I LOVE Chappelle’s Show. It was one of those shows that no matter what I had going on, I had to be in front of a TV when the new episode aired. With all this down time, I decided to go back and watch the first two seasons for the scientific purpose of finding out what the best episode really is. Here are the final rankings of season one.
Chappelle’s Show Power Rankings: Season 1
1. Episode 1 – Pilots usually ease you into a series, but not Chappelle’s Show. Dave and company hit us with two classics in “Pop Copy” and the incredibly funny but unbelievably controversial “Clayton Bigsby.” Imagine having the BDE to go with a skit about a black man being a white supremacist right out of the gate. A true Mt. Rushmore episode of the entire series.
2. Episode 9 – This one opens up with a Grand Theft Auto spoof and “Blackzilla” where Dave absolutely trashes Japan as a Godzilla-sized version of himself. Both are solid but the real highlight of this episode is “The Player Hater’s Ball.” Ice-T is perfect as the host of the ball with Dave and crew bringing A++++ stuff set inside the mockumentary world of an HBO Films production. One of my favorite skits of the series.
3. Episode 2 – The big skit this week was the first appearance of “Tyrone Biggums” where Ty goes to an elementary school to speak on the perils of drug addiction. Hilarious shit. Supported by skits including the “Wrap It Up” box and Dave as a “Miss Cleo” like character with an educated guess line. The skit had me cracking up just for reminding me of “Miss Cleo.” Add in a Real Sex spoof along with “Pretty White Girl Sings” where Dave pays a pretty white girl to sing some of his thoughts and you’ve got a pretty stacked episode.
4. Episode 12 – Another favorite skit of mine from the series is highlighted here with “Trading Spouses.” Dave as “Leonard Washington” is one of the more underrated characters as he makes an appearance in another favorite skit later on in season 2. This episode also brings us “O’Dweeds,” the weed without THC which, with the popularity of CBD, brings an extra little chuckle. The only other skit is an And 1 spoof where other sports are featured in the same vain as the And 1 videos brought. Cap this all off with a Blackstar performance and it’s another jam packed episode.
5. Episode 6 – Dave does an ‘Antwon Fisher’ spoof with the man writing his own feature film. If you don’t remember this off the top, definitely go back and watch because it had me nearly in tears. The real meat of the episode goes to “The Mad Real World” which is another next level skit from the series as whole. Mario Cantone pops up with “Ask a Gay Dude” and the show opens with a “3rd World Girls Gone Wild” spoof that would no way in hell be aired today.
6. Episode 10 – The “Piss on You” episode. This episode blew the fuck up when it aired. Other than maybe “Pop Copy” or “The Player Hater’s Ball” this was the most quoted skit in the halls from season one. We also get Paul Mooney with another hilarious albeit quick “Ask a Black Dude.” A spoof of “Deep Impact” and a look at “History’s Greatest Wars” finish out the often talked about episode.
7. Episode 8 – Dave brings us two “Real Movie” spoofs of Ghost and Half Baked along with a Frontline report on “Racist Hollywood Animals.” All bring the funny, but it’s another appearance of Tyrone Biggums that highlights the episode. The loved ones of Tyrone go full on intervention which leads to some hilarious realizations.
8. Episode 7 – WU TANG FINANCIAL. That’s the only skit we need from this episode but man is it hilarious. People to this day scream “Wu Tang Clan ain’t nothing to fuck with” because of Chappelle’s Show. Think about that. More “Real Movies” as The Matrix and Pretty Woman are featured this week. Along with Paul Mooney back with “Ask a Black Dude” which are always top notch. A look at a “Jedi Sex Scandal” closes out the episode as it was pretty miss for me though the alleged video of Yoda doing space cocaine got a solid laugh.
9. Episode 4 – “Reparations 2003” is another underrated sketch from the entire series. This is where the icon “I’m rich bitch!” proclamation comes from for y’all that forgot. The episode also has a solid iMac/porn spoof clown with “Great New York Boobs!” which brought more laughs that it had any right to.
10. Episode 5 – This one packs a lot of smaller skits though there’s still a lot to like. “Roca Pads” with Damon Dash selling feminine products and Redman selling his toilet cleaner “Redman Potty Fresh” are the highlights as both guys nail it. Paul Mooney with another “Ask a Black Dude” is once again fucking hilarious as the episode finishes up with “Great Moments in Hookup History” and a spoof of ‘Inside the Actor’s Studio.’ It may not bring the heat that other episodes do, but it’s still a solid half hour of tv.
11. Episode 11 – This episode brings three skits. “Fisticuff: Turn My Headphones Up”, a “Make a Wish” spoof and a weird camera skit that opens in a “Gremlins” setting. All are ok but compared to other episodes this week was just ok. That said the “Make a Wish” spoof has Dave and a sick boy playing “Street Hoops” which was pretty funny but I just want to bring up STREET HOOPS y’all!
12. Episode 3 – Along with the previous episode this just felt like lesser ‘Chappelle’s Show.’ We get an ok QVC spoof along with a prank TV show spoof titled “Zapped.” My favorite skit of the show is a spoof on box set commercials that aren’t a thing anymore of the film ‘Roots.’ The majority of the episode is spent on a “It’s a Wonderful Life” spoof called “It’s a Wonderful Chest.” Overall just an ok episode in my book.
John Mosley is the independent wrestling and TV aficionado of the SoBros Network. He graduated from ETSU with a degree in Radio, TV and Film along with a minor in Film Studies. Since graduating he’s done pretty much nothing but watch, film, edit or commentate for local wrestling promotions and is the current color commentator for Resolute Wrestling. #Preds #Titans #DefendOrVacateConor. Follow on Twitter: @SoBroMose.
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