Last night on "The Daily Show," Lewis Black — whose show "Lewis Black's Root of all Evil" premieres tonight on Comedy Central — railed against the cable coverage of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal. Black mocked Dan Abrams, Chris Matthews and Anderson Cooper for asking logistical questions about how Spitzer paid for his prostitutes and said of Spitzer's preferred prostitution ring — the Emperors Club — "well, even Dan Abrams was impressed by its classiness!" Incidentally, "The Daily Show" showed Abrams's show surfing down the Huffington Post's entry on Emperors Club, which features screenshots of several of the high-priced hookers and can be seen here).
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In separate but related news, the New York Times published an article about Black today. Below, an excerpt:
Ever since he surfaced on "The Daily Show" a decade ago as a commentator whose volcanic detonations only enhanced his charm, Lewis Black has struggled to find a television showcase he could call his own.
A few years ago he made a pilot for Fox in which he played a "complete reprobate," he said, who dies only to return from the grave to try to set things right with his wife (now a bag lady) and his daughter (a prostitute). It was never broadcast, nor was an HBO series in which he was cast as the manager of an underground theater in Midtown Manhattan; his acts go on to stardom while he is left behind, a role based on one he played for many years in real life.
He very nearly got to play a pundit on his own series on F/X. But it too fizzled. He recalled the other day, with a gravelly, somewhat wheezy giggle, that a network executive said, "in one of the really great quotes, 'We really like it, it was just too funny.' "
Beginning on Wednesday night at 10:30 Eastern time, and continuing for the next seven Wednesdays, Comedy Central will finally give Mr. Black his due as the host of a half-hour show, "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil." It is a confection that is challenging to describe, but here's one way: imagine if elements of "The People's Court," "Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher" and Drew Carey's improvisational "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" were fused together to create an absurd, mock courtroom in which American pop culture and political life were put on trial.
Then imagine Mr. Black as the judge.
Read the entire NYT piece about "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil" here.