Crossballs

Crossballs, or The Debate Show, is a short-lived tv show that aired on Comedy Central. The show was meant to parody political debate shows, specifically CNN's Crossfire and MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews. Each episode involves comedians posing as experts on a specific topic. In the case of this clip, the comedians are the host, the "stoner" sitting all the way on the left, and the anti-marijuana hippy. These comedians then debate two real commentators on the topic, such as the legalization of marijuana. These real commentators have no idea that the show is fake. The comedy not only comes from the comedians poking fun at their stance on the topic, but also from the real commentators who get frustrated with the actors. If the real commentator has a weird or nonsensical point of view, it is made to look even more ridiculous by the comedian who is trying to back him up. Although the main point of the show is comedy, there is still some real debating involved.

"Drugs." Crossballs. Host Chris Tallman. Comedy Central. 8 July 2004.

Weekend Update: Celebrity

These are two Saturday Night Live Weekend Update skits, both featuring Seth Meyers as the host. The first also stars Kenan Thompson as Charles Barkley. SNL, a sketch comedy show started in the mid-seventies which now airs every Saturday night at 11:30 pm, is well-known as a parody show, taking current events and trends and turning them on their heads. This first sketch, originally aired on 1/10/09, starts off with the political news of the week, followed by an in-depth interview with Sir Barkley on his recent traffic violation. The second clip, aired 2/7/09, is Seth's analysis of Michael Phelps marijuana scandal.

Barkley and Phelps are the latest in a line of celebrities to be skewered by the SNL crew for immature behavior. These sketches bring up the debate on how celebrities and potential role models ought to be punished for behavior that would probably go unnoticed if they were not famous. Any other young adult male, for example, could have used a bong profusely and not suffered the consequences, but Phels only did so once (to our knowledge) and is loosing millions of dollars because of it. While the Barkley sketch doesn't have much of a complete argument, Seth and the writers clearly see Phelps' treatment as too harsh. Meyers points out how ridiculous the standards are for Phelps, and how the 12-time-gold-medal-winner ought to be given a few breaks every now and then. As the show is aimed at Phelps' age group, the audience will probably tend to agree with them.

Cheech and Chong - Dave's not here

Cheech & Chong is a comedy duo made up of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong and was popular during the 1970's and 1980's. This video shows one of Cheech & Chong's most famous lines "Dave's not here" from their self-titled debut album. While they were working together, they released in total eight albums of their stoner comedy skits. After their parting around 1985, they both went their separate ways with different projects. Cheech did some voice acting for Disney movies as well as acting on a few shows while Chong co-starred on the show That 70s Show as a burned-out hippie named Leo. Cheech & Chong recently went on a reunion tour called "Cheech and Chong Light Up America/Canada".

Cheech & Chong. Cheech and Chong. Pro. Lou Adler. Ode Records/ Warner Bros. Records/ Warner Music Group, 1971. "Dave." Youtube. 3.13.08. 2.5.09. .

Aziz Ansari Live at Bonaroo

This is a pirated video, though of high quality, of Aziz Ansari's performance at Bonaroo 2007. Based in of L.A., Aziz has been featured on Comedy Central Presents, and is a main cast member on the MTV show entitled 'Human Giant'. His comedy is focused on young people, becuase he performs on MTV, tours colleges and stays current with regard to pop culture. This bit focuses on subjects such as popular culture and MTV, as well as the reputation of the Bonaroo Music Festival. Aziz's work also has recurring themes such as rape, drugs and his past life in New York City, all of which are touched on in this video.