Comedy Central's Review: Surrealist television at its finest

"Life, it's literally all we have. But is it any good?" - Forrest MacNeil

One of the benefits of this new age of television is the shift in focus from a select few high-end networks to a reality where truly special stuff is available in all sorts of locales. Amazon Prime for instance, hit gold with Transparent, showing that Netflix wasn't alone in what it could provide in terms of original programming. Hulu brought both Community and The Mindy Project from the dead and continues to give potential scrap-heap shows a second life. Netflix has over half a dozen success stories, in addition to the binge watches and reignited life cycles of classics like Friday Night Lights. If television is your bag, there are a plethora of sources.

A more interesting television success story has been Comedy Central, which for many years was a haven for dirty words late at night, stand-up shows from past and present, and comedy movies spanning the Stir Crazy's of the world all the way up to the present hits. Trey Parker and Matt Stone came up with this rapid reaction animated program that just began its 19th season. Perhaps you've heard of it. South Park? Then, as a result of the emergence of Jon Stewart and the birth of Stephen Colbert as a viable property in late night, Comedy Central began to expand into more specialized programming options, including vehicles with the biggest up-and-coming and newly-discovered names as the catalysts. Sketch comedy evolved from a strict late-night live style into a filmed, edited, carefully written beast of a genre. Following the rabid Mr. Show fan base on HBO, Dave Chappelle was the most successful, and indeed, many of the sketches he now loathes due to both overexposure and a fight with the network are quoted in nightclubs and circles of friends all over the globe. Chappelle's success led to other, less popular shows, and then came the rise of the right people at the right time.

Jordan Peele found his spot on the radar (though he was on the scene long before) with a Barack Obama impression that absolutely blew up on Funny Or Die and many wondered how long it would take before Lorne Michaels finally pulled the trigger on the multitalented, razor-sharp, young and hungry comedian. His friend and colleague Keegan Michael Key was a talented improviser, working with some of the greats, and he had a personality that made him about as affable as anyone in show business. These weren't household names, but as you read this in 2015, they certainly are today. From guest hits on FX's Fargo and USA's Playing House to the duo's mega-popular and uber-important sketch comedy show, Key & Peele, Comedy Central struck gold. It's without hyperbole that Key & Peele is among the best of its kind, ever.

Then came Amy Schumer, who I got to know as a frequent of the "leg chair" on Fox News Channel's 3 AM ET gabfest, Red Eye, hosted by former Maxim editor Greg Gutfeld. She didn't win Last Comic Standing, but performed well on the show and people began to take notice, not the least of which were television executives. Comedy Central had placed a female, Sarah Silverman, in a successful sketch(ish) show of her own. The network was anything but gun-shy, and, always progressive, those involved saw the potential in Schumer. The rest is history. The Television Critics Association gave her show, Inside Amy Schumer, high praise at the TCA Awards this past summer and for good reason, as the program is top notch. Trainwreck was an enormous success, and on October 17th, Schumer's HBO comedy special debuts. In addition to IAS, Comedy Central also brought Broad City, a concept created by Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, both Upright Citizens Brigade veterans, to television. The results have been spectacular.

So why, based on the title of the article, have we not spoken of Review with Forrest MacNeil? Just a little history, that's all. It's simplified and broad, but all of the growth within the network brings us to our topic. Through the wins and the losses, of which Comedy Central has tallied many on both sides, it's quite possible that nothing touches Review in terms of sheer novelty and cutting-edge absurdist comedy. While the show isn't original, as it's the localized version of an Australian show of the same name starring Phil Lloyd (which created enormous controversy in 2010), we've never seen anything like it before. If it's not the best show on television, it's not outside of any reasonable top five that includes all genres in one ranking.

Review, or this iteration of it, is the brainchild of improv veteran Andy Daly, who is widely regarded on that scene as a performer who is among the quickest thinking in the art form. He's also willing to create comedy from virtually anywhere, with a flare for the obscure and the personal. He did his own podcast, appeared on @midnight, and made appearances on Matt Besser's Improv for Humans show, among many others. But, as an audience, most people outside of comedy probably didn't know much about Andy Daly. Unfortunately, because Review isn't written about every five seconds and is more of a critical hit at this point than a major ratings grabber, many of you still might not really recognize Andy Daly.

That needs to change.

Daly plays Forrest MacNeil, a television host of "Review," (or Assess, or Evaluate) a show that rates basic (and sometimes very complex) life experiences on a one to five star system. In the first two seasons of the show, Forrest has reviewed racism, orgies, pillow fights, eating large quantities of pancakes, and being a little person, among many others. While the conceits of each are ripe for both adlib and hilarity, you'd be reading a different article today if it weren't for the real genius of Review.

