01/09/05

1/09/05—Steve Harvey’s Big Time, WB
Fatherhood, Nickelodeon
The Cosby Show, Nickelodeon

Seems like Ol’ Steve has been coasting on his laurels lately. Don’t know what those laurels were. He was pretty lame on his own show, The Steve Harvey Show. He was the comic with the least on The Original Kings of Comedy film. In both cases, he was shown up by his ostensible sidekick, Cedric The Entertainer. It’s like Steve’s shtik is anti-shtik, if being an uptight hardass in a baaad suit without a good comeback is shtik. Unfunny everyman on stage.

One would have hoped that mc’ing a 'stupid (put something here) tricks' show would be easy for a stand-up comic who hosted Showtime At the Apollo. The concept is as old as the circus; throw in the freaks. It should be easy to work with.

A six-year old national yo-yo champ got the better of him. Don’t know if the champ is that little, but Harvey seemed surprised when the tot showed up on stage. Wasn’t Steve aware that the kid was the Under-10 national champion? Steve acted as if the guy Harvey wasn’t satisfied with getting the kid to say stuff, he had to figure out his own bit to add humor to a tot dancing with a yo-yo. And he didn’t do it well.

After a commercial break, he brought out Chuck Harris (http://www.stim.com/Stim-x/0596May/Trender/freaks.html), manager of weird acts. He manages Mr. Methane (http://www.mrmethane.com/) and The Great Regurgitator. Sadly, neither was going to appear, though Harvey acted surprised by the descriptions of the acts. It’s just as well; Stevee probably wouldn’t know what to do with them.

Is there anything funny to say about a guy who plays songs on his teeth? Steve couldn’t find it when the guy did the William Tell Overture. And he only could manage to do the typical guy “don’t touch me, man” jokes when Frank Simon came on. Frank is the guy who balances stoves on his mouth—he’s on the M&M candy bar commercial—but he also is gregarious in an old-school kind of way. He smiles, hugs, shakes hands enthusiastically, asks the audience for a shout-out. And, of course, he does balance the stove on his mouth. But to show that he can do more things, he also balanced a 3” doll on his nose. Skilled.

The one guy who got Steve going was The Rubber Boy (http://www.therubberboy.com/). Daniel Browning Smith was freaky to Steve when he pushed himself out of a small case, but Harvey was apoplectic when the guy was able to stick his head beneath his legs and got his mouth close enough to lick his balls. Harvey loved it. Could die now, wouldn’t need women, etc. Yawn.

The sad thing is that despite the set-ups and the faux-square persona Harvey puts on, it’s got to be a fake. He’s in on the choosing of the acts and must know exactly what’s going to happen before it happens. Yet, there he is, as flummoxed and flatfooted as a Republican at a confirmation hearing. It’s certainly calculated, but I’m at a loss who the calculation is supposed to appeal to. Republican cabinet nominees? Even the people who thought Willard Scott was straight would want more. Steve is presiding over a carnival scene, a televised freak show, and he’s having no fun up there. It would be nice if the guy got a little jiggy with it.


Fatherhood

Never heard of this before. Since it is based on Bill Cosby’s book of the same name, it’s hard not to see a tie-in to The Cosby Show starting after this ends.

It’s original to Nickelodeon. It debuted in 2004. It’s animated. The action concerns the Bindlebeep family; dad, mom, and three spunky kids. Seems like a late start to a show that has such young-kid oriented content. Maybe they’re aiming the show at kids who have parents working and the television funcitons as the babysitter.

Never having read the book, I’m disappointed that it doesn’t possess the humor I remember of Fat Albert. This episode’s story concerns the mother trying to raise capital to buy the book store she’s been working in. She works at a book store, the dad is a high school communications teacher. Cosby has been flashing his credentials as an educator. Can you say message?

I enjoyed the show, even if I could predict the story line. I did like that the dad was for walking with his daughter rather than driving, though it didn’t come off as cool as I would have hoped from The Cos.


The Cosby Show

This is still well after Cosby jumped the shark. Even Rudy isn’t young. The show was another message show. It’s as if Keenan Ivory Wayans character from Don’t Drink Juice... was wandering around saying “message” every minute or two.

Cosby was about to deliver the baby of a woman who had no relatives in New York. He tracks down her grandfather, played by Sammy Davis, Jr. Despite the sub-featherweight build, Sammy is an ex-boxer who seems to be alternately, a bum, a mack daddy, abrasive, smooth, insecure, and self-assured. He doesn’t want to be part of anything, he lies, he then shows up at the hospital and is smooth and charming. He doesn’t want family and he can’t read. But, like any good “message” show, he sticks around, has moments of pride, agrees to learn to read and be part of his great granddaughters life, and impresses Cliff.

Only to further the “message” Rudy tells her sister that if a 67-year old man doesn’t know how to read, she’s wasting her time in fourth grade. Sister says ‘but you won’t be able to get a job,’ Rudy replies, ‘I can teach third grade.’