I am always on the lookout for new shows to watch and write about, and this week I got the chance to watch the first episode of “Brickleberry,” the latest in Comedy Central’s lineup, premiering on Sept. 25.
The show is, in a nutshell, what will likely be a highly controversial, “Family Guy”-esque comedy that takes place in an outdoorsy setting where forest rangers are facing the threat of a national park being closed.
The show features Tom Kenny (best known as the voice of SpongeBob) as Woody, the head ranger, and Daniel Tosh as Malloy, the park’s resident bear. The other rangers at the park are voiced by  Kaitlin Olson (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”), Dave Herman (“Futurama”) and Jerry Minor (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”).
As I sat down to watch the first episode, I could tell pretty quickly that this was definitely not the show for me. Don’t get me wrong, I laughed at some horrible things, but the first episode just didn’t make me laugh as much as I had hoped it would.
Now, I have only seen the first episode, so maybe my opinion is being voiced too soon, but I just can’t see myself coming back for episode two.
In a conference call with university media, two of the stars of the show, Kenny and Minor, answered some questions. Regardless of my thoughts on the show itself, they clearly enjoy their job, and are looking forward to coming seasons.
I asked them what they each individually liked about the first episode when they saw it, and I could tell they had a great time acting out their outlandish characters. They are both seriously cool guys.
“I was very pleased. You know seeing your character come to life, we do it so far in advance … because animation takes so long to me it’s almost like watching something that I haven’t seen, so it’s really pleasing, it’s like I didn’t do it,” Minor said. “It’s really bizarre to listen to a voice that I did so long ago.”
Kenny has been the voice of many characters. In addition to SpongeBob, he voiced Dog in the show CatDog (remember that one?), so he is no stranger to animation.
“I have worked on a lot of animated shows, and every one is different and every one has its own identity and every one has its own creators who are really interesting personalities,” Kenny said. “As a guy who has been doing this for a long time it kind of gives you a little bit of adrenaline to be working on the first show.”
So if you have a little time, judge the show for yourself. Tune in to Comedy Central at 10: 30 p.m. on Sept. 25.