FAMOUS SKETCH SHOWS
- ROSS PURDY
Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995-1998)
Performers: David Cross, John Ennis, Jay Johnston, Tom Kenny, Bob Odenkirk and Jill Talley
Comedians Bob Odenkirk and David Cross starred together in this dark,
absurdist sketch series, which featured a pedigree of performers and writers
that have gone on to become mainstays in the comedy scene. Growing
initially from live performances done at small alt-comedy clubs, the show had
a small cult following during its initial run but has been since cited as an
influence on new generations of comedians and was critically acclaimed for
its smart satire and its combination of the cerebral and the profane, as well as
its stream-of-consciousness structure that saw sketches link together seamlessly.
The State (1993-1995)
Performers: Kevin Allison, Michael Ian Black, Ben Garant, Todd Holoubek,
Michael Patrick Jann, Kerri Kenney, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken
Marino, Michael Showalter & David Wain
"The State” was a comedy troupe consisting of eleven twenty-something
comedians who came together in university and performed live shows for a
few years before they were recruited to make material for an MTV show
called “You Wrote It, You Watch It”. This lead to them getting their own show
on the network. The show was characterised by absurd and surreal humour
punctuated by high-energy performances by its young cast. A television
special for CBS was made to test the waters for the show to come to the
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