| Human Giant | |
|---|---|
 The cast ofHuman Giant (from left to right), Huebel, Scheer and Ansari | |
| Genre | Sketch comedy |
| Created by | |
| Starring |
|
| Opening theme | "Romantic Rights" byDeath from Above 1979 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (including commercials) |
| Production companies | 3 Arts Entertainment MTV Production Development |
| Original release | |
| Network | MTV |
| Release | April 5, 2007 (2007-4-5) – April 15, 2008 (2008-4-15) |
Human Giant is asketch comedy show starring writer/performersAziz Ansari,Rob Huebel,[1] andPaul Scheer, and directed primarily byJason Woliner. The show ran for two seasons onMTV. In 2008, the group was offered a third season and was reportedly developing a feature film withRed Hour Productions, but these projects did not transpire due to Ansari's commitments to starring in theNBC showParks and Recreation. In 2010, Ansari, Huebel and Scheer reunited to do a skit for the2010 MTV Movie Awards.
The show, which premiered on April 5, 2007, consists of short humorous videos.[2] Some of the clips were first seen online such as "Shutterbugs", as part ofChannel 101 NY, "Clell Tickle: Indie Marketing Guru", "The Illusionators" and an unaired skit called "Other Music".[3][4][5]
Ansari, Huebel, Scheer, and Woliner began working together as the comedy group Human Giant in 2005.[6][7] They gained a large following in theNew York City comedy scene through live shows at theUpright Citizens Brigade and their weekly comedy show,Crash Test, and later expanded their sketches intoshort films.[8][9] Their early digital videos "Shutterbugs" and "The Illusionators" became popular onMySpace andYouTube and led MTV to offer the group a sketch comedy series.[10][11][3]
On MTV, the show closed out a Thursday night "10 Spot" line-up for MTV, which also includedPimp My Ride,Short Circuitz (before being put on hiatus), andAdventures in Hollyhood, ending withHuman Giant.[12] The line-up started at 9 PM and ended at 11 PM.
In interviews, the group has mentioned they were offered a third season by MTV, and were also considering developing a feature film.[13][14] However, the group was unable to make a third season or movie due to personal projects, particularly with Ansari's commitments to the hit NBC showParks and Recreation.[13] Without Ansari's participation, the group agreed not to make future content together and decided on ending the series on a positive note instead ofburning out over several seasons.[15]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 8 | April 5, 2007 (2007-4-5) | May 24, 2007 (2007-5-24) | |
| 2 | 6 | March 11, 2008 (2008-3-11) | April 15, 2008 (2008-4-15) | |
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Mind Explosion!" | April 5, 2007 (2007-4-5) | |
Sketches:
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| 2 | "Let's Go!" | April 12, 2007 (2007-4-12) | |
Sketches:
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| 3 | "Lil 9/11" | April 19, 2007 (2007-4-19) | |
Sketches:
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| 4 | "Mosh Pit" | April 26, 2007 (2007-4-26) | |
Sketches:
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| 5 | "Ice Cream Party!" | May 3, 2007 (2007-5-3) | |
| 6 | "Kneel Before Zerg" | May 10, 2007 (2007-5-10) | |
Sketches:
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| 7 | "Hello, Susan" | May 17, 2007 (2007-5-17) | |
Sketches:
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| 8 | "Ta Da!!" | May 24, 2007 (2007-5-24) | |
Sketches:
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^a This sketch was removed from the season one DVD.
^b These sketches were edited for the season one DVD.
^c Added for the season one DVD.
