Upright Citizens Brigade

The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic. The current incarnation consists of Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Besser and Matt Walsh. Other original members were Ali Farahnakian, Adam McKay (former head writer for Saturday Night Live) and Horatio Sanz.

Television series

The group had a TV series dedicated to their sketch comedy on Comedy Central that aired for three seasons from 1998 to 2000. Each season contained 10 episodes, which included sketches inspired by their live shows and new material. What made the series stand out as a sketch show was that every episode had a central theme that would all be tied together in some way by the end. Additionally, episodes in each season would make reference to a fictitious element within the show's world and would culminate in a season finale that would be centred around this. The show also stayed away from overused staples of sketch shows by never doing parodies and celebrity impersonations (with the exception of several impressions of historical figures such as Einstein, Harry Truman, and Jesus in Episode 108), and the four main actors never appeared as themselves but rather as the characters of Adair (Besser), Colby (Poehler), Antoine (Roberts), and Trotter (Walsh). The overall plot of the show was that these four made up an underground organization "with no government ties and unlimited resources" dedicated to creating and monitoring chaos where they would watch it all from a secure location underground. In the Season 2 finale, the FBI invaded their lair as part of a raid to find a Supercool smuggling ring. Because of this, in the third and final season, the UCB had set up operation in a bakery delivery truck. The characters themselves also had less of a presence in the episodes, mostly only being shown quickly between scenes.

Related Topics:
Comedy Central - Einstein - Harry Truman - Jesus - FBI

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The show was not renewed by Comedy Central after the third season. Its players have since moved on to other projects while still performing in various combinations at their weekly improvised show, ASSSCAT 3000, which takes place Sunday nights at both the New York and Los Angeles UCB Theatres. Both Poehler and Sanz went on to perform on Saturday Night Live. Comedy Central released a DVD containing the episodes of the first season in 2003. In the fall of 2005, Bravo showed a one-hour special of ASSSCAT Improv with guest stars like Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, and Andy Richter.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The show's motto was, ?From the dawn of civilization, they have existed in order to undermine it.?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Episodes

Season 1

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• 101: The Bucket of Truth
• 102: Poo Stick
• 103: Saigon Suicide Show
• 104: Power Marketing
• 105: Children's Revolution
• 106: The Story of the Toad
• 107: The Lady of the Lake
• 108: Time Machine
• 109: Cyborgs
• 110: The Little Donnie Foundation

Season 2

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• 201: Competition (Master Dialectitian)
• 202: Crime (Bomb Squad)
• 203: Throwing Stars (Mogomra Fart Monster)
• 204: Real World
• 205: Anger Management (Eli's Face Therapy)
• 206: Friars
• 207: Spirituality (Spaghetti Jesus)
• 208: Big City
• 209: Hurricane
• 210: Supercool

Season 3

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• 301: Costume
• 302: Mafia
• 303: Hospital
• 304: Band
• 305: Eating
• 306: College
• 307: Sex
• 308: Small Town
• 309: Technology
• 310: Pro Thunderball