The Daily Ping

As a fan of John Henson’s work on Talk Soup (c’mon, you know he was by far the best host… only Hal Sparks came close), I was excited to see he was finally returning to the television fold with The John Henson Project on SpikeTV (formerly TNN). While I’m happy to say he’s kept much of what worked for him at Talk Soup (including much of his staff and his general style and demeanor), there are a few things about the first episode I think need to be ironed out.

1. Don’t go for the Man Show vibe. The whole “Spike TV” thing was pretty passe before it even started, but John Henson works best when he’s not trying to “appeal to the guys.”
2. Stop saying “ass” so much. I understand they’re trying to be more edgy than Talk Soup, but they said “ass” so many times, it just felt forced.
3. Slow down. The pace is breakneck with about an hour’s worth of sketches, interviews, and segments crammed into 22 minutes.
4. Lose the audience (there is an audience, right?). Talk Soup worked so well because the audible staff was small. Only a few people here and there, not more than four.
5. Finally, the urinal sketch would have been ten times funnier if it was in black and white.

And there you go. That’s all they need to do to fix the show.

Welcome back, Skunk Boy.

Posted in Television, Movies, and Music