Episode Review: Sports and Comedy Collide in ‘The Chris Gethard Show’

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Chris Gethard Show Episode Review

The comedy and sports worlds don’t often overlap, save for the cringeworthy SNL episodes hosted by Charles Barkley and Michael Phelps. But on April 13, Chris Gethard welcomed his favorite basketball player, former New York Knicks shooting guard John Starks, for a special nerds-meet-jocks episode of The Chris Gethard Show.

The premise seemed simple enough; Chris wanted to combine poetry slams with basketball slam dunks for a slam-themed episode. Gethard himself said at the top of the show that he always had a lifelong dream of dunking a basketball, something the petite comedy nerd unsurprisingly never had the opportunity to do growing up. The literature side came from writer and humorist John Hodgman, who did his best to assimilate to the sports culture. He readily changed into hockey jersey supporting the now-defunct Hartford Whalers. Because sports.

Instead of fans calling in seeking advice, callers skyped into TCGS to read their favorite poems, while the host and guests took turns slam dunking basketballs. With the help of a mini trampoline, Chris, sidekick Shannon O’Neill, athlete John and writer John all managed to dunk at least a couple balls through verses from Emily Dickinson and Edward Jones. Of course, there was plenty of face-planting and crazy misses to go around.

Perhaps the funniest moment of the show came in a pre-taped package, when Chris sent announcer Murf Meyer to try out for  a minor league baseball team. Murf was an accomplished high school baseball player with aspirations of higher athletic success, but years of drinking and partying in New York derailed that dream. To get his shot, the out-of-shape comedian must go through rigorous workouts, play with younger, fitter guys, and try and pitch a ball next to people who can throw a 90-mph fastball. The comedy was twinged with a bit of sadness; watching a grown man literally chase after a dream he had as a kid, a dream that will never come true, is all too real. But instead of shying away from that reality, Murf faced it head on. He didn’t even embarrass himself too much, and was a good sport throughout the entire tryout.

The bit was very reminiscent of the David Letterman or Conan O’Brien days on The Late Show, where anything goes, no matter how silly, irreverent, or so-honest-it’s-sad. Needless to say, Murf didn’t get a slot on the team his training included drinking, not sleeping, and eating fast food but it provided plenty of entertainment for the rest of us.

Chris ended the show the same way he normally does, by leaving us with some words of encouragement. Sure, watching grown adults, most of whom are better off as artists rather than athletes, try and dunk basketballs provides a good amount of comedic fodder. But the bigger meaning is following your dreams, no matter how big or out-of-touch they seem. Chris had spent his entire life wanting to dunk a basketball, and on Wednesday night he got to. The fact that it was on critically-acclaimed TV show he created, that also bears his name in the title, is just details.

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Christina Stiehl

Christina is a writer, editor and comedy nerd living in New York City. You can catch her performing improv around town with her indie team Darling Satan.
Christina Stiehl
Christina Stiehl
Christina is a writer, editor and comedy nerd living in New York City. You can catch her performing improv around town with her indie team Darling Satan.