Remember when Patton Oswalt was on The King of Queens? Oh, man, that show was hilarious.

Saying that Greg Giraldo and Patton Oswalt "aren't cut out for jokes that extend beyond a five-second, Best Week Ever-like sound byte," shows that you never actually seen either of their stand up comedy. Oh, and Paul F. Tomkins was the only person of those 3 who is actually on Best Week Ever. Still have not seen the actual show so I won't comment on the rest of the review, just like you probably shouldn't comment on comedians you know nothing about.

@snakefinger: Yeah, King of Queens is kind of awesome. Not necessarily "Seinfeld" awesome, but "Oh shit, I just missed the second half of 24 because I was watching a syndicated sitcom on the CW" awesome.

Ok I' am not sure how good this show is or isn't. However, the fact that you spent half the review knocking on Patten Oswalt and Greg Giraldo, is uncalled for. While they may be guests on the show, you aren't being asked to give a review of them, you are being asked to review the show The Root of All Evil. Oh and by the way Patten Oswalt and Greg Giraldo have both hosted there own half hour comdey show on Comedy Central as well as doing several successful tours. If you don't think there jokes have substance you clearly havn't seen there stand up. Do us all a favor and go back to jerking off to your Dane Cook poster..... idiot!

Um, wrong. The show is hilarious. Yes, not every joke is a killer, but the format is as much about improvisational spectacle and competition as it is about polished stand-up. And I do realize that the show, as presented, is scripted to a certain degree; but anyone who's seen a Chicago-style improv "debate" or "99" (terrible jokes) can see the genetic connection... The humor is in watching them rattle off a huge volume of jokes and try to sell the terrible ones to a live audience, to greater or lesser success. I can't imagine they'd cry if you boo-ed their bad Oprah jokes, that's the point of the competitive set-up.

I'm not saying it's the Best Show of All Time (and it certainly has room to blow it, if the comedians don't bring the energy), but damn, Paul F. Thompkins is a Mr. Show alum, not just some BWE commentator. His intensely absurd brand of humor may be an acquired taste, but it's worth acquiring.

Wow, snarky dismissal has really jumped the shark lately... I expect more of Radar.

I totally agree with daguerreotype. this show is an amazing amalgam of improv, standup, sketch, & debate, & kudos to Black for coming up with an original comedic premise in a sea of repetitive knock-off shows. Giraldo is a great choice as the weekly challenger because he's a highly competent comedian but not so famous that it seems like an unfair fight, & the overall format allows less-known comedians to get some mainstream screentime.

I don't know if the reviewer had actually seen the show when this was written, but I think it's a mistake to try to steer comedy fans away from this show. if you're remotely interested in the genres listed above (or like Lewis Black, who gets a great opportunity to riff on the competitors each week), you should definitely check this out. it's a refreshingly unique concept, genuinely entertaining, & (at least in the episodes I've seen thus far), laugh-out-loud funny. plus, next week they're debating weed vs. beer -- how better suited to their niche audience could they possibly be?

I would be sad to see this program go the way of Acceptable TV or countless other thoughtful comedy ideas from the past two years. fans of the funny owe it to themselves to at least give it a shot.

hey -- just to clarify, daguerreotype isn't a double-posting moron, but his girlfriend is a moron who doesn't check who's logged in before posting. I wrote the above follow-up comment, & bottom-line, we feel really passionately about supporting thoughtful comedy shows. so again, I say, watch it before you judge it negatively.

I hate this show. They just tout mass generalizations and random pop fiction crap as 'facts', while trying (and failing) to be funny while they do it. The result is yet another steaming load of....pixels... delivered every week directly to your home. Eat up!