JonBenjamin-related stories
Posted Sep 5th 2009 11:02AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Reality-Free

When I first
previewed Important Things with Demetri Martin, I was hoping it would get good enough ratings to allow
Martin to stick around and explore a little bit. I've enjoyed him as a stand-up comedian, both live and on his Comedy Central specials.
Important Things was the perfect vehicle for Martin, showcasing his absurdist deadpan, allowing him to work with some talented friends like John Oliver, Jon Benjamin, David Cross, and Amanda Peet, and even letting him play a musical number or two.
Continue reading Timing perfect for DVD of Demitri Martin's Comedy Central show
Posted Aug 27th 2009 3:01PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free

Last night was the season finale of
Michael & Michael Have Issues on Comedy Central. Which means fans of the show can look forward either to its second season or its quiet death. With rare exceptions (like
Important Things with Demetri Martin), shows come and go on Comedy Central with little fanfare.
Mind of Mencia and
Lewis Black's Root of All Evil weren't renewed, but their cancellations were never really announced, just mentioned by the players on the shows themselves.
So here's your chance to weigh in. Did you like
MMHI? Were you one of the fans who attended the "blarties" and "twarties" (blog parties and twitter parties)? Did you pick up
The State on DVD and watch for nostalgia? What did you think of the sketch show within a show format?
Continue reading Did you watch Michael and Michael Have Issues?
Posted May 1st 2009 9:04AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Casting, Reality-Free

The season finale of
Aqua Teen Hunger Force will involve a live-action episode in which real people will play the roles of Frylock, Master Shake and Carl. The role of Meatwad will be played by an exercise ball.
As with every other episode of
Aqua Teen Hunger Force, you'll probably have to be high to truly understand their sense of humor (which makes sense, since they're probably high whenever they write an episode).
Frylock will be played by rapper T-Pain. Master Shake will be played by Jon Benjamin. Carl will be played by first time actor Dave Long, Jr., the winner of Adult Swim's Carl look-alike contest. I'm so used to hearing Dana Snyder, Carey Means and Dave Willis as the voices of our intrepid heroes that if these actors try to do the same voices, it may feel "wrong" to me somehow. Here's hoping they can nail each character perfectly, or that the animated voices are dubbed over.
Photos are after the jump. Enjoy.
Continue reading Want to see what the live-action Aqua Teen cast looks like?
Posted Feb 10th 2009 5:25PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Early Looks, Reality-Free

If you've been watching Comedy Central, you may have noticed one of the roughly several thousand ads for the new show,
Important Things with Demetri Martin. We also gave you
a glimpse of it last week. All the hype can sometimes be a sign of a show in need of propping up. Not so with
Important Things. I got a hold of two episodes in advance, and the show is worth watching, or DVRing, if you're one of those people who sometimes leaves the house. The show premieres February 11 at 10:30 PM.
Martin is a talented comedian whose act is built around offbeat one-liners (in the tradition of Steven Wright and, later, Mitch Hedberg). But he's also an artist and musician, incorporating his drawings (through and easel onstage) and songwriting into his stage act.
Important Things is a great extension of that, allowing Martin to animate some of his drawings or pay attention to details that couldn't be seen onstage (like a view of the letter "R" from behind that shows its tiny "R" butt), in addition to musical pieces and sketch comedy.
Continue reading Important Things with Demetri Martin -- An early look - VIDEOS
Posted Apr 21st 2007 8:02AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: OpEd, Web, Celebrities
If you don't know who H. Jon Benjamin is, let me inform you: he's a writer and comedian most of us probably first saw when he played "Ben" on Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist. He was also a writer on that show and would later show up on Home Movies (one of my top five favorite series of all time), and the recent short-lived animated series Freak Show for Comedy Central.
In an interview with Gothamist, Benjamin revealed he was working on a new Web series for Super Deluxe called "Thunderpoint." What the series is exactly remains to be seen, but if Benjamin is behind it, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it'll be damn funny.
Continue reading Jon Benjamin creating Web series - VIDEO
Posted Nov 19th 2006 9:03AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities, Comedy Central
Variations of this story may have wound up in your inbox at some point, but if you don't feel like reading the whole sappy piece, I'll give you the Cliff's Notes version: a man in an airport cheers along with a crowd of people as soldiers in camouflage walk through the airport. A little girl asks one of the soldiers to give something to her daddy, and kisses him on the cheek. The soldiers pretend to contact the girl's father via walkie talkie and then the soldier kisses the girl and tells her it's from her father.
It's a sweet story, though its veracity is questionable. What makes it ripe for satire isn't necessarily the story itself, but the way it's told, from the perspective of a person who wants everyone to know how he also stopped to clap for these brave men. Even if he's not essential to the story, he will make himself essential, god damn it.
Comedian H. Jon Benjamin, who has provided voices for many cartoons including Dr. Katz, Home Movies and Freak Show, gives his own take on the story in this editorial for Junkiness. It's full of dry Benjamin-y goodness. Enjoy.
[via CC Insider]
Posted Nov 8th 2006 9:34PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Animation, Adult Swim, Celebrities
You know, if anyone other than H. Jon Benjamin were involved with this show, I'd say a cartoon about a crime-fighting ass was a really stupid idea. And when I say "crime fighting ass" I don't mean TJ Hooker, I mean an actually human butt who works as a sniper for the police department. A trailer for the new series Assy McGee, which kicks off on November 26 on Adult Swim at 11:30 pm, can be viewed after the jump. I completely lost it when Assy, right before launching a missile at a blimp, says, "Adios ... blimp." That's just what I would expect from a talking ass who takes the law into his own hands in order to rid the city of criminals and murderers. He's like Dirty Harry, if Dirty Harry were a butt.
The show was created by Benjamin, Matt Harrigan (voice actor for Aqua Teen Hunger Force and 12 Oz Mouse) and Carl W. Adams. John Glaser of Late Night with Conan O'Brien is a writer for the show, along with the three creators. The schedule currently has the series set for a six-episode run. It has a visual style somewhat similar to Minoriteam, but less static and more fluid.
Continue reading Assy McGee debuts November 26 - VIDEO
Posted Mar 2nd 2006 2:04PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Cable, Animation, Celebrities
Jon Benjamin was a force behind two of my favorite animated series, Home
Movies and Dr. Katz. He
returned briefly with Lucy, Daughter of the Devil on Adult Swim, but now he's teaming up with David Cross of
Mr. Show and Arrested Development for a new animated series for Comedy Central called Freak
Show. The show centers on a group of super heroes who work as sideshow performers in their day to day
lives. Considering Cross' voice work on Adult Swim shows like Tom Goes to the Mayor and
Aqua Teen Hungerforce my guess is that this new series is going to be hysterical. There's no solid airdate
just yet, though it will most likely air later this year, or in early 2007.