Comic Demetri Martin and his helmet of lanky hair star in Comedy Central's "Important Things with Demetri Martin" (10:30 p.m. Wednesday), an off-kilter comedy series that may or may not appeal to viewers depending on their comic sensibility.
Martin's style is more likely to tickle the brain than the funnybone. He offers a cerebral style of humor that viewers of "The Daily Show" might remember from his tenure there as a correspondent. (Jon Stewart is an executive producer of "Important Things.")
There's definitely an audience for Martin's humor, particularly among younger viewers who see in this 35-year-old law school dropout a smart kindred spirit.
In each epsiode, Martin discusses a different "Important Thing," from "timing" to "power."
In the "Timing" episode, there's a sketch called "Time Gigolo," in which Martin plays a time traveler who tumbles through time and uses his knowledge of world history to romance famous women, including Mary Magdalene and Betsy Ross.
In "Power" he fights with another driver over a parking space while pop-up commentary amusingly reveals what the two opponents are actually thinking. It's pretty darn funny.
The show's vibe is weirdly '70s, from the wood-paneled set to Martin's stand-up comedy and use of a sketch pad and retro on-air graphics. It often has the look of a 1970s-era PBS kids' show.
Some of the humor works less well -- Martin playing five instruments while flipping through a sketch pad is more strange than funny -- but Martin is clearly a smart guy and his intellectual humor succeeds more often than it fails.
Posted
Feb 10 2009, 01:05 AM
by
Rob Owen