Hmmm… when I first started the “One Punch Reviews” feature, I initially was going to do small, single webcomic reviews (hence the name “One Punch”). Then I go ahead and violate that simple premise in the first two reviews. I guess I couldn’t resist the sirens’ lure of doing themed reviews. Well, no more! It’s back … or, uh, for the first time … to single-serving reviews for me. Also, I couldn’t figure out which webcomics I’d read would make good companion pieces for “Lucid TV.” Oh, sure, there’s technically two other webcomics I’m aware of, but I really wanted to give “The Adventures of Dr. McNinja” its own full-fledged review, and I hadn’t read enough of “Grumps” to make any sort of value judgement. So “Lucid TV,” the spotlight is all yours!

Lucid TV
Lucid TV is based on a simple contradiction. Superficially, it looks like a medical soap opera strip similar to Rex Morgan, MD with situations cribbed from doctor shows like Scrubs, House MD, and Grey’s Anatomy. The strip, though, is hardly as heartwarming (and I’m including that one Grey’s Anatomy episode where that guy’s head exploded). Lucid TV is less about medical drama and more about a bunch of doctors acting like jerks to everyone. It’s a lot like Perry Bible Fellowship, except the illusion of sunniness has been stripped away and we’re left with uncomfortable, lazy black comedy. I laughed once or twice, but most of the time I cringed … mainly because I had a hard time believing there were people out there who’d find most of this stuff funny. Want to guess how many strips boil down to your child/spouse/baby is dead? And awful lot, that’s how many. And it’s not that difficult of a joke to make. Pair a yo-husband-so-dead quip with a dumb follow-up (“The good news: I saved a bunch of money on my auto insurance!”) and voila! An instant Lucid TV classic. It seems like the stuff only drunk fratboys would enjoy. Then again, I thought the Garbage Pail Kids were stupid, Ren & Stimpy were overrated, and Borat was stupid, overrated, and unfunny. But all that crap ended up making money, so what the hell do I know? Apparently a lot of people out there enjoy pain and humiliation. In fact, Lucid TV is the leading contender in this year’s Webcomic Idol. So I probably should get my fragile, peacenik soul out of the US and move somewhere sedate, like Canada. I guess if you think Xavier: Renegade Angel is the paragon of all things comedy, then Lucid TV is right up your alley. But if you’re a Simon & Garfunkel listenin’ nancyboy like me, then Lucid TV walk away with a small chunk of your soul. Rating: 2 Stars (out of 5).