The controversial Comedy Central “The Jeff Dunham Show” starring comedian/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and his puppets. The series can be seen as hilarious and fun but also offensive and insensitive. What it comes down to is that if you are a fan of Jeff Dunham’s comedy, you’ll definitely enjoy this DVD. Otherwise, if you are sensitive to racial caricatures and that style of comedy, this DVD is not for you.
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TITLE: The Jeff Dunham Show
DURATION: 7 Episodes (154 Minutes)
DVD INFORMATION: Letterboxed (2:35:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 TV’s, Color, French with optional English subtitles
RATED: Not Rated (Parental Advisory: Explicit Content. Warning: This program is recommended for mature audiences only. It contains adult language and situations)
COMPANY: Comedy Central/Paramount
Released Dated: May 18, 2010
Directed by Matthew McNeil, Manny Rodriguez
Written by Ian Busch, Jason Mayland, Cece Pleasants, Jeff Dunham
Produced by Cathy A. Cambria
Senior Producer: Christine Reed
Segment Producer: Stephen Ashton Booth
Associate Producer: Tricia Horn
Starring:
Jeff Dunham
Penelope Hsu as Dr. Hsu
Elizabeth Ann Koshak
Brooke Hogan
Benji Madden
Joel Madden
Dr. Drew
You’ve seen Jeff Dunham and his characters on stage at his sold-out concert events. Now see what happens when they perform in front of a live studio audience and go into the real word. Watch as Achmed tries to join the Marines, Walter gives relationship advice to young couples, and Bubba J visits a firing range. Throw in the antics of Sweet Daddy Dee, Peanut, and José Jalapeño, and you’ve got the formula for another Jeff Dunham smash-hit DVD. Add this to your collection today!
Comedy Central is known for having shows that are provocative and “South Park” continues to be the flagship series of the network and still receiving notoriety today as it did when it first aired on television. But in October -December 2009, comedian/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham was given his own sketch comedy show titled “The Jeff Dunham Show” which many Dunham fans were excited about but at the same time, those familiar with Dunham’s comedy, felt the show’s comedy touching upon racial stereotypes was going too far.
So, needless to say, this controversial Comedy Central sketch comedy show was shortlived and was not renewed to the dismay of fans of Dunham and his show. But for those fans who can’t get enough of characters such as Walter, Peanut, Bubba J, Sweet Daddy Dee and Achmed the Dead Terrorist, can now rejoice as “The Jeff Dunham Show” will now be released from Comedy Central on DVD.
There is no doubt that Jeff Dunham is one of the more popular and controversial American comedians/ventriloquists out there. Dunham is one of the top grossing comedians in America, has had three specials on Comedy Central and his comedy DVD’s have also been quite successful with over four million DVD’s sold. His YouTube videos have gone been viral and it would seem that Dunham having his own show was a great idea.
“The Jeff Dunham Show” is a sketch comedy show which features Jeff Dunham and sketches that revolve around his puppets:
- Walter – The older senior who is grump, a Vietnam War veteran, very conservative and also a racist.
- Peanut – A purple skinned “Woozle” who loves his women and is the show’s bad boy.
- Bubba J – The dumb redneck who loves his beer and NASCAR racing.
- Sweet Daddy Dee – Jeff Dunham’s manager who is black. Calls himself a “Pimp” (Player in the Management Position) who tries to bring some soul into Dunham’s comedy act and has a negative view towards white people.
- Achmed the Dead Terrorist – The skeletal corpse of a suicide bomber and known for saying “I’ll kill you!”.
The following seven episodes (about 22 minutes each) from “The Jeff Dunham Show” are featured on a single DVD. Here is a basic spoiler-free summary of each episode:
- EPISODE 1 – Walter and Jeff Dunham receive counseling but Walter has problems because the counselor is gay. Achmed the Dead Terrorist promotes his stand-up comedy DVD, Peanut has a date with Brooke Hogan and Jeff takes Bubba J to a gun show.
- EPISODE 2 – Achmed the Dead Terrorist wants to have his own funeral, Walter gets his health examination but uncomfortable that Dr. Hsu is female and also Asian, Walter interviews the Good Charlotte band members Benji and Joel Madden.
- EPISODE 3 – Achmed the Dead Terrorist tries to become a US Citizen, Walter visits the tech guys for a day, Sweet Daddy Dee tries to bring some soul to Jeff’s comedy and Peanut creates his own health drink.
- EPISODE 4 – Peanut at Paramount recording studio to record a song with Jeff, Bubba J gets a health examination from Dr. Hsu and also a psychological exam and Achmed the Dead Terrorist goes to an adult sex store.
- EPISODE 5 – Sweet Daddy Dee and Jeff visit a Civil War Re-enactment, Achmed the Dead Terrorist records a ringtone, Walter visits a travel agent, Achmed the Dead Terrorist hits on a MILF and Bubba J does some drunk proofing on a home.
- EPISODE 6 – Peanut visits a choreography school, Walter gives counseling advice to couples, Achmed the Dead Terrorist goes to US Marines boot camp and Bubba J goes to the studio to record a ringtone.
