Common Sense Media Review
By Emily Ashby
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based on child development research. How do we rate?
Popular, risque comedy site makes the jump to TV.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
What's the Story?
THE COLLEGEHUMOR SHOW is the brainchild of real-life employees of the
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show's popular parent Web site, CollegeHumor.com and blends scripted
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comedy with many of the three-minute sketches that also air on the
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CollegeHumor site. Written by and starring CH staff (and set in their
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actual offices), the show presents an exaggerated (hopefully, anyway)
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view of a truly unique work environment, where inter-office jokes and
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beer pong tournaments are all in a day's work. When they're not busy
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pulling pranks on each other, the CH crew occupies themselves by
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fending off stunts by (fictional) rival company Gigglebarn.
Is It Any Good?
With all the fraternity-style pranking and intensely skewed reality
brewing in the CollegeHumor office, there's lots here for adults to
chuckle over. The humor, while mostly juvenile in nature (pushing a
coworker's face into her lunch, for instance), is easy to enjoy if you
approach the show with low expectations. This talented group of
underachievers makes taking it easy a career goal, and they're
certainly good at it.
That said, the fact that the series is
rooted in college-level social interaction should give you a good idea
about the maturity (or lack thereof) of its content. Pranks aside,
there's plenty of reason to think twice about this show for teens.
Sexual innuendo, partial nudity, and strong language are just the
beginning. There's also a complete lack of realism in these so-called
adults' lives, which sends iffy messages to teens about work ethics.
Plus, teens who tune in will want to visit CH's parent Web site -- as
well as Gigglebarn's (both addresses are spoken and written throughout
the show), which is a virtual photo album of women's thong-clad
backsides and bikini-supported chests.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about commercialism in the media. What do you think
of how this show promotes its parent Web site (and vice versa)? Can you
think of any other shows or sites that do that? How do marketing
techniques like product placement and sponsorship work? Are you
influenced by the products you see used in TV shows or by celebrities?
Is this type of marketing is more or less effective than traditional
commercials?
TV Details
- Premiere date : February 8, 2009
- Cast : Patrick Cassels , Ricky Van Veen , Sarah Schneider
- Network : MTV
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 20, 2019
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