Customer Reviews

Mr. Show: What Happened?! The Complete Story and Episode Guide

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're a big Mr. Show geek like I am, you're going to buy this book no matter what any review says, so you might as well quit reading and start spending. But your satisfaction with your purchase will depend upon how you interpret the "What Happened" in this book's title. If you take it to mean "what happened in each of the episodes," you'll get exactly what you want and be thrilled to fondle its ever-stickier pages. But if you assume, as I did, that the more pressing question facing Mr. Show fans is, "what happened to cause this brilliant show to be taken off the air, thus rendering my life meaningless," you'll be sorely disappointed.

There is no discussion whatsoever about the show's cancellation, its aftermath, etc. I can imagine many political reasons for omitting this information/carping but doing so does not increase my satisfaction with this book. Perhaps the Odenkirks are prepping us for a sequel, leaving us hungry for more, but somehow I don't think so.

The strong suit of this book is the information on how Mr. Show came into being, how the cast members met, their work before the series. Some tidbits that were new to me: Bob Odenkirk wrote that SNL Chris Farley sketch about "living in a VAN down by the RIVER;" Bill Odenkirk has a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry.

The only way I can satisfy my craving for more fantastic newness is by watching all of my Mr. Show DVDs, obliterating my memory with drugs, then repeating the process again and again. I recommend it highly.

Naomi Odenkirk (wife of Bob) has gone above and beyond with this all-encompassing look at one of the smartest and funniest shows ever to hit the airwaves. Not only does she offer background on David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, she gives in-depth profiles of other cast members as well as the writers. And if you've ever seen Mr. Show you know how important (and brilliant) the writing was. She even goes into detail about the scene that spawned Mr. Show, which until now has gone unreported for the most part.

Lastly, the book's episode-by-episode breakdown offers recaps of all the scenes as well as notes, trivia and anecdotes from the cast and crew about each episode. Quite simply, there's absolutely nothing left out.

If you like Mr. Show, you need this book.

I'm actually an illiterate person (and former Hollywood star of shows like Coach and motion pictures like Poltergeist II: The Legacy), but one thing I do know about are books, meaning: I know what they are because I've seen them crammed on shelves in houses and ontop of television sets across this great land of ours and from coast to coast too. And one thing I've come to learn about this Mr. Show book is - it's got plenty of pictures. To me one good quality picture is worth a thousand misspelled words. You're probably wondering how I'm writing this review- well you let me just worry about that and buy yourself a book about this wonderful Johnny come lately tv series that got the corporate ax much too soon in this humble actor's opinion!

In a way, I'm writing a review and in another, I'm defending the book.

First, let me start by defending the book. There are a couple reasons why this book has tons of typos in it and this is somewhat truth and somewhat speculation. This book was supposed to be available and sold at their "Hooray for America" tour. This is what I know is true. This book was put together and about ready to go to the publisher when the office of the person who layed it out was broken into. They took all of this person's files and the backups as well. So, the book had to be literally thrown together again in a matter of days. I am guessing that they really wanted to make this available for the tour. This is probably why there are typos, inconsistencies, etc. For a rush job, I think it's a damn fine effort.

Now, for the book itself. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It offered a lot of background that I wanted on the show and a little more. It has tons of candids and shots from the show. For anyone that is a fan of the show, you really should pick up this book.

My book is signed by cast member John Ennis. I stumbled upon him after one date on the "Horray for America" tour and that guy is one of the nicest persons you will ever meet.

I'm a bit disappointed with this book. Sure, it's got what you'd expect from a book about a TV show: cast/crew bios, episode guide, history, candid insight into the creation and development of the series, yet, it feels uneven, unpolished and it's packed with embarrassing typos.

There are plenty of great anecdotes and candid conversations. The section on the show's writing is my favorite. It reads like Bob, David and crew just sitting around bs'ing about writing. It's a formula that should've been utilized throughout the entire book. The book succeeds when Naomi doesn't interfere.

The Typo Problem: I'm talking about a typo-a-bration here! There are countless instances where sentences don't make sense due to missing words, or words that have been inappropriately repeated (the the, when it when it, etc.) It's really really (appropriate repetition) annoying, and it's all stuff that should've been caught by the first person to proofread it. There are also constant grammatical errors throughout. The book is poorly written. Portions are painful. But I bought this book for the content, the juice behind the funny, not the prose.

