Open the scene to a fuzzy VHS aesthetic littered with an improvisational jazz band and 70's furnishings. There will be microphones arriving out of nowhere and pure uncensored violence. Throw in some great pranks on the streets of New York City and ridiculous guest appearances and you have the majority of season one of The Eric Andre Show.
Every eleven minute episode opens with Andre running through the back curtain and disrupting the band. He will then proceed to perform a number of various violent acts that include, but are not limited to, splashing a tied human with boiling water and eating glass. Some say Eric Andre is trapped in the purgatory-like dream that is hosting this show. This holds true in a viewing of the first season. Andre is consistently harming himself as if he wants to escape his reality. The violence takes late-night TV to new heights like many Adult Swim shows before it. This show continued the artistic trend of host network Adult Swim in being both vulgar and psychedelic, yet comedic in nature. It quite apparently satirizes the American obsession with late-night talk shows such as The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and what used to be The Late Show with David Letterman (now hosted by Stephen Colbert). There are two occasions in the first season alone when Andre pokes fun at Letterman's old "Top Tens" he used to do on his show.
Eric Andre and his critical co-host, Hannibal Buress, seem like they improvise the majority of the show. Skits like "Doc Chicken" and "The Halfway Point in the Show" that consume most of the airtime are both extemporaneous and utterly laughable. Every moment is serendipitous for me; it seems that at every turn I am pleasantly surprised by what Andre has to offer.
The show itself serves as a great escape from any form of normality in life. It is one of those shows that constantly has you thinking about it even months after watching. There are too many memorable moments in just the first season to recapture in one review. Hannibal's disdain and quirkiness combined with Andre's pure barbarism make for one enjoyable duo and one amazing show. If you like your shows spontaneous and in your face, then I recommend you take the 110 or so minutes to watch the first season.
10.0 / 10.0
I'll just leave this here:
