Lewis Black takes on Oprah, Catholics and Viagra in new series

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By April MacIntyre Feb 19, 2008, 21:04 GMT

Fans of great stand up have a reason to celebrate. Lewis Black's new show on Comedy Central will feature some of the sharpest comedic minds out there: Andrew Daly, Greg Giraldo, Andy Kindler, Kathleen Madigan, Patton Oswalt and Paul F. Tompkins.

The premiere episode of "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil" on Wednesday, March 12 at 10:30 p.m. takes on cultural sacred cows Oprah and the Catholic Church with Paul F. Tompkins and Greg Giraldo making their case on which behemoth entity is the root of all evil."Lewis Black's Root of All Evil" juxtaposes equally vile suspects Kim Jong Il and Tila Tequila or debates pop culture topics such as You Tube vs. Porn against each other in an open improvised setting. A rotating group of comedians are set to take the stage and argue who or what is most evil with Black presiding over the "final decision."

More examples of future shows promises the following episode for the comics to debate and make their case: "Donald Trump vs. Viagra" Premieres Wednesday, March 19 At 10:30 P.M.Future evil episodes include: Paris Hilton (Giraldo) vs. Dick Cheney (Oswalt); Beer (Daly) vs. Weed (Tompkins); YouTube (Oswalt) vs. Porn (Giraldo); Kim Jong Il (Madigan) vs. Tila Tequila (Giraldo); "American Idol" (Kindler) vs. High School (Oswalt); and Las Vegas (Daly) vs. The Human Body (Oswalt).The show will feature "a fiery monologue by Black introducing the topics; 'Opening Statements' - the first opportunity comedians have to state their case; "Debate" – the comedians provide verbal and video evidence to bolster their case and try to debunk each other's theories; 'Inquisition' - Black grills the comedians; 'Ripple of Evil' - comedians predict the dire consequences that will ensue if their evil is left unchecked; 'Closing Statements' – comedians hit their message home; 'Final Verdict' – Black renders his decision. Comedycentral.com will connect fans with a video archive including exclusive Web-only video from "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil;" message boards; a "Root" Facebook application; show outtakes and uncensored clips. In addition, each week viewers can participate via interactive polling to weigh-in on who or what they think is the "root of all evil." Using their mobile phones, viewers can text (standard text messaging rates apply) their vote and the results will be displayed in real time at the end of the show.Lewis Black was the first stand-up comedian to perform in concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. In December 2007, he was part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Christmas Show – along with Robin Williams, Kid Rock, Lance Armstrong, Ronan Tynan and Miss USA, Rachel Smith – that entertained U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Kryzistan, Spain and Italy.In 2006, Black had a break out year as an actor. He co-starred with Robin Williams in Barry Levinson's "Man of the Year" (Universal Pictures), appeared as "the fake dean of a fake college" in Steve Pink’s "Accepted" (Universal Pictures) and as the harried airport manager in Paul Feig’s "Unaccompanied Minors" (Warner Brothers). In addition, he lent his voice to the role of "Jimmy" in Bob Sagat's parody, "Farce of the Penguins" (Thinkfilm).Black's first book, Nothing's Sacred (Simon and Schuster, 2005) debuted on The New York Times Best Seller List. He’s currently working on a second Penguin release, (June 3, 2008) titled, Me of Little Faith. The book is described as an exploration of religion and faith in which Black examines how the rules and constraints of religion have affected everyone.

Lewis Black, host of Comedy Central's Root of All Evil
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MehMar 13th, 2008 - 03:15:37

Saw the premier episode. It got one or two chuckles from me but it was pretty lame and unfunny overall. The laugh track really killed it for me. The live audience was just sitting there, stone faced, so laughs were edited in during each pause of speech.

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julian rianoMar 14th, 2008 - 00:34:03

Oprah is a singular hypocrite. Tragic that the female leadership academy in Africa was all for publicity. Through Oprah's inattentiveness and lack of real interest she unwittingly perpetuates the victimization of young black women. It is ironic how she is the advocate for these people.

I do not watch her mass market, media, research, giveaway show either. It is a critical mass of pollution of the American conciousness. It appears she has succumbed to her own a delusions. Tyra beware! hahha

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