The Sarah Silverman Program debuted on Comedy Central last night and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I like Silverman’s comedy, but I didn’t really think much of Jesus is Magic, her concert movie from a year or two ago–it felt stretched out, and her best bits, while still vicious and incisively stupid, felt somehow neutered and flat.
The Sarah Silverman Program is a big improvement. It’s a half-hour comedy based on the life of a fictional, orphaned Sarah Silverman, who is cared for by her younger sister. In the first episode Sarah goes nuts on cough syrup, inspiring a psychedelic spree reminiscent (and worthy of) Pee-wee’s Playhouse. In the mayhem that ensues, Sarah’s sister meets a police officer played by Jay Johnston (of Mr. Show fame); Sarah’s sis then blows off Cookie Party night to go on a date with said cop. Cookie Party was my favorite part of the show. It’s a contest show where people call in and vote for cookies. After Sarah’s sis skips their weekly standing date, Sarah gets into the cough syrup again; more mayhem.
There’s something in the tone and pacing of TSSP that’s a little bit deviant from the standard ironic tropes of satire; Sarah’s vision of a sitcom is a corroded mimesis of “hip,” “ironic” comedy–willfully stupid, infantile, scatological, zany, crushingly narcissistic, truly antisocial, coming off like an egotistical in-joke between Sarah and herself. Sarah’s songs, jokes, gestures, and non-jokes all add up to a truly bizarre, fun, and funny show.
A clip of the show (not last night’s, but all I could find on Youtube):
And here’s Sarah telling a famous joke in The Aristorcrats:
Biblioklept 