Edgy dipshit “comedians” that wanted to violently murder Barney in the 90’s then shitty dude bro family guy humor in the early aughts.
I remember first seeing Tom Goes To The Mayor on adultswim and it being like a breath of fresh air. It felt like finally someone got how absurd it is to live in small town america.
there was a lot of great alt comedy in the 90s with stuff like The State and Mr. Show. I’d argue that shows like that really paved the way for Tim & Eric (in fact, T&E got their big break thanks to Bob Odenkirk who produced Tom Goes to the Mayor)
Tim & Eric definitely brought that type of comedy more into the mainstream until it was no longer “alt” anymore. because yeah, at the time Dane Cook and Carlos Mencia were the biggest names in comedy
The State, besides being great, gave birth to so much great absurdist and alt-comedy projects. David Wain’s whole career is basically non-stop hits of incredibly funny shit.
Plus, if you want to go further back in Odenkirk’s DNA, he credits Janeane Garafalo with getting alt-comedy really going. She’s fantastic in Wain’s Wet Hot American Summer (the film and the first season of the TV series for sure are worth a watch).
The Larry Sanders Show, which Garafalo was in as well, is worth a mention as a 90s pre-cursor to this type of humor as well. It’s definitely still stuck in some traditional sitcom trappings, but it was way ahead of its time.
There’s a few things in the 00s that predate Tim and Eric in that same vein too. Whitest Kids U Know and Wonder Showzen immediately come to mind.
Basically, Tim and Eric are super fucking funny, but alt comedy is a much wider world than them.
Wet Hot American Summer is probably my favorite comedy movie. no plot, just bits and they all land. you can tell everyone in the cast really gelled and had a blast making that movie, which is essential to good comedy
I was a kid during Mr. Show so I never got to see it but Bob Odenkirk is fantastic in literally anything he does.
oh you should definitely check it out, it’s one of the best sketch comedy shows off all time
It was a very dark time
Mr. Show is the GOAT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdIDwYW_JZg
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