SWEEEEEET

One of the reasons I love this show is that people like Tokyoskippy (see his whiney, non-substantive thread) don't like it. That is, people who are looking for a show that tries to revisit the sketch comedy formula from three decades ago. I also revel in the fact that those that loved Picnicface solely based on Powerthirst - the 'college humor' demographic - are left feeling a bit confused searching for the cheap punchlines in their hazy dorm rooms.

Yeah, they're easing the audience in with this first episode. They're testing the waters with tried and true sketches like 'The Button'. The 'sneak peak' had more of a surrealist, stream-of-consciousness narrative flow that will, I bet, become their mainstay as Season 1 progresses. Mark Little's 'razor' sketch though? How is that not a hilarious bang-on skewering of the ridiculousness of modern marketing.

One of my favorite things about Picnicface is how UN-distinctively Canadian a lot of their stuff is. They've reached a mainstream beyond our borders that the 'minimum cultural content' mandate tied to government film/television grants (ironically) stifles. It's about keeping it funny, not going for the cheap patriotic joke or Canadian-only cultural reference which gets so old and feels forced. That was the only thing that made me apprehensive about the first episode: the Terry Fox joke. I liked it, thought it worked, but we get enough 'haha that's so canadian' laughs from Rick Mercer.

Here's why they're great and why they'll get better: improvisational roots and stream-of-consciousness flow, a deft handle on irony, a distinctive style that's earned respect from some the world's top comics, and the fearlessness to accurately skewer anyone/anything that needs it (even, on occasion, their own audience or themselves).