When it comes to TV watching, I’m a pretty traditional kind of guy. Most of the programs I watch are on the major networks, supplemented by ESPN and the occasional top tier cable channels. But one show on E! has caught my eye in a big way lately: The Soup.
If you haven’t seen it, you’re one of the 98% of all Americans who can’t even find E! on their TV dial. If you don’t know what a TV dial is, you were probably born in the digital age. Go ask your grandpa.
Each episode of The Soup consists of the very funny Joel McHale (recently of NBC’s Community) standing in front of a green screen and making fun of various TV talk and reality shows for 22 minutes. That simple formula churns out one of the most consistently laugh-out-loud funny shows on TV today. It’s edgy. It’s racy. But most of all, it is funny.
Even if you haven’t seen the shows that The Soup is mocking, it still works. Host McHale will tell you just enough to set up the clip, then let the mock-ee speak for himself (or herself). By the end of the 5-20 second clip, you’ll appreciate the fact that you didn’t watch the remainder of the show that is being mocked.
The Soup even has occasional visits from minor celebrities who will pop by in a show of self-depreciation that makes them immediately more likable, or at least less contemptible. If you like to laugh at stupid people doing stupid things in front of a national audience, this is the show for you. One episode of The Soup saves me hours of combing through the wreck of reality TV to find the few fleeting moments of comedy gold that they produce each week.
The Soup premiers on Friday nights, but it is replayed quite a bit throughout the week, which says something about the rest of E!’s programming. Check your local listings.
