"The Showbiz Show with David Spade" (2005) TV series 2005-????

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Director:

Liz Plonka

Writers:

Jonathan Corbett (writer)
Hugh Fink (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | unknown

Release Date:

September 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Tearing Tinsel-town a new one.

Plot:

A weekly series satirizing the world of entertainment, hosted by David Spade.

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Cast

David Spade

...

Himself - Host (29 episodes, 2005-2007)

Also Known As:

"Gone Hollywood" (USA) (working title)
"The Hollywood Show" (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Brillstein-Grey Entertainment

Trivia:

The show was originally going to be a daily show titled "Gone Hollywood" and hosted by Greg Giraldo with David Spade as executive producer. After the pilot was completed, Comedy Central approached Spade to host the show as well as produce. Spade agreed to host if the show was changed to a weekly show.

Spade hits his stride--Too bad it's such a short stride

David Spade has mastered the art of conveying that he actually is "too cool for the room," even as he seems not to care about how cool the room is. It's a tricky thing to do because you have to bring the audience along in a way that allows them to feel cool by association. Spade does this well by slashing merrily to the right and left and by making an obvious effort to let no-one off the hook. The hard part is overcoming the audience's cautious laughter as they realize that Spade's double-edged sword could easily slash in their direction next. This is where Spade falters.

His perpetual smirk and sardonic arrogance do little to compensate for the stale jokes and easy shots. (David: Two signs that you're in trouble are: You comment on air about how good the jokes really are when the audience doesn't laugh, and no-one on your production staff has the balls to tell you that the joke sucks or that the segment should be cut.)

The show needs better and brighter writers who are not mired in old news stories. It also needs to take more risks; just bleeping two or three expletives doesn't drag the show into the "Cutting Edge" category, but that's where the Showbiz Show desperately, and obviously, wants to be.

Can it be saved? Depends. Spade needs to stretch and get outside of his comfort zone. As it is, this show won't last.