Portlandia

I don't know about you but I still watch Saturday Night Live pretty regularly. I used to devour it when I was younger and watched the endless syndicated episodes on Comedy Central (before they turned into abysmal episodes of MadTV) and I watched the new ones back in the days when I was home on a Saturday night at 10:30. I sort of fell off for awhile but with the advent of Hulu and DVR, I am able to catch the weekly episodes even though now it's more like Sunday Afternoon Hungover. Eh? No?

Anyway, everybody loves to be an expert and talk about how SNL sucks now and how good it used to be a few years ago. Well, interestingly enough, people were saying that same thing a few years ago. And a few years before that. Honestly, the show really only has one objectively shitty period and that was during the 80's when Lorne Michaels left. These days, the quality isn't at its peak and some of the hosts don't really belong and they rely on the same few players way too much. Actually, I have quite a laundry list of complaints about SNL these days. But regardless, every week will produce at least one or two really funny sketches. Weekend Update always has at least a handful of jokes that land. The digital shorts are almost always hits. Sure, sifting through 90 minutes to find 15 worth watching isn't the best motivation to watch a show. But, hey, somewhere out there people are recording Minute to Win It so lay off. Amidst all these, one of the really talented comedians that SNL perhaps places too much weight on the shoulders of is Fred Armisen (others include Kristin Wiig, Bill Hader and Andy Samberg).

Armisen has a new show on IFC called Portlandia. First off, what's going on with IFC. They came out with David Cross' new show The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret last year. Since when are they delving into original programming? Where is this channel on my television even? Is it in the hundreds? I never venture that high up. Anyway, the show premieres on January 21 but you can watch the first episode of it here.

Anyway, Fred Armisen is really funny on Saturday Night Live (that was sort of the reason for the lengthy preface) and is among the shows most versatile characters next to Wiig and Hader, hence their overuse. Samberg really isn't good at impressions. Actually, he's pretty terrible at them. He usually just shouts. But Armisen plays Obama, and Gov. Paterson. His characters are hilarious e.g. Billy Smith the Native American stand-up comedian and Roger Brush the producer stand-in for the Q&A talk shows. He has wide range and great comedic talent. So why shouldn't he get his own television show?

Portlandia essentially is a show that makes fun of Portland and the vegan/organic-loving, non-conformist, socialist hipsters/hippies that live there. So there's a lot to poke fun at with that entire demographic. But, having watched the first episode, I hope it doesn't seem so one-note. I mean, has he really pigeonholed himself into basing his comedy around a single city. Obviously the ideas he's poking fun at are more than just the city of Portland, but still. I really hope this show doesn't develop that tunnel vision. For instance, the sketch where the couple tries to order chicken in the restaurant is kind of like "Alright, we get it, people from Portland love to eat organic food". On the other hand, there's the sketch with the adult Hide-and-Seek league playing in the library. They might have been poking fun at childish adults who think its trendy to play youth games or something but really, it was just a very funny, very bizarre sketch and probably my favorite of the episode. Especially when it takes that sick and surreal turn at the end.

Overall, I will say this. I love sketch comedy if it's executed really well. The golden standard of this is Mr. Show. I hate sketch comedy when it's done poorly. See: MadTV. But, as I've already established, I'll probably still watch sketch comedy if it's just "meh" especially if it at least showcases some really talented comedians. Portlandia, I'm sure, can at least muster mediocre sketches and I wouldn't be surprised if it picks up as episodes progress and starts producing high-quality bits. Plus, one of the stars of SNL is the creator of the show so the talent box is checked. And really, there aren't really many places on television these days to watch original sketch comedy so anything that plugs that hole is welcomed by me on some level. So, really, I will be watching this new show as long as they keep putting the episodes on Hulu or my DVR and they don't make me search for the IFC channel number.