any of the other celebrities, entertainers, politicians and people of note that I have discussed among my blogs and 1700 posts.

And I want to thank you my readers. You and your comments are what make my posts register on the radar of the powers that be. Now that we have their attention, let's see if we can get them to get some things improved.

Mind of Mencia season 2, The Riches - 4.1.2007.1

Well if you missed it, tonight was the return of the Mind of Mencia. Mr. Carlos Mencia didn’t miss a beat in jumping back where he left off. Right at the start he ran through the major celebrity meltdowns that happened while he was away. And did them well. Then he really took on a few things.

There aren’t many shows that can jump from jokes about the death of Mr. Steve Irwin, to a white guy getting eaten by a cheetah in Africa, to expressing admiration for MILF’s in song and make it all funny. Along the way there was a bit on how the “DEE DEE DEE’s” understand news broadcasts, which was right on the mark, and a great take on sports movies starring dwarfs, or little people I’m not sure which is appropriate.

The fact is that if this is how his season will go he is going to be on fire. He holds back nothing, and it’s a great thing. I’m sure his fame will grow. Expect to hear a lot about this guy soon. And hopefully the execs at Comedy Central have learned a thing or 2 from their experience pushing Mr. Dave Chappelle. Given they have then Mr. Mencia will grow exponentially.

In other cable network television shows, I finally got to see The Riches. It’s a very well done program. The story is involving and has a lot of potential. Like many of the cable shows these days it’s head and shoulders above broadcast network programs. I suppose if you like ‘reality’ programs or stuff like American Idol [I personally find that to be mindless drivel] you may not enjoy it, but if you like shows like Rescue Me, The Shield, Thief, Dexter and their ilk then you will love this.

I find Mr. Eddie Izzard to be a strong presence as the father of this uniquely unconventional family. Most probably are unaware of the comedy routine of Mr. Izzard. If you watch BBC America you may have seen it. Yes he is a Briton. And a funny one at that. He is also a very well dressed transvestite. Surprise, he wears women’s clothing. It has nothing to do with his ability as an actor, or a comedian. Watching him portray the con-man pretending to be a lawyer, and a frisky loving father, you believe him. His charisma is immediate.

No less believable and just as enjoyable is the performance of Ms. Minnie Driver. The mother and strong believer in her clan, she hits the right note between loving devious and determined. She is definitely not the woman to cross. She also has fantastic chemistry with Mr. Izzard. Of course her personal demons (the character) are no minor problem, though so far they have not really cropped up yet. But the potential for confusion and drama is clear.

The fact that the entire family is adept at long and short cons, pick pocketing, picking locks, stealing cars, and an assortment of other criminal activities makes them all formidable and interesting. An interesting twist, which existed before the hiring of Mr. Izzard, is the fact that one of the children is a cross dresser. The youngest son in fact, which is a unique thing for any program.

I keep mentioning that this is a unique program, and it is. Groundbreaking in a few of the issues that it addresses. And there is quality in every aspect of it. If you haven’t seen it, you really should.

This is what I think, what do you think?

Hollywood movie bias, the reality - 1.25.2007.1

Sometimes you have to wonder what people are thinking. I mean that I can see a point being made, yet I think the extreme view being posed is just gratuitous. If you wonder what I am referring to, it’s a new report by the Islamic Human Rights Commission in Britain on how movies portray Muslims.

I will give this report the fact that since 9/11 Muslims are the ‘bad guy’ choice du jour. More than any other group they are the favored group to be seen losing to the good guys and that of course is due to the current political and social environment in the world. I can see how that can annoy the tens of millions of Muslims that live quiet lives, being productive citizens of their respective countries.

While the emphasis is on Muslims, today, there continues to be the re-enforcement of the African American as a negative image in every medium in America. Long before Arabs and Muslims were picked on, Black Americans (particularly males) were the only pimps, dealers, petty criminals and poor in movies. While Black Americans were the first minorities to be included in American films, the roles were even worse with portrayals as slaves or complete caricatures. This negative image is no less consistent now, with 60% of all images in news of poverty or lack of education or violence being matched with images of Black Americans.

While I admit this is not a fact I have seen quoted, it is something that is often commented on. Some may recall the Mr. Carlos Mencia Comedy Central episode that provided 2 news reports focusing on images of people in waist deep water right after Hurricane Katrina. One image had a Black American in holding a bad, the caption accusing him of being a looter. The other image had 2 White Americans in similar water each holding a bag, the caption reading that they were trying to scrounge for food. Neither image included any background buildings or any indication that either of the people had food or goods in their bags. Some may recall my post where Yahoo News placed an image of Mr. Chris Rock along side a completely unrelated article dealing with investigation by the government on the mob. [Chris Rock, Andy Garcia, M:I3 and Snoop Dogg] The people in the article were all white. Watch the evening news and any time there is a mention of unemployment, welfare, government aide, and similar stories you will see a predominance of images of Black Americans – regardless of where in the nation you live or the fact that since African Americans only make up ~14% of the nation it’s impossible for us to be the only, or even major, cause or recipients of these items.

So I can appreciate the feeling by Muslims that it is now their turn on the negative public image machine that is Hollywood, movies and other media. Still to carry the extreme to say that movies such as Disney’s Aladdin were negative is silly in my opinion. They are shooting themselves in their own foot with such an accusation. All the characters in that movie were Arabic, and yes the architecture, timeframe, and clothing indicate they are all Muslim. But I cannot agree that this movie was done in bad faith. Equally off-base to me is the claim that Raiders of the Lost Ark made a similar negative portrayal. As I recall one of the leading supports is an Egyptian Arab character, and a good guy. Virtually all the bad guys are White and Nazi’s. Perhaps I am naïve, but I do not recall any stereotypes that were not balanced by other characters that were neutral if not positive. And any negative images were minor compared to the positive main characters in both movies.

American media and Hollywood in particular, love to portray all minorities in a horrible light. That is a fact. Minorities are excluded from having major impact in front of and behind the camera to this day, though it is incredibly slowly changing. Addressing the fact of this imbalance, and its consequences, is a positive for change. To go to an extreme, claiming insult where none was seen for literally decades does not help but hurt such a cause.

Muslims should not be unfairly judged. Neither should Black Americans, Latino/Hispanic Americans and other minorities. But at the same time it should be noted that some leeway must be given when a nation is at war. Much as the Germans, Italians, Japanese and others have been made objects of anger for a time during conflict against America so will be any other group. That’s just human nature. Rather than place a blanket on all things ever done, seek the positives and note the negatives. Your cause will be better helped I think.

This is what I think, what do you think?