The Structure Problem: With the exception of the episode guide, there's no real structure to any of the sections. Cast/crew bios end abruptly or drag on with uninteresting/unnecessary back-stories. I'm guessing that preserving the layout was the highest priority. The most irritating example of this is when cast member's paths intersect, which obviously happens constantly. For instance, if two or three cast members worked together previously on a pilot or stage show, the pilot or stage show is explained thoroughly each time, so if your reading the book straight through, it's frustrating.

The Balance Problem: The cast/crew bios don't necessarily match each person's contributions to the show. Some cast members are slighted completely. Mary Lynn Rajskub's mention is brief and laughable. She was a big part of the first two seasons, but left the show after her and David stopped dating. There is no comment on her abilities or her contribution to the show, as there is with every other cast/crew member. It reads like she was included because she was David's girlfriend and then booted after he stopped getting laid. Meanwhile, the Bill Odenkirk section goes to great lengths to establish him as a separate and worthy component of the show. I happen to believe this to be true regarding Bill, however, because of this kind of inconsistency, which is abundant throughout, the entire first half of the book comes off as a biased, uneven, unedited mess. I swear to Jesus, you'd think it was written by one of their wives. Doh!

Overall the book is fun and informative, if sloppy and unorganized. I learned things about my favorite show that I didn't know before. That's worth something. Although, I have to say, the whole time I was reading it I kept thinking, "this could be SO much better!" (I think in exclamatory sentences!) It's obvious that this book had no editor and that Naomi Odenkirk is terribly inexperienced. I like to think that many of the errors will be corrected in future editions, but I don't think much will be done about the balance/bias problem. Oh, and the price! Nevermind.

This book was OK. The book has the following components:

1. Short Biographies of the people involved in the show
2. A bunch of quotes about the Writing/Production Process of the show
3. An episode guide featuring paragraph summaries of every sketch in every episode.

The last component makes up the bulk of the book. I'm not sure what use these are and I skipped over these summaries.

All in all there isn't enough material for a book. The fact that it's written by the wife of one of the main creators probably meant she was kind to the people involved and didn't want to include any juicy stories or any real drama. So the book is a pretty superficial treatment of what it was like to work on the show. Some anecdotes are amusing, and its not that I didn't enjoy reading it (its easily digestible for sure), only its not worth the money, and doesn't really offer any real insight into the process of working on a comedy show in general, or this show in particular.

I'm usually not one for writing these reviews, but I thought i would spread the wonderfulness that is Mr. Show. If you haven't seen it, check it out, you'll love it, and then you'll want to pick up this book. It's an amazing account of how the show started, and it comes with an episode guide, and what Bob and David thought about doing each particular show. Pick it up, you won't regret it.

If you're a serious fan of Mr.Show and a serious fan of comedy then you'll definately dig this book. It gives great insight into the actors themselves as well as the creation of each eposide from the early writing process to the final completed show. And for anyone wanting to get into comedy writing themselves it is truly inspirational and a must read.

The pages literally dwarf my fingers. The book is printed on massive, slick paper hotglued into the spine, where sit strategically-placed ball bearings, all to make reading this monster a chore--well, unless you're reading it while lying on your stomach. Then it's easy. Plus, I must admit that I've lost 72 pounds turning the heavy pages, and all the ladies comment on my abs (the paper cuts finally healed). So, Bob, Dave, Naomi, thanks for that. You probably saved my life.

On the serious side, WHAT HAPPENED?! is strongest when the author, Naomi Odenkirk, steps back and allows the writers/performers/guest stars/hangers-on to speak, using an oral storytelling format pioneered by Legs McNeil and Gillian Gaar's PLEASE KILL ME. Its failings are more evident in Naomi's prose, which is passable and at times amusing, but could've benefitted tremendously from a more strident editor, as well as another cutthroat round of proofreading--this sleek little volume is riddled with errors, leading/font issues and consistency, and misprints.

Despite all that it lacks, it's great to have Bob and Dave on paper, and WHAT HAPPENED?! does a serviceable job chronicling the sturm and DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN of HBO's finest comedy. Recommended, but with a slow exhalation.

On an unrelated subject, I would like to take this opportunity to announce my intent to become Amazon's top reviewer. I will stop at nothing to reach this goal. Over the next few weeks I will be conducting full-scale investigations into the lives of all who precede me, and am willing to challenge even the heftiest of scribes to fistfights near the corner of Sunset and Vine in Hollywood. I have the wind of passion and hunger at my back, propelling me to stardom like Clubber Lang doing chin-ups; you folks in the Top 10 had better watch your backs. You've been complacent too long. You will taste the silver of my rapier scallawag.

This book tells it all.
backgrond, bios of all the actors, episode guides, pictures galore of cast, crew--
should not be missed--find this book and buy copies for all of your friends.