Comments on: Shave, shock and humiliate a man's genitals in three seconds flat

Shave, shock and humiliate a man's genitals in three seconds flat

homunculus — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:32:13 -0800

Torboto: The Robot That Tortures People.

By: KokuRyu

KokuRyu — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:42:43 -0800

Let me guess... SNL aired Torboto at 12:55AM. Kind of lacks a certain...subtlety.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:44:34 -0800

Abu Graib humor is soooo cutting edge!

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:01:55 -0800

Typical liberal filth.

By: StrikeTheViol

StrikeTheViol — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:06:50 -0800

Magic rothko?

By: StrikeTheViol

StrikeTheViol — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:12:02 -0800

more seriously, I'll sit this one out, but the general idea hasn't gone without precedent...

By: Citizen Premier

Citizen Premier — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:12:29 -0800

wow, just wow nbc has to spam youtube for people to actually watch their gay shit

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:20:21 -0800

Torboto is gay?

By: basicchannel

basicchannel — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:20:37 -0800

Metafilter: Torture. Yawn.

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:32:43 -0800

nbc has to spam youtube for people to actually watch their gay shit Yeah really, a major media company decides to use the most popular online video service to let people watch their videos, what a bunch of crap right?

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:45:50 -0800

I actually think SNL might be starting to turn around again. The last few weeks have had some very Youtube-worthy moments.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:49:03 -0800

Torboto?!? I know Rumsfeld is a bit unhinged, but why on earth did he choose to change his name to *that*?

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:04:39 -0800

Smigel has been the best thing that show has had to offer for some years now. The Mel Gibson thing was ... inappropriate.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:08:55 -0800

Marginally funny and pretty forced. But better than that Ambiguously Gay Duo schtick.

By: yeloson

yeloson — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:08:56 -0800

I think I broke my cynicism- I just don't find it entertaining to squeeze heehees from situations that have real victims suffering at this very moment.

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:33:00 -0800

I'm with yeloson. key words: this very moment.

By: lemonfridge

lemonfridge — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:47:38 -0800

Damn robots stealing our jobs

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 01:35:48 -0800

Casting my vote along with yeloson and dreamsign. And I have to say that this type of humor, even if well-intentioned, is still likely to contribute to the slow, insidious desensitizing of Americans to the concept and use of torture. It becomes just another thing to laugh at here, really. Cartoon representations of naked Arabs in chains, getting their balls zapped... sorry, but this is just not something to laugh at, not in this way. A new low for SNL.

By: Rich Smorgasbord

Rich Smorgasbord — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 01:37:28 -0800

It's not just exploitative. It's obviously subversive -- subversive of torture. (What, do these people think it's too negative?) It's also very funny.

By: Rich Smorgasbord

Rich Smorgasbord — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 01:40:39 -0800

oh jeez flapjax, you posted while I was typing...I didn't mean to post right after you again.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:41:23 -0800

~~BILL BRASKY~~TORBOTO IS A SON OF A BITCH WHO DUMPED MY MOTHER. TORBOTO ONCE ATE HOOVER DAMN AND REGURGITATED IT EXACTLY THE SAME, EXCEPT FINALLY CURED ONCE AND FOR ALL AND SPRINKLED WITH CHUNKS OF UNDIGESTED CORN. TORBOTO IS/ISN'T CANYONERO. TORBOTO IS A CONSUMER WHORE PRODUCT OF A FAILING BROADCAST INSTITUTION FROM A TV SHOW THAT USED TO BE FUNNY BEFORE THEY STOPPED THEIR WRITERS AND ACTORS FROM DOING INHUMANE QUANTITIES OF PSYCHOTROPIC CHEMICALS AND WHOM IS OWNED BY GENERAL ELECTRIC AND LORNE MICHAELS CAN EAT A DICK. ROCK ON ATLANTA! COKE ADDS LIFE! TORBOTO ISN'T FUNNY.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:42:07 -0800

kill your television

By: es_de_bah

es_de_bah — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 04:02:05 -0800

watched it once thru with the sound off before plugging in the headphones and watching again. without sound it was really sadly and poignantly subversive. with sound it was dumb and cheap.

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 04:19:26 -0800

I love how Smigel can literally replicate any animation style. That really looks like a Gigantor cartoon.

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 04:49:11 -0800

Does it malfunction and run around saying "Hug, Help, Be Kind!"?

By: empath

empath — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 05:31:41 -0800

I actually liked it a lot. It's heavy handed, but you have to think who the audience is that watches SNL.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 05:34:01 -0800

Cartoon representations of naked Arabs in chains, getting their balls zapped... sorry, but this is just not something to laugh at, not in this way. A new low for SNL. Mixed opinions here. I agree with the first part, and I'm frankly kind of surprised at/disappointed in Smigel. He can sometimes push limits to the point of being hysterical, but really misses the mark this time. As for SNL, I suppose that, as bad as this is, it's at least trying to do something beyond this tired formula:

let's have some lightweight guest host appear in every sketch where we make fun of some other lightweight celebrity
when we're not doing that, let's beat marginally-funny-the-first-time set pieces to death (the Falconer, It's Carol, Nooni and Nuny, etc.)"

