Upright Citizen's Brigade

Out of sheer randomness, tuned in Comedy Central's Upright Citizen's Brigade.

Goddamn. What a slap in the face.

Basically, it's four improv comics who approach their material with fearless, fierce intensity. Weird routines about a "bucket of truth" and a DEA agent named Captain Lunatic (pronounced loon-a-tic). Wow. "Second City on acid" would be the cliche thing to say. Not quite. "Second City on rage" would be more accurate. The missing element is hostility. The naked, subversive decision not to be nice, not to kiss up to the audience.

Gusty, original stuff.

I'm hooked.