chappelle show

After numerous delays, production of the third season of the show was abruptly ended when Chappelle left the show. Three episodes were compiled from the completed work, and airing from July 9 through July 23, 2006. Re-runs frequently air on Comedy Central and around the world on MTV in Germany, The Comedy Network in Canada, the Comedy Channel in Australia and FX in the United Kingdom.

Format

The show opens with Chappelle being introduced over the a riff from the song, Hip Hop, from the album Let's Get Free by Dead Prez. Chappelle performs a short stand up in front of a live audience, which serves to introduce the upcoming skit. The focus then shifts to a pre-recorded skit that appears on a screen that is to Chappelle's left. The show is notorious for its handling of the topic of race, and Chappelle's casual usage of the words "nigger/nigga". The show also handles such topics as politics, the entertainment industry, celebrities, numerous drug references (particularly marijuana, PCP, and crack cocaine) and music, all performed in a comedic fashion with a touch of surrealism.

Cast

• Dave Chappelle
• Charles Q. Murphy
• Donnell Rawlings
• Bill Burr
• Anthony Berry
• Yoshio Mita
• Sophia Brown
• Randy Pearlstein
• Paul Mooney
• Neal Brennan

Episodes

Main article: List of Chappelle's Show episodes

There have been three seasons of Chappelle's Show produced, totaling 28 episodes. There have also been four "mixtapes" and one "music jump-off" - episodes highlighting the best sketches and musical acts of each season, respectively. Combined, this makes 33 complete episodes.

Popular skits

Main article: List of Chappelle's Show skits

Instead of being a traditional sketch comedy show, its style is much like BBC's Big Train because the skits are pre-recorded (shot on film). However, a laugh track is not used and it is the actual laughter from audiences that are present at the episode's taping. A laugh track was used for the Season 3 trailer.

Frontline - A spoof of the PBS series Frontline. The first Frontline sketch, Blind Supremacy, featured the life of Clayton Bigsby (played by Chappelle), a biography of a blind white supremacist who is not aware that he is actually a black man. This was in the opening episode of the first season and helped Chappelle gain significant notoriety for the way that the sketch gratuitously used the word "nigger" (mostly spoken by Chappelle's character). It is also one of the most "violent" sketches, involving a man's head exploding from shock. Other Frontline sketches featured stories of racist animal actors and gay versions of everything from the DMV to the KKK.

Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories - Charlie Murphy (who also wrote the sketch) retells events of the 1980s, the most popular being the Rick James story with Murphy as himself and Chappelle as James, including incidents such as James slapping Murphy, interspersed with present-day scenes of the real Rick James explaining his past behavior, saying, "Cocaine's a hell of a drug." The sketch spawned one of the show's popular catchphrases, "I'm Rick James, bitch!", which Chappelle as James repeatedly declares.

The sketch attained even greater public attention when, in 2004, a candidate for city council in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, also named Rick James but unrelated to the singer, had many of his Vote Rick James campaign signs defaced or stolen by fans of the sketch. [1] [2]

Black Bush - an African-American "interpretation" of George W. Bush and his administration. It was controversial due to its set-up segment (which had Dave Chappelle mocking fellow comedian Dennis Miller over the comedian's infamous "free pass" comment regarding not saying anything bad about George W. Bush) and its overall theme that if Bush and his top aides were black, that the public would be more willing to be critical of the President and his decisions. The sketch also features cameo appearances by actor Jamie Foxx, who appears as "Black Tony Blair" and Mos Def as "Black Head of the CIA."

A Moment in the Life of Lil Jon - Chappelle plays rapper/producer Lil Jon doing normal, everyday tasks, with a vocabulary consisting of almost nothing but the words 'Yeah!', 'WHAT?!', and 'O-kay!' The real Lil' Jon appeared in one sketch, alternating, as does Chappelle's character, his catchphrases with speech in an excessively dignified accent, perhaps as a reference to Lil Jon's upper middle class background.

Samuel Jackson Beer - A parody of the Samuel Adams beer commercials. Features Chappelle as a very profane and extremely loud Samuel L. Jackson dressed in colonial-style clothes as a play on Samuel Adams beer with the eponymous name of the brewer/patriot Samuel Adams. Inspired the catchphrases "It'll get you drunk!" and "Mm-mmm, bitch!"

Wayne Brady's Show - After Dave Chappelle quits the show in an opening segment that very intriguingly mirrored the contract negotiations for the aborted third season, Wayne Brady takes over as host and is ordered to emcee the remaining episodes of the series since Chappelle had already filmed the remaining sketches (in an ironic twist, this actually occurred when Comedy Central aired the three "Lost Episodes" of the aborted Season 3). After several segments showing Dave at home, missing being on TV (and having his friends, such as Big Boi, suddenly turn their backs on him), Chappelle returns to the show and confronts Wayne Brady. The ensuing confrontation leads to the airing of a flashback to a night of misadventure involving the two that portrays Wayne Brady (contrary to his friendly public image) as a murderous (he snaps a cop's neck), pimping and seriously disturbed psychopath (a parody of the film Training Day). The sketch spawned the lines "Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a bitch?" and "I'm Wayne Brady, bitch!" (In the Season Two bonus features, it's revealed that Brady was reluctant to say the "choke a bitch" line, even though it was the most important line in the sketch). The skit also contains a popular clip from a previous bit, Negrodamus (about a black Nostradamus), wherein Negrodamus tells someone who asks about Brady's success, "White people love Wayne Brady, because he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X." Chappelle has said that this clip was the inspiration for the Wayne Brady sketch.

