On Thursday October 22, 2009, Comedy Central took a page from the Independent Film Channel and brought inanimate characters to the people world. In the series premier of The Jeff Dunham Show, comedian/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham shares the “everyday” exploits he has with his dummies.
Traditional Format Enhances Dunham’s Talents
Splicing the show into part standup and part sketch, the program tries to revitalize the premise of Greg the Bunny. Veteran comedian Dunham is smart enough to realize who the stars of the show are - ie: not him. Not only does Dunham never appear without one of his dummies, there are some sketches that display the dummies without Dunham. In these instances, the dummies are treated and act as independent people, a la Greg the Bunny.
The standup portions of the show are most often used as quick and effective little introductions to the video sketches. Though Dunham does use his standup as stand-alone pieces.
The video sketches show how Dunham and his dummies interact with the real world. There is video of him and Peanut out on a date with Brooke Hogan; one of him and Bubba J at a shooting gallery; and one of Achmed the Dead Terrorist performing standup at the Improv all by himself. The nice thing about all of these sketches is that the dummies are treated as real people, not like puppets.
Introducing the Dummies
As could be expected, Dunham began the show by doing a standup bit with his most famous dummy, Walter. The other major dummies were there too: Peanut, Bubba J and Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Missing from the premier, however, were Jose Jalapeno on a Stick, Melvin the Superhero Guy and Sweet Daddy Dee. Though these two characters are bound to make an appearance sooner rather than later.
This Is Jeff Dunham
For everyone familiar with Jeff Dunham, this show is a must see. It encapsulates his personality, comedy style and the quirkiness that has made him an extremely successful comedian. For those unfamiliar with Dunham and his dummies might chuckle here or there, but will be let down by the show as a whole. Dunham is like the Blue Collar Comedians (Jeff Foxworthy, Ron White, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy) in that audiences either love him or think he’s mostly “Bleh.” He has found a niche and figured out how to succeed in it. And considering The Jeff Dunham Show is on Comedy Central, the comedian’s pretty soft material will leave the usual Comedy Central crowd wanting more.
The Jeff Dunham Show airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on Comedy Central.
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