W/ Bob & David

Beyond reference points and sermons for the converted, With Bob And David is a hilarious triumph on its own merits.

[An] edgy gem. [13 Nov 2015, p.55]

The individual sketches themselves are things of beauty, running the gamut from old-school setups with one big joke that's repeated in a variety of ways right on up to those that make fun of current trends and pop culture.

At times endearingly old-fashioned (montages of whirling newspaper headlines), sometimes scatalogical (a time-machine toilet), occasionally blasphemous ("Turkey Jesus"), and totally irreverent (Odenkirk as "Pope Jonah Abromowitz.") The tone can get pointed (Cross as a filmmaker who's such an apologist for slavery he refuses to call it that, instead using the term, "helperism"), but the mood stays buoyant.

W/ Bob & David is, pretty much, an of-its-time sketch show following the same format as Mr. Show--one sketch leads into the next, in a funny, often tenuous, manner.

It feels more like a casual affair, something that Odenkirk and Cross did on a break from things they take more seriously. They are such brilliant writers and comedians that their talents make the result of that “break project” entertaining, but one wonders how this might have turned out with a bit more concerted effort.

Bob Odenkirk and David Cross’ easy chemistry is still there, but the sketches often feel in style and occasionally in substance so outdated as to be historical curiosities.