- EPISODE 7 – Bubba J gets some counseling from Dr. Drew, Walter gives counseling advice to couples, Achmed the Dead Terrorist visits a preschool, Achmed the Dead Terrorist tries to hire suicide bombers at a job fair and Walter records a ringtone.
VIDEO:
“The Jeff Dunham Show” is presented in widescreen. Because the show is sketch comedy, video quality differs from footage shot live and footage taped. But for the most part, video quality is very good for this comedy series.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Jeff Dunham Show” is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“The Jeff Dunham Show” comes with the following special features:
- Behind the Scenes – Featuring three segments of behind-the-scenes making of the following skits: Camp Pendleton (2:26), Achmed’s Funeral (1:45) and Comedy Central Promos (1:11) for the show.
- Unaired Sketch – (6:59) Featuring an unaired sketch with Sweet Daddy Dee helping out a German bar.
- Bloopers – (1:35) Bloopers from the skits and live segment of the show.
“The Jeff Dunham Show” is an intriguing comedy series. Rarely do you get to see a comedy show with puppets, let alone with adult humor. But the question is if one is able to stomach the humor that is seen on the show.
There is no doubt that fans of Jeff Dunham’s comedy series will enjoy this DVD release. There are seven entertaining episodes that of course is so not politically correct and for the most part, it’s very interesting to see Jeff Dunham bring some life on these puppets that he has created.
But I can see how people can easily be offended by the show as there are many stereotypes that can be seen with each character. The jokes can easily be taken as very insensitive comedy and insultingly racist. People with an open mind to jokes that deal with racial caricatures are not going to be offended but those who are sensitive to that type of material are not going to appreciate the series. Despite the show’s higher ratings compared to other Comedy Central programs, some blame the critics who panned the series as the main reason for the show not being renewed.
In a way, because the show is taken outdoors to various locations and there are various sketches presented in the show, I can see how production costs can get into the way. But I often wondered if some people who tuned into the first episode, cared enough for the puppets for another week. Perhaps puppets are not something that viewers care to watch on a weekly basis and possibly, these characters reacting the same way to the material possibly just got old to viewers.
As for the racial caricatures, I wouldn’t be surprised if the comedy was offensive to various ethnic groups. For example, here are some scenes that probably have touched a nerve.
Walter is your crotchety and conservative older man who is not open to homosexuality and has a disdain towards Asians. In one sketch, he has a hard time communicating with an Asian American doctor because she’s Asian but when introduced to Chinese food, he starts enjoying it but then starts patronizing the delivery man when he starts questioning him about eating or cooking dogs. In another, he has a problem with a gay counselor giving him counseling.
In another sketch, Bubba J goes to sound proof a home and makes a remark about no need for Mexicans in the repair of a home. Then probably the most offensive to many like a white man in black face is the puppet of Sweet Daddy Dee in which Jeff Dunham uses his own version of a Black man that is reminiscent of the minstrel black face shows. And in another sketch featuring Akhmed going to a job fair trying to hire suicide bombers.
Needless to say, this is comedy not intended for the easily offended and because this show features puppets should not expect anything remotely close to Jim Henson’s puppets. This is Jeff Dunham’s puppets going out and interacting with the real world and his Dunham’s comedy is striking hard on stereotypes and issues that are provocative and using stereotypical characterizations as a way to make people laugh. No race, no sex is spared from the comedy.
The fact is that Jeff Dunham is a popular comedian, his specials have done very well in ratings for Comedy Central and his DVD’s have sold exceptionally well. So, it was a unique move to give Jeff Dunham his own show. There are popular comedians who have thrived and many who haven’t done that well when given their own show.  Dunham’s show went from 5.5 million viewers for its first show and then by the second, it lost half of its viewers and reading viewer comments of their impression of the first episode, there are viewers who enjoyed the not-so-politically correct humor and those who felt that the comedy’s racial caricatures were too much.
I can put myself in the shoes of viewers of both sides and see why one would enjoy the series and one who won’t. I for one found certain sketches to be hilarious and thought the character of Walter to be quite an intriguing character that Dunham has created. And for me, the character may be crotchety, conservative and has issues but it also reminds me of a boss I once had who was almost exactly a carbon copy and yeah, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Now, I have to agree with some viewers that Dunham goes a bit far with the puppet Sweet Daddy Dee and I can definitely see how the character would rub people the wrong way and yes, it is a stereotypical caricature. But Dunham did something in which the character wouldn’t be perceived as racist comedy and that’s by using his Black puppet character along with many other African American people and joking around along with it.
But nevertheless, this is comedy that pushes the button. I can easily remember the same with Eddie Murphy in the ’80s, Andrew Dice Clay in the ’90s and for those who have an open mind to comedy, there are many people who laughed along with these comedians and those who didn’t appreciate it at all.
Overall, I found the series to be quite hilarious at times and there were jokes that made me feel, “I can’t believe they did that”. But at the same time, I have an open mind when it comes to comedy and I’m not easily offended. So, if you are a big fan of Jeff Dunham and “The Jeff Dunham Show”, the DVD is worth picking up. Otherwise, if you are easily offended, this DVD release is not for you.