The idea is simple: a local television program that follows a doctor/news correspondent around as he delves into certain facets of everyday living. Health, happiness, fear, money, boats, space. Dr. Steve pretty much chooses topics to discuss and spends eleven minutes in segments that range from interviews, field work, and even Hunter Thompson-style gonzo journalism. You're probably aware of programming that resembles this show on a base level, but the base level is where the comparisons end.
There is so much to say about Check it Out! that I honestly don't know where to begin. Let's start with the obvious, though: this is a show that heavily satirizes public access television, which is often notorious for its exceptionally poor production values, laughably weak personalities, and straight up bad programming. Check it Out! takes everything people love to hate about public access and turns it into something truly insane.
One wonders "Just how in the hell did this man become a doctor?" Seriously, Dr. Steve is all the things a doctor should not be: illiterate, childish, and let's face it, probably retarded. He frequently butchers names (Cynthia Driscoll is "Sanfia Dringus," and later "Sithia Dangus") and even screws up simple terms like puppet (pruppet) and boat (broat). He is clearly unprepared in each of his scenes, and when he's not being clumsy or awkward, he's snide and almost hostile. For example, his nutrition-related dialogue with another doctor includes an incredible mangling of the food groups, and an indignant "I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor too." And it gets even worse when he ends up treating his guests in a way that could be described as sexual harassment. Discomfort is not even the word for it.
In the world of Check it Out!, Dr. Steve's show actually airs during what is possibly the least-desirable time slot ever - 4:30 A.M. But at intermittent points, the show is interrupted by random local announcements and brief programs. For example, Terry Bruge-Hiplo often appears to give announcements regarding the community. Most of these announcements are not on the level, as illustrated when he calls out a vandal for drawing penises on the wall of a grocery store. And then we have Carol Krabit, who does the "Yesterday's Weather" and "Your Fortune" segments, but always finds a way to work bizarre personal details into her segments. How bizarre? Well, one of these involves scrubbing someone's teeth with steel wool because he was drinking floor wax. What. The. F***.
It goes without saying that Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule looks and sounds absolutely atrocious. But of course, it's by design. The effect is absolutely hysterical, especially when you also consider that each eleven-minute episode contains a huge number of jaw-dropping technical problems. I've never seen anything this poorly-edited in my life. It's so bad that it's actually one of the show's finer points. The camera man never seems to do anything at the right moment. and he frequently keeps the camera rolling during moments that will have you squirming in your seat. This is a guy who zooms in when Dr. Steve spits milk all over his food or when he starts blowing chunks on a broat.
And then there are the moments that cause you actual physical discomfort. Most of these involve his colleagues at Channel 5, Jan and Wayne Skylar (Tim and Eric), a married couple whose sex life often explodes out of the periphery, manifesting in scenes that make me wonder exactly how completely messed up these guys are. Other sources of extreme discomfort are the result of Dr. Steve's several dream sequences, which we actively follow.
It goes without saying that this show is aimed at a very specific niche: most viewers will feel strangely violated after watching an episode. Others will fail to "get it" and hate it for being so avant-garde. But if you're a fan of surreal humor and think public access television is mostly garbage, you'll find that Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule just might be the most entertaining train wreck ever.
