Halfway Home aired from March until May on Comedy Central.
Five nutty parolees on their way back into society lived together in a run-down halfway house operated by the Los Angeles Department of Prisons in this improvised sitcom. Crenshaw House was a big , white suburban home supervised by Kenny(Kevin Ruf), who was a terrible role model. The parolees were Serenity ( Octavia Spencer), armed robbery, a tough black mama from the streets, Carly ( Jessica Makinson), drug trafficking, a spaced-out flower child, Eulogio ( Oscar Nufiez), prostitution, a happy Hispanic hooker, Alan ( Regan Burns), arson, a wimpy , neurotic snitch and C-Bass( Jordan Black), internet fraud, a skinny, rich black kid with delusions of having " street smarts."
A Review from The Boston Globe
'Halfway Home' is juvenile, amateurish, vulgar -- and pretty funny
By Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff
| March 14, 2007
I am a bad person, such a very bad person. I laughed at a spotty new improvisational Comedy Central series called "Halfway Home" that will seriously offend the sensibilities of any viewer who knows PBS doesn't stand for Peanut Butter Sandwich and anyone who's over 17, which, believe it or not, I am. The show, premiering tonight at 10:30, is juvenile, vulgar, and crude, and yet, I still think it contains more sparks of originality than TV's top-rated comedy, "Two and a Half Men."
"Halfway Home" is in the same family of comedies as "Reno 911!," "10 Items or Less," "Lovespring International," and "Campus Ladies." These shows are loosely structured, hit-or-miss, and, at times, surprisingly amateurish for major cable channels. But, because they're so cheaply made, they are low-stakes enough to burrow into some strange subcultures and unearth some freshly twisted characters and situations. They are the current iteration of cult TV, and they have in their family tree Christopher Guest's movies, including "Best in Show" and "Waiting for Guffman."
In "Halfway Home," five paroled ex-cons live together under supervision by a touchy-feely counselor named Kenny (Kevin Ruf , the executive producer and an alumnus of the Groundlings). From the outside, the LA house recalls "The Real Word: New Orleans," but inside it's a dump. Likewise, the ex-cons only sound like a dangerous crew. The ironically named Serenity (Octavia Spencer ) is a tough cookie convicted of burglary; Carly (Jessica Makinson ) is a flaky druggie; Al (Regan Burns ) is an arsonist; Eulogio (Oscar Nunez ) is a prostitute; and C-Bass (Jordan Black ) is a would-be terrorist. But really they're a bunch of misfits who pick on one another like siblings.
The big joke in tonight's episode is that Al the arsonist is a goody-goody who says he smells marijuana burning. This leads to a series of supervised urine tests; a few racial barbs fired from Al to C-Bass and Serena, both of whom are black; and fierce bragging by Eulogio, who claims to have slept with countless famous men including Iggy Pop. Nunez, who plays Oscar on "The Office," is one of the show's producers, and he goes over the top with swish. All the actors similarly parody stereotypes, particularly Black as C-Bass, a suburban kid who pretends he's the next Malcolm X.
As the troupe hams it up, the jokes fall flat more often than they fly. Upcoming episodes try to milk humor out of pothead Carly's efforts to break the pogo-sticking world record; Kenny's refusal to share his air conditioning during a heat wave; and a saltpeter scare, as the men obsess over whether the Bureau of Prisons is trying to dull their libidos by drugging their food. The resulting jokes frequently involve masturbation, and the farce never strays too far from the bathroom.
Any yet ultimately, even when the humor fails, the characters are kind of dear. There's a bit of inspired zaniness lurking in Comedy Central's latest attempt to find another "South Park." That, or I've just been eating a few too many Peanut Butter Sandwiches
A Review from The Daily Campus
'Halfway Home' Not Quite There Yet
Mary Sullivan
Issue date: 3/12/07
What do you get when you put a prostitute, arsonist, wannabe terrorist, robber and drug trafficker under one roof? "Halfway Home," the latest sitcom to hit the Comedy Central airwaves.
"Halfway Home" follows the daily exploits of five ex-convicts who are almost home from prison but not quite yet as they enter into a rehabilitation house.
The show is improv, much like "Reno 911!," but, unlike its network counterpart, "Halfway House" doesn't pretend to be a reality TV show.
Like "Reno 911!" the characters are over the top in a way that makes the audience question what they are thinking with plots like breaking the pogo stick world record and trying to blow up the resident narc.
The ex-convicts of the Crenshaw House include Eulogio Pla (Oscar Nunez), a male prostitute who manipulates people with sex; Sebastian "C-Bass" Yates (Jordan Black), a rich boy caught for Internet fraud who wants to be a terrorist; Alan Shepard (Regan Burns), the arsonist and resident narc; Carly Barzac (Jessica Makinson), a drug trafficker caught up in her old habits; and Serenity Johnson (Octavia Spencer), an armed robber.
Presiding over the rehabilitation of the convicts is Kenny Carlisle (Kevin Ruf), a hypocritical corrections officer. Ruf is also one of the creators of "Halfway Home."
Because the show isn't overpowered with big named stars, the fresh comedic talent of the cast shines through, especially Nunez as a gay prostitute.
While the talented cast shows promise as improv actors, "Halfway House" itself is lacking something and is only halfway there.
This is not a show for the faint of heart because it will certainly offend many without offering the slightest apology, but it will certainly find an audience with any college student who enjoys the humor of "Reno 911!."
In the first episode, the residents of Crenshaw House are subjected to a urine test when Alan the narc reports smelling marijuana in the house. After the rehabbers scrounge around to find some clean urine, it turns out that one smoking was Kenny the corrections officer. In order to avoid being reported himself, the corrections officer drugs Alan the narc who is found high when the Bureau of Prisons comes to investigate.
In the second episode, after believing that the Bureau of Prisons has added erectile-dysfunction-causing drugs to their food, the men of Crenshaw House take horse Viagra in an attempt to counteract its effects. As expected, the Bureau of Prisons is not quite thrilled with the results when a photograph of the men ends up on the front of the newspapers.
The show also explores other stereotypes like the art of robbery, black vs. white labels and racial order.
It is uncertain how this show will be received by audiences for the last few Comedy Central show have been real duds. Remember "The Naked Trucker and T-Bone" anyone? Didn't think so.
Comedy Central will try its luck again when "Halfway House" debuts Wednesday at 10:30 p.m.
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