"State of the Union" (2008)TV series

Creator:

Tracey Ullman
(more)

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Tracey Ullman's satirical look at life in America today.

Cast

Peter Strauss	...	Narrator (5 episodes, 2008)
Liz Fenley	...	Lynn Spears (2 episodes)

(more)

Series Directed by
Troy Miller		(unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Writing credits
Tracey Ullman		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Matt Magielnicki	....	segment producer (3 episodes, 2008)
Shawn Wilt	....	producer (unknown episodes, 2008)
Allan McKeown	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
Tracey Ullman	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Anthony Hardwick		(unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Film Editing by
Rick Kent		(5 episodes, 2008)
Kabir Akhtar		(unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Casting by
Marisa Ross		(unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Production Design by
Dan Butts		(unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Art Direction by
Kate Bunch		(unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Set Decoration by
Britt Woods		(5 episodes, 2008)

Series Makeup Department
Sally Sutton	....	key makeup artist (5 episodes, 2008)
Matthew W. Mungle	....	prosthetic makeups (unknown episodes, 2008)
Martin Samuel	....	hair designer (unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John P. Aguirre	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Art Department
Grant Sawyer	....	on-set dresser (5 episodes, 2008)
Marjorie Eber	....	art department coordinator (unknown episodes, 2008)
Robert 'Cass' McEntee	....	construction coordinator (unknown episodes, 2008)
Joyce Yeich	....	assistant property master (unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Sound Department
Shaun Cunningham	....	sound effects editor (5 episodes, 2008)
Brennan Gerle	....	foley editor (unknown episodes, 2008)
Adrian Ordonez	....	foley mixer (unknown episodes, 2008)
Monique Reymond	....	foley artist (unknown episodes, 2008)
Brian Riordan	....	sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Erik Kasson	....	dolly grip (5 episodes, 2008)
Marc Christie	....	key grip (unknown episodes, 2008)
David Darwin	....	set lighting technician (unknown episodes, 2008)
Stephen Furry	....	best boy grip (unknown episodes, 2008)
Coby Garfield	....	first assistant camera (unknown episodes, 2008)
Bob Good	....	assistant chief lighting technician (unknown episodes, 2008)
Nate Havens	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (unknown episodes, 2008)
Renee Kayon	....	lighting console programmer (unknown episodes, 2008)
Skip McCraw	....	chief lighting technician (unknown episodes, 2008)
Troy Miller	....	steadicam operator (unknown episodes, 2008)
Evan A. Nesbitt	....	digital imaging technician (unknown episodes, 2008)
Scott Romos	....	set lighting technician (unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Casting Department
Elizabeth Campbell	....	casting assistant (5 episodes, 2008)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kathryn L. Bucher	....	set costumer (unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Editorial Department
Janet Gratz	....	assistant editor (unknown episodes, 2008)

Series Music Department
Jorge Costa	....	score mixer (5 episodes, 2008)
Sherry Whitfield	....	music editor (5 episodes, 2008)

Series Other crew
Gabi Endicott	....	script supervisor (5 episodes, 2008)
Graham Geraghty	....	set production assistant (5 episodes, 2008)
Zac Halley	....	production assistant (5 episodes, 2008)
Veronique Lee	....	production assistant (5 episodes, 2008)
Melissa Wylie	....	production coordinator (5 episodes, 2008)
Jason P. Hauser	....	production secretary (unknown episodes, 2008)
Ryan Janata	....	assistant production office coordinator (unknown episodes, 2008)
Jon Tierney	....	key set production assistant (unknown episodes, 2008)
Kyle Weber	....	production assistant (unknown episodes, 2008)

Production Companies

• Allan McKeown Presents
• Levels Audio Post

Distributors

• Showtime Networks (2008) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Runway  post-production

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Allan McKeown Presents

Ullman is such a talent that this shallow, laugh-free excuse is beneath her.

Network: Showtime; Genre: Sketch Comedy; Content Rating: TV-14 (for some strong language and scatological humor); Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Seasons Reviewed: 1 season

America is a weird and funny place… apparently. Unlike other countries in the world it is filled with simple farm folk, hypocritical celebrities, vein or fear mongering news anchors, philandering businessmen and a cultural clash of many races, ethnicities and nationalities. Look out.

Do I need to say that Tracey Ullman is a brilliant comic talent? She's an unbelievable chameleon, slipping in impressions of celebrities Renee Zellwegger to David Beckhem, along with original characters like security screener Shannell (feeling like a 15 year old reject from "In Living Color") and a borderline offensive pharmacist who bursts into a Bollywood musical number to explain a medication's side-effects. "Tracey Ullman's State of the Union" takes us around the United States in quick 1 -3 minute sketch segments for a day. It's a one-woman band for Ullman who spends most of the screen time mugging for the camera.

Yet, there isn't a single laugh to be found in "State of the Union". A clunky, unimaginative affair, it's more a masturbatory excuse for Ullman to put on a goofy costume and let us marvel at what a great impersonator she is. That's all it is, an impersonation. She isn't Phil Hendrie creating characters. They come in, tell their joke and leave. Then they tell the exact same joke in subsequent episodes without expanding on them. The same one-note jokes over and over.

The would-be satirical comedy falls in line with the Ullman's vapid costume act. She isn't satirizing any particular element of America, just shallow little inconsequential idiosyncrasies that have no effect on anything and everybody has already noticed. Broad comedy is the name of the game here with every gag thrown up in your face with giant neon blinking lights framing it. Renee Zelwegger suffers from "Narcisistic Squint" (ok…), liberal environmentalists (in the form of Laurie David of all people) are hypocrites who fly around in private jets (wake me when it's over), news anchors are trying to scare you (and…). She does an impression of Paulie from The Sopranos now branching out into independent film and still acting like a mobster. Shannell runs a man through her luggage x-ray to check his medical health. Prescription medication can have ghastly medical side effects! Arianna Huffington is one of the strangest and most ripe for a parody of Tracey's collection of personalities. Huffington is a goon and her blog is a joke, but Tracey can only think to make Huffington arrogant over what a great blogger she is.

The episodes have no theme threading the segments together, randomly bouncing around the country from one impression to the next without letting any of the segments flesh out or come to any comic boil. It would have required some effort and intricate story construction to pick a theme, and use her characters to delve into that. Now that would have been fun. Americans pull themselves apart satirically on TV all the time (mostly in animated shows) in a little bit of irony often lost on the rest of the TV watching world, far better than Ullman does here.

Even so, I'm not asking that Tracey Ullman be Ira Glass or Michael Patrick King. I'm asking for laughs - one laugh - which should not be difficult for a talent like Tracey. This befuddling, head-slapping, eye-rolling, shrill, mess of a sketch series is not the slightest bit funny. It's 30 of the longest minutes on TV inspiring us to count down with the on-screen time marks until this day in the life of America and it's people comes to an end.

* / 4