Pop Culture Gadabout
Thursday, January 25, 2007
      ( 1/25/2007 10:17:00 AM ) Bill S.  


TORRID, TWISTED TRAVEL TALES – First time I noticed Dave "Gruber" Allen was as the 3rd part of the improv comedy troupe, the Higgins Boys & Gruber. The threesome hosted a weekday timeslot back in the days when Comedy Central was just a Channel. In their bloc of Com Channel time, the boys would sit around a kitchen set, introducing episodes of "Clutch Cargo" and "Supercar" and engaging in the occasional sketch. In one of the more memorable bits, Grube anticipated his nekkid trucker character by attempting to revive the 70's fad of streaking. It did not, thankfully, take, though the sound of skinny-ass Gruber singing the chorus to Ray Stevens' "The Streak" remains lodged within my memory.

I followed Grube to Freaks and Geeks, where the longhaired string-bean had a memorable role as a Grateful Dead-luvin' h.s. teacher (turned Linda Cardellini's former mathlete onto the joys of American Beauty, if I recall), then periodically noticed him in small roles on sundry teevee shows (another teacher on Malcolm in the Middle, a guy beneath the desk on Conan, etc.) But The Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show is his first decent billing in way too long. Allen has a wry way of delivering even the dopiest lines that can be plenty amusing – and even though he spends his time with a guitar, trucker's hat, white socks and work boots as his only apparel, turns out that he's the voice of reason on this Comedy Central series. Partner Gerald "T-Bones" Tibbons (David Koechner, another busy supporting character comic) is the loony 'un.

On the basis of its premiere, the duo's new show is a slapped-together blend of staged and filmed antics – kinda like the old Jack Benny program in structure, though much more deliberately outlandish. In the debut, for instance, we're told how T-Bones attempts to sell a song that Trucker's written: the two show up unannounced at the home of a big-time record producer, and T-Bones breaks into the absent record mogul's house, leaving his unclothed bud to stand out in front where his naked-ass-self naturally attracts the attention of the neighbors. When the cops appear and find T-Bones using the producer's bathtub, he initially resists their order to step out of the tub. "I feel threatened," Koechner explains in his good-ol'-boy slur, "so, of course, I have an erection!"

Gotta admit that made me laff, though a later bit where T-Bones attempts to tack a rap onto the Trucker's song to make a video promoting Speedboat Glen's was more ragged than funny. Felt better about a second segment devoted to the "Hitchhiker of the Week." The filmed sequence featured a guest turn by Will Ferrell as a technophobe in a jogging suit who starts lambasting the Trucker for being part of The Machine. Listening to Ferrell babble like a character in a bad 30's "scientifiction" story brought back pleasant memories of some of the Higgins Boys & Gruber's goonier kitchen table debates. A good sign . . .
# |



Pop cultural criticism - plus the occasional egocentric socio/political commentary by Bill Sherman (popculturegadabout AT yahoo.com).



On Sale Now!
Measure by Measure:



A Romantic Romp with the Fat and Fabulous
By Rebecca Fox & William Sherman

(Available through Amazon)

Measure by Measure Web Page







Ask for These Fine Cultural Blogs & Journals by Name!

aaronneathery.com News
Aaron Neathery

American Sideshow Blow-Off
Marc Hartzman

Arf Lovers
Craig Yoe

Attentiondeficitdisorderly
Sean T. Collins

Barbers Blog
Wilson Barbers

The Bastard Machine
Tim Goodman

The Beat
Heidi MacDonald

BeaucoupKevin
Kevin Church

Big Fat Blog
Paul McAleer

Big Mouth Types Again
Evan Dorkin

Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog
Laura "Tegan" Gjovaag

Blog This, Pal!
Gordon Dymowski

Bookgasm
Rod Lott

Cartoon Brew
Amid Amidi & Jerry Beck

Cartoon Web Log!
Daryl Cagle

Clea's Cave
Juana Moore-Overmyer

Collected Editions

The Comics Curmudgeon
Josh Fruhlinger

The Comics Reporter
Tom Spurgeon

Comics.212
Christopher Butcher

Comics Waiting Room
Marc Mason

Comics Worth Reading
Johanna Draper Carlson

a dragon dancing with the Buddha
Ben Varkentine

Egon

Electromatic Radio
Matt Appleyard Aaron Neathery

Estoreal
RAB

Eye of the Goof
Mr. Bali Hai

Fred Sez
Fred Hembeck

Greenbriar Picture Shows
John McElwee

The Groovy Age of Horror
Curt Purcell

The Hooded Utilitarian
Noah Berlatsky

Hooray for Captain Spaulding
Daniel Frank

The Horn Section
Hal

The House Next Door
Matt Zoller Seitz

Howling Curmudgeons
Greg Morrow & Friends

The Hurting
Tim O'Neil

I Am A Child of Television
Brent McKee

I Am NOT the Beastmaster
Marc Singer

In Sequence
Teresa Ortega

Innocent Bystander
Gary Sassaman

Irresponsible Pictures
Pata

Jog - The Blog
Joe McCulloch

The Johnny Bacardi Show
David Allen Jones

Journalista
Dirk Deppey

King's Chronicles
Paul Dini

Let's You And Him Fight
One of the Jones Boys

Mah Two Cents
Tony Collett

Metrokitty
Kitty

Michael's Movie Palace
Michael

Nat's TV
Nat Gertler

Ned Sonntag

Neilalien

News from ME
Mark Evanier

No Rock&Roll Fun
Simon B

Omega Channel
Matt Bradshaw

Pen-Elayne on the Web
Elayne Riggs

PeterDavid.net
Peter David

(postmodernbarney.com)
Dorian White

Progressive Ruin
Mike Sterling

Punk Rock Graffiti
Cindy Johnson & Autumn Meredith

Revoltin' Developments
Ken Cuperus

Rhinoplastique
Marc Bernardin

Scrubbles
Matt Hinrichs

Self-Styled Siren
Campaspe

Spatula Forum
Nik Dirga

Tales from the Longbox
Chris Mosby

TangognaT

The Third Banana
Aaron Neathery & Friends

Thrilling Days of Yesteryear
Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

Toner Mishap
B2 et al

Trusty Plinko Stick
Bill Doughty

TV Barn
Aaron Barnhart et al

Unqualified Offerings
Jim Henley

Various And Sundry
Augie De Blieck

Video WatchBlog
Tim Lucas

When Fangirls Attack
Kalinara & Ragnell

X-Ray Spex
Will Pfeifer

Yet Another Comics Blog
Dave Carter



A Brief Political Disclaimer:

If this blog does not discuss a specific political issue or event, it is not because this writer finds said event politically inconvenient to acknowledge - it's simply because he's scatterbrained and irresponsible.




My Token List of Poli-Blogs:

Alicublog
Roy Edroso

Eschaton
Atrios

Firedoglake
Jane Hamsher

James Wolcott

Lance Mannion

The Moderate Voice
Joe Gandelman

Modulator
Steve

Pandagon
Amanda Marcotte & Friends

The Sideshow
Avedon Carol

Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo
Skippy

Talking Points Memo
Joshua Micah Marshall

This Modern World
Tom Tomorrow

Welcome to Shakesville
Melissa McEwan & Friends



Blogcritics: news and reviews
Site Feed



Powered by Blogger



Twittering:
    follow me on Twitter