July 14-20, 2005

mixpicks

Simply the Best

INSTANT NOSTALGIA

No doubt, the writers of The Daily Show and its host, Jon Stewart, deserve any accolade and every blowjob they can snag. But the near-religious worship they receive from so many glad-handing media outlets is turning them into a too-scared cow; so much so, they need a gatekeeper. Up for nomination: VH1's Best Week Ever, a panel-centric satirical twist on the week's most worthy (and unworthy) news and pop culture events. Hosted by the likes of Chuck Nice, Doug Benson and Kennedy, the clip-driven show of weekly stupidity (think R. Kelly's soap-opera singles, Ed Klein's Hillary Clinton book and Paris Hilton's royal wedding) is sending its most gap-toothed into Philadelphia: Conan regular Paul Scheer, Real Time with Bill Maher's Paul F. Tompkins, and stand-up comedians Jessi Klein and Sherrod Small. The Pauls are the most visible of the talking heads — towing the front line of caustic. While the suit-and-tie-dry Tompkins has been kicking around the comedy block almost as long as Don Rickles, Scheer is a relative newcomer. The one-time Chicago City Limits/Upright Citizens Brigade improvisationalist's takes on political satire and vaudeville make him seem more versatile than he really is, but it's this jittery goofiness that turns the greatest tragedies into the sweetest jokes.

"Best Week Ever Live," with Paul Scheer, Jessi Klein, Sherrod Small and Paul F. Tompkins, Thu., July 14, 8 p.m., $20-$22, Theater of the Living Arts, 334 South St., 215-922-1011, www.thetla.com.

—A.D. Amorosi