I commend the effort of the guys and crew for putting a show together during the pandemic, and I still thoroughly look forward to each episode, yet it just isn't the same.
The best part about the show is the reactions of the public, which they attempt at in the two challenges as best they can, but it was thrown out the window for the punishment. Joe was doing this fake newscast at 2am, but for who? The Jokers, us? The guys just watched it on a screen after the fact. Not getting the public's reaction is one thing; not even getting the other guys reactions live is another. They feed off each other. The chemistry is important, and the guys watching a video of the punishment takes that away.
The challenges were also poor.
The first was funny, laugh out loud hilarious, in fact, but it didn't make any sense. "Get through the Zoom call" was the goal, which means what, exactly? Don't hang up? They couldn't have expected people to end the calls early, as is what happened with Joe. They were lucky that even happened, otherwise, they would have a useable bit.
Also, Sal's turn was funny, until the very end. They gave him an extremely hilarious line to say. The "I'm not even 100% sure who this person is" was one of the best lines, yet immediately after Sal delivered it, the thumbs up came on screen and his turn cut. We didn't even get to see the reaction on the employer's end, thus removing every bit of comedy from the line and Sal's delivery. Again, the public's reaction is key to the show's success.
The effort to shoot a public-dependent show during COVID is respectable, but we lose the most important detail: the people.
The best part about the show is the reactions of the public, which they attempt at in the two challenges as best they can, but it was thrown out the window for the punishment. Joe was doing this fake newscast at 2am, but for who? The Jokers, us? The guys just watched it on a screen after the fact. Not getting the public's reaction is one thing; not even getting the other guys reactions live is another. They feed off each other. The chemistry is important, and the guys watching a video of the punishment takes that away.
The challenges were also poor.
The first was funny, laugh out loud hilarious, in fact, but it didn't make any sense. "Get through the Zoom call" was the goal, which means what, exactly? Don't hang up? They couldn't have expected people to end the calls early, as is what happened with Joe. They were lucky that even happened, otherwise, they would have a useable bit.
Also, Sal's turn was funny, until the very end. They gave him an extremely hilarious line to say. The "I'm not even 100% sure who this person is" was one of the best lines, yet immediately after Sal delivered it, the thumbs up came on screen and his turn cut. We didn't even get to see the reaction on the employer's end, thus removing every bit of comedy from the line and Sal's delivery. Again, the public's reaction is key to the show's success.
The effort to shoot a public-dependent show during COVID is respectable, but we lose the most important detail: the people.
