Important Things with Demetri Martin – Season One (Paramount/Comedy Central DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Episodes: C

 

 

In a throwback to simpler comedy shows, Important Things with Demetri Martin wants to be like shows from the early days of TV, which are paired down and simple the way we also think of public access TV or early public television.  Think Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, The Electric Company, or even early Saturday Night Live, but with less money.  The show even bounces between indoor live footage and outdoor (read out of the studio) skits.

 

He takes single word subjects and does entire shows on them.  This is not funny, yet it can be interesting and he even acts like he is from the 1970s at times.  Where’s the Three Dog Night music?  Well, not everything is a throwback and he can handle the modern humor in the seven half hours we get here.  It can also be smart, but is done with such matter of fact subtlety that we may not be getting the laughs we could be getting.  In the end, he is at least a talent on the rise and this may at least become a cult classic and potentially launch a career.

 

He is very likable and definitely is talented, but you had better have patience with these shows or just skip the set.  If it sounds like something you might like, you definitely will want to take a look.  I look forward to see where he goes next.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image is shot in analog-level digital video and is on the slightly soft side throughout.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is good for this kind of show and the kind of show it is trying to be, but not much more.  Extras include a mini-poster and sticker inside the DVD case, deleted sketches, commentaries, outtakes and early production information.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo