The Upright Citizens Brigade - The Complete First Season

Rating:
Summary: Finally, it's almost here!
Review: I'm sure I'm not the only one who can't figure out why it has taken so long to release this show on DVD.
Second only to Mr. Show with Bob and David, this is one of the best sketch comedies since Python (Although there hasn't been that much competition- MadTV? ...I think I've made my point).

Rating:
Summary: If you like Mr. Show...
Review: ...and you consider Saturday Night Live too tame, then this is the show for you! Upright Citizens Brigade offers extreme sketch comedy. Some of the funniest things I've seen on t.v. It's really too bad that Comedy Central cancelled the show. Be sure to check out the "Little Donny Disease" sketch. That was my introduction to UCB and it is classic!

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE GREATEST SHOWS EVER
Review: The UCB is created the ultimate sketch comedy show on Comedy Central. You didn't watch it, and it got cancelled. Here is your chance to fix the mistake. The very first episode "Bucket of Truth" is pure brillance. Why did it take so long to get to home video? I do not know. The UCB is one of the funniest comedy troupes I have ever seen. Buy this DVD you will not be disappointed. From poo sticks, to new brains, to giant country lobsters, this is a show that rarely, if ever misses its target. NOTE: The real life hidden camera segments from each show alone are worth your twenty dollars. Enjoy.

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Summary: UCB: Chaos Creators... while screaming at it!
Review: The Upright Citizens Brigade is one of the most entertaining, intelligent programs that has ever aired on national television. Comedy Central would have been wise to have kept the show on the air. Unfortunately, they did not. But, they are nice enough to release the 1st series on DVD. The show, disguised as sketch comedy, looked at everyday issues and pointed out amusing elements of people trying to make sense of this crazy world. The Bucket of Truth, Tic Tics with Almonds, Little Donny, and Big Red Cat: they're all here. If you don't already know, I had the titular line in "Upright Citizens Brigade. I also had the title line.
If you like Cyborgs, jet-packs, or throwing star sitcoms, you may enjoy this DVD set! But, don't take my word for it!

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Summary: SEASON TWO NOW!!!
Review: I saw a few episodes on comedy cenral a couple of weeks ago and i am a HUGE fan of amy poehler so i bought the dvd not thinking i would instantly fall in love. The comentary alone is amazing, they are all so talented and wonderful. everyone go out and buy this NOW! Oh and if comedy cental is listening SEASON TWO NOW!!!

Rating:
Summary: dont use ass pennies !!!
Review: I had waited...waited...and waited.

Finally, last summer, the first season of "Upright Citizens Brigade" came out on DVD. I emptied my Gatorade bottle full of coins, and rolled up $32.00 worth of one-cent coins.

The cashier thought I was pretty weird for paying in pennies and was confused at my trying to stifle the laughter that was welling up inside me.

Little did she know that for the next couple weeks, Border's would be giving out those pennies in change. Pennies people make wishes on. Pennies customers give to their little daughters to buy gumballs with. Pennies they flip to decide who goes first when playing football.

Little did she know where those pennies had been.

But, we know, don't we?

Sort of gave me the upper hand.

Rating:
Summary: The joy of it all.
Review: This show is one of a kind. Brilliance. Utter, hysterical brilliance. Now I'm not a genius of any sort, but I've always considered myself to have a sense of humor that was somehow inherently "smart". When I think of it, there's really no such thing, and perhaps I've always thought this way as a form of making myself feel better than others... That said, I still think that I have a heightened sense of perception when it comes to humor and all its aspects. I've never even studied the art form, I simply know what is funny. Upright Citizens Brigade, is funny.

This is one of my favorite shows ever. Yet, half of the show is moderately funny, if at all. But inconsistenty does not matter when a show reaches highs as high as UCB -- the heavens of spine-splitting laughter. For those of you who have seen the show, a few moments:

A flight team testing its crew pilots on making it 'till the end of a crash without disturbing the customers verbally over the speakerphone. The captain tells one of the crew members to pray to a higher power, as it brings consolation in one's last members.

