Reality television? Surreality television, maybe.

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on March 19th, 2005

Just watched an episode of National Body Challenge, on the Discovery Channel, this one focusing on Jodie Wasserman, an NYC comedian who battled to drop 40 lbs. before her “big showcase.” (She failed miserably, admitting just before the last commercial break that she had been binge-eating the entire time she was supposed to have been dieting.)

Supposedly a slice of “reality television,” the show presented a rather skewed view of standup comedy. We suppose it’s because of the constraints of television, and the desires of the producers, and the presence of cameras. (Why else would someone– a guy in the business, mind you– be heard asking Wasserman, “So, how’s the standup coming along?” That’s the kind of question your doctor asks you… or your great aunt. Of course, we don’t blame the guy– it was the cameras making someone self-conscious, we figure.) And, why are comics who are featured in reality shows always so… somber? They come off as utterly humorless. What gives there? (OR, they come off as an over-the-top hybrid of Robin Williams, Rip Taylor and a Jack Russell Terrier.) Wasserman may be quite the scream onstage and/or off, but in this episode of NBC, she was… sullen? Morose, perhaps? And the onstage portion of the episode was shot and edited in such a way as to suck the funny right out of the whole affair. Curious, to say the least.

We can wait to see if the world of comedy gets hideously warped on the Extreme Makeover featuring Steve Mittleman next Thursday. (VCR alert, to the max!)

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