"Crank Yankers" (2002) TV series 2002-????

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Creators:

Adam Carolla
Daniel Kellison
Jimmy Kimmel

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

2 June 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy

Tagline:

Screw the innocent.

Plot:

A show with real 'crank' phone calls to real victims. Puppets are added as the 'actors' to give visual support to what is happening in the phone calls.

Plot Keywords:

Puppet | Telephone Prank | Shock Humor | Vulgarity | Puppet Nudity

Cast

Artie Esposito	...	Puppeteer (72 episodes, 2002-2007)
Paul McGinnis	...	Puppeteer (68 episodes, 2002-2007)
Victor Yerrid	...	Puppeteer (62 episodes, 2002-2005)
Biz Markie	...	Announcer (42 episodes, 2004-2007)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:TV-14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Comedy Central

Trivia:

Before any episodes aired and the show was still being written, the original title of the series was 'Prank Puppets', but a Comedy Central lawyer approached executive producer Adam Carolla and said that the show's name would have to be changed. She said the title (despite the premise of the show) 'implied spite and malice' and that it was a 'legal liability'. Neither Adam, nor the rest of the crew really believed that argument, but they reluctantly changed the name anyway.

Quotes:

Spoonie Luv: From your ankles to your instep, I really love your feet. So slim, so strong, so shapely, so graceful, and petite. So wrap your toes around my johnson, it's time to beat my meat.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Shady National Convention (2004) (TV)

Crank Calls + Puppets = Funny in my book!

How can someone not find this show funny? The complaints about "lack of plotlines" are just ludicrous. Since when are crank calls supposed to have plots? The whole premise of the show is a wide range of comedians call up unsuspecting individuals and crank call them in a variety of hilarious ways, these calls are then acted out with puppets playing the roll of the cranker and the crankee. Some of the bits are funnier than others of course, but the same thing happens with any type of comedy program with sketches, and it doesn't stop the funny sketches from being fall-on-the-floor-hold-your-buns-in-place funny. Some of the crankers are completely hysterical in their dead-pan delivery of the crank calls. Kevin Nealon's performance as a man suffering from OCD who is looking to join a dating service and Wanda Sykes who calls someone to try and free her ass from her toilet are two of my personal favorites. One has to wonder if the people who received these calls ever heard themselves on Comedy Central afterwards and slapped their foreheads in agony. Crank Yankers definitely isn't for someone who has a problem with low-brow humor, as most of the jokes do hinge around making fun of other people or toilet humor. But if you're someone who enjoys a good laugh, even if it's at the sake of someone else, give Crank Yankers a try.