The Sarah Silverman Program - Season 3

I've enjoyed both this show and Demetri Martin's the whole time they've been airing. They're the only worthwhile things Comedy Central has developed in years, which is why it was distressing to learn in the middle of the season without warning that they'd been pushed from their previous time slots to after midnight. Apparently they've been starved for ratings enough that the channel saw more profit in airing reruns of the previous night's animated series than new episodes of two really funny shows. It makes their bids for renewal look tough, so we're probably seeing the final episodes here.

It's a shame too, because while I thought the second season of Sarah Silverman was still funny but not as good, it was every bit as awesome this year as it's ever been. Again, nothing's untouchable, as Sarah learns that she was born a hermaphrodite, accidentally murders people and blames it on Home Alone, gives acid to senior citizens, and accidentally brings some Nazis to a Holocaust memorial. On occasion I laughed as hard as I ever have, and it was consistently enjoyable throughout. My favorite episode was probably "Just Breve", which actually has very little of Sarah at all, but the culmination of the robot story is one of the best things I've ever seen on cable. I won't give up on the show until it's officially dead, but unfortunately I don't think there's much hope.

The Sarah Silverman Program - Season 2

The first half aired over a year ago, but the show came back from hiatus at the same time as South Park this October, which would have been a nice tandem if they actually aired on the same night. If you haven't seen the Program, it's a pretty solid satire of normal sitcoms, frequently done in very broad strokes. When Brian and Steve spend entire episodes engaging in fart jokes, it's a little hard to tell whether it's a send up of banal humor in other comedies or just banal humor. I generally give them the benefit of the doubt though, because in general the show does a lot right.

The first season was really short, but it had a lot of great moments making fun of really sensitive issues like AIDS. The second doesn't have as many iconic episodes like that, but there's still plenty to make fun of and a lot of laughs. I have to appreciate a show where the main character sleeps with God and then gets annoyed when he's too clingy afterward. Laura and Jay are a nice parody of the irritatingly happy couple, and Brian and Steve fill in for the marriage with constant problems that always manage to get solved within 22 minutes. There's some fun cameos too, like Tim Heidecker in a small role and Adam Corolla as a man a little too passionate about beards. I'm not sure if a third season is going to come but I think it should.