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Fox's CEDRIC 1.1!!

Published at:  Sep 18, 2002 1:10:27 AM CDT

SPOILER ALERT !!

I am – Hercules!!

Is “Steve Harvey Show” vet Cedric the Entertainer legitimately entertaining?

"Cedric the Entertainer Presents" premieres 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Right after the Matt Damon episode of "Bernie Mac." On Fox.

TV Guide says:

Variety by nature is uneven, and this show is no exception, with some sketches prompting lots more chuckles than others. Still, this could be just the right time and place for a kinder, gentler In Living Color.

Variety says:


Skits in "Cedric the Entertainer Presents" are consistently sharp and never try to go too far; unlike other sketch comedy shows, "Presents" maintains a sharp focus. Pilot opens with "Que hora es?," the soap opera for "people who only had three weeks of Spanish in the fourth grade." And by using simple phrases, numbers and greetings, delivered in over-the-top dramatic style, Cedric and his buds whip up considerable hysterics. Segment on jingle writers is the debut show's only misstep. … Show sparkles with two of Cedric's characters: the Cafeteria Lady who doles out insults with the mashed potatoes; and a Barry White-like marriage counselor. Cedric uses his ample girth to his advantage and his cast of characters have a charming universality to them that keeps the humor from skewing too young, too hip or too ethnic.

The Hollywood Reporter says:


Although it's hard to see much of a future for the Love Doctor, given the one-joke nature of the character, the Cafeteria Lady could go on and on. … Other skits rely on the comic troupe. The best of these involved a local news anchor team on "Bring Your Child to Work Day." Less successful was a parody on Spanish-language soap operas "for people who only had three weeks of Spanish in the fourth grade." … Invariably, some skits work better than others. The good thing here is that writers Matt Wickline and John Bowman don't let any sketch go on too long. That makes for a fast-paced show and a quick half-hour.

The Los Angeles Times says:


Although the Bernie Mac lead-in will help, consistent writing would be more beneficial to Cedric and his supporting company … Just a hoot is the opening sketch depicting a TV program applying rudimentary Spanish ("Que Hora Es?") to intense drama. And amusing in spots is "Love Doctor," with Cedric as a satin-robed marriage counselor sounding like Barry White while crooning advice. Otherwise, aaarrrgggghhh! That includes some of Cedric's recurring characters. The effort is here, but the material ranges mostly from sophomoric to flat-out bad.


I am – Hercules!!










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    Readers Talkback

  • Sep 18, 2002 1:25:51 AM CDT

    Cedric seems pretty funny

    by thematarife

    I hope this is as good as bernie mac. Damn, herc youre really dishing out the talkbacks tonight too.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Sep 18, 2002 8:59:32 AM CDT

    Could be good....

    by billbrasky2620

    Cedric is the best thing about "Barbershop", and the hilarious Louis CK is on the writing staff for his new show (along with Jerry Minor, who was a cast member and wrote for "Mr. Show; he was also on SNL last season but was fired). If you want to read Louis CK's thoughts about the show and its cast members, you can check out his comments at his web site:

    http://www.louisck.com/cedric.htm

    Reply to Talkback

  • Sep 18, 2002 9:56:10 AM CDT

    "Keeps the humor from skewing too young, too hip or too ethnic"

    by christopher3

    Same old boring whitebread shit.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Sep 18, 2002 10:03:32 PM CDT

    it was BAD

    by 7zerocorpse

    And not the good version of bad, but stinky. Ew. BAD. Variety shows just don't play anymore, and some of his sketches were really, really stupid. "Que Hora Es" was like something off of MAD TV. Argh! by the by: Does anybody remember when MAD TV was new, they said that they were going to avoid doing the stale things that SNL does, like having ongoing one-gag characters and sketches that were just meant to deliver a particular character's catch-phrase??? And now, look at them! They START the show by advertising that "UPS Guy" and "Ms. Swan" are featured every episode, among all their other characters. What happened to that "in your face" attitude? What happened to the idea of being like MAD Magazine, rather than a 10:00 pm version of SNL? FOX is losing it...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Sep 19, 2002 8:56:38 PM CDT

    Yup...

    by zarles

    ...this show blew ass. I only watched it all the way though because it killed just enough of my brain cells to render me unable to stand or work the remote control for a half an hour. Sorry, Cedric, you're a funny guy, but do yourself a favor and drop this show like a bad habit. Quite simply, it sucks the sweat off a dead man's balls.

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