I Wrote This Song A Long Time Ago is a skit about rapper Tupac Shakur a.k.a. 2Pac, and how there have been many albums being released since his death, which Chappelle and Charlie Murphy note are a little too ahead of their time. In this skit, Dave is featured dancing in a club, when a newly-released Tupac song is played. The song's lyrics refer to events that have happened in the 10 years since Tupac's death, such as Blackberry Pagers, the recent War in Afghanistan, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Slim Shady. There is also what seems to be a reference to George W. Bush being elected President, however you soon realise that he is actually singing about George W. Smith, a "snitch" that ran for Oakland city council in 1993, however, as "2Pac" claims in the song, "you probably didn't hear about him". Eventually, the song begins to make references to events that are actually happening in the club, such as a fellow dancer hitting the table and making the record skip, a female dancer with bad taste with a stain on the back of her shirt, and Dave Chappelle dancing with a woman who isn't his wife. Despite these references, "Tupac" maintains that he "wrote this song in '94".

Recurring characters

• Robot Man - Set designer Karl Lake does the Robot dance in random places, including a barbershop, club, and a courtroom (in a deleted scene). In the skits, he is never acknowledged, despite the out-of-place behavior, nor does he acknowledge anyone. The solitary exception is during the Slow-Motion skit, in the club, when Dave acknowledges him by saying "The Robot", and emulating him. Another exception is in the opening theme for Season 3. Charlie Murphy and Donnell Rawlings have hogtied and taken the place of the two men who start off the show. Robot Man is seen in the background doing his dance and the harmonica player yells out "Robot, help us!", to no avail.

• Tron Carter - a cocaine dealer (played by Chappelle) originally shown in a sketch where he has received reparations for slavery and due to a "hot hand in a dice game" becomes the richest man in America. When asked about the infant he carts around in a stroller, Tron says, "I bought this baby straight cash." He is also one of the roommates in The Mad Real World. Later in a spoof of Law & Order, Tron gets the same lenient treatment as those involved in White-collar crime, invoking the "Fif". Tron also appeared in the first episode of Season 3 in a skit in which he described an altercation with Method Man and was tortured by the methods described in the song "Method Man" from Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

• Negrodamus - a black prophet and fortune teller (played by Paul Mooney). In the sketch, people (mostly white) ask him various questions such as "Negrodamus, why do white people love Wayne Brady so much?" and he replies "White people love Wayne Brady because he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X."

• Tyrone Biggums - A squeaky voiced crack addict known for his exclamations of "I want some crack", his chapped white lips, and constant scratching. Considered by many of the fans as the most popular character in the show's history. His first appearance was in the second episode of Season 1. He is often seen saying "I smoke Rocks."

• Silky Johnson - A notorious player hater who won the fictitious "Hater of the Year" award twice (one of which was calling a bomb threat on the Special Olympics), and who later traveled back in time to "hate" in the past.

• Chuck Taylor - The lead "white" anchor on the fictitious "News 3", and is played by Chappelle in whitened makeup and a blond wig. Taylor has appeared in a few skits, the first of which was the Reparations skit from Season 1.

• Leonard Washington - A family man with a hardassed attitude, Washington first appeared in the first season sketch Trading Spouses, wherein he acted as the patriarch of a white family for a month. Notably, when entering rooms unfamiliar to him, Washington will look out the windows to see if he is being followed. One of the only things that can make Leonard Washington back down is being shot. When asked for his hometown in the World Series of Dice skit, Washington replied - "Where am I from? A little town called 'none of yo' goddamn bidness [business]."

• Ashy Larry - A shirtless black man with flaky-white skin and chapped lips who is always seen wearing a pair of white boxer shorts (played by Donnell Rawlings). He appeared on the World Series of Dice skit, in a dream of Chappelle's while having dinner and was also holding Dave Chappelle's $50 Million dollar check in one of the Lost Episodes.

Frequent or notable guest stars

Main article: List of Chappelle's Show guest stars

Many guest stars have appeared on the show, including RZA, GZA,Common, Mos Def, Eddie Griffin, Susan Sarandon, Jamie Foxx and Fear Factor's Joe Rogan. Brady was the only guest to appear on stage. Musical guests who appeared on the show include Mos Def, Ludacris, Talib Kweli, Fat Joe, Wyclef Jean, Killer Mike, Big Boi (as OutKast), Kanye West, DMX, Busta Rhymes, John Mayer, Slum Village, ?uestlove, Snoop Dogg, Cee-Lo, and Erykah Badu.

• John Mayer is the only white musical guest ever to appear on Chappelle's Show.

