Today’s important thing: reviews. What is a review? According to dictionary.com, it is a “critical article or report.” Okay, maybe they aren’t that important, but you know what is? If you answered: a comedian with a large nose? You’d be right. “Important Things with Demetri Martin” was an odd hybrid of show ideas all rolled into one and it rested on the back of this young (kind of) stand-up comedian. The show was a little odd because the format was something unique. It had sketches, but it wasn’t really a sketch show. There was stand-up comedy, but that wasn’t the crux of the program. There was also music, animation, and improv. That makes this show a little difficult to pin down. The only thing for sure that this show had was a short shelf life. Most shows that get canned after two seasons are either awful or misunderstood. This is another case that makes this show weird. It was still pretty good, but it had fallen off a little. I just think they were running out of ideas. The shows premise had short legs, which brings us to our next important thing: planning.
I’ll get into what show is actually like in a bit, but first on this planning bit I’ve painted myself into. The first season was solid. All of Demetri’s best material was being used for this new venue. He seemed fresh and ready to go. Then the second season came, and it’s almost like they didn’t see it coming. The sketches felt flat, rushed or just plain not as good. The two seasons are like night and day as far as quality goes. The show likely got renewed for the second and less successful season because of the fire that this show came out of the box with. The premiere of this show drew the biggest debut rating of any show since “Chappelle’s Show” hit the air. So that momentum was then followed up by a very good first season leaving Demetri and his team of people the chance to continue. Sadly they weren’t up for the challenge, and then frequent co-star Jon Benjamin received a van.
My show will have a disappointing first season, so don't worry Demetri.
We’ll move on from the second season and talk about the good times. The allure of “Important Things” really was just how different it was. That was mainly bred from how different Demetri Martin is as a performer. When the show opened up with a comedian standing in front of a live audience, it seemed like we were in for another “Mind of Mencia” or “Chappelle’s Show” style program. In ways it was, but with new elements. It was the middle step between those two and Daniel Tosh using the internet to make his money. There wasn’t just talking and sketches. There were all the things I listed previously. We can walk through the first episode to demonstrate this point.
The show’s theme was “Timing” and how important it was. The opening saw some quick jokes based on timing. And no, that wasn’t a terrible pun; the jokes were actually about timing. Following the little routine was a sketch about acting with Jon Benjamin and Amanda Peet. Then we get a shot of Demetri running around in party clothes in a sketch called, “A guy who is way too early for a rave.” So far this is standard fair for the Comedy Central “vehicle for a stand-up we want to be huge.” When the commercial breaks ends is when there is a tiny hint of the difference. We aren’t telling jokes now, but Demetri is just reading off facts about timing from flash cards. Sure, they’re funny, but it’s not the same old thing. Slight variations can make you just that much funnier that the last guy. Any variation makes you funnier than this guy:
We then get a mock jewelry commercial, some more sketches and finally the ending: a demonstration of timing. This is when Demetri would really stretch his legs and add in some music, poetry, or drawing to spice up the topic. So, the first episode was interesting enough to draw people in. The stand out moment of the night though? “Jerry Pappas: Time Gigolo”. Other than “Dungeon Boys”, Jerry was the star of the night. At the time, I was most excited to see Coach McGuirk on television, but that’s a story for another time. Jerry went back in time to sleep with some women from history, because he could. He went back in time and bedded Mary Magdalene after old J.C. went down. That’s just a taste of what Jerry can do, rock and roll.
Rock a what? Alright!
I’ll end this look at episode one with a joke about timing from Martin: “I wonder if there were any Goths in Gothic times. Be like, ‘You look completely appropriate. You don’t look stupid or lonely at all.’” So, there’s that. My point is, Demetri had the tools to make a show that was very good for a short time.
Other topics covered were things like power, brains, chairs, coolness and games. It may not sound like earth shattering stuff, and it’s not. It’s just harmless fun. Nothing award winning about it. This show is worth checking out for the goofy sketches, short little jokes and a very creative man running the show.
A sketch about a sketch. Weird.