Kenny Mayne’s new web comedy premiered today on ESPN.com, which worried me, since the last time they gave an ESPN personality their own online “show”, we ended up with the Sports Guy cartoons.
(Kenny Mayne as a SportsCenter anchor? What a concept!)
But the first episode of “Mayne Street” isn’t so bad, even if it’s based on a joke we’ve seen before. Mayne is a guy who’s had the same shtick for years, and it’s not changing. Either you think his act is funny or you don’t.
The premise of the show is that Mayne plays a bumbling SportsCenter anchor who can’t seem to do anything right. Not a stretch by any means, but a set-up that should provide easy opportunities for a few laughs. The real star of the premiere, however, is Scott Van Pelt, who basically steals the show from the star.
Link to the show after the jump.
Episode One is the old “we can’t finish the show until I read this one line off the teleprompter right” routine. You see, Kenny called Rafael Nadal “Rafi” instead of “Rafa” in his closing. So, he’ll get it fixed on the second, take, right? Of course not. You see where this is going.
It threatens to get real old about a two minutes in, but Van Pelt comes to the rescue and saves the whole thing with a surprisingly authentic-sounding outburst and some soul-baring about his wife and kids, all before a “waaa-waaaaaaa” (that’s supposed to be like the sound of a trombone or something) gag at the end that can be seen from a mile away.
It’s a decent effort, but not groundbreaking by any means. And who’s the girl playing the director? She seems to a bit uncomfortable with acting, which is odd considering she’s an actual actor. I guess there wasn’t much of a budget for this.
The whole thing, however, is basically a retread of this Homestar Runner cartoon from a few years back:
Judging by their comments, ESPN.com users seemed to mostly love the show. A few seemed to love it too much. Who on earth would write the following in a comment field?
God what a show! When the next episode? Kenny is so funny did anybody see him sunday on espn sunday countdown he so funny!
Yes, he so funny.
“Mayne Street” will appear on Tuesdays & Fridays on ESPN.com. Mayne is probably best digested in small doses, which makes this a good format for him, and the show should be successful as long as the situations allow him to be himself and aren’t too rigidly constructed.
6:39 pm on November 11th, 2008
Yes, it's a tired comedic rotuine, but Kenny & Scott pull it off quite well. Kenny's cough was genius!
6:43 pm on November 11th, 2008
God what a show! When the next episode? Kenny is so funny did anybody see him sunday on espn sunday countdown he so funny!
Written by Kenny's mom, no doubt.
6:45 pm on November 11th, 2008
I can safely say this is 1000 times better than "Who's Now?"
6:49 pm on November 11th, 2008
Made me laugh.
What makes this video play out well is Kenny Manye's deadpan delivery combined with Scott Van Pelt's eventual manic eruptions. It's a good balancing act. If both Kenny & Scott were going crazy, or if both were playing it straight & dull, it wouldn't have worked.
6:54 pm on November 11th, 2008
Eager Beaver:
Watching paint dry is 1000 times better than "Who's Now?"
7:50 pm on November 11th, 2008
Not bad. Feels like one of their regular "This is SportsCenter" commercials, but 10 times as long.
8:06 pm on November 11th, 2008
Scott Van Pelt deserves a spinoff series of his own.
8:12 pm on November 11th, 2008
I dunno if I would have gone with "Mayne Street". I would have used "The Mayne Event" or "The Mayne Attraction".
8:23 pm on November 11th, 2008
And if Kenny's online show ever stops production, we can always declare, "Remember the Mayne!"
8:36 pm on November 11th, 2008
This was a funny one, but I'm worried it will be the only funny one.
8:38 pm on November 11th, 2008
That was very funny! As long as Scott Van Pelt keeps showing up, while Stuart Scott & Chris Berman stay away, Kenny's show should do fine.
8:41 pm on November 11th, 2008
This whole problem could have been solved had Kenny been allowed to say Rafael Nadal's full first name instead of just "Rafa".
Of course, then there would be no premise for the webisode, but I'm here to solve problems, not worry about the consequences.
8:45 pm on November 11th, 2008
Scott Van Pelt should make a cameo in the next "Peanuts" special as Linus & Lucy Van Pelt's long-lost cousin.
8:54 pm on November 11th, 2008
Mayne is probably best digested in small doses, which makes this a good format for him, and the show should be successful as long as the situations allow him to be himself and aren’t too rigidly constructed.
I totally agree with this assessment. However, this can also be said for all the other ESPN anchors.
11:15 pm on November 11th, 2008
The whole thing, however, is basically a retread of this Homestar Runner cartoon from a few years back:
Go even farther back to Sports Night on ABC in Season Two when Casey can't say "Yevgeny Kafelnikov." That's from like '99.
1:13 pm on November 12th, 2008
Scott Van Pelt=Strombad for sure.
9:57 am on November 13th, 2008
Kenny Mayne SUCKS!!! Get him off the fucking TV!