The Ben Stiller Show

Rating:
Summary: Sketch Comedy At Its Very Best
Review: The Ben Stiller Show aired for 12 episodes on FOX during the 1992-1993 season. Critics praised the show even though it routinely came DEAD LAST in the nielson ratings...which is probably why you've never heard of the show. They stuck it up against 60 Minutes at one point. Don't be fooled, though. This is brilliant sketch comedy from a group of talented comedians that have all gone on to bigger and better things. Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick, and Bob Odenkirk spend most of the show creating dead-on hilarious parodies of television, movies, actors, and anything else that reeks of Hollywood. A 13th "Lost Episode" was uncovered when Comedy Central aired The Ben Stiller Show a few years back, and it is included in the DVD as well. The only drawback is that, yes, some of the material is a bit dated. Still, don't let that keep you from enjoying one of the best sketch comedy shows to grace the airwaves. Fans of Bob Odenkirk's "Mr. Show" should enjoy seeing some of his earlier work as well. It's a shame FOX didn't give this show the support it deserved.

Rating:
Summary: A Must for Sketch Comedy Fans Everywhere.
Review: "The Ben Stiller Show" was a hidden treasure on the then-fledgling FOX Network. Around the time of the equally funny sketch show, "In Living Color," it helped make FOX *the* place for comedy.
Some of Ben Stiller's most popular impersonations got their genesis here: Tom Cruise, Bono (the MTV Mock-umentary of U2 is hilarious), even Eddie Munster (as Eddie in "Cape Munster"). And boy did he know how to surround himself with good people. The regular ensemble cast of four is filled out by Bob Odenkirk, Andy Dick and Janeane Garafalo before anyone knew exactly how cool she was. All those MTV Movie Awards skits... their birthplace is on this show. Every episode also features a special guest, ranging from Ben's dad, Jerry Stiller, to Bobcat Goldthwait and the late Sam Kennison.
Unfortunately, only thirteen episodes of the series ever made it to air. Shortly before "Mystery Men" was released in theatres, the FX Network aired all the episodes in a Sunday Marathon. I've had them on tape ever since. I definitely look forward to replacing them with this DVD collection.

Rating:
Summary: The Ben Stiller show
Review: There were only about 12 episodes but from time to time they are usualy on Comedy Central.All 12 episodes were good thought.
The Manson where they did a parody on Lassie I also remember a rock group parady and some Bruce Willis parodies.Plus it had 3 later stars of comedy Ben Stiller-Andy Dick and Jenine Garafolo

Rating:
Summary: Funny, Talented Cast with Some Great Sketches
Review: The Ben Stiller Show had a number of excellent sketches as others have noted. I think the most memorable is the dark, hilarious Manson-as-Lassie Show; Bob Odenkirk is stellar. The cast members are very strong with Ben being perhaps the weakest straight-up comedian of the bunch. Andy D. seems under-utilized at times and Odenkirk's quirks should have been explored further. The downside for some people will be Ben's penchant for the obvious. Many sketches take the easy way out and too many rely on simple pop culture gags for their laughs. A talented cast doesn't need to hit softballs off of a tee. However many of the spoofs do make you laugh and that's the main purpose I suppose. I guess it depends on your idea of genius: do you prefer the topical-based humor of SNL or the highly inventive off-the-wall style of Kids in the Hall... much more creative but not always interested in the easy laugh. Bottom line is that this DVD is worth owning for fans of sketch-based comedy. Not a best of the genre but high quality for certain.

Rating:
Summary: The serpent's egg
Review: I bought this DVD set after listening to Bob Odenkirk and company on the "Mr. Show" audio commentaries discussing their previous work on "The Ben Stiller Show." I get the impression that Odenkirk and David Cross really learned their sketch comedy show chops via this series, and you can see the elements in "Ben Stiller" that came to full fruition in "Mr. Show," notably the talents of Odenkirk, David Cross, Dino Stamotopoulos, and Troy Miller. The production values are tip top, the timing snappy, the scripts bubbling over with ingenious gags and iconoclastic concepts. The main thing holding down the series is Ben Stiller. He's the featured performer in all the sketches, which would be great if he were some sort of comic genius, but he's just a nice, handsome boy who's not skilled enough to carry off the variety of roles he's called on to play. Sketch after sketch collapses because he's the dead center. It's despite him, not because of him, that you can see the potential brilliance surrounding him. As in the serpent's egg, the outlines of the fearsome and marvelous reptile that will become "Mr. Show" can be glimpsed through the translucent shell.

