Cheap Seats: Without Ron Parker (2004–2006) User Reviews

The Best Show on Television

[Flow-Joe · 10/10 · 31 May 2005]

In a day where everyone is focused on special effects and cashing in on following popular trends, it is nice to see a comedy that focuses on one thing—being funny. Randy and Jason Sklar bring their form of off-brand humor and satirical comedy to a show that they were destined to be a part of.

Randy and Jason took the format made popular by Mystery Science Theatre 3000 to make fun of something we love even more than bad science fiction movies, and that's gimmick sporting events. The guys sit back in the "cheap seats" and rag on everything from the rodeos to bowling, poker to putt-putt golf, and they do it in a way that keeps us laughing with their slick wit and obscure references. I mean, where else can you expect to hear about Hannibal Lecter at a Spelling Bee or Rick Fox at a Cheerleading Competition?

The only thing holding this show back is its limited exposure. Being on ESPN Classic (which is usually only available by satellite or digital cable) certainly shrinks what would be a huge audience for such an enjoyable show like this one. However, Randy and Jason continue to be original and showcase their tremendous talents on such a great show that some would call vintage, Pam Minnick.

Give it a chance

[njbuechel · 10/10 · 3 November 2006]

By some lucky chance 4 year ago I happened to come across "Cheap Seats" during the Stanford Cal classic game. At first I thought it was the actual game being rebroadcast until I heard some guys heckling everything going on. Immediately I fell in love with the show. Turns out the episode that hooked me wasn't even close to the funniest that I would eventually see. In all reality I think this is the funnies show on TV right now (Unfortunately Arrested Development was canceled). If you like good humor, give this show a shot. If you are looking for the funnies episode, I would suggest going with Steve Garvey's Billfish tournament. All I can say is Michael Floorwax………..

Amazing Show!!

[wrngchild · 10/10 · 24 July 2007]

I don't know exactly what happened to this show, but if ESPN was stupid enough to cancel it, then they better damn well have the decency to release the show on DVD!!! This show is one of the funniest shows that I have seen since Mystery Science Theater 3000!! It was extremely simple but that was the beauty of it. I can't think that they actually ran out of events to put on the show, so I guess they decided that is wasn't that popular. Well I am here to tell you that I would Tivo this show religiously and watch it almost immediately when I got home. In fact now a days, if I see a re-run being shown on ESPN Classic, I will automatically record it and, I still laugh my butt off when watching this show!!! Not a whole lot of shows can stand up to repeated viewing, but this show definitely can! I think partly why the show works is because of the Sklaar Brothers, because they are hilarious! So please bring back the show, or Please for the love of god, release it on DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pure genius

[fyre_sama · 1 September 2005]

If there's any reason to watch ESPN classic, it's this show. Randy and Jason Sklar host this show, and they fit perfectly. Their natural ability to compliment each other's actions make this show one of my favorites on television, maybe even my favorite. Picture Mystery Science Theater 3000, but with horrible "sporting" events. Unlike MST3K, they have to fit in a 30 minute time slot, so it's concentrated comedy instead of a long movie that gets boring... and these "sports" are just as funny, if not funnier, than any B movie from the 60's. Give the show a chance, and I'm sure you'll love it right off the bat... and if you don't, I pity your lack of a sense of humor.

good but could have been better

[lilblig7 · 7/10 · 8 January 2005]

Cheap Seats is one of those shows that makes fun of bad things. In this variation its bad sport games they make fun of. Dog shows, cheer leading, weightlifting, roller derbies, and everything in between. Many of the jokes make you laugh, but about 30% of them don't even come close. One of the down falls of the show is when they trail off from what their

watching go to a fake video they made for the show or when bring in someone into the set and talk to them. It really drags the show to a slow pace, never makes you laugh, and it shows that they don't have enough material for the event their watching. The best aspect of the show is what there actually watching. Most of the time it's fillers for espn when they don't have any thing else to show. The roller derby is so funny just to watch without them making jokes.

in conclusion cheap seats is very good but falls a couple more good jokes short and when you compare it with other shows in this genre(mystery science theater 3000) it doesn't even come close to them. So if you have a half an hour to burn and you want to laugh watching dumb sports watch this.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........

