The Original Kings of Comedy Tour featured four talented black comedians who all went on to star in their own TV shows.  Ironically the shortest lived of these shows was created by (arguably) the funniest comedian, Cedric the Entertainer.  Instead of putting yet another sitcom on the air, Cedric decided to try something different; he created a skit variety show.  While many of the skits and characters on Cedric the Entertainer Presents were very funny, the show didn't capture a large audience and only lasted for 16 episodes.  Now the entire series is available on DVD, including six shows that were never aired.

Like most skit shows, Cedric the Entertainer Presents started with a brief monologue by Cedric followed by a series of sketches.  In between the acts dancing girls would do their thing.  There were several regular characters that would appear every few shows along with a lot of one shot bits.

One regular character was The Cafeteria Lady, an old bitter school worker that would insult everyone who came through her line.  When a young boy says "Thank you Cafeteria Lady." She replies  "That's Mrs. Cafeteria Lady.  Ya see, unlike your mama, I know how to keep a husband."  The problem with this character, like many that appeared on the show, was that it got old after the second appearance or so.  There just wasn't a lot that you could do with the character besides throw out insults.

One skit that never got old was Jingle Fever.  The group consisted of Velvet Anderson (Cedric) and Elena (Amy Brassette,) and their Casio keyboard.  Velvet would play and sing horrible songs while Elena would do tacky dances. I laughed every time they were on.

The quality of the show was fairly high overall, though some skits did fail.  I thought the 'dumb lawyer' where a lawyer didn't know what legal terms meant was stupid, and the Thug Pranks series also lacking, but over all the show was pretty good.

Another problem the show had was a lot of the comedy was old fashioned even when the show aired in 2002.  There were a lot of "wouldn't it be funny if..." type skits that were done to death on Sonny and Cher or Flip Wilson decades ago.  Skits like the one where a Mafia Don teaches a shop class were funny, but they weren't new and I could see a lot of people looking for something a little more fresh.
 
The show was reminiscent of In Living Color (ILC,) which isn't a surprise because both shows share some writers.  But this program isn't as consistently entertaining as ILC.  That is because while ILC and even The Carol Burnett Show were an ensemble pieces with several very talented comedians, Cedric relied on his own talents carrying the show.  He was the star of every skit and though he is very talented, it just wasn't enough.

That's not to say that his supporting cast members aren't talented, they are.  Amy Brassette was wonderful, being able to sing and dance and act.  She also had a very good sense of comedy with great timing and good reactions while playing several types of characters.  It is too bad she rarely played the lead in a skit.

While Cedric the Entertainer Presents has a few problems, it is still a funny show with a lot of laughs in each program.  I think it is too bad that the program didn't do better in the ratings, because I would like to have more shows like this in prime time.

Audio:

The stereo soundtrack was just what you'd expect from a TV show.  It presented the material faithfully and without any distortion or dropouts.  The range was good and the dialog clear.  A goos solid audio track.  There are optional subtitles in English and Spanish.

Video:

The full frame video was also good, with accurate colors and good detail.  There was a few minor digital defects, but nothing worth noting.  The show looked just as good as it did when it was on broadcast TV.

Extras:

There are no extras at all.

Final Thoughts:

Cedric the Entertainer Presents is a good skit comedy show.  It has its share of hits and misses, but overall it is pretty good.  If anything, its biggest fault is being overly ambitious.  With Cedric playing the lead in every skit, the sketches tend to have a sameness to them after a while.  Still worth checking out.  Recommended.