"Root of All Evil" (2008) TV series

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Creators:

Scott Carter
David Sacks

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Game-Show

Plot:

Commedian Lewis Black holds court over celebrities and other pop culture figures whom he accuses of being "the root of all evil."

Cast

Lewis Black	...	Himself - Host (18 episodes, 2008)
Matt Price	...	Post-Show Interviewer (10 episodes, 2008)
Greg Giraldo	...	Himself (9 episodes, 2008)

Also Known As:

Lewis Black's Root of All Evil (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-14

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Central Productions

Quotes:

Himself - Host: I'm Lewis Black, and this is my courtroom, where I put on trial all the people and things that make me want to fall asleep with a bottle of whiskey and a teddy bear.

Strangely, not enough of Lewis Black!

I like Lewis Black. I REALLY like Lewis Black. So it seems strange that I'd say "there's not enough Lewis Black in Lewis Black's show", but that's EXACTLY the problem with "the root of all evil". It FEELS like LB is phoning it in!

OK, so we have Lewis Black, and two guys who take each side of the debate. (Catholic Church vs. Oprah in this case.) That's all well and good, but most of the show is THE TWO OTHER GUYS! While they weren't bad, I didn't tune in to the show called "two other guys: the root of all evil", I tuned in to "LEWIS BLACK: the root of all evil". If it has your name in it, YOU SHOULD HAVE THE MOST LINES AND SCREEN TIME, PERIOD!

Was it funny? In spots I genuinely laughed. But I couldn't help but feeling that this would be SO much more funny if Lewis Black just got up there and riffed the way WE KNOW he can riff on a subject. That's what I wanted to see, what the title PROMISES I'll see, and the show just doesn't deliver that.

So if you're expecting something along the lines of LB's stand up routines, or a long form version of LB's rants on The Daily Show, you'll be soooooooorely disappointed. On its own without preconceived notions (just pretend it's called "two other guys with a special appearance by lewis black"), it's OK... not stellar, but not awful, either.