Upright Citizens Brigade
Genre	Comedy
Starring	Matt Besser Amy Poehler Ian Roberts Matt Walsh
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	30
Production
Executive producer(s)	Kent Alterman
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Comedy Central
Original run	1998 – 2000
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The most recent incarnation consists of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Besser, Ali Farahnakian, Drew Franklin, Adam McKay, Roberts, Rick Roman, and Horatio Sanz. Other early members included Neil Flynn, Armando Diaz, and Rich Fulcher. The word comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humor with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... Matt Besser was born on September 22, 1967, in Little Rock, Arkansas. ... Amy Poehler (born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian and actress. ... Ian Roberts (born 29 July 1965 in Secaucus, New Jersey) is an actor and comedian. ... Along with Ian Roberts, Matt Besser and Amy Poehler, he was a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade and appeared as Trotter during its three season run on Comedy Central. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A single camera setup is the name given to the filming procedure used to film motion pictures. ... Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel in the United States. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Improvisational comedy (also called improv) is comedy that is performed with a little to no predetermination of subject matter and structure. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... The ImprovOlympic (now known as IO or IO Chicago) is a theater in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois dedicated to improvisational comedy. ... Matt Besser was born on September 22, 1967, in Little Rock, Arkansas. ... Amy Poehler (born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian and actress. ... Ian Roberts (born 29 July 1965 in Secaucus, New Jersey) is an actor and comedian. ... Along with Ian Roberts, Matt Besser and Amy Poehler, he was a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade and appeared as Trotter during its three season run on Comedy Central. ... Adam McKay is an Emmy-nominated American writer and film director. ... Horatio Sanz (born June 4, 1974[1]) is an American comedian and actor, known as a former cast member of Saturday Night Live. ... Neil Richard Flynn (b. ... Rich Fulcher (born 18 November 1968, in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is an American comedian. ...

The Upright Citizens Brigade began performing improv and sketch comedy at Kill the Poet in Chicago. Their first show was called Virtual Reality. The group followed with shows entitled UCBTV, Conference on the Future of Happiness, Thunderball, Bucket of Truth, Big Dirty Hands, The Real Real World, and Punch Your Friend in the Face.

In 1997, the Upright Citizens Brigade relocated to New York and began performing shows and offering improv training at Solo Arts Group. These shows and classes were so popular that the UCB were able to open their own theater, The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, at 161 W. 22nd Street in Chelsea on February 4, 1999, in a former nude dance club.^{[citation needed]} On April 1, 2003, they moved to a new space at 307 W. 26th Street. In July of 2005, the UCB opened at the Tamarind Theatre in Los Angeles at 5919 Franklin Ave (between Tamarind & North Bronson Ave). The Upright Citizens Brigade have also been a featured performance in the Comedy Tent at the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, TN for the past three years. Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ... NY redirects here. ... The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 2004. ... is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ...

Television series

The group had a TV series dedicated to their sketch comedy on Comedy Central that aired for three seasons from 1998 to 2000. Each season contained 10 episodes, which included sketches inspired by their live shows and new material. What made the series stand out as a sketch show was that every episode had a central theme, the strands of which would all be tied together in some way by the end. The progression of each episode essentially followed an improv format known as the Harold, which was invented by Del Close, improv teacher and mentor to the UCB (who also contributed the voiceover in the show's opening title sequence). Additionally, episodes in each season would make reference to a fictitious element within the show's world and would culminate in a season finale that would focus exclusively on this element. The show also stayed away from overused staples of sketch shows by rarely doing pop culture parodies or celebrity impersonations (with the exception of several impressions of historical figures such as Albert Einstein, Harry Truman, and Jesus in Episode 108). Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel in the United States. ... The Harold is an improvisational long-form. ... Del Close (March 9, 1934–March 4, 1999), along with Keith Johnstone and Viola Spolin, is considered one of the premier influences on modern improvisational theater. ... Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ... “Einstein” redirects here. ... For the victim of Mt. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

The four main actors never appeared as themselves. They each took various roles throughout the sketches, which were linked by segments featuring Adair (Besser), Colby (Poehler), Antoine (Roberts), and Trotter (Walsh), the Upright Citizens Brigade.

The overall plot of the show was that these four were The Upright Citizens Brigade, an underground organization "with no government ties and unlimited resources" dedicated to creating and monitoring chaos from their secure underground base. The sketches depict chaotic or bizarre events in the world, events which are often directly engineered by the UCB. In the Season 2 finale, the FBI invaded the UCB lair as part of a raid to find a Supercool smuggling ring. Because of this, in the third and final season, the UCB had set up operation in a bakery delivery truck. The characters themselves also had less of a presence in the episodes, mostly only being shown quickly between scenes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), serving as both a federal criminal investigative body and a domestic intelligence agency. ...

Another defining feature of the show was a series of real-world pranks, which tied in with the show's theme. Usually run at the end of each episode, these hidden-camera pranks featured the cast (as either the central UCB characters or other characters from that day's episode) interacting with real strangers. These segments featured such concepts as attempts by UCB cast to buy the fictitious drug "supercool" from real drug dealers in shady dance clubs, a UCB mother trying to convince a real store clerk to let her put up flyers advertising "baby fights," Roberts dressed as Santa Claus standing outside a department store offering free samples of his "Santa Liqueur", and the UCB at a sidewalk stand attempting to sell "poo-sticks" (sticks with dog feces on one end) as defensive weapons to passersby. A typical depiction of Santa Claus. ...