Every experience that Forrest encounters and every choice he makes within his reviews carries lasting consequences. As he stays 100 percent true to his subjects, which are sent in via fictional tweets, emails, and Skype communications, he systematically destroys his life. When Review went from being a funny show to something far more interesting was the third episode of season one, where he had to review divorce. To do it, he divorced his wife, who he loved dearly. It wasn't a self-contained forget-about-it moment, as the two are still apart and the relationship has deteriorated to a frighteningly painful degree. In season two, Forrest's choices within reviews have resulted in two ruined houses, loss of visitation rights, several potentially fatal wounds, and oh yeah...he killed a guy, went to prison, and kept the show alive within its walls.

In Thursday's season finale, he was asked to review belief in a conspiracy theory, and he began to piece together the idea that his producer and best friend were trying to kill him through a phony "randomizing" process in the reviews that were selected. The storyline, meaning the congruent side that never dissipates from one week to the next, is equal to or superior to the cringe level of Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, or any number of others. In fact, screw that, it's the most cringe-worthy, foot in mouth content ever broadcast on television.

Larry David has nothing on Forrest MacNeil.

Michael Scott has nothing on Forrest MacNeil.

George Costanza has nothing on Forrest MacNeil.

That super-awkward guy you know has nothing on Forrest MacNeil.

Review is quite funny, but it's also hard to watch at times because you root for this guy and you want to see him happy and fulfilled, but the only possible way for that to occur is for his television show to end. It's tough to watch him wreck his marriage and lose touch with his son and put strain on the friendship with his father and basically everyone else he holds dear, but the results are simultaneously uproarious and hideous. They're also tremendous, uniquely spectacular television.

Both the guffaw and the sob works because the show is insanely clever and precise about each review and what goes into the succession of those scenarios. For instance, back again to Episode Three, the first review is eating 15 pancakes. Next comes the divorce. Then, defeated, and after having vomited violently in the diner parking lot, the third review is eating 30 pancakes. It's stuff like that where Review shines. The subjects that seem the best often turn out to be the worst, like last week's episode where Forrest reviews being happy all the time and has to cheer and smile as his ex-wife says she and her son need a complete break from seeing him, and then he gets arrested for murder.

The show is full of timing misery, all of it executed so well and with such care that every roughly 21-minute episode (excluding commercials) is a must watch. There's not a bad episode to be found. Sure, I have my favorites, but I can watch any of them. The comedy is enhanced through the drama and vice versa. The show's balance, irreverence, and subversive tendencies help it stand out from the crowd, and while many of the show's relatively small number of regular cast members are all excellent, atop the list Megan Stevenson and Jessica St. Clair, (who is rapidly becoming one of the more versatile players anywhere on screen or stage), this is Andy Daly's baby.

Andy Daly's performance as Forrest MacNeil is one of those select few where there's absolutely nobody else that makes sense to fill the role. He's got the light moments down to a science. He's got the heavy stuff down to a science. He can play checkers with Clovers, his imaginary friend, and then weep uncontrollably when Clovers is shanked in prison and killed. His facial expressions are magnificent and his ability to act with his entire body enables playing a little person or even being buried alive to pulse with humanity and a sense of the bizarre. He can sell being kicked in the grundle and also can appear like a six year old enjoying his first memorable ice cream cone. Tour de force is sometimes overused and it's a classification often given to those undeserving, but this role, this performance, this mastery of the craft, is a tour de force. Andy Daly owns it, he molds it, and he kills it (both figuratively and literally).

Review is good as a standalone product, but when taken as a whole and watched with a keen eye for detail, it's a stand-up-and-cheer level product. Everything fits and nothing is off limits, in a world increasingly paralyzed by political correctness and the society of the "butt hurt" douchebag. Comedy is often at its peak at its most subversive, from Gervais to Harmon to Seinfeld to Gleason to Carell to Roiland to Raphael Bob-Waksberg and everything in between. Review is true, unadulterated, pure subversion. Hierarchy upended, norms decimated, taboo restructured into a workable framework, and a propensity to push the envelope not just past the line, but also off the table.

Review is good for us, because it reflects life, even if unintentionally. Erasing any and all genre, because there are flakes spanning in multiple directions, satire of satire, poking fun at itself and the medium that created it, and also of life's most minute and grand spectacles, it's the cock of the walk.

Resisting the urge to go cliché and jump into star ratings, but FUCK this is a ridiculously good show. Andy Daly's work is on par with anybody you love and anybody you respect. It's a performance that demands to be seen and appreciated. Review is easily one of the best shows of 2015 and one of the most memorable of the decade.

I can't wait to see more. This is why we love television.

Review just completed its second season on Comedy Central. Past episodes are available through the network's streaming applications or on the official website.

I'm @GuyNamedJason. You know the drill. That's a twitter handle. Follow me there... or at @TheRealLisaChing.