wangotango I like Freakshow. I wish they made more episodes.The thing is, David Cross is a pretty brilliant comedy writer, comedian (stand-up), and actor. He's got to be bad at something, and that might just be animation. But his "bad" writing is still dozens of times better than some of the other crap out there...Family Guy, which has its moments of genius (not often, but often enough to take notice) relies solely on A.D.D humor, and the incredibly short attention spans of the viewer to execute their story lines.Freakshow relies on a more traditional story structure that has none of the hard cuts to situations completely unrelated to the show. This show also presents its comedy in the form of subtleties and ironies (observational humor).Ultimately, Freakshow is more toward the spectrum of South Park in the way it presents material. So if you like South Park, there's a good chance you'll like Freakshow.

Zarbear I honestly don't know why Comedy Central is pushing this show so much when it seems like the people who actually make it aren't even trying. Usually when I hear the names David Cross and H. Jon Benjamin I'll start paying attention. I expected this show to be clever and articulate considering the minds behind it. Turns out "Freak Show" is poorly drawn and poorly written and is a huge disappointment. It looks like it was made by a bunch of amateurs. The characters suck, the jokes aren't funny, the pacing is lousy and the animation is dodgy. Ignore all the stuff that's being said about it on Comedy Central's other programs and the commercials in between. "Freak Show" is not worth your time; watch the National Geographic Channel or something instead.

modernfilms After watching the first three episodes of the show, I have drawn the following conclusions: The timing and delivery of the show's jokes are horrible and several comedic devices (the wait gag, call back, etc.) are used poorly, which puzzles me because the staff is obviously capable of pulling off such devices. I guess not in this case, though.The worst aspect of the show is the set-up/break pattern that is employed. In the show, a joke would be set up, which could be picked up by the audience, and then the dialogue would shift to something that halted the joke's momentum. By the time the "punchline" was delivered, the joke's energy was gone. This happens over and over again.To tell you the truth, most of the dialogue and plot seems sub-standard and would have certainly been trashed by other comedy shows. The writers seemed to rely on random "jokes" juxtaposed against a jagged plot instead of actually establishing a main storyline, which isn't effective at all. The reason it works for shows like, say, Aqua Teen Hunger Force (which seems to pride itself on seemingly "random" jokes) is because they set the jokes up properly WHILE following an established plot line. In most cases, a joke just isn't funny without a proper set-up, timing, and follow through.The visual gags aren't employed very well either. They just weren't funny. The gags are either too lax or too forced -- both extremes killed any jokes that may have arisen from such set-ups.Most of the show's jokes also seem to rely on tired stereotypes that are either overused or stopped being funny years ago. Because the writing doesn't seem too fresh, it makes me question whether or not the writing staff is trying very hard at all with this show.I gave the first three episodes a fair chance and drew my opinion objectively, but I came to the same conclusion each time: it's a sad excuse for an animated comedy show. I hope that it's pulled quickly and doesn't just drag on and that Cross and Co. move on to bigger and better things.

ejbulman Why, oh why was Comedy Central duped into running this show?? I thought that it might share the unusual sensibilities of Drawn Together, but I was sorely disappointed. I wish that they would switch time slots, and put Drawn Together on after South Park. The show is not remotely funny. The characters are absurd; the story lines and plots have been stupid. No, I take that back. Stupidity would require the expenditure of some thought and effort. Clearly this is not the case here. As Eric Cartman might say, "This show sucks ass!". The show itself should be shown as a parody of what kind of crap can be seen on cable these days. Consider that I have saved you thirty minutes out of your finite lifetime. Avoid this show at all costs!!!