The Man Show
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The Man Show is a half hour comedy television show on Comedy Central. It was created in 1999 by its two original hosts, former Win Ben Stein's Money co-host Jimmy Kimmel and Loveline co-host Adam Carolla, and their partner Daniel Kellison. The show celebrates all the aspects of manhood that represent the stereotypical view of a boorish, vulgar American male. Needless to say, men dominate the audience (although open-minded women are surprisingly not in short supply), and most can be seen drinking a beer. The show consists of a variety of pre-recorded comedy sketches and live in-studio events, often requiring audience participation.
The Man Show is particularly well-known for its buxom mascots, the "Juggies", models who exist for little other purpose than to prance around the stage acting empty-headed. The first year of the show featured the venerable beer-guzzling entertainer Bill "The Fox" Foster as the show's emcee. The Fox specialized in chugging two beers in record time (sometimes while suspended upside down) and singing lewd drinking songs. He would close every episode by leading the audience in the German drinking toast "Ziggy socky, ziggy socky, hoi hoi hoi", a tradition that continued after his death in 2000.
Some of the show's features include:
- a recurring character called "The Man Show Boy," an overweight 11-year-old (Aaron Hamill) with a sharp wit and rude mouth, who would set upon unsuspecting passersby while a hidden camera recorded his antics.
- frequent parody of NBA star Karl Malone done by Kimmel in blackface (and shot from below to appear taller)
- As guaranteed when the show began, every episode ends with "Girls Jumping on Trampolines" during the end credits.
In 2003 Kimmel and Carolla left the show and the job of hosting was passed down to Fear Factor host Joe Rogan and comedian Doug Stanhope. Whereas the show struck a balance between celebrating masculinity and lightheartedly mocking machismo during the Kimmel-Carolla era, The Man Show under Rogan and Stanhope is a raunchy, coarse affair that lost much of the earlier show's tongue-in-cheek attitude in favor of lewd sexual humor. It was cancelled after two seasons.