The show was not renewed by Comedy Central after the third season. Its players have since moved on to other projects while still performing in various combinations at their weekly improvised show, ASSSSCAT, which can be seen once on Saturday and Sunday nights in Los Angeles, and twice on Sunday nights in New York. In Los Angeles, the Sunday night show is free, as is the second show in New York. One of the show's running jokes involves cast members explaining that "it's free to get in, but you have to pay to leave." A version of the show's Bucket of Truth is passed around and donations are taken. Both Poehler and Sanz went on to perform on Saturday Night Live. Comedy Central released a DVD containing the episodes of the first season in 2003. Audio commentary for episodes in season two have begun,^[1] and the DVD is scheduled for release on September 18th, 2007 in the United States. In the fall of 2005, Bravo showed a one-hour special of ASSSCAT Improv with guest stars like Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, and Andy Richter. This article contains a trivia section. ... DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... This article is about the U.S. cable network. ... Rachel Susan Dratch (born February 22, 1966) is an American actress and comedian, best known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006. ... Elizabeth Stamatina Tina Fey (born May 18, 1970) is an American writer, comedian and actress working in the film and television industries. ... Paul Andrew Andy Richter (born October 28, 1966) is best known for his former role as Conan OBriens sidekick on Late Night with Conan OBrien. ...

The show's motto was, "Don't think."

The show opened with this narration, voiced by improv legend and UCB guru Del Close: "From the dawn of civilization, they have existed in order to undermine it. Our only enemy is the status quo. Our only friend is chaos. They have no government ties and unlimited resources. If something goes wrong, we are the cause. Every corner of the earth is under their surveillance. If you do it, we see it. Always. We believe the powerful should be made less powerful. We have heard the voice of society, begging us to destabilize it. Antoine. Colby. Trotter. Adair. We are the Upright Citizens Brigade." Del Close (March 9, 1934–March 4, 1999), along with Keith Johnstone and Viola Spolin, is considered one of the premier influences on modern improvisational theater. ...

Ass Pennies

Ass Pennies are pennies (currency) that have been at one time or another put in someone's ass, then put into circulation in order to secure a psychological advantage in negotiations.

The idea originated with a sketch written and performed by the Upright Citizens Brigade during the first season of their show.

The possibility of having handled one of the protagonist's ass pennies is demonstrated in his diatribe: "I've been sticking $30 in pennies up my ass for the past 11 years! That's 3,000 pennies a day; 21,000 pennies a week; 1,092,000 pennies a year! To date that's 12,012,000 pennies, 8 times the population of Nebraska. Those pennies were in my ass! You think you're better than me? Oh, you're not better than me. You handle my ass pennies everyday. You pick up my ass pennies for good luck. You throw my ass pennies in fountains and make wishes on them. You give my ass pennies to your little daughter to buy gumballs with."[1]

• Ass Penny Detector
• Urban Dictionary

Episodes

Season 1

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Season 2

Note: Season 2 is slated for DVD sometime in 2007. (Source)

Screenshot	Title	Episode
	"Sports"	201
	Great fights in history: Tesla vs. Edison, man vs. horse, and a young boy's struggle to become a Master Dialectitian.
	"Bomb Squad"	202
	The Wu-Tang Clan dig their way into the UCB's secret underground lair.
	"Mogomra vs. The Fart Monster"	203
	A boy repeatedly teased by his classmates seeks revenge with ninja throwing stars and a summoned monster.
	"Real World"	204
	The UCB collects freaks (such as Gilly, the color-blind girl, and a ferocious bikini-wearing Ingret) to star in a new season of "The Real World".
	"Eli's Face Therapy"	205
	Wealthy women pay Eli to slap them in the face.
	"Infested with Friars"	206
	A friar infestation begins when deli meat and cigars are left out; meanwhile the UCB is busy investigating theme restaurants.
	"Spaghetti Jesus"	207
	A man sees Jesus in a plate of spaghetti.
	"Big City"	208
	An urchin shows a rich man around the Big City.
	"Hurricane"	209
	Bong Boy is in a hurricane, but thinks he's watching it on TV.
	"Supercool"	210
	A documentary about the drug Supercool, including interviews with the Titté Brothers.

Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... The Wu-Tang Clan is a New York-based rap group, consisting of nine American rappers who are Grammy winners, multiplatinum-selling solo artists, multiplatinum record producers, film stars, screenwriters, TV stars, product spokespersons, business owners and, most recently, major motion picture composers. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see The Real World (disambiguation). ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Amy Poehler portraying a recovering supercool user who is also an alcoholic moments before she disrobes in a public park. ... Amy Poehler portraying a recovering supercool user who is also an alcoholic moments before she disrobes in a public park. ... The Titté Brothers are a fictional performance group found in the first season finalé of the Upright Citizens Brigade. ...

Season 3

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References

1. ^ UCB Season 2 Live Commentary http://www.ucbtheatre.com/schedule/showdetails.php?showid=1396

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Upright Citizens Brigade

• Upright Citizens Brigade at TV.com
• The official Upright Citizens Brigade website
• The official Upright Citizens Brigade Theater website
• Audio Interview with Matt Besser on The Sound of Young America: MP3 Link
• Audio interview with Matt Walsh on The Sound of Young America
• Matt Walsh and Ian Roberts feature film "Martin & Orloff" [2]
• The IMDB page for the Upright Citizens Brigade
• Video interview with Michael Delaney