The Soup: Serving Up Some Hearty Humor

Is there not enough time in your hectic life to follow multiple television series simultaneously? Do you ever find yourself flipping through television channels only to discover more reality shows involving talent-less, fame-obsessed, narcissists? If these symptoms sound familiar you may want to consult your doctor who will likely prescribe you with viewings of The Soup on the E! network.

The Soup is a comedy show that exhibits hilarious clips from the previous week’s television lineup. The show provides a much needed satirical commentary on all of the zany events that take place every week on shows spanning almost every network. No one is spared from the show’s wrath, not even poor little spaghetti cat. Most of these clips come from shows that people love to hate such as reality shows while others are from drama series, daytime talk shows, advertisements and even the news. Although The Soup is naturally funny, due to all the entertaining clips involving television’s misfits, it would not be the addictive show it is today without its host, comedian Joel McHale. McHale takes Hollywood ridicule one step further through his witty humor and talent for improvisation. Watching Joel rant (and prove) how ridiculous people are on television really brings a smile to my face. Throw in a few of the staff writers for some skits and you have thirty minutes of pure comedy and the third highest rated show on the E! network.

The Soup’s recipe for success stems from the clips compiled each week from various shows, all showcasing an event worth laughing about. These clips are then lumped into different segments in order to introduce the genre of show. Some examples of these categories include:

• "Chat Stew" shows clips from chat-based shows. Joel often uses this time to express how much he really, really loathes Tyra Banks and her self-centered attitude. Other shows like Maury and Dr. Phil also appear in this section.

• "Chicks, Man" focuses on female celebrity news. This segment starts with a picture showing of a bunch of baby chicks and then quickly moves on to the bashing of celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Brittney Spears.

• "Reality Show Clip Time!" features clips from current reality shows. In this section no reality star is protected from Joel’s derision and because of this the funniest clips usually fall into this category. Popular shows such as American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, as well as lesser known ones such as Toddlers and Tiaras, and The Bad Girls Club, are put on the chopping block.

• "Let's Take Some E!" is a segment featuring clips from other programs shown on E! Joel has an affinity for bashing on his self proclaimed arch-nemesis, Ryan Seacrest, whom I am sure doesn’t take too much offense to Joel’s taunts seeing as how Seacrest makes enough money to feed an impoverished nation.

• "Clip of the Week" wraps up every show by providing a clip considered to be the funniest segment on TV in the past week. It usually doesn’t disappoint.

Joel introduces each clip before allowing the audience to view them and then unleashes a volley of side-splitting remarks poking fun at whomever or whatever the clip involves. I find that often times his introductions and commentaries are funnier then the clips themselves. The Soup does a great job of creating original movie spoofs and fake advertisements that are often relate to segments in the show. Cameos are also popular and frequently include the individuals that McHale is constantly making fun of. When these celebrities stop by Joel is usually in the middle of bashing on them and it makes for some pretty entertaining television. At other times guest stars will even poke fun at themselves through scripted skits and then pitch whatever project they are working on at the end.

Joel McHale’s ad-libbed comments regarding popular culture really makes The Soup stand out next to other television series. The show’s popularity has even stemmed many knock-off series including Celebrity Soup, Web Soup, Sports Soup, and The Dish, all of which are not even remotely as amusing as The Soup. If you ever find yourself sick of trying to keep up with all the gossip and events taking place each week on television then The Soup is your remedy. Tune in to the show Fridays at 10pm EST and find out for yourself how funny a little celebrity bashing can be.