It's fall and for many television audiences that means channel surfing through a bunch of terrible new sitcoms. With the upcoming fall television season, Comedy Central looks to improve upon its already fine animated programs such as "South Park" and "Drawn Together" with the hilariously disturbing animated sitcom, "Freakshow."
"Freakshow" is the definition of a sitcom. The members of this reject superhero team and traveling freak show are placed into absurd and outlandish situations in order to serve their president. Such situations include having to travel to a third world country to get the president a bag of nuts and having to set back the odometer on the president's 1982 Pontiac Trans Am.
Part of the charm of this show has to do with the fact that "The Freak Squad" honestly believes they are doing a service to their country. In addition to their "missions," throughout the show they are constantly battling the evil corporate villain Mr. Shiste (voiced by Will Arnett), who is trying to take down their beloved and elderly caretakers. However, as far as charm goes, this is where it ends.
"Freakshow" was born out of the minds of comedians and actors David Cross and Jon Benjamin. Anyone familiar with their other work knows that they do not care for political correctness and will use every tactic necessary to get a laugh. This includes farting, racism, non sequitur, irony and downright offensive humor. One example is the fact that one of the superhero characters is a vomiting premature baby.
Other members of "The Freak Squad" include Siamese twins whose superpower is separation; The Log Cabin Republican, who can morph into a "grizzly bear"; a bearded female who is so ugly she looks like a clam; and the tallest Nebraskan in the world, whose superpower is shrinking up to six inches.
The show is well written and hilarious, but it also gets a lot of help from its voice actors. Arnett, Cross, and Benjamin, along with Janeane Garofolo and Bob Odenkirk are just some of the regulars that lend their voices to the show and also give it the star power credibility that could make it a hit with audiences.
The show is chock full of sarcasm, satire and irony, which may be a bit difficult for any conventional comedy viewer. "Freakshow" lambastes common America and uses its sharp writing to satirize many of the things we consider to be "Americana." However, anyone who watches Comedy Central's animated programs will know that this is just the norm for the network's shows.
The downside of the show is that it may be too difficult for some people to accept. Comedy Central already has two hit animated shows and a third one might be too much for television audiences to handle. The show's humor is not as intellectual or preachy as that of"South Park" and not as raunchy as that of "Drawn Together." It falls somewhere in between as a brilliantly crass satire, a type of comedy that would be perfect for Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim."
Whether or not the viewers accept it as a viable animated sitcom will be decided in the upcoming weeks. There is one thing we can be sure of, however. With jokes about the South, Republicans, gays and the elderly, a show like "Freakshow" is sure to get either one of two reactions: love and praise from viewers or hatred from the masses.
