TVSquad

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]

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars (is this show on every night?), followed by new episodes of Lost and The Nine.
• CBS has a new Jericho at 8, followed by new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has new eps of 30 Rock, Twenty Good Years, The Biggest Loser, and Dateline.
• FOX has another baseball playoff game at 8.
• The CW has new eps of America's Next Top Model and One Tree Hill.
• There's a new Extreme Engineering on Discovery at 8, followed by a new Mythbusters.
• ABC Family has the original Willy Wonka at 8.
• Food Network is showing a new (?) Essence of Emeril at 8, not sure why. It's followed by new eps of Tyler's Ultimate, 30 Minute Meals, and Paula's Home Cooking.
• At 9, PBS has a new Moyers on America.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Project Runway.
• Also at 10: Comedy Central has a new South Park, followed by a new Freak Show.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by the season premiere of Lost and the series premiere of The Nine.
• CBS has a new Jericho at 8, followed by new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a repeat of the Friday Night Lights premiere at 8, followed by new eps of The Biggest Loser and Kidnapped.
• There's a new Bones on FOX at 8, followed by a repeat House.
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8, followed by a new One Tree Hill.
• Food Network has a new Emeril Live at 8.
• TCM has The Fountainhead at 8, followed by The Towering Inferno.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Good Eats, followed by a new Ham on the Street.
• Bravo has a new Project Runway at 10.
• Also at 10: Comedy Central has the season premiere of South Park, followed by the debut of Freak Show.

I had the pleasure of checking out the first couple episodes of the new animated series for Comedy Central from comedians David Cross and Jon Benjamin called Freak Show. Don't worry, though, I'm not going to give away any specific details, but I'll try to give you an idea of what to expect.

The Freak Squad is comprised of a group of circus freaks, each with their own unique power. Tuck and Benny, the siamese twins (voiced by Benjamin and Cross) have the power of separation; the Bearded Clam (Janeane Garofalo) shoots blinding bitch juice; the World's Tallest Nebraskan (Brian Stack, a writer and performer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien) can shrink up to six inches; Primi, the Premature Baby, has the power of pinpoint vomiting; and Log Cabin Republican, the only gay member of the squad, can transform into Burly Bear, a large, hirsute man in S&M garb. Log Cabin Republican is voiced by Jon Glaser, also a writer and performer on Conan.

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.