Animation — the sillier the better — has become a reliable method of reaching teens and young guys in primetime and latenight, which explains Comedy Central‘s decision to keep returning to the genre.
Enter — in the teeth of the fall season, no less — “Brickleberry,” a tiresome, too-eager-to-offend new series produced by the channel’s Daniel Tosh, premiering Sept. 25.
Yes, “South Park” has long since established animation is a fine place to skewer sacred cows, but “Brickleberry” has nothing more on its mind than seeing how far it can push the boundaries of dick and handicapped jokes. As a consequence the premise — a second-rate national park — is purely incidental.
As proof, the opening sequence involves an assortment of animals screwing, and while that might prompt a chuckle on its own, by the end of two half-hours — with gags about wheelchair-bound and blind kids; and a randy African-American ranger with a penchant for bedding elderly white women — the show has worn out its welcome. While there’s nothing wrong with being juvenile, without some wit or purpose, such gags quickly yield diminishing returns.
Tosh himself provides one of the voices, as an adopted (and talking) bear cub, but most of the action — such as it is — centers around Steve (voiced by Dave Herman), the reigning ranger of the month; and Ethel (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s” Kaitlin Olson), whose arrival threatens his king-of-the-forest status.
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The series was created, with nary an original thought, by Waco O’Guin and Roger Black. All told, it’s another good reason to keep the TV off — or at least the channel tuned elsewhere — until “The Daily Show” comes on, although I suppose it succeeded on one level: Sitting inside watching this show about national parks made me yearn for the great outdoors.
