Lewis Black's Root of All Evil

infobox television
show_name = Lewis Black's Root of All Evil


caption =
rating =
format = Moot court
runtime = 30 Minutes
creator = Scott Carter
David Sacks
starring = Lewis Black
country = USA
network = Comedy Central
first_aired = March 12, 2008
last_aired = present
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 18
list_episodes =
website = http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/root_of_all_evil/index.jhtml
imdb_id = 0995865
tv_com_id = 73594|

"Lewis Black's Root of All Evil" is an American television series that premiered on Comedy Central on March 12, 2008, starring comedian Lewis Black. The show is produced by "Real Time With Bill Maher" producer Scott Carter and "The Simpsons" writer David Sacks.

The show is in mock trial format, featuring Black presiding over two people or issues going against each other like defendants and plaintiffs in a trial, with a series of comedians and guests, such as Kathleen Madigan, Greg Giraldo, Andy Daly, Paul F. Tompkins, and Patton Oswalt, playing lawyers making their case why something (e.g. YouTube, beer, Oprah, PETA etc.) is the "root of all evil."

Field pieces are all directed by Supervising Producer, Michael Addis.

Format

Each show begins with Lewis Black welcoming the viewer to his courtroom and declares who the two candidates for 'root of all evil' will be with a trademark "Which is the root of all evillllllllllll?" After the introduction finishes Black gives a brief history of each of the candidates and introduces the two advocates. He then chooses one of them to start his/her opening statement which is then followed by the other advocate's opening statement. After this Black asks the advocates to present their case for their respective evil. Like the opening statements these mostly consist of oral arguments occasionally featuring previously filmed video 'evidence'. After both advocates finish Black begins his inquisition where he takes turns asking the advocates questions regarding their evil. Most of the time these questions relate to the good or usefulness of the 'evil' or questions that attempt to point out that the other candidate is more evil. After this Black asks the advocates to predict what would happen if their evil continued to grow and be successful in their "Ripple of Evil". The Ripple of Evils usually use absurd and comedic logic and are generally very silly, although they are spoken in a serious tone. After this Black asks the advocates for closing arguments, then asks for the audience's opinion (which he almost never agrees with) and then ends the show with his final verdict along with the loser's sentence.

Advocates

The advocates are the people who put forward their cases regarding whether or not a certain person, location, or thing is the "root of all evil." The advocates and their win-loss records are: [cite web |url= http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/root_of_all_evil/prosecutors/index.jhtml|title= Prosecutors|publisher=Comedy Central|accessdate=2008-09-09]

According to an interview with Lewis Black on The Opie & Anthony Show on 06/03/2008, the legal department of Comedy Central rejected an episode that would have put Scientology against Disney, however, it is clear that that decision was changed. Scientology is notorious for litigation against any form of media criticism. An episode on Marriage vs. Death was also rejected.

Reception

Before the first episode was broadcast, Brian Lowry in "Variety" attacked the show, saying that the comedians on it were "Second-tier", the set "resembles a cut-rate version of "The Weakest Link" set," and that "Comedy Central's programming usually falls squarely into the sublime or the ridiculous, so consider "Root of All Evil" a rare tweener in terms of quality -- one that proves a whole lot of Black is preferable, albeit marginally, to a black hole." [cite news|last=Lowry|first=Brian|url=http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117936450.html?categoryid=1264&cs=1|title=Lewis Black's Root of All Evil|publisher="Variety"|date-2008-03-10|accessdate=2008-03-12] Attracting about 2.3 million viewers, the debut episode of the show was the most-watched premiere episode of a Comedy Central series since the premiere episode of "Chappelle's Show" in 2003 and topped the demographics for male audiences aged 18 to 34. [cite news|last=Eggerton|first=John|title=Comedy Central: Black Is In for Summer|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6562909.html?rssid=193|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=2008-05-21|accessdate=2008-05-23]

Mark Dawidziak of "The Plain Dealer" wrote in his review of the show that, "I'm a sucker for a good Lewis rant, and sometimes "Root of All Evil" would benefit from more Lewis fomenting and less formula. For as long as it's around, though, it does make a good fit with a Comedy Central lineup that includes Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Sarah Silverman and, of course, "South Park"." [cite news|last=Dawidziak|first=Mark|url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1205310736327040.xml&coll=2|title=Lewis Black's Root of All Evil a good match for still-sharp South Park|publisher="The Plain Dealer"|date=2008-03-12|accessdate=2008-03-12]

References

External links

* [http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/04/19/comedy-central-picks-up-root-of-all-evil-pilot/ Comedy Central picks up Root of All Evil pilot]
* [http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/cc_insider/2007/04/lewis_blacks_ne.html Lewis Black's New Pilot Picked Up Here]
* [http://tv.ign.com/articles/825/825095p1.html Comedy Central Gets Angry With Lewis Black]