(pilot in test booth, captain watching on video from outside)

Pilot: Ah, I just lost both my engines!
Captain: Go to the prayer.
Pilot: Dear almighty one -- I turn to you now (camera pans to captain seriously, confidently giving an approving nod) in my moment of need. I call upon... all the (voice turns to a very low, growling tone) power of your dark forces, to deliver me to the fires of hell (pulls out a knife, starts stabbing his stomach) where I was born; my father a demon, my mother a jackal; sweet sweet Satan, now is the time, for your reign of death and terror, to begin... (wails his knife in the air as he goes down)

This is all performed SO perfectly, you have to see it to believe. My description ultimately proves entirely worthless, and without the performance at hand it might even sound gimicky. But those who have seen it will relive it and laugh.

Another highlight scene involves an obnoxious baldheaded lady and a group of three others at a dinner table, one in a wheelchair. As the lady sits down, she spurts out "So, how'd you get in the wheelchair?". Sound becomes mute as they all drop their knives on their plate. It's a moment of comedic bliss, I tell you.

Why is the show so good? It just is. I think one reason it's so good is there is no laughtrack, and it isn't live. These are not only brilliant comedic minds, but good actors as well. They provide hauntingly funny expressions and performances with nuance and a great deal of subtlety, that you simply don't see in live acts like SNL and Mr. Show. Granted, they've got more than one chance to perform, but it still exceeds because they aren't at the knife of the immediate moment.

And there's no uneven balance among the cast, either. They are truly all near equal and each possess their own individual talents. Because it isn't live, a great deal can be done with the editing process and cinematography, as well as timing. The direction is top notch, and often brings the lower quality episodes to a brighter place.

I love this show, and will definitely purchase Seasons 2 and 3 if they ever get released. Chances are, if you like absurd, intelligent humor, you'll probably like UCB.

Rating:
Summary: Season 2. Now.
Review: Are you Comedy Central folks listening? Release Season 2 into the wild. I will give you cash in exchange for that DVD. Real money. I mean it.

Rating:
Summary: Let's not pretend this is funny.
Review: It all comes together at the end, but it still sucks.

Rating:
Summary: Some of the Best Comedy on Television
Review: The Upright Citizens Brigade was one of the first and worst casualties of Comedy Central's as of yet unsuccesful but ongoing campaign to try and make their channel suck.(yeah, they still got a few good shows, but there are a bunch that they stupidly cancelled or practically ceased to play re-runs for) Fortunately, the DVD era has made it popular to have just about everything come out on DVD, so we got UCB season 1 about a year ago, and it's just great. I fear that they will not be releasing any more seasons, so everyone out there has got to pick up a copy of this one, and hope for the best.

Shortly after UCB was cancelled they stopped airing re-runs with any consistency. (Though they show it some nowadays) During this time, the show grew into near legend in my mind, as I'd reflect upon how great it was with my friends, and watch the few episodes that I'd managed to tape. After a few years of this I heard that the DVD was coming out, and I was excited but a bit worried. I was decidedly concerned that it had been built up too much in my mind, and would turn out to not be as good as I remembered it being. It turns out that it was even better. You only get 10 episodes here, but I'd say 7 of them are absolutely first-rate, about as funny as anything you'll ever see on TV, and the other 3 are still very funny, if not quite as good.

The biggest problem with sketch comedy is inconsistency and excess repetition. The UCB avoid each of these pitfalls almost with out exception. I'm not sure if I can think of a single sketch from this season that simply doesn't work, and they pace them perfectly, never dragging them out too long. They also do a good job constucting the episodes, actually managing to bring the disparate threads together succesfully, and often ending the show on a spectacularly funny note.(The first four episodes of this season particularly come to mind)

I could go on and on pointing a few particular highlights from the shows, but I'll just do a couple. Capt. Lunatick is probably the funniest character from this season. He's perhaps a bit of a 1 note character, but he's held up after numerous viewings, and his final line from The Bucket of Truth is absolutely priceless. The mad Steve Youngblood is almost equal to him, and the scene where he is introduced is perhaps the funniest individual sketch in the season.('You dont want to learn Kung-Fu, you wanna learn to kick as...' has got to be the single best line from the season) The fortune cookie scene from Time Machine is also unspeakably hilarious, and a really good example of how they pace the sketches just right.(They easily could've had that go on way too long.) And Cyborgs is perhaps the single best episode from the season. I won't go in to specifics, it's all awesome.

Buy UCB season 1, and prove to the corporate world that comedy that is actually funny can sell too.