The "stupid TV" culture

by Adam Koehler
Staff Writer

Some say this is a patriarchal society, but a few network TV shows take this to a new level.

Although it is nearly impossible to trace where the male-geared comedy show originated, potential candidates include now-defunct shows such as Kids in the Hall and MTV's Buzzkill.

Now, programs such as The Man Show, Jackass and TV Funhouse are enjoying immense success and propelling this genre to great heights.

Of the three shows, The Man Show (10 p.m. Sunday, Comedy Central) was the first on the map, premiering in 1999. The show revolves around the surly bordering-on-chauvinistic humor of its two hosts, Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel.

According to The Man Show Web site (http://www.comcentral.com/manshow), Kimmel's impetus to create a funny show about "guy things" stemmed from someone advising him to appeal to more women in order to land a television gig. He decided to do the exact opposite and enlisted the help of friend Carolla to be a co-creator.

The show features the stand-up type humor of Carolla and Kimmel, audience participation and frequent taped segments. These segments range everywhere from a visit with Snoop Doggy Dogg and a tour of his "Dog Pound" to getting a minor to dress as a Boy Scout and attempt to buy beer.

And no episode could be complete without the presence of the Juggies, women who basically just stand around and shake their thingies as the show goes into a commercial.

Does this playful subjugation of women and male-oriented humor offend female viewers? Ohio University senior Christyn Benzle takes the show at a face-value level.

"Even though some people feel that the show is sexist, the hosts' humor and sarcasm should be taken with a grain of salt to realize how funny the show is," she said.

The Man Show might be geared toward men, but what can be said about the viewers of ••Jackass•• (9 p.m. Sunday, MTV)? The premise of this show is a simple one: MTV funds a group of twenty-something amateur stuntmen to perform ridiculous stunts and practical jokes that are often grotesque in nature - all for viewers' amusement.

Just how grotesque is debatable. Example stunts, which host Johnny Knoxville and crew have performed, include diving into a tank of fecal matter at a sewage processing plant ("Poo Diving") and stapling pieces of paper directly into bare flesh. Fun? For some.

While the charisma of Johnny Knoxville and cohorts like Bam Margera could explain some of the success of Jackass, the show's main selling point resembles people's sick but undeniable desire to watch a train wreck.

"You're grossed out by it, but you can't help but watch," said OU senior Jessica Roach.

If Jackass pushes the envelope of good taste, then TV Funhouse (10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Comedy Central) is at the very edge of the earth. The show is the brainchild of Robert Smigel, the man who created popular Saturday Night Live cartoon segments such as The Ambiguously Gay Duo and The X-Presidents as well as Late Night with Conan O'Brien's Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

Set in a playhouse with a 1970's feel reminiscent of the set from Romper Room, TV Funhouse centers around the misadventures of the Anipals, a varitey of animal species that talk, think and act like perverted and immoral human males. Examples of their twisted journeys include their trip to a Mexican house of ill repute for some serious lovin' and becoming test animals in a cosmetics laboratory to earn some extra dough.

"The show is crude and disgusting," said OU junior Chad Harrison. "That's why I watch it."

One might wonder if these shows should be celebrated as innovations in comedy, or if they should be boycotted and forced off the air. The judgment is yours.