The iPod useless? Mail-order fetuses? An English nut preaching
Tom Clancy on Bruin Walk? These completely arbitrary ideas seem
crazy at first because, well, they are.
But these are also just a few of the crazy ideas that become
sketches to be aired Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. on the student-run
comedy “The Mike & Ben Show,” which kicked off its
17th season this April. Currently in its sixth year on UCLAtv, the
comedy holds bragging rights as the first and longest show aired on
the channel. This feat can be attributed to the producers,
“destroyers” (writers/actors/editors), and “blue
jays” (actors) who spend a combined total of over 100 hours a
week creating their weekly 25-minute spot.
Because of the show’s longevity, the Communications Board
is making plans to expand its accessibility by extending the
broadcasting range further than an immediate on-campus audience,
Head Producer Danny Ricker said.
“Everyone’s so dedicated,” said Ricker, a
second-year psychology student. “One guy almost failed all
his classes.”
Capturing the footage is done with personal or borrowed cameras
in a guerrilla-esque shooting technique because many of the filming
locations require permits that the cast and crew don’t take
the time to obtain.
“We do whatever it takes to get the shot,” said
first-year theater student Blake Stokes, “We’re more
interested in getting a bit than getting hit by a car.”
After the filming is done, the editors either head to their own
rooms to polish a piece or to the small room that is designated for
the show, a space with two computers for film and sound editing.
The show has a zero-dollar budget, but what it lacks in funds it
makes up for in free expression.
“We’re not a network,” Ricker said. “So
we’re not censored. It’s kind of a beautiful thing,
full artistic freedom.”
Part of the reasoning for letting the writers have this
privilege is that the channel is only accessible to students in the
dorms and in a few other select buildings, which means the station
is almost guaranteed that all its viewers are at least 18.
“I don’t have to answer to a higher authority,
except the viewers,” Ricker said.
Yet, for some, the freedom to show alcohol and drugs, use vulgar
language or to graphically imply sexual actions can go too far.
Benji Kleiman, a first-year world arts and cultures student, left
the show because he believed that it went over the line.
“I understood the raunchy humor, but there’s a
difference between raunchy and racist,” he said.
Skits depicting Holocaust victims or using “black
face” are just a few of the examples that Kleiman says he did
not want to be associated with.
“It’s hard to believe that this is satire,” he
said.
Kleiman’s opinion is shared by other students as well; the
show occasionally receives complaints. In these cases, it is up to
the Communications Board to regulate what can and cannot be
aired.
Despite the disbandment of two cast members and accusations that
some sketches were offensive, the attitudes of the remaining cast
members remain high.
“There’s no animosity (between Kleiman and the
cast),” said Alex Reid, an undeclared second-year student.
“It’s just that the humor isn’t translating. We
make the skits to say, “˜Look how ridiculous these stereotypes
are.’ We’re not being racist just for the sake of
it.”
As the Communications Board plans to expand the station by
adding more shows, giving businesses a chance to advertise and
allowing it to be viewed in other locations, more stringent rules
on the content of the show will be put into place. Language, sexual
content and potentially offensive plots are just a few things that
“The Mike & Ben Show” will have censored.
“I never want to limit the writers, but we are going to
have to be more accessible,” Ricker said.
In the meantime, a shout out to “Early Times Kentucky
Brand Whiskey” and a story of a prostitute working in the
dorms are examples of some subjects written for the show.
“I don’t (care) about being famous,” Stokes
said. “I just want to do stuff that I love.”