Thursdays @ 10pm (Comedy Network)

Hey, you know that really funny guy that's in a bunch of stuff? Oooo, can't remember his name - He had this hilarious sketch troupe back in the 90s that didn't last very long, The State. Oh, and he was on regular on Ed. You might also know him from a series of Fresca adds. No? Yeah, it was a tough sell. Well his name is Michael Ian Black and he is the host of a new reality series called Reality Bites Back.



Set up as a parody of modern classic reality shows, the premiere entitled Extreme Manipulation: House Edition, Bites quickly establishes itself as a leader among man-babies. Taking ten comedians of varying notoriety from the unknown to the vaguely familiar (Dave Chappelle Show regular, Donnell Rawlings), each participate in contests of similar theme to their reality show counterpart for a $50,000 take. The premiere's title is misleading as the episode has more in common with Big Brother than Extreme Makeover. Instead of living with each other, a stable of reality tv, Reality Bites Back turns convention on its ass, having the contestants seduce HELLO! their mothers and then live with them for several days. Mmm! Evil and delicious!!



Black's a funny chap, one of those naturally gifted fellows that actually works better off book than with scripted material. I've caught him on Celebrity Poker Showdown (knowing absolutely nothing about him) and was sold purely on his ridiculous banter with the other wheelin'-n-dealin' players. Telling us we'll find out who's eliminated right after he's finished reading his sentence is a nice little shot to every reality show that builds suspense before annoying its audience with your typical commercial break.



The rest of the comedians do a nice job and for the most part live up to their selected career path but if you think you're funny and nobody knows you, does that really mean you're funny? Call me Confusious but these contestants, just like every reality tv contestant, run the risk of comic overkill. There's a reason only one joker's assigned to Big Brother and not TEN. Surprisingly, Donnell seems the most grounded of the group, providing honest testimonials instead of hamming it up like Mo and his Viking helmet. In a future episode, Amy consciously tells Leif Garrett he was famous for skiing to make sure HE remembers who he is. Now that's a reality check.

The TV Guyde