As shows like Mad TV and Mind of Mencia finally see their ends, one must look back on Chappelle's Show and wonder what comedy television would be like today if Chappelle didn't get burned out and leave the show. Believe it - Comedy Central wasn't paying him ridiculous money because the show was just good. It was and will always be LEGENDARY.
Most sketch comedy shows are hit and miss. Kids in the Hall and SNL in its prime in the late 80s and early 90s are the closest that shows have come to the hilarity that is Chappelle's Show. Only Chappelle can turn an already legendary figure Rick James into a whole new level of legend, absolutely REAM R. Kelly, beautifully spoof both Law & Order and the reality of white collar crime vs. ghetto crime in one fell swoop, and after leaving the show, have a 2Pac skit that's easily among the best skits he's ever done solidify his legacy (notice the tremendous irony in that?!). There is no unwatchable Chappelle's Show episode...even if some skits aren't THAT funny, almost all of them are at least somewhat funny, and there's generally at least one very funny skit in each episode if not most or all of them. There's more than enough horrible entire shows of SNL, Mad TV, and Frank TV.
Most shows start off weak before they hit their stride (most pilot episodes of shows are ironically pretty bad compared to the rest of their runs) but Chappelle had probably one of the strongest outlandishly funny pilots of any show ever (South Park is pretty close). There was no doubt that something special was going on right from the get-go, and Chappelle never failed to deliver.
Some people would say perhaps it's best that the show didn't live a long life because most shows that have age like an old ballplayer still believing they can outplay everyone else. I think any true fan of the show would disagree...Chappelle has been a funny guy since back in the Robin Hood: Men In Tights and Half-Baked days and I'm pretty sure he would have still kept his knack for comedy for many more years if he kept the show going. Still, it's his show, his wish, and at the least we can thank him for 2 brilliant years and the extras that came afterward.
Most sketch comedy shows are hit and miss. Kids in the Hall and SNL in its prime in the late 80s and early 90s are the closest that shows have come to the hilarity that is Chappelle's Show. Only Chappelle can turn an already legendary figure Rick James into a whole new level of legend, absolutely REAM R. Kelly, beautifully spoof both Law & Order and the reality of white collar crime vs. ghetto crime in one fell swoop, and after leaving the show, have a 2Pac skit that's easily among the best skits he's ever done solidify his legacy (notice the tremendous irony in that?!). There is no unwatchable Chappelle's Show episode...even if some skits aren't THAT funny, almost all of them are at least somewhat funny, and there's generally at least one very funny skit in each episode if not most or all of them. There's more than enough horrible entire shows of SNL, Mad TV, and Frank TV.
Most shows start off weak before they hit their stride (most pilot episodes of shows are ironically pretty bad compared to the rest of their runs) but Chappelle had probably one of the strongest outlandishly funny pilots of any show ever (South Park is pretty close). There was no doubt that something special was going on right from the get-go, and Chappelle never failed to deliver.
Some people would say perhaps it's best that the show didn't live a long life because most shows that have age like an old ballplayer still believing they can outplay everyone else. I think any true fan of the show would disagree...Chappelle has been a funny guy since back in the Robin Hood: Men In Tights and Half-Baked days and I'm pretty sure he would have still kept his knack for comedy for many more years if he kept the show going. Still, it's his show, his wish, and at the least we can thank him for 2 brilliant years and the extras that came afterward.