Nick Swardson Pretend Time

I couldn't be happier that a new independent sketch comedy show is on the air. It's been two long years since Human Giant, 10 since UCB, 12 since Mr. Show, and a whopping 15 years since The State ended. Sure, SNL seems like it will forever be on TV but with their large audience the humor has to be significantly more mainstream and dumbed down, plus we have to suffer through usually terrible musical acts. Along with making sure we have new episodes of Futurama, Comedy Central made another good choice in Nick Swardson. His two arguably biggest roles have been in Grandma's Boy and Reno 911 which are improv heavy projects, which constantly have me laughing once he's on screen. I mean he did play the best Reno citizen ever - the rollerskating gay male prostitute Terry Bernadino. My guess is that's exactly where we'll see Perez Hilton in 5 years, all he needs are the skates.

From the announcement of this show I've been really excited to find out who the supporting cast consisted of. After all Mr. Show might have been Bob and David's but that didn't stop me of becoming a life long fan of literally every supporting cast member. Interestingly enough Swardson set himself apart immediately by not having a solid cast and choosing actors based on the characters written. If the script calls for an old man we're not going to see an actor dressed up, we're really going to see an old man, the upside to this being a huge revolving cast that ensures we'll be seeing anyone and everyone in the short seven episode run this season. Rob Huebel and Natasha Leggero, among others, have roles in this episode and next week gives us Bob Odenkirk. I honestly thought I wouldn't like the rotating cast at first, but it's actually really genius. On top of seeing new weekly sketches, the mystery of what comedians will pop up this week is just another factor to keep me tuned in. The reason I don't tune in for SNL weekly is that i know we'll see the same people doing the same characters. Kenan Thompson wasn't even the funniest member of Kenan and Kel; he, among others, doesn't need to be on every week.

Like the aforementioned Mr. Show, the sketches in this show transition very smoothly into each other. The previous sketch will be on a screen in the background of the next sketch or something to that degree and it just makes the whole show seamless. The first sketch of Swardson and his girlfriend repeatedly getting hit in the face with hockey pucks sets a tone of absurdity that I love to see in comedy and it carries through the episode, and more than likely the series. I can easily think of ridiculous premises that make up the best sketches from the shows I've mentioned above and it's mostly the premise that makes them great. Which is exactly why most of the sketches work well in this case. From a gay robot to a cat paralyzed in a human wheelchair, these gags are hilarious because you almost can't believe what you're seeing on top of the funny dialogue. While not every sketch has the best lines, these ridiculous plot ideas often end up holding up the sketch enough to not have it bomb. They include a few recurring jokes, which is great, and next week promises a return of Gay Robot so we know reccurring characters are in the mix too. Swardson is just too silly and immature not to love, but it turns out he's smart enough to make a good show too. Ending the episode with a dedication to Greg Giraldo was just the classiest bit of icing to really make sure I stick with this show. While I'm sure we all wish that part was just "Pretend Time" as well, the show definitely lives up to expectations, and I'm looking forward to next week.