TUTV’s absurdist comedy program The Grog Show is back this week with an hour-long special!
Last time we saw our hapless protagonists Jake and Karl, they were broke and stranded in New York City, having failed to negotiate a production deal with Nitflex. But instead of following up, we’re taken back in time with a collection of shorts that often use their early work as a platform.
Going as far back as Jake’s first musical musings at age six (including the compelling compositions “Ice is Cold” and “Big Fart”), the shorts are a mix of new and old content. For example, they provide contemporary commentary a la Mystery Science Theater 3000 alongside their early movies, including Zero Down, 12 to Go (2005) and 2009’s Admiral Awesome (a personal favorite, featuring Karl in the title role wearing an eyepatch and battling “ghouls” using two light sabers, among other things). Likewise, they perform word-for-word a screenplay they wrote in 2007 but never produced titled I.M., an exercise in exact enactment that quickly gets very silly.
However, one of the best shorts featured is a newer one. We reencounter inscrutable infomercial salesman Johnny Popcorn, this time selling “Walker, Texting Ranger,” a service that provides a “texting ranger” to help you navigate while texting and walking. The ranger character is a real highlight as played by Bryan Quigley, who is (oddly?) believable as a man who has this job and earnestly wants to do this sort of thing for a living.
Another stand out sketch arose from Jake deciding to record himself as he slept. He and Karl then enacted his unconscious mutterings, jokes and exclamations. The result is bizarre, but it’s hard not to give into the giggles while listening to a sleep-talker attempt to tell a knock-knock joke.
As always when watching The Grog Show, viewers are treated to something truly original and off-the-wall. Jake and Karl, who have both graduated from Temple, are really masters at making the mundane fun.
All these sketches and many more will air Saturday, January 17 at 4 p.m. and Sunday at midnight and 8 a.m. Watch online.
The Grog Show presents hour-long special this Saturday
TUTV’s absurdist comedy program The Grog Show is back this week with an hour-long special!
Last time we saw our hapless protagonists Jake and Karl, they were broke and stranded in New York City, having failed to negotiate a production deal with Nitflex. But instead of following up, we’re taken back in time with a collection of shorts that often use their early work as a platform.
Going as far back as Jake’s first musical musings at age six (including the compelling compositions “Ice is Cold” and “Big Fart”), the shorts are a mix of new and old content. For example, they provide contemporary commentary a la Mystery Science Theater 3000 alongside their early movies, including Zero Down, 12 to Go (2005) and 2009’s Admiral Awesome (a personal favorite, featuring Karl in the title role wearing an eyepatch and battling “ghouls” using two light sabers, among other things). Likewise, they perform word-for-word a screenplay they wrote in 2007 but never produced titled I.M., an exercise in exact enactment that quickly gets very silly.
However, one of the best shorts featured is a newer one. We reencounter inscrutable infomercial salesman Johnny Popcorn, this time selling “Walker, Texting Ranger,” a service that provides a “texting ranger” to help you navigate while texting and walking. The ranger character is a real highlight as played by Bryan Quigley, who is (oddly?) believable as a man who has this job and earnestly wants to do this sort of thing for a living.
Another stand out sketch arose from Jake deciding to record himself as he slept. He and Karl then enacted his unconscious mutterings, jokes and exclamations. The result is bizarre, but it’s hard not to give into the giggles while listening to a sleep-talker attempt to tell a knock-knock joke.
As always when watching The Grog Show, viewers are treated to something truly original and off-the-wall. Jake and Karl, who have both graduated from Temple, are really masters at making the mundane fun.
All these sketches and many more will air Saturday, January 17 at 4 p.m. and Sunday at midnight and 8 a.m. Watch online.