Upright Citizens Brigade TV Series

[hedgehog90]

Until a week ago, I was only aware of UCB as a theatre in LA. I didn't know that it was originally the name of a sketch comedy/improv troupe made up of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh and Ian Roberts.
So little did I know, I was also unaware that they had a TV series that aired from 1998 to 2000 on Comedy Central.
I found some very positive comments of the show in my brief research online, so I decided to give it a go.
It might be a little premature of me to start a thread about this because I have only seen the first 5 episodes, but I must say that I really am enjoying watching the UCB TV series, and I highly recommend it to any improv4humans (http://www.earwolf.com/show/improv4humans/) fans like myself.

Despite some reading up on it, I'm still perplexed as to how this show got made - in both senses - HOW did a show this brilliant & original ever get on the air, and how technically do they create each episode?
On the wiki page for UCB, it's noted that the scenes followed an improv format known as the Harold, which upon reading described the structure of the show perfectly.
But I'm still left asking, are the scenes we see improvised on the spot, or are the improvised and then written before shooting. The first option seems technically impossible, but the second option seems... well, strange, and a bit like cheating. If anyone can shed a little light on this I'd appreciate it.

Either way, after watching the 5th episode I'm very much hooked.
Check it out![nb]With Dr Steve Brule, which is also a very funny show that I'd highly recommend[/nb]

Astronauts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK-30442RII

[Famous Mortimer]

I watched the episode with the couple house-hunting, and there's no way that could have been fully improvised - I presume it was worked out to be "I'll tell you about something odd in this cupboard" and went from there. But it was still a surprisingly good bit.

[Bored of Canada]

Been thinking about picking up the Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Manual recently. Just really interested in what they have to say.
All the hugely funny people I love these days seem to get their start in the UCB, and I love Besser and their work in Improv4Humans, and finding this thread has cemented that I need to watch this show.

That fucking Astronauts clip you linked in the first one made me laugh so hard. Also, the editing and filming of that was perfect, and kept it feeling very raw and hilarious.
But yeah, love that clip. If the show maintains a quality near that for the full season, then this will be great. I've heard it mentioned in a few podcasts by Besser and Amy Poehler and that, but it seems like a completely unknown show.

Similar to that Crossballs one I linked a couple months back. Though even that seemed to be slightly more known than this. 

[BritishHobo]

"Did you know I had the title line in Star Wars?"

[Bored of Canada]

Just watched the one off ASSSSSCAT special which was really enjoyable, and is pretty much the exact format of Improv4Humans, except without a limit for the performers and the emphasis on monologues, likely to more include the special guests who may not be as confident with jumping into the improv.

But it's definitely great. I think I actually prefer the improv4humans style, because the more concentrated amount of people makes sure that all the characters they play are more important, and also the whole wanky theatre of the mind kinda thing.

[George White]

Was going to start a new thread, but watching their stuff.
Astonished that they're still going with new talent, la the Groundlngs or Second City.




But back to the classics, Poehler kind of reminds me of Patricia Quinn and Andrea Martin, but it feels very much, "we can be as rude as we want." And the cheapness makes it feel almost Canadian, quite unAmerican, the very clear VT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgCfynbhGFY

It feels a bit like Bizarre or Who Dares Wins, not being funny but outrageous.



Ken McGraw Jr  (not the actor in Lance Henriksen's Antibody) was in the New York short films of Daredevil's Nicholas James Wey, i.e. Creep 2012 with Steven Brandt and maryken Naughton, Too Close 2015, Hit and Run 2012, Between Us 2014, another, the webseries Good n Screwed. McGraw was in Myrtle and Willoughby, a webseries with Emily Tarver from Orange is the new Black and webseries Back to Reality with Ciara Renee, Flash's Hawkgirl, These Three Girls with Lloyd Kaufman, and a short, 2018's Now or Never with Daredevil's Amadeo Fusca, by Jacob Godsend - who worked on Frank Henenlotter's friend Cody Faulk's interesting Friday the 13th fan film - https://jasonlivessince1980.blogspot.com/2020/10/voorhees-epic-gorefest-coming-soon-to.html plus shorts called Last Day on Earth (2019), Tight which used the font for Fright Night and Somewhere Near the Stars (2019), and won something called Manhattanhenge.
https://ucbcomedy.com/user/34495
He  is in the Upright Citizens Brigade, worked with Broadway video/Lorne Michaels' Season in 60 Seconds, Kelly Anne Burns' Burning Clown Productions' shorts like HS2 Amen,  Spiderguy, with Showtime Billions/Colbert's Suni Reyes -  https://www.thewrap.com/late-night-latin-voices-suni-reyes-george-lopez/
She was also in E1's
Kelly Anne Burns has been in SChool of Rock, Law and Order, her own shorts like Mary and Louise - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2180476/ and even America's Top Model

Spiderguy featured UCB's Adrian Pellerin who has worked on Clinger (2016), been on deadline.com, made video shorts like My Boys Are So Messy, When Your Co-Worker Wants To Tell You About Their Dream, Sarah on the Street, Secret Agent 2017, Comedy Central webseries Night Crew (with Mike Cabellon, Adrien Pellerin, Katie Sicking, Lucas Harvie.) and another webseries -  Terms of Service - and the countryless short Be Good for 2022 by leni/no2mauro.  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13521574/companycredits?ref_=tt_ql_dt_4
Pellerin also worked on 42 minute actin "shrt" Barlow Grant's Wish, with Roman J. Israel's King Orba, recently in with Laura Dern in a western. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2049629/?ref_=rvi_tt

As an aside,
http://hollywoodx2.weebly.com/cast.html
Bob Zanfini, Mcgraw's costar says he's done lots of  film, but I can only find 2012's  short Guy with a Door with Blue Bloods/Netflix's Master of None's Tadashi Mitsui who also appeared in a short called Dr. Wonderfoot https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2451692/?ref_=nm_knf_t1 whose demo reel photo is of a grinning white guy.  https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?title_type=feature,video&countries=us&role=nm4480235
Mitsui's also been in films called David Kim's Simbi Xombies, the golden fonted Cocktail Party, Reunion 108, Sanctuary Quite a Conundrum by Thomas L. Philips and Rutowicz, shorts Nippon FM 92.1xm and 9mm plastic love by Tadashi Thille,  the upcoming/delayed 7 Days till Midnight with director: James Suttles Writer: Michael Ferree, with Walking Dead actor R. Keith Harris, Tyler Chase, Ashley Shelton from Jessie Buckley's Wild Rose and Pierce Pope