The genius of Good Morning World lies in its simplicity. The online series created by Toronto improv comedians Pat Kelly and Peter Oldring isn’t online anymore (the Canadian Comey Network picked it up for television broadcast), but cult followers will remember its spartan set and brazen (referring both to the level of its mockery and the fake-and-bake skin color of its stars) satire of traditional morning talk shows.
It reduced the hackneyed genre to its core elements. Rabidly optimistic and painfully cheery hosts, folksy incorporative language, and blithe, insubstantial side segments. Check out this bootlegged episode to see it in action:
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Today, IFC launched its take on the early morning timeslot, Good Morning Internet. The creators would’ve done well to pay attention to Good Morning World’s art of reduction.
###Produced by POYKPAC, the talented Brooklyn-based comedy group responsible for Hipster Olympics, Mario: Game Over, and (my favorite title in their catalog) The Amazingly True Story of Christopher Cringle, Good Morning Internet is the latest release of IFC’s The Internet Is Always On! campaign.
The show covers the same ground as its Canadian predecessor and then some. The cast is comprised of happy-go-lucky anchors with an excellent rapport, Quinn Morgan and Colby Honeycutt; gregarious correspondents, Chip Stockley and Alvin Cooley; and Pat-like producer Devin. Together they tackle man-on-the-street interviews, falling special effects, and a makeovers gone predictably mediocre.
It’s all a bit too much. The morning talk show provides a cornucopia of material from which to parody and, in its premiere episode, Good Morning Internet has suffered from picking too much content ripe for comedy.
The anchors are entertaining, and the segments are watchable (the one on depression moreso than the makeover), but everything needs trimming. The show should focus on those morning talk show fundamentals that Good Morning World employs so well. It’s only the first episode, so the series certainly has time to improve. I’m sure POYPACK and IFC will find some flow.
Get your daily dose of Good Morning Internet anytime you want at IFC.com.