[ChimpyMatlock · 1/10 · 25 May 2006]

I awake suddenly, aware that I'm drooling onto the plastic couch cover, and realize it's a warm Saturday afternoon. Why was I sleeping? Did I hit my head? Or accidentally swallow all of my grandma's muscle relaxers? Could it be adult onset narcolepsy?

No, I momentarily paused on Cheap Seats while channel surfing, and the stunning lack of humor and talent drained my life force with such speed that I blacked out.

It's that head-shaking, mouth-agape, shoulder-shrugging bad. But I have to give these moronic and boring twins credit for selling this idea through. Perhaps they had the same effect on the ESPN programming executive that they had on me, and when he/she woke up, a few horrendous episodes were already in the can and he/she hoped that since all the viewers will be asleep, no one will now how awful it is and he/she can keep the $425,000 annual salary.

You've been warned.

To each his own.

[syates59 · 28 December 2005]

I am a huge fan of "Cheaps Seats" and just want to put in my two cents about this show. Yes, it is derivative of MST3K. But the Sklar brothers have a unique brand of "back and forth" that serves them well. I actually watched some of the events that they riff on back when they were first broadcast. Their comments make me wish I had said some of those things.

Randy and Jason rank on each other and the show itself. They included the MST3K gang in one episode! I think they are taking a much-needed fresh stab at the "sacred cow" of sports. Comedy is subjective, but my kids love the show and it was the hit of a family reunion last summer.

So, put your tongue in your cheek and enjoy some "Superdogs! Superjocks!" for the absurd exercise it is!

Hilarious show, best on ESPN

[MilB12 · 17 February 2004]

ESPN doesn't have a whole lot of great programming. SportsCenter is great, but it's just a news show. This show is going to be classic. The Sklar brothers are hilarious, you may have seen their comedy specials.

This show is very much like Mystery Science Fiction Theater, but instead of two robots and a guy watching bad movies it is two comedians watching classic old sporting events and make fun of them. The funniest I've seen was an episode which they were ripping on a 1980 wresting match between the Iron Sheik and Kerry von Erik. The show is very funny, tune into ESPN sometime and check it out.

Quite funny, very silly

[benandorsqueaks · 17 April 2005]

The Sklaar brothers, Randy and Jason, do an excellent job bringing MST3k to ESPN Classic. There is a lot of random, useless stuff that's been shown on ESPN, and it's great to see them put on a show like this, which is what I always think of when I see things like "American Jump-Rope Championship." I find the Sklaar brothers to be quite humorous. I've seen some of their stand-up, which was also funny. They are geeky, but lovable geeks. They give the show a guys-in-their-basement-on-cable-access feel to the show that works well with their sense of humor and the format of the show. Here's hoping there's more seasons.

Quite enjoyable

[mango-10 · 17 March 2004]

Cheap Seats is great. One of the few funny shows that airs on TV. Take classic cheesy programs like Cliff Diving, Early 80's wrestling, Steve Garvey 'celebrity' billfishing tournament or classic programs like the Cal-Stanford game from 1982, add two hilarious brothers and you have one funny show.

Sure not all there bits are funny - but most of them are and some of it is beyond hilarious. Lots of references to songs or actors long forgotten. Observations that the normal viewer would miss. Everyone's fair game on this show.

I look forward to each new episode.

Excellent comedy, horrible sports

[bort13 · 12 May 2004]

The Sklar brothers are enormously, uproariously funny and usually show it unequivocally several times an episode. Their spelling-bee-bell montage is hysterical, I've recounted it several times to people who blink at me, uncomprehending of the humor. I discovered the show in a dinghy hotel room on a dull business trip; laughing that hard saved my sanity. It's testament to their acumen and humor when people as funny as Jon Benjamin or Ed Helms will work with them. Those guys crack me up.

