I was unclear as to what the format of this show was going to be, but I am pretty pleased with the outcome. It is a bit gimmicky, with the ‘your honor’ business, but I can manage. Lewis Black’s Root of all Evil, proved to be a decently funny series premiere.

The bases of the Comedy Central’s original series is Lewis Black reigning over a trial where two comedians argue what is the root of all evil. This weeks’ offenders where Oprah Winfrey and the Catholic Church. Comedian Paul F. Tompkins, of VH1 countdown fame, was arguing that Oprah Winfrey was the root of all-evil, while Comedy Central’s resident comedian Greg Giraldo, of little-to-no fame, argued that the Catholic Church was the root of all evil.

The show started with a short aside from the show’s host and namesake, Lewis Black. It was pretty entertaining, and good start to the show. Each comedian was then given time to present their opening arguments.

Paul F. Tompkins did a decent job. The moral of his story was that Oprah was what amounted to a cult leader. It was a decent premise, and he presented it pretty well. As I mentioned earlier, Paul F. Tompkins does a lot of work on the VH1 countdown shows, so I’ve become accustom to his comedic delivery, and it’s grown on me.

Greg Giraldo’s opening statements where hilarious and offensive at the same time, but more toward the hilarious. You have to put your personal beliefs aside sometimes with ole’ Greg Giraldo, but jokes are jokes. He presents them in such a way that’s funny, even if you do think he is batshit crazy on a lot of issues.

The 2 comedians went back and forth presenting their case, with the occasional funny interjection by Lewis Black. There were several quotable lines from each comedian, and they tackled the task well.

I think this will be a good forum for young comic talent. As bitter & old as Lewis Black appears to be, and actually is, he does have a pretty decent taste in comedy. This will be a good way for certain talent that might not get exposure normally, to get a bit more broader exposure to an accepting audience. It seems this will be a controversial type show, that will some times border on the ridiculous. The major problem they will face is keeping the theme ‘blank vs blank’ going without making it Jerry-Springer-esk.

With Lewis Black’s comic taste, and some luck that it will actually gain a following, this show has potential to hang on. I don’t foresee it being an incredibly high rated show, but will most likely have a dedicated cult following. If you like more edgy humor, and stupid,  mainly pointless arguments, you will probably like Lewis Black’s, Root of all Evil.