New series review: Lewis Black's Root of All Evil (Comedy Central)
03/11/08 03:30 PM
Premiering: Wednesday, March 12 at 9:30 p.m. (central) on Comedy Central
Presided over by: Lewis Black
Created by: Scott Carter, David Sacks
By ED BARK
Old Yeller used to be a dog. Now he's Lewis Black, the bombastic, caustic comic who's easily pissed off because that's his well-practiced shtick.
So presenting him as an almost calming influence isn't the best use of his yet to be fully realized talents. It's kind of like hiring Simon Cowell as the new host of Masterpiece Theatre.
In Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, premiering Wednesday on Comedy Central, he's mostly a judge who's not even as snarly as Judy. Black mostly presides rather than rants, leaving other comedians to lip off as attorneys arguing over which of their absentee clients is the most vile.
The premiere finds ring-wise Greg Giraldo championing the Catholic Church while Paul F. Tompkins tries to portray Oprah Winfrey in a harsher light. Next week it's Donald Trump vs. Viagra, with Giraldo back to prosecute the latter in a faceoff with bespectacled Andy Kindler.
Black sets the stage, but alas, seldom foams at the mouth. He recalls being a guest on Oprah as "a new comic -- at the age of 52!"
Therefore maybe he should recuse himself as an arbiter. But the studio audience won't hear of it, prompting Black to briefly be Black by bellowing, "You're right. She can kiss my black ass!"
Otherwise he largely turns the other cheek while Giraldo and Tompkins duly present their arguments. Neither is funny enough keep the first show on its toes. But next Wednesday's edition is better, with the returning Giraldo assailing Viagra with the logical argument that "when I sit on my grandpa's knee, I want to be sure it's his knee."
Each half-hour show also includes a "Ripple of Evil" segment and Black's relatively tame "Inquisition" of both sides. Then he renders his verdict in what so far are a pair of poop-out punctuation marks.
Future clashes will include youtube vs. porn; American Idol vs. high school; and Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney. But Black won't be at center ring for any of them. Instead he's off to the side, laying out when he should be all-in. That makes Root of All Evil not as much fun as it could and should be.
Grade: C+
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