Deep in the tape libraries of ESPN, two twin brothers were logging tapes. Then all of a sudden, a shelving unit falls on the hot shot host Ron Parker and the new show “Cheap Seats,” is left in a bit of a quandary. Who could possibly fill the shoes of the dude that looks like Elliot from “The Baxter?” Well, none other than Randy and Jason Sklar. In case you didn’t piece together my intro, they’re the two twins. I also am regretting the redundancy of saying “two twins” because that’s the only number twins can be, but nowI’ve called myself out. Getting back on track, it was up to these boys to do the impossible; watch old sports and make fun of them. That might not sound like a challenge, but with all the awkward pauses in first few episodes it was not looking good. Luckily the Sklars honed themselves into identical heat seeking comedy missiles and rose to the top…before being taken off the air.
All kidding aside, this show merges two of the biggest loves I’ve ever had. Growing up, I was consumed by sports. I played all sorts of them growing up then I got older and fatter. When that happened, comedy became a bit of an obsession. I found a show that has a demographic that is basically me. It is for people that know about sports, but also appreciate comedy. I would like to know the percentage of people that could tell me who Oliver Miller, Rasputin and Michael Floorwax are. I know the Sklar brothers can and so can I.
"Floorwax...rising!"
The only complaint I have is a small one. It’s so small I almost didn’t bring it up, but I don’t want to shoot rainbows up any behinds. My issue was with the sports that were covered. I enjoy busting on ping pong, putt-putt and karate; I would have loved to hear their takes on major sports. They did the occasional basketball or football game, but they stuck to the fringe mainly. It makes sense because there is more to make fun of with dorky Scrabble players compared to Bill Wennington or Pokey Reese, but I still would have enjoyed a little more mainstream.
To explain further, Jason and Randy would sit on their sofa in the ESPN library and watch old tapes. They would then proceed to sledge (a term used to describe trash talking in cricket, which I learned from the boys) the hell out of some people. They held back for no one. The stars, no matter how bright they shined, were not safe from the rapier like wit of the dueling Dr. Phils.
"If you take the isb out of frisbee, what you have is free"
Be it Steve Garvey, Rebecca Sealfon or Kevin Garnett (all prolific three point specialists), no one could avoid their lashings. In this case lashings means somewhat biting sarcasm. My favorite episode of Cheap Seats was their Sports century. They went over the trials and tribulations that the brothers had faced growing up, growing apart, and growing into the best hosts of “Jim Rome is Burning” this side of Jim Rome. I’ll leave it to you to watch, though without reruns or a DVD, I’m not sure how you could do that. Luckily I watched the whole series probably two times while it was airing.
Along with Randy and Jason, “Cheap Seats” saw its share of guests. There was my personal favorite Beamy.
"***ing **** you. I'm gonna **** in **** your *********"
Well, maybe not anymore. My favorite character in actuality was Sean Salisbury playing himself. Also guys like David Wain, Ed Helms, Patton Oswalt and Aziz Ansari would show up from time to time and do funny things. Other times Paul Rudd and Michael Ian Black would show up and be creepy and kind of naked.
This is the kind of show that was made for me. It reminds me of me, and likely a lot of people watching get this feeling. Granted I’m not as clever with my ribs on the Harlem Globetrotters, but I give it my all. Meadowlark Lemon really needs to be taken down a peg. This fun banter makes the show enjoyable to watch and listen to. For those of you like me who miss the show (I can’t believe it ended in 2006) and want more sports comedy, the Sklars host a podcast that is on every Friday called “Sklarbro Country” that can be found on ITunes or Earwolf.com. I’ll stop pimping stuff now and remind you of this:
" THIS SHOW IS GEM MINT TEN!"
Credit goes to: ESPN.com, Youtube.com, Earwolf.com, apple.com, donwest.org, and skitrits.ru.