Martin Short / Ivor Wynne tonight on CBC

COMEDY

I, Martin Short, Goes Home
CBC, 9 p.m. ET/PT

This show was listed as one of the five to watch tonight.

"Along the way, Short works in scenes at such famous Hamilton landmarks as Ivor Wynne Stadium and the Westdale Theatre. Watch for cameo character turns from Short's former SCTV pals Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin."

Oskee wee wee

I wanted to like this, but I don't think it was Short's best work.

In general, I'm not a big fan when Short plays a self-absorbed caricature of himself for laughs. Yet oddly enough, I loved his Jiminy Glick movie. I think it partly comes down to the writing and the supporting cast. Even when the writing is bad, some people seem to get a laugh out of just about anything, and Fred Willard seems to be the king of getting a laugh directly from the irony of being unfunny. I thought Fred Willard was pretty good in this, and the running gag with Strombo was kinda funny. But the Andrea Martin, Eugene Levy and Joe Flaherty bits fell flat for me. The "Jerry Lewis gets crushed playing football" bit didn't work for me either.

To quote Martin Short: "You'd tell me if you'd had a stroke, right?"

Am I just too jaded, or did this show leave other people cold?

…how Canadian is this; it’s called Tall Poppy Syndrome here in NZ or are you just having us on with a little Brock linehan irony :wink:

I concede that Tall Poppy Syndrome is a Canadian tradition, but my criticism in this case is not an instance of TPS. It is precisely because I admire Martin Short and realize he is capable of extraordinary comedic brilliance that I have come to expect better from him than what he delivered in this particular program. I may even ask for a refund. :wink: The price of taking comedic risks is that sometimes they pay off and sometimes they don’t. I admire his courage in taking chances creatively, and I look forward to future work where those risks pay off better, as we have seen them do so many times in his impressive body of work (with the entire Jiminy Glick phenomenon, in my opinion, being his most brilliant work to date, particularly the Jiminy Glick movie).

I think my attitude is similar to the attitude of some diehard fans of the Ticats, who are at times harshly critical of Ticat teams not out of resentment for the team, but out of a desire to see the team rise to even greater heights.

And since you are in NZ I’ll mention that I think Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie are geniuses, and I’m envious of the Kiwis who get to see them on tour this summer. :smiley:

I loved it! Some parts more than others, but i loved the range of humour.

I particularly loved the Flaherty/Levy bit.

Compared to Kiwis, Canucks are absolute TPS amateur wannabes; NZ’s got it down to a memeticlly infused cultural norm. Man it can be brutal here; you would be impressed as to how they can tear things down, it would take your breath away.

It was only a few years ago when Jermaine and Bret were absolutely hammered here for their impudent success. Now they are tripping over themselves to see them (I have my tickets for their upcoming tour :stuck_out_tongue: ). I saw the special; i went to Westdale…guess I’m a little biased.

FYI: I got the green light from my “family council” that I can go to the GC if the 'Cats are in it. Go 'Cats…duh! :thup: