Fans like to bemoan the
premature deaths of Mr. Show and Arrested Development, but both enjoyed
substantial runs and left behind a lasting cultural legacy. A direct line can
be drawn between the cult shows of the very recent past and the cult shows of
today. Arrested Development found a worthy heir in 30 Rock, while the terrific sketch-comedy
show Human Giant serves
as a vital link between Mr. Show and the current generation of web-weaned funnymen
who made their names posting homemade videos online instead of working their
way through Second City, The Groundlings, or Saturday Night Live. The show's central dynamic
echoes Mr. Show as
well. Like
Bob Odenkirk, Rob Huebel boasts the bland good looks of a local TV news anchor,
yet there's a spark of madness and rage at his core. Castmates Paul Scheer and
Aziz Ansari, meanwhile, take turns inhabiting the David Cross role.
Unlike Mr. Show, Human
Giant isn't
averse to recurring characters. Popular bits like "The Illusionators" (a pair
of David Blaine/Criss Angel-like magical douchebags who are alternately
astonishingly lamely mundane and genuinely magical) and "The Shutterbugs" (about
intense, hyper-profane children's agents who become the brain trust behind the
notorious flop Li'l 9/11) prove that in spite of what decades of Saturday Night Live suggest, the phrase "funny
recurring character" doesn't have to be an oxymoron.
Like The Ben Stiller
Show before
it, Human Giant earns
its MTV pedigree by being the kind of hip rock 'n' roll show where guest
appearances by Ted Leo or Ghostface Killah are par for the course. In fact, Human
Giant may
be the only hip rock 'n' roll show left on MTV. The half-hour format suits its
short, punchy aesthetic perfectly, but it's fascinating watching more than an hour's
worth of excerpts from a 24-hour marathon where the cast of Human Giant and a gaudy procession of
big-name guest stars (including Odenkirk) took over MTV and MTV2 for an entire
day. It's a testament to the show's addictiveness that the excerpts leave
audiences hungry for more. Given Human Giant's web-friendliness, it's
also fitting that the full 24 hours can probably be found somewhere online.
Key features: Hilarious deleted scenes,
live footage, a preview of season two, and amusing audio commentaries from the
cast and selected guest stars.