We’re all about comics here at Panels on Pages, but a geek cannot live on comics alone. Outside the Longbox is our chance to spotlight something outside our typical four-color realm - be it movies, music, TV or whatever.

This week: Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule!

“Panels On Pages, a glorious site,
Comics and toys are the fans’ delight,
Dr. Steve Brule has a show that really rocks
Let’s Check It Out!, on Outside the Longbox.”

That was a poem by Dan Dringle.

Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule recently concluded its premiere six-episode season on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, starring Oscar-nominee John C. Reilly as the titular Doctor, a character created and spun-off from the universally-loathed Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. Originally introduced as a correspondent for Channel 5’s “Married News”, Dr. Steve Brule was featured in his own segment, “Brule’s Rules”, wherein he would give his unique take on any littany of subjects, similar in concept to NBC’s famous “The More You Know” campaign.  Dr. Steve punctuated the end of each of these segments with his patented “For Your Health” catchphrase.  “Brule’s Rules” has, and always will be, one of the greatest bits from Tim and Eric, but could Dr. Steve handle his own show?

The Best of “Brule’s Rules”

Check It Out! is set up as supremely low-budget, haphazard, early-morning “life-style” program airing at 4:30 AM on Channel 5, the local Jefferton station originally from Tim and Eric’s Tom Goes To The Mayor.  Dr. Steve takes his “Brule’s Rules” concept and improves upon it, focusing on one specific topic, and interviewing guests, reporting from the field, and performing demonstrations on such topics as “Food”, “Relationships”, “Family”, “Health”, “Fear”, and “Friendship”.  He begins each show with a poem, and ends with a recap of the interesting nuggets we have learned over the course of the episode.

The cornerstones of Check It Out! are the terrible production quality and the ineptitude of its host.  It’s as if Dr. Steve snuck onto the Channel 5 set early in the morning and turned on the camera without anyones’ knowledge.  This supposed “Doctor” has the mind of a child that fell down one-too-many flights of stairs, and is prone to fits of anger and depression.  He comes off as ill-prepared, and often times loses interest, even falling asleep during interviews.   The editing is intentionally jumpy and choppy, the lighting and cinematography are that of a middle school’s morning announcements, and the music and graphics are straight from an early 80’s job training video.  While a subtle addition, in this age of High-Definition television, one of my favorite details is the line of static along the bottom of the frame that insinuates a poor quality video tape.  Check It Out! also subscribes to the Tim and Eric method of casting freakish, awkward, and delusional people off the streets of LA to round out the supporting cast.

The main draw of Check It Out! is clearly that of genuine Hollywood star, John C. Reilly, nominated for an Academy Award for Chicago, and star of such films as Boogie Nights, Talledaga Nights, and Step Brothers.  He is fearless in his portrayal of the simple Dr. Steve Brule, stumbling and bumbling around the set and during segments, and combing his curly hair into a tall mad-scientist afro.  Reilly has no issue with making his Doctor as ugly, stupid, and incompetent as possible.  In an interview with Esquire magazine, when asked about Dr. Steve Brule, Reilly declined to delve too far into the character’s motivations, explaining that “his persona would be more interesting if left a mystery”.  I would tend to agree, as the short-format Adult Swim run-time and 6-episode season keep the character from becoming too over-exposed, leaving the viewer wanting to Check It Out! again and again.  As of press time, a second season of Check It Out! has yet to be announced, but I’m sure it will happen when Reilly finds a break in his film schedule and has enough time to grow his hair into his Brule-ian mane.

I understand that there is a lot of animosity towards the Tim and Eric camp (I for one, am a fan), which would prevent some viewers from ever checking out Dr. Steve Brule’s show. However, if you’re a fan of John C. Reilly, I would urge you to give the show a chance, however, I would advise skipping the episodes “Relationships” and “Fear” which feature Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim as the “Married News Team”, Jan and Wayne Skylar.  Then, if you end up becoming a fan of Dr. Steve Brule, I would suggest giving Tim and Eric another chance.  The comedy team often gets dismissed as weird, gross-out, and generally unfunny, and Check It Out! is a subdued, approachable version of that formula.  But in the end, Check It Out!, Tim and Eric, and their ilk might just be one of those acquired tastes that some devour, and others spit out like Holy Guacamole.

For your health.

Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule videos are available on AdultSwim.com and YouTube!

–Knize