CROSSBALLS

Our Kind of Show

Commedy Central

In the shadow of the much hyped, Graham Norton Effect, Comedy Central has released another new show. I had never heard of Crossballs, until stumbling upon it while surfing channels and discovering one of the funniest shows on TV. The premise is simple. Real commentators and activists are pitted against comedians (including Adair from Upright Citizens Brigade) playing opponents. The comedians make arguments of progressing absurdity and the real pundits fly into a rage. Basically, it’s a TV version of the Phil Hendrie show, but better. Hendrie’s mental collapse aside, Crossballs is the better show because while Phil’s phony characters torment random callers (many of whom are probably playing along), the phonies on Crossballs humiliate richly deserving political pundits and do-gooders.

The episode I watched focuses on the issue that burns me up like no other, America’s “War on Drugs.” I’m aware of some of the self-interests who compel worthless human beings like W/Rove and John Kerry to cynically advocate the machine of waste and misery that is the war on drugs. Perhaps more disturbing is the existence of people like the guest on Crossballs, an author who, out of conviction has dedicated herself to seeing that more tax dollars are spent rounding up people who like to get high. Apparently, she gets off on destroying lives. She’s especially adamant about imprisoning marijuana users. Because she is stupid.

I think that if I were to personally interview every U.S. resident for the purpose of choosing one to humiliate on national TV, I would wind up picking this lady. Not only is she a malignancy, she is a delightfully humorless and stupid turd. No matter how bizarre and funny the comedian was, it never seemed to occur to her that the debate was fake. Even with a live, laughing audience. Watching her shake with rage as her thirty-ish opponent detailed “experiments” in which he drank and drove, then smoked pot and drove with local teens to see which was worse, was the highlight of my week. I was already laughing out loud when she finally erupted with, “You belong behind bars! I hope the police in your city see this show!” As a result, I just laughed harder.

Review Posted: 7.17.04