In television, there seems to be a theory that red state humor and humor with a more liberal angle can never exist together. From Hee Haw to Blue Collar TV, the guiding ethos is that cowboy hat-wearin' pig farmers and snarky ironic hipsters are just too different for anyone to create a show both these camps can enjoy.
I say that's nonsense, and The Naked Trucker and T-Bones is my Exhibit A. I've been watching the show since it premiered in January, and with every episode I'm more and more convinced that Dave 'Gruber' Allen and David Koechner (the Naked Trucker and T-Bones, respectively) have found just the right mix of oddball humor and country-fried charm.
Despite his nakedness, the Trucker is really the voice of reason, a counterbalance to his pal T-Bones crazy schemes, violence, and random idiocy. It's not as if TV series in the past haven't pitted two people of different political ideologies against one another, but that's not really what The Naked Trucker and T-Bones is about. Rather, it's about how our differences can actually bring us closer, as long as we allow it, and that it's always better to stick together in this big nutty world.
Also, it's okay to drive a truck naked and smoke peyote in a gas station bathroom:
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-14-2007 @ 11:49AM
tozmervo said...
You're quite right in that they can exist together. But they can't be funny, apparently. NTTB is one of the least funny shows I've ever seen on Comedy Central. The laughs are so forced it sounds like a Nickelodeon sitcom. I don't know anyone that can actually sit through an episode.
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2-14-2007 @ 12:09PM
Tim Dorr said...
I completely agree. The Naked Trucker's delivery is lifeless and so forced that I think he's going to get a hernia one of these days. The T-Bones character just bugs me. He's not funny, he's annoying. They may have a few genuine laughs here and there, but a thousand monkeys with typewriters will eventually produce Shakespeare too. It's just chance that they get anything right.
Thank god Lost is opposite this show so I don't have to watch it. If they can just stop the commercials every 2 seconds, I'll be happy.
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2-14-2007 @ 5:43PM
RAB said...
I think the show is hilarious, and it's my favorite thing on the channel next to Colbert, and that Adam's exactly right about the crossover appeal...but I would call it Exhibit B, and cite King Of The Hill as the previous example.
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2-14-2007 @ 5:47PM
Adam from TV Squad said...
King of the Hill!
Very good point.
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