Childrens' Hospital
Episode 1.1, 1.2
Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) Sundays 10:30 p.m.
Initially airing online during the WGA strike back in 2008, Childrens' Hospital (yes, the apostrophe is supposed to be there - the hospital is named after a Dr. Childrens) is the brainchild of Rob Corddry and features a pretty amazing lineup of comedians. It's essentially a farcical parody of medical shows, especially Grey's Anatomy, and it makes this fact very obvious in the first two episodes (first hint: in the pre-credits, two doctors are seen having sex in front of various patients and onlookers. When they finish, the woman informs the man she's breaking up with him). Each episode is only five minutes long, and thus has no room for the audience to get any real sense for who these characters are in the first show - Adult Swim is airing two episodes at a time of the original web series in fifteen minute blocks for the summer, to be followed in the fall with a newly produced second season. Because it's so short, the show basically becomes a bunch of scattershot jokes about the typical medical drama, with lines fired so quickly that you barely have time to laugh before the next one is delivered.
Not that it's speed is necessarily a bad thing - there are some fantastic one-liners and gags in these 10 minutes, including some great, off-color jabs at Jews: "I just can't imagine spending every Christmas with a Jew." Or: "I don't know, I need to think of a good lie. Ugh, I wish I were Jewish." Childrens' Hospital seems to be a good fit with the Adult Swim brand of humor - it's over-the-top and ridiculous, but it's short enough that it doesn't have time to get stale (see also: Aqua Teen Hunger Force). Unfortunately, this also means that the show is completely inessential. It's a funny parody, and you'll likely laugh for a good chunk of the ten minute air time, but it lacks any form of depth. Especially with such a great cast, this is a little disappointing, but the show moves so rapidly that I barely had time to place half of the faces that I saw.
I'm probably not going to review any more episodes of Childrens' Hospital, unless the next couple episodes are more coherently plotted, or the show changes when it moves to the new season. This is not because the show is bad, but mainly because I think most reviews would just be me saying, "These lines were funny. It was funny when they made fun of ER in this way. Hey look it's Ed Helms." I'll keep watching, and I think the show has the potential for a lot of laughs, but it's not something I feel particularly motivated to keep writing about.
Grade: B+
Also, I forgot to mention the pretty excellent short parody of NCIS-type shows that was featured in a "commercial" in between episodes. "I don't negotiate with terrorists...because I am one!"
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