Chappelle Shows Up

Dave Chappelle has resurfaced in Hollywood. According to Entertainment Weekly, he appeared the other day at the Hollywood Improv and did an impromptu 25 minute comedy set. He also discussed his time spent in South Africa, and hinted that he may be returning to work at Comedy Central sooner rather than later.

Before Wednesday, Chappelle's only public statement since his disappearance had been his Time magazine interview, in which he cited the stress as the reason for his ''spiritual retreat'' in South Africa. Later in the month, he returned home to his farm in Ohio. So it surprised fans to see him in Hollywood, where he joked about his disappearance.

He thanked the fans for making the Season 2 DVD of Chappelle's Show, which went on sale last week, the fastest-selling TV series on DVD in history. ''Of course if I want to see any of that money I better get my ass back to work,'' he said.

Obviously, I, like all other Americans with a sense of humor, can't wait for D. Chaps to return to the airwaves. I've been watching some re-runs on Comedy Central, and checked out a bit of the Season 2 DVD's (which I'd purchase for myself if I had any money, or any remaining sellable organs), and I've concluded that it's basically the best comedy show on TV right now, and among the best sketch comedy shows I can think of.

And that's not easy to do. Watch "MAD TV" some time if you want to see what happens when sketch comedy goes horribly wrong. And do I have to even mention Norm MacDonald's new Comedy Central skit show "Back to Norm"? It's a disgrace. The first sketch on the first episode was a horribly unfunny riff about suicide bombers starring Norm MacDonald and Rob Schneider.

Ugh, even typing that description out is unpleasant. I'm afraid nothing else on the blog will be funny today because I've infected it with that tripe.

Norm, a brief tip...Suicide bombing is not inherently funny. I theoretically could be funny if you came up with an appropriate, amusing context. But a guy who doesn't get that being a suicide bomber will actually cause him to die, and who then barters with his mentor about how many virgins he'll receive in the afterlife as reward for his suicide bombing death, is far too obvious to be funny. I like you, and think you're a funny comic, but your show sucks.