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 05:35:36 -0800

I actually liked it a lot. It's heavy handed... So, you're saying you like things that are, heavy-handed? ...but you have to think who the audience is that watches SNL. Okay. Who is that? This isn't snark, by the way. I just really don't know who this audience is. Can you please inform?

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 05:56:24 -0800

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouchs towards Bethlehem to be born?

By: psmealey

psmealey — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 06:02:21 -0800

Based on the hosts and musical guests they've had over the past several years, I think they gear solidly to a very white, 15-29 demographic, flapjax. I have my Tivo set to record it - really for no other particular reason other than to flip through it the next day to see who the musical guest was and lately, to check out the Digital Short. Btw, at least in terms of this past episode, the Scarlett Johansson bit about the Marble Columns local ad parody was pretty funny, but only because I have a good friend from the Bronx who has EXACTLY that accent, which I generally consider inimitable.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 06:40:40 -0800

I saw it live during SNL, I didn't think it was that funny at all. To me it seemed more like trying to be daring and raise awareness of the issue then actually be funny. You could sort of look at it as a meta-parody: "Humor" that's not funny because the topic is so awful. Or maybe it was just bad and stupid. But to me it seemed more like bitter fatalism then ineffective goofiness.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 06:44:19 -0800

Also Scarlett Johansson is hot.

By: Artw

Artw — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 09:31:04 -0800

I thought it was funny as all hell. So there. And tastefulness-wise it's nothing compared with, say, Chris Morris.

By: katillathehun

katillathehun — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 09:39:14 -0800

Ick. Bad taste. Not even good bad taste. And I wonder if anyone would be laughing were this joking about documented torture against citizens of their own country.

By: treepour

treepour — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 09:47:10 -0800

gay shit As a gay man, my shit is quite offended to have been associated with that drivel. What I found myself cringing at the most were the slapstick depictions of tortured and humiliated prisoners. Somehow I got the impression we're supposed to laugh at them too. If there is a message of any kind, I can think of a few seemingly contradictory possibilities off the top of my head: a) terrible things being done in the name of our country and we should be more alarmed/outraged than we are; b) torture really isn't a big deal, in fact, we can even laugh at it; c) who cares about the issues, we sure pwned fox; d) aren't we clever for walking the line between all of those possibilities? I'd like to think it's (a), but I'd put my money on (d).

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:07:50 -0800

I don't think it's supposed to be funny, exactly. Smigel is presenting us with a short film where the President and Vice President of the United States of America use a giant robot to torture helpless prisoners--and the only bit of hyperbole contained within it is the giant robot. It seems to me he's trying to illustrate just what a fucked-up rabbit hole we've collectively tumbled down.

By: Kid Charlemagne

Kid Charlemagne — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:11:47 -0800

You know, I've kind of come to expect a robot to shave, shock and humiliate my genitals. Only I expect to have to pay a bunch for it under the pretense that it would vaccuum my rugs or make coffee or something. There's at least one good movie in the concept.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:29:24 -0800

I do like the song, though. I like particularly how it pauses slightly and clarifies that Torboto isn't the robot that tortures, it's the robot that tortures people.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:37:13 -0800

Not all satire is intended to be humorous. I agree that this is not meant to be funny, but I do think it's excellent satire. However, what's jarring about this is that it is presented within the comedic idiom, both in terms of the Cartoon Comedy Funhouse structure and that it was aired during an erstwhile comedy show, SNL. So perhaps like the Alanis Morrissette song that is, in fact, ironic because it is rife with examples of irony that are indeed, not ironic, maybe this is funny because it looks like it should be funny, it's presented like it should be funny, but ultimately, it is not funny. PLATE OF BEANS! You're it!

By: Artw

Artw — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:56:21 -0800

psmeasly - but that's what makes it funny!

By: spiderskull

spiderskull — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:16:56 -0800

I'm with psmeasley on this one. I'd rather have major media outlets satirizing our acceptance of torture, especially with what seems like an increase in torture-based horror movies and godawful shows like 24 (which are more like the source of desensitization than anything else in the media).

By: homunculus

homunculus — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:25:08 -0800

Rep. Rohrabacher: 'I Hope It's Your Families That Suffer' From A Terrorist Attack

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:36:30 -0800

That Rohrabacher is a total frickin jerk.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:53:41 -0800

He's very well known to you if you've watched either incarnation of Bill Maher's show over the years. I think what can be said about Dana Rohrabacher is that he's an utter moron with zero thought processing capacity. He doesn't talk so much as he spews.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:17:40 -0800

Rohrabacher, defender of freedom, Rohrabacher, protector from fear, Rohrabacher, the Rep that renditions people...