TVSquad

Watching the debut of The Showbiz Show with David Spade last night on Comedy Central was kind of like watching a kid riding his bike without training wheels for the first time. The show started off strong, wobbled a bit in a few segments, but I think it's on the right track. Spade easily slipped back into "Hollywood Minute" mode and tore into the top entertainment news of the week, most notably Britney Spears' new baby. This was followed by a segment in which Spade "visited" the hospital where the baby was born but had to keep the video camera pointed at the floor to avoid detection, so the whole segment was nothing but feet. It was a clever idea, but it fizzled out by the end. Former Mr. Show writer/performer and fellow Just Shoot Me cast member Brian Posehn joined the show for a segment called "Nerd Perspective," much to Posehn's chagrin, who didn't care for the name. Posehn and Spade didn't exactly have chemistry onstage, and another segment featuring Scott Adsit (also from Mr. Show) where he interviewed Rolling Stone fans (all elderly people) was funny in theory, but the segment itself was a bit too Man Show. Of course, I'm nitpicking here. The real core of the show is Spade himself, and just like people who are sick of mainstream news turn to The Daily Show for respite, people sickened by the fawning, super-saccharine world of infotainment will find plenty to love about this show.