Ah, poor UPN. Always finishing dead last in the Nielsens, always providing endless fodder for jokes and lampoons about the degenerate state of TV and always putting out the most recycled, most boring and most stupifyingly awful programming around. Does this poor network, which has simply been dragging itself on and on for years with no major overhaul, have ANYTHING going for it?
No, not really, but at least it has recognized one strength — testosterone-heavy shows for men (GRRR!) — and has chosen to fuel its two best shows with that strength. One is good old “WWF Smackdown,” which provides endless entertainment for the mentally lacking or unstable, and the other is its newer, stop-motion claymation series, “Gary and Mike.”
This new schlock-fest, which goes for cheap gags and toilet humor and many times succeeds, has been described as “‘Dumb and Dumber’ on hallucinogens.” Its pilot, which aired back in January, set up the premise: Gary (voiced by Christopher Moynihan, “The Hughleys”), the “good boy,” is traveling cross-country by car on the Lewis and Clark trail to find new meaning for his life. Soon, he picks up his buddy Mike, the “bad boy” (voiced by Harland Williams, ironically of “Dumb and Dumber”), and helps him escape from angry police officers.
The show’s successive episodes bring the not-so-dynamic duo across the country with no apparent purpose other than to get into crazy adventures and offend people from all walks of life. Mike is usually the catalyst for the situation, especially with a foul mouth and some hilariously crude language. In one episode, he tells a Supreme Court justice whom he’d like to nail, “I’ve got a rocket in my pocket, so put me on your docket.”
Although the show has no apparent point and won’t last beyond three seasons at best, it still remains one of UPN’s best offerings and a decent alternative on Friday nights if you have nothing to do and are looking to crack a shameless laugh.
The biggest problem with “Gary and Mike” is that while it pushes the envelope content-wise, it’s still a major broadcast network show, not a cable one, and thus it can’t cut the type of satiric or crude corners shows like “South Park” or “Sex and the City” can.
So when humor builds, and you’re left expecting a cruder or more satisfying punchline, it isn’t there, simply because the censorship bar is set a little high. Still, “Gary and Mike” gets away with a lot and does manage to pull in some decent guest stars (musical group Barenaked Ladies popped up last week), as well as some outrageous storylines (a shotgun wedding and a parody of “Deliverance” involving carjackers in recent episodes stand out most). For something wonderfully ugly and crudely animated, check out one of UPN’s two remaining lifeboats before this woeful network finally tanks.
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