Important Things with Demetri Martin is a series airing on Comedy Central starring comedian Demetri Martin. The show is produced by Jon Stewart’s Busboy Productions The show contains stand-up and prop comedy by Martin, as well as taped sketches.
Jon Stewart took an active role in “shepherding” the pilot. Reuters reports: ‘Lauren Corrao, executive VP of original programming and development at Comedy Central, noted that Martin’s style of humor is nothing like the sketch shows the network has previously tried. “When we were in the throes of postproduction, Jon went into the office and editing room and worked with Demetri on the final cuts,” she said. The pilot puts Martin’s sly, thoughtful manner to use by having all the segments riff on “the important things” about a certain idea or object. The first two episodes were about “Timing” and “Power.” Future episodes will give the same treatment to everything from apples to “what happens after we die,” he said.
Show Segments
* Jokes/Data/Large Pad – In this segment which usually starts the show, Martin uses a familiar medium to present humorous observations related to the show’s topic. Often, Martin will present a series of charts and drawings in this segment.
* Sketches – In this segment, Martin collaborates his creativity with other guest actors to create a situation that relates to the show’s topic.
* Animation – Connects the show segments together with a short, simple animation which is usually thirty seconds or less. It is sometimes drawn by hand in black and white, and sometimes (especially for the Important Things Things sketches) drawn on a chalkboard.
* Music – Martin uses his musical abilities to perform a song relating to the shows topic. Often, he will use his ambidextrous talent to play a number of different instruments simultaneously, such as harmonica, synth, piano, bells, guitar, etc.
Ratings
Episode 1: 2.4 million viewers (Series outranked “American Idol 8″ in the men 18-34 demo, garnering 1 million viewers in that group.) This is the biggest premiere audience for Comedy Central since the debut of Chappelle’s Show.
Critical Reception
The show has received positive reviews from critics, and currently has a 71/100 rating on metacritic.com, based on 8 reviews. Its best reviews come from Salon.com, who says “You’ll find an important (and rare) thing: an off-kilter show that’s at once smart, outlandish, and very funny.” The Washington Post says “Think the deadpan Steven Wright, only cheerier and more versatile. A stand-up comic and sometime cartoonist, Martin seems cursed with endless postgraduate cleverness.”