They have a good thing going, but there are a few big obstacles. ESPN Classic isn't exactly a ratings draw, so they won't get a lot of new viewers unless people stumble across it. It's too irreverent for a Disney network... The source material, too, can be so dull that they can't primp it enough to keep me interested. Steve Garvey made me a bit ill. I also think the genre of running-commentary-over-video is of limited appeal, which is too bad -- I love it. MST3K never really took off, although it stands its ground as a comedy great. Beavis and Butthead, while also enormously funny, had a lot of marketing weight and, let's face it, a bunch of schtick that struck a chord at the time it was out. Far be it from me to question Mike Judge's genius.

This has a sweet spot for viewership that's thirties, educated, geeky sports fans. For those of us in the demo, it's (probably short-lived) heaven. It may have a broader appeal, but I certainly don't hear people talking. I'm interested to see what Randy & Jason do with it, but I think they'll do their best work after it. There is certainly room for the slapdash comedy repartee they get going in mainstream television comedy.

Good idea, bad execution.

[FeverDog · 19 February 2004]

It's like "Beavis and Butthead" or MST3K, but with sports: Two geeks watch some old game while making snide jokes about it. It could be great, but the writing seriously sucks and the twin co-hosts are not at all likeable.

Take the infamous final moments of the 1982 Cal/Stanford football game. The hosts fixate on a guy in the crowd leaving before the big upset. Some fine mocking could have been had, but what do the hosts do? They bring in that fan (not really him) for a studio interview to ask him why he left before the end. His response? He wanted to beat traffic. Wow, guys, that's brilliant - I peed my pants, it was so funny. Since that probably was the real reason the fan left early, why not concoct some elaborate lie for him to tell before he succumbed to the humiliation and buried his face in his hands, weeping?

The other show I caught part of was a wrestling clip from 1980. One wrestler was playing an Iranian Sheik, so one of the hosts dressed liked him in front of a blue screen while blabbering in the same dodgy Arab accent. FYI, guys: Acting funny is not funny.

After the clip the writers thought it'd be funny to see this Sheik wrestler's resumé, which showed to include a stint as a playground bully. Hardee har har. Is there anything deadlier than comedy that isn't funny?

But the mediocrity of "Cheap Seats" can't be solely pinned on the writers. Jason and Randy may be superficially attractive, but neither show any ability in comedy, and their combined lack of screen presence makes the show that much unbearable. Earlier this week I saw them on an episode of "Action," where they were almost but not quite as annoying. (It didn't really bother me then since a) they were in only one scene, and b) that show had kickass writing.) They lack the timing and delivery necessary to make a joke work even if it were funny. They're not as cretinous as B&B or as erudite at Joel/Mike and the 'bots; they fall somewhere in between, which, as seen here, is deathly boring.

Shame, since the show has potential. It's got a good premise, and, being on ESPN Classic, a bottomless archive of sports clips. I'd love to see what could be done with, say, the '62 Mets or a shot of Pete Rose on the dugout phone. Get better writers and truly funny sports geeks/pop-culture savants to host (how about Bill Simmons? His column on ESPN.com's Page 2 is always good for a laugh), and I'll give "Cheap Seats" another shot.

Pedestrian, witless "personalities" commenting on quality kitsch.

[billjsw · 10 February 2006]

In fact they are greatly unfunny and just because they say much in dry tones does not mean that there has to be any inherent wit to speak of.

They have this dull, unattractive (in terms of "personality") and puzzlingly snobby take on what they comment on (sporting events that are already easy targets to begin with). Their commentary in fact is rather terribly pedestrian, obvious and heavy handed which is a shame because the content of the show is something, somewhat dear to my heart - kitschy Americana.

If they don't write their own lines (I don't know who's responsible for such trite) they certainly haven't the charm or witty delivery that such a show calls for (E!'s The Soup's Joel McHale would do just fine).

The one-dimensional, one-note, mono-toned "personalities" of the hosts are actually doubled considering that they're identical twins (two neurotic dudes with glasses, great - they must be "funny").

Twice the unappealing unfunny-ness.