Lewis Black's Root of All Evil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lewis Black's Root of All Evil | |
|---|---|
| Format | Moot court |
| Created by | Scott Carter David Sacks |
| Starring | Lewis Black |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Comedy Central |
| Original run | March 12, 2008 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Lewis Black's Root of All Evil is an American television series that premiered on Comedy Central on March 12, 2008, starring comedian Lewis Black. The show is produced by Real Time With Bill Maher producer Scott Carter and The Simpsons writer David Sacks. The first season of the show has finished airing, and the second season will start on July 30, 2008[1].
The show is in moot court format, featuring Black presiding over two people or issues going against each other like defendants and plaintiffs in a trial, with a series of comedians and guests, such as Greg Giraldo and Patton Oswalt, playing lawyers making their case why something (e.g. YouTube, beer, Oprah, etc.) is the "root of all evil."
Contents |
[edit] Advocates
The advocates are the people who put forward their cases regarding whether or not a certain person, location, or thing is the "root of all evil." The advocates are:[2][3]
[edit] Episodes
| Episode | Advocate 1 | Advocate 2 | Root of All Evil | Viewer Poll Winner | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul F. Tompkins - Oprah | Greg Giraldo - Catholic Church | Oprah | Catholic Church | March 12, 2008 |
| 2 | Andy Kindler - Donald Trump | Greg Giraldo - Viagra | Donald Trump | Viagra | March 19, 2008 |
| 3 | Paul F. Tompkins - Weed | Andrew Daly - Beer | Beer | Weed | March 26, 2008 |
| 4 | Patton Oswalt - YouTube | Greg Giraldo - Porn | YouTube | YouTube | April 2, 2008 |
| 5 | Patton Oswalt - Dick Cheney | Greg Giraldo - Paris Hilton | Dick Cheney | Paris Hilton | April 9, 2008 |
| 6 | Patton Oswalt - High School | Andy Kindler - American Idol | American Idol | High School | April 16, 2008 |
| 7 | Kathleen Madigan - Kim Jong-il | Greg Giraldo - Tila Tequila | Kim Jong-il | Tila Tequila | April 23, 2008 |
| 8 | Andrew Daly - Las Vegas | Patton Oswalt - The Human Body | Las Vegas | Las Vegas | April 30, 2008 |
According to an interview with Lewis Black on The Opie & Anthony Show on 06/03/2008, the legal department of Comedy Central rejected an episode that would have put Scientology against Disney. Scientology is notorious for litigation against any form of media criticism. An episode on Marriage vs. Death was also rejected.
[edit] Records
Win-loss records for the advocates by Black's ruling:
- Andy Kindler 2-0
- Andrew Daly 2-0
- Kathleen Madigan 1-0
- Patton Oswalt 2-2
- Paul F. Tompkins 1-1
- Greg Giraldo 0-5
Win-loss records for the advocates by viewers' ruling:
- Greg Giraldo 4-1
- Patton Oswalt 2-2
- Paul F. Tompkins 1-1
- Andrew Daly 1-1
- Kathleen Madigan 0-1
- Andy Kindler 0-2
[edit] Reception
Before the first episode was broadcast, Brian Lowry in Variety attacked the show, saying that the comedians on it were "Second-tier", the set "resembles a cut-rate version of The Weakest Link set," and that "Comedy Central's programming usually falls squarely into the sublime or the ridiculous, so consider Root of All Evil a rare tweener in terms of quality -- one that proves a whole lot of Black is preferable, albeit marginally, to a black hole."[4] Attracting about 2.3 million viewers, the debut episode of the show was the most-watched premiere episode of a Comedy Central series since the premiere episode of Chappelle's Show in 2003 and topped the demographics for male audiences aged 18 to 34.[5]
Mark Dawidziak of The Plain Dealer wrote in his review of the show that, "I'm a sucker for a good Lewis rant, and sometimes Root of All Evil would benefit from more Lewis fomenting and less formula. For as long as it's around, though, it does make a good fit with a Comedy Central lineup that includes Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Sarah Silverman and, of course, South Park."[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Lost Is Evil! | Comedy Central Insider - The Comedy Blog for Comedy Fans
- ^ Meet the cast: Page 1. Comedy Central. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
- ^ Meet the cast: Page 2. Comedy Central. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
- ^ Lowry, Brian. "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil", Variety. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
- ^ Eggerton, John. "Comedy Central: Black Is In for Summer", Broadcasting & Cable, 2008-05-21. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
- ^ Dawidziak, Mark. "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil a good match for still-sharp South Park", The Plain Dealer, 2008-03-12. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