The group began working onHuman Giant Season 2 at the end of August, 2007.Note: the CrimeTime sketch, the Gay Porn Star Car Accident sketch, and the Illusinator Camera Trick sketch for season 2 all show up on the Season 1 DVD as easter eggs.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "Duffel Bag of Death" | March 11, 2008 (2008-3-11) | |
Sketches:
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| 10 | 2 | "I'm Gonna Live Forever!" | March 18, 2008 (2008-3-18) | |
Sketches:
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| 11 | 3 | "Respect. Honor. Discipline" | March 25, 2008 (2008-3-25) | |
Sketches:
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| 12 | 4 | "I Want More Corn Chowder" | April 1, 2008 (2008-4-1) | |
Sketches:
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| 13 | 5 | "Still Here, Man. Still Here." | April 8, 2008 (2008-4-8) | |
Sketches:
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| 14 | 6 | "She Be a Witch"" | April 15, 2008 (2008-4-15) | |
Sketches:
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The show received positive reviews from critics. Writing forEntertainment Weekly,Gillian Flynn describedHuman Giant as "everything sketch comedy should be: smart, odd, and surprising."[16]The Village Voice called it "something like a Mountain Dewed-up version of MTV’s mid-'90s sketch offeringThe State."[17]Nathan Rabin ofThe A.V. Club said, "It's a testament to the show's addictiveness that the [sketches] leave audiences hungry for more.[18] He added: "Human Giant serves as a vital link betweenMr. Show and the current generation of web-weaned funnymen who made their names posting homemade videos online instead of working their way throughSecond City,The Groundlings, orSaturday Night Live. The show's central dynamic echoesMr. Show as well. LikeBob Odenkirk, Rob Huebel boasts the bland good looks of a local TV news anchor, yet there's a spark of madness and rage at his core. Castmates Paul Scheer and Aziz Ansari, meanwhile, take turns inhabiting theDavid Cross role."[18]
In its list of the 40 Greatest Sketch-Comedy TV Shows,Rolling Stone rankedHuman Giant at number 38.[19]
The cast ofHuman Giant were on-air on MTV andMTV2 for a twenty-four-hour period betweennoon on Friday, May 18, 2007 to noon on Saturday, May 19, 2007, broadcasting from MTV'sTimes Square studio, during which time they were given free rein to perform skits, bring in guests, and air clips from classic MTV series likeRemote Control andThe State.[15][20][17] The ostensible premise of the "marathon" was that their show would be given a second season if they could get a million hits on their website (which it did) during that time. Notable guests stopping by includedAlbert Hammond Jr.,Fred Armisen,Bill Hader,Andy Samberg, andJorma Taccone fromSaturday Night Live,Will Arnett andMichael Cera fromArrested Development,John Krasinski,Bob Odenkirk,Michael Showalter,Kristen Schaal,Eugene Mirman,Ted Leo,Corn Mo,Todd Barry,Matt Higgins,Zach Galifianakis,Morningwood,Mastodon,Tapes 'n Tapes,The National,Tim and Eric,Tegan and Sara, and others.[15]
In late May 2010, troupe memberAziz Ansari announced on his website that he and fellow membersRob Huebel,Paul Scheer andJason Woliner had filmed a brand new sketch for the2010 MTV Movie Awards, which Ansari was scheduled to host. Ansari mentioned that it would be a Human Giant reunion of sorts, the first time they filmed a new sketch together as a sketch group since the series ended.[21]
The sketch was called "Stunt Kidz",[21] which consisted of Huebel and Ansari's Shutterbugs characters, now owners of a child stunt agency where little children act as stunt men for dangerous scenes and end up injured in several occasions. Scheer acts as a director who employs Huebel and Ansari.
The first season ofHuman Giant was released on March 4, 2008, one week ahead of the season two premiere on March 11.[22] It was released in a two-disc set. Disc one features all eight episodes and commentary tracks on all episodes with special guests calling-in or with the cast in the commentary room.[23] Disc two features highlights from the 24-hour marathon, deleted and alternate scenes, unaired sketches, sneak previews for season two, early footage with Aziz, Rob and Paul, and a compilation clip.[24]
The core writing team consists ofAziz Ansari,Rob Huebel,Paul Scheer,Jason Woliner and executive producerTom Gianas. The following people have, at one point, also worked as consultants on the show:
He and Cornfeld are working on new comedy projects with sketch teams Little Britain and Human Giant.