Rating:
Summary: Love the commentaries
Review: I have been watching this DVD in 15-minute installments over breakfast for the last few weeks and am continually entertained. One of the best features is the commentary included for a half-dozen episodes provided by Stiller and various cast members and writers. At the wee hours of the morning it feels like the actors and writers are keeping me company while I watch the show. In terms of what they have to say, it is clear that the individuals associated with the show still think fondly about the program after so many years, and they comment lovingly about their favorite sketches and the whole experience of producing the show. The comparisons that Bob Odenkirk and David Cross (who wrote for the program) make between the Ben Stiller Show and Mr. Show are especially interesting. While Mr. Show is in many people's opinion (including Odenkirk's and Cross') the keener of the two programs, it apparently lacked the sheer joy that went into making the Ben Stiller Show. While some of the sketches don't pass the test of time, the enjoyment the cast brought with them to the show is still palpable. The only clunker in the commentaries is Janeane Garofalo, whose universe seems to be no broader than the Hollywood zip code, and even then she slips up, for example, confusing Yvonne DeCarlo (who played Lily Munster) with Carolyn Jones (Morticia Addams). Listen to the commentary to see what I mean.

Rating:
Summary: Never seen this show before ordering the DVD
Review: I read all the reviews here and was a little leeary about ordering this show. How pleasantly surprised and delighted I am with this DVD. It makes me laugh and I enjoy their humor. I am not a fan of Andy Dicks per say, but perhaps at this time of his career he is a bit more managable for my taste. What I am, is a total fan of comedy. The more great comedy shows on DVD the better. This one is a little gem, from the the 1990's. I am not a fan of main stream tv, and that is why probaly that I enjoyed the heck out of this DVD, and it consequently was taken off the air. There is an unaired episode on this set also. Order and enjoy.


Rating:
Summary: Yabba dabba doo, dabba dooby dabba dooby dabba.
Review: This series was released back in the early 90s before anyone really fully knew the potential behind the stars of this program. Ben Stiller had yet to become a household name, Andy Dick was ... well ... not yet Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo was not politically active, and Bob Odenkirk was just a glimmer in Mr. Show's eyes. Yet, somehow these four key players pulled off some of the funniest skits to ever hit television.

I remember watching this show when I was younger and not fully understanding the jokes. I remember my parents laughing, but I was not old enough to understand. Now, a bit older, I cannot keep my hands of this series. Andy Dick is brilliant. I think he is one of the most underrated comics out there. He should be given scripts daily for his work. Continually funny and the most bizarre in-your-face comedian. He has not sold-out ... yet. Second, I was impressed with Odenkirk. I was worried that without Cross he couldn't carry himself, but I misjudged him. His humor, in the few skits he is in, is fantastic. It is subdued due to the material, but you can tell that he is just dying to show his stuff. While I am beginning to dislike Stiller daily, his work on this program was phenomenal. Garofalo did well playing the "female" role in most skits. I only hoped that they would have given her more to work with.

My second love of this series was the guest speakers. It was fun to watch it recently and remember who was a popular icon back in the early 90s. I enjoyed remembering Flea and Rob Morrow. My favorite was a younger Dennis Miller and Gary Shandling. You could tell that Stiller had the ability of getting the big names on his little show. I was impressed.

Overall, this is a perfect opportunity to see Stiller's comedy when he was still in the young stage of his career. I would watch this series mainly for Andy Dick who makes me laugh all the time! I only hope his short-lived series is released soon so that I can get 100% Andy!

Grade: **** out of *****

Rating:
Summary: Ben Stiller is great, but methinks the music overwhelms ...
Review: O.K. O.K. call me an old fogie but my youth with The Who, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd was well spent. When I listen to music, I like hard driving stuff on occasion but not when I watch sketch artists at work. To tell you the truth, I kept changing scenes just to get to something with non-distracting heavy metal, all to no avail.

As many have said prior to my review, if you want to see Ben Stiller in REAL funny stuff, rent Meet the Parents or Something About Mary. Btw, there's no irritating sound tract in either of these ;-)



Rating:
Summary: Good stuff
Review: Yes, some of the material has become dated in the past dozen years, but overall the BSS is funny. Stiller is able to pull off some moments of SCTV-style embarrassing acting where the persona is so unctuous and creepy that you almost need to look away.