Third season delays

2005

After the success of the first two seasons, the third season of Chappelle's Show was scheduled to premiere in February 2005. This date was pushed back to May 31, 2005 when production fell behind schedule in December 2004 because, according to Comedy Central, Chappelle had fallen ill with the flu (Chappelle later told Oprah Winfrey that this was untrue and that he was never ill). On May 4, 2005, just weeks before the anticipated premiere, Comedy Central announced that Chappelle's Show would not be ready by the announced date and that production had been suspended "until further notice." No reason for the delay or suspension was given and there was no response from Chappelle. One week later it was reported (most notably by The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly) that Chappelle had previously flown to South Africa on April 28 to stay in an undisclosed psychiatric facility.

On May 14, TIME announced that one of their reporters, Christopher John Farley, had interviewed Chappelle in South Africa, and that no psychiatric treatments were occurring or necessary. Chappelle returned shortly thereafter and quelled rumors of psychiatric or substance abuse problems, and emphasized that his trip was a "spiritual retreat" intended to keep his sense of reality outside the bubble of intense pressure and fame and to keep his humor fresh.

Shortly after his return from South Africa, Chappelle returned to his home in the town of Yellow Springs, Ohio. Since then he has given a series of surprise performances at small comedy clubs near his home. The small-town community has been supportive of his return, and has worked hard to honor his wish to live a normal life and escape constant public attention.

On July 14, Comedy Central president Doug Herzog announced that Chappelle was welcome back any time, but that the comedian had said he was still not ready to return. Herzog put a positive spin on negotiations, but conceded that he did not expect Chappelle's Show to return in 2005. It was also reported in the New York Times that Chappelle explained to Herzog, over dinner, that his success was getting to him and that "he wanted to be wrong again sometimes, instead of always being right."

In an August 2005 interview with TV Guide, Charlie Murphy said that Chappelle's Show was finished. Chappelle, on the other hand, had yet to announce this to the public. [3]

On December 11, during Comedy Central's Last Laugh '05, a promo for the third season of the show was aired. [4]

2006

On January 24, 2006, the program premiered uncensored on the UK's FX, starting with the second season. The first episode featured the Slow Motion skit, one of the most famous in the United Kingdom, popularized by the internet. It was well received by critics, with outspoken tv critic Gary Naysmith declaring it, "The finest piece of television I've seen all year."

On February 3, 2006, Chappelle made his first television interview since production ceased on Season 3, on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He stated that burnout, losing his creative control, and a work environment that he wasn't satisfied with were some of the reasons why he left the show. He also stated that he's open to producing the remainder of Season 3 (and perhaps a Season 4) only if his demands are met, one of which is to ensure that half of the proceeds of future Chappelle's Show DVD sales go to charity. Chappelle claimed that if Comedy Central aired the unaired episodes, the show would be finished. After that announcement, Comedy Central stopped advertising the release of the third season for a period of time.

The "Lost Episodes"

In April, the network wrapped up production of the third season, taping the live studio audience segments for three episodes. In place of Chappelle, the last episodes were co-hosted by regular cast members Charlie Murphy and Donnell Rawlings. Advertised as the "lost episodes", they began airing on July 9, 2006. The third and final episode aired on July 23, 2006. The DVD collection of the lost episodes was released on July 25, 2006, although the controversial Racial Pixies sketch appeared heavily censored from its original debut. The banjo player had been edited out, some dialog was removed, and various cuts have been re-edited in that particular scene. This skit allegedly contributed to Chappelle's departure from the show, although it is unclear specifically as to why the skit was edited.

Now that these episodes have aired, it is believed that the show has been canceled on the basis that Chappelle will not return.

When asked if he feels guilty about carrying on with the lost episodes without Chappelle, Donnell Rawlings replied:

“I’m a loyal person, but I know that as a professional, I’ve got to keep my career going, and I felt it was an opportunity for me, for people see what I do as funny...without knowing what Dave Chappelle’s agenda is, the reasons why he left, with no communication saying, ‘Hey guys, I feel this way. I would much rather you not be a part of this process.’ Had I had a conversation with Dave like that then there’s a possibility that I would reconsider me hosting it.”[5]

DVD releases

The DVD sets for Seasons 1 and 2 of Chappelle's Show have sold extremely well since their release. The first season DVD is currently the best-selling TV series set of all time, beating out other popular shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, Friends, and Seinfeld.

The episode "Music Jump-Off" which featured Chappelle visiting his old high school, The Duke Ellington School of the Arts, intercut with previously unaired skits and musical performances did not make either DVD set.

On October 11, 2005, the first half of the first season was released on UMD.

On May 23, 2006, the first uncensored season was made available for purchase on the iTunes Music Store, and on June 20, the second uncensored season was also made available on iTunes.

All box sets were released by Paramount Home Entertainment.

Season releases

Media

External links

• Chappelle's Show at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website from Comedy Central
• Jump The Shark - Chappelle's Show
• The Chappelle Theory
• Chappelle's Show - TV.com
• Chappelle: lost and found