Austin Improv

I was flipping through the channels the other night and I saw David Pasquesi on my TV set. That's one half of TJ and Dave.

It turned out to be a new TV show that's "largely improvised" called Factory. I believe the channel was G4.

The humor in it was great, but I feel like the show isn't exciting or dynamic enough to make an impact with a large enough audience to survive. I really hope I'm wrong about that, though.

It had the feel of "Sons and Daughters," which was a short-lived show on CBS or ABC in 2006 that was great but just never hit with audiences.

From the trailer it looked like Pat Finn and Michael Coleman from BeerSharkMice were in it too, or is that just a cameo?

A. Sorry, it is Spike TV.

B. I think it comes on Sundays at 9.

C. Also stars:
Michael Coleman
Jay Legett
Mitch Rouse

And has several other names from the improv world and beyond. I didn't see Pat Finn, though I wasn't paying very close attention.

You can see the full episode at: http://www.spike.com/full-episode/premi ... sode/27753

hmm.

For those of you who are watching "Factory" you may have noticed Del Close's image on the anti-drug poster behind the drug testing Ken Campbell and Joel Murray. It's kind of ironic because all three of those guys love their drugs.

So here's my update: the first one was good. the second one was pretty lousy. the third one was a lot better. the fourth one was pretty good.

So, nothing's blowing me away yet, but it's still better than almost everything else on TV. After they run out of supporting roles for their friends and find their groove, this should be a pretty watchable show... but I doubt a classic in the making. Maybe it's just a first real effort before these guys break out into bigger, more fun things.

The improvised feel is fun and leads to a lot of absurdity, but it's a little too loose. Plus, there's simply not a lot that's new here. Unless it really shakes things up a bit, it's probably going to be a one season footnote in the encyclopedia of made-for-basic-cable tv shows.