Comedy Central // 2007 // 132 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge Brett Cullum // October 17th, 2007
This is a poop song!
Sarah Silverman is a hot, foul-mouthed, Jewish comedienne, who got a great show on Comedy Central to showcase her specific talents. If you haven't sat through an episode of The Sarah Silverman Program, there are only two reactions possible. One, you'll love it and immediately want to see more. Two, you'll run from your television as if pigeon shit was flying out of the set to give you AIDS. Then you'll be homeless too, because you just ran out of your house. And if you have to poop, you'll have to go to the mall. Just remember to be nice to the homeless and blind children along the way. Be sure to write a song about it too, and sing it on the way back.
The Sarah Silverman Program: Season One contains only six episodes, in which Sarah Silverman plays a character named Sarah Silverman. Now Sarah is different from Sarah because she's unemployed and not a successful comic. Also Sarah on the show doesn't date Jimmy Kimmel, and nobody recognizes her as she walks down the streets of Los Angeles. In this season we get to see her hopped up on cough syrup, taking in a homeless man, pooping her pants, and stage mothering an orphaned pageant contestant. Oh, and how could I not mention the time she had sex with God? The DVD preserves the broadcast order, although Comedy Central aired them out of production sequence. If you look at the insert, you can watch them in the intended order, because they are nice enough to label them. Course, why would you really care? They're all funny.
* "Officer Jay" -- Sarah gets depressed as her sister starts to date someone new, and she gets addicted to cold syrup which leads her to legal problems. Meanwhile Brian insists he is bisexual.
* "Humanitarian of the Year" -- Sarah takes in a homeless man to prove she's a good person. Brian learns karate, but fails to use it at critical moments.
* "Positively Negative" -- Sarah tries to shake a case of the blahs with an AIDS test, and Jay has a birthday party for the first time.
* "Not Without My Daughter" -- Sarah helps out a girl in a child pageant. Steve's fart in a police car has unexpected consequences.
* "Muffin' Man" -- Sarah becomes a lesbian. Brian becomes a Tab drinker.
* "Batteries" -- When the remote dies Sarah has to get new batteries. This was the original pilot for the show, yet somehow it became the season finale.
Sarah Silverman may be an acquired taste, because it took me a while to "get" her. She's beautiful, smart, but really raunchy and blatantly offensive. Worse than all of these things, she's ridiculously self-centered. This show is exactly the same as her comedy act, and some may find it has to grow on you. It's great she got the green light to do something this offensive, and not just be content to step into a formula sitcom so many comics settle for. This project works for her; it's edgy and fun. The series won a lot of critical acclaim for its amoral yet hysterical take on a woman who is not entirely likable. It reinvents the sitcom by shattering all conventions, and goes to some dark places while still retaining a goofy charm.
Even though the DVD set is a brief six episodes, they do pack everything together with a whole lot of extras. Here's a list of all the commentaries:
* "Officer Jay," "Positively Negative" -- commentary by cast members Laura Silverman and Jay Johnson
* "Humanitarian of the Year," "Not Without My Daughter" -- commentary by Creator/Star Sarah Silverman, Co-Creator/Director Rob Schrab, and Executive Producer Dan Sterling
* "Muffin' Man" -- Commentary by cast members Brian Posehn and Steve Agee
* "Batteries" -- No commentary
Also included are musical performances not seen in the show, but used as promotion for the show by Comedy Central. There are animatics of proposed title sequences as well as one for a chase sequence in the "Batteries" episode. To top things off we're presented with karaoke and sing-along versions of all the songs featured in the show. Transfers are clear and well-presented full-screen with a simple stereo mix. Colors are clear, and the entire series is well-shot.
The whole thing is wrong with a capital "R." This is guaranteed to offend people much in the way South Park consistently seems to do. Yet sometimes the humor goes too far, and the offensive punch lines sink the moment. I wonder sometimes if this isn't entirely on purpose, because I've seen Silverman do this in her standup routine and on her theatrical release Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic.
Brilliant, edgy, offensive, and funny as hell, The Sarah Silverman Program: Season One is a wicked good time and a well-produced DVD set. It's only six episodes long, but there are plenty of extras. The Sarah Silverman Program. has plenty of scatological references, songs about poop, and trademark Sarah insanity. She's lazy, self-centered, racist, Jewish, cute, and totally irresistible.
Guilty of being a poop song!
Review content copyright © 2007 Brett Cullum; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2012 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Video: 90
Audio: 90
Extras: 94
Acting: 94
Story: 94
Judgment: 93
Perp Profile
Studio: Comedy Central
Video Formats:
* Full Frame
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
Subtitles:
* None
Running Time: 132 Minutes
Release Year: 2007
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* Promotional Musical Performances
* Karaoke and Sing Along Versions of Musical Numbers
* Audio Commentaries by Cast and Crew
* Title Sequence Pitches
* Animatics of a Chase
Accomplices
* IMDb
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0821375/combined
* Official Site
http://sarahsilverman.comedycentral.com/