The Sleep Time and Rise "n" Shine Thread For 11/29-30/08: David Alan Grier Reporting Hilarious Realness With "Chocolate News"

Up until last night, I forgot that David Alan Grier had a new show on Comedy Central called "Chocolate News."

I saw magazine clips for it, and I think I even got a quick glimpse of it from a commercial. From those brief views, I thought it would be a show in the post-Dave Chapelle era that would either fail miserably, or not come close to the heights of that show. Despite Grier always being one of the funnier comedians in my lifetime, and deserving his own show that was long long overdue, "Chocolate News" seemed like it would not usher in anything new or spectacularly funny for it to become a powerhouse like "Chapelle's Show" or "The Boondocks."

Boy, was I completely wrong on what.

Watching the first four episodes with my family last night, and seeing how it is doing in the ratings...............

In its first weeks, "Chocolate News" has averaged a healthy 1.9 million viewers, and Grier has found Comedy Central to be "in synch with us creatively, and for the most part giving us free rein. This has been the experience I've always been in search of."

........, it is easy for me to say that "Chocolate News" looks not only to be the real deal, but with a few more tweaks of consistent brilliance could be a classic show.

Heck, it already is. Take a look, if you haven't yet, at how Grier does his commentary. These following clips weren't even for the show, only it's preview:
The one slamming Rush Limbaugh, a definite five out of five:

The one about lying Ashley Todd, another gut-wrenching classic:

And the one when Sarah Palin was getting out of control on John McCain:

You can check more classic stuff from D.A.G. on "Chocolate News", Wednesday at 10:30 PM on Comedy Central.