Sit Down, Shut Up

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Colorful 'toon aims crude humor at consenting adults.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this animated comedy takes place in a small-town high school but focuses on the dysfunctional lives of its faculty and staff, a motley crew of pseudo-professionals who don't really like their jobs, their students, or each other very much. Because the series is aimed at adults who appreciate crude humor, there's plenty of iffy material when it comes to kids and teens, from heavy sexual innuendo, bleeped cursing, and audible words like "porno," "nut sack," and "three-way" to crude jokes about doing drugs and drinking -- plus a borderline racist portrayal of a Middle Eastern janitor who speaks "scary Muslim talk." Proceed with caution.

  • None of the adults at Knob Haven High School are very good role models, although P.E. teacher Larry Littlejunk comes closest to being the voice of reason. Others alternately flirt with students, buy pornography, get naked in front of the school board to prove they "didn't come from no monkey," and plot to put student athletes on steroids to boost alumni funding. Some characters are stereotyped, notably a Middle Eastern janitor.
  • Some cartoonish violence, including a man getting stabbed in the neck with a dart at the school carnival and a flashback to a school production of Edward Scissorhands that ends with the audience getting doused in blood.
  • Heavy sexual innuendo, with some cartoonish "nudity" that's blocked out with a black censor bar. The drama teacher is openly bisexual and makes jokes about students painting his face on "anything with a hole in it," the English teacher covers his erection with a stuffed animal while talking to a female colleague, booths at a school carnival include a "Sausage Toss" and a "Salad Toss," and the list goes on.
  • Audible words include "hell," "damn," and "ass," as well as sexually charged terms like "nut sack," "yam sack," "testicles," "tits," and "horny." Bleeped phrases include "f--king idiot."
  • Not applicable.
  • Occasional use and promotion of illegal substances. One episode revolves around a plot dreamed up by the acting principal to put the football team on steroids to improve their performance. Teachers also sample drugs that they confiscate from students and sometimes drink alcohol.

What's the story?

Setting animated characters against a backdrop of live-action scenery, SIT DOWN, SHUT UP follows the antics of the faculty and staff at Knob Haven High School, a place where students "always come second." The mixed bag of dysfunctional educators includes everyman gym teacher Larry Littlejunk (Jason Bateman), body-conscious English instructor Ennis Hofftard (Will Arnett), Creationist science teacher Miracle Grohe (Kristin Chenoweth), put-upon German instructor Willard Deutschebog (Henry Winkler), and bisexual drama teacher Andrew Legustambos (Nick Kroll). The show is based on a popular live-action Australian series by the same name.


Is it any good?

 

Fans of the now-canceled comedy classic Arrested Development will really want to like this cheeky Fox cartoon dreamed up by Arrested Development writer Mitchell Hurwitz and producers Eric and Kim Tannenbaum of Two and a Half Men. But for some reason, the jokes in Sit Down, Shut Up just don't play out with the same freewheeling hilarity that Hurwitz probably intended.

Yes, we get that even the characters' names are jokes in themselves -- Larry Littlejunk is pretty obvious, Andrew Legustambos (a play on the Spanish words for "he likes both"), less so. But maybe Sit Down, Shut Up falls flat because it relies too much on sophomoric body-part puns instead of the smart comedy viewers were expecting. With all the potential of that wasted voice talent, it's a definite disappointment.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about humor that pushes the envelope when it comes to social mores and political correctness. Is it ever useful? Why or why not? Is it possible for something to be funny and offensive at the same time? Parents and kids can also talk about whether audiences would perceive this show any differently if it featured live actors instead of animated characters. Can animated comedy series like this one get away with more when it comes to crude humor because they seem less like real life than live-action?


This review was written by Kari Croop
Teen, 17 years old
May 8, 2009
 
With how us teenagers are it's okay for anyone 13 or older
I'm a 14 year old. I love Sit Down Shut Up. The fact is that us teenagers know more about sex and drugs than you think. Some of the things that they say that some people (make that mostly everyone) think is inappropriate are funny to me. What parents say, "That's just wrong." to we laugh our butts off. It's that simple. I love this show and teenagers should be able to watch it.

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Teen, 16 years old
May 8, 2009
 
lol
very funny lol

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Teen, 18 years old
September 17, 2011
 
Not as terrible as CSM says
I read this review and then watched the show, expecting it to be extremely offensive. It wasn't really THAT bad. It wasn't nearly as offensive as Family Guy or American Dad. There was one bleeped word, and one teacher said "nut sack" but then you saw that he was referring to his bag of peanuts. Also, you can't say "t-ts" on FOX, even though CSM's review would have you believe that you can.

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Adult
June 2, 2009
 
It was cancelled already
This show has been cancelled, so it doesn't matter how bad it was

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Teen, 16 years old
May 2, 2009
 
Funnier than the simpsons, but not as funny as family guy
This show is alright, it has some funny parts, but it generaly isn't extreamly funny, it has some issues: 1. Some cartonish violence, some of it bloody. 2. LOTS of sexual inuendo including, teatchers flirting with students, buying porn, A teatcher is bisexual, nudity is cencored, tetchers are seen in their underware, one teatcher constantly makes "Nut sack" puns. 3. Basic language S--t and F--k are bleeped. Overall this is a good show for teens, but I recomend family guy more.

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Kid, 12 years old
September 3, 2010
 
whatever. PEOPLE, AVOID THIS SHOW! i have never seen it,but do it anyways! thanks! bye!
PEOPLE THINK THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH SHOWING WHATEVER THEY WANT JUST BECAUSE THINGS ARE ANIMATED! WELL,THAT'S NOT RIGHT!

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Adult
May 1, 2009
 
Hit and Miss
Its an alright show, but i think adults will find it a lot funnier than kids will since more of the jokes are directed at adults. On the other hand the show is a hit and miss because some of the jokes are pretty funny but it just seems like all the plots to the episodes have been done either in a movie or some other t.v. show. I might watch it once in a while, but it really isnt anything that great... I'd rather watch King Of The Hill

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Adult
April 20, 2009
 
It isn't really that good
The humor is quite crude, not like south park but after watching 5 minutes of this cartoon I felt like I should do something for the planet like plants some trees or something.

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Teen, 17 years old
August 7, 2009
 
Funny Show

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Teen, 17 years old
April 27, 2009
 
Funny at times; but forced at others
I believe that this show is average. I watched the first two episodes and I'm torn. Some of the moments are very clever that i found hilarious, while others relie too much on trying to force jokes that doesn't help. Definetly a inappropiate show. Talk about sex and drugs is constant, mostly from the bi drama teacher. I recommend watching it, but u might not fall in love. i would give it a 3.5/5, but i'll round up to be nice.

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This review was written by Kari Croop
TV rating:TV-14
Network:Fox
Cast:Henry Winkler, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett
Genre:Comedy

This review was written by Kari Croop
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
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