This Webby Award-winning provider of original videos from independent producers has brought four of their comedy series to Roku. In the lineup are cooking tips from the Ghetto Gourmet, a chronicle of a man dating in New York City, a "mockutorial" for Photoshop users, and a series that is billed as "an evil, comic soap opera". Is My Damn Channel worth adding to your Roku channel list? Read on and decide for yourself.
My Damn Channel's website currently offers up 27 channels of videos, but only four of those are available on the Roku channel, and only the first season episodes are provided. (Note: I'm currently experiencing problems with this channel. Shows may start playing midway through the episode. If this occurs, just hit the rewind button to start at the beginning.)
Cookin' with Coolio. "The Ghetto Gourmet & his Sauce Girls invade your kitchen."
Sorry, it's just not my type of humor. Coolio, dressed in dark shades and heavy chains, has an entourage that consists of a sidekick in corn rows and two large-breasted white women. He shows you how to cook up such things as caprese salad, stir-fried vegetables, and "swashbucklin' shrimp" while carrying on with predictable ghetto-style banter that includes a lot of profanity and references to "yo mama". If I'm looking for cooking shows on Roku, I'll stick to the Chow channel.
Wainy Days. "David Wain's hilarious quest for love in the big city."
This reality TV style series follows David Waine as he tries to meet women. Wain won the 2010 Steamy Award for Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series for his efforts on Wainy Days.
You Suck at Photoshop. "The only thing Donnie hates more than teaching you Photoshop, is life itself."
As someone who has watched a lot of video tutorials on all sorts of computer software topics, I can relate to this series, which is billed as a "mockutorial". Instructor "Donnie" provides step-by-step lessons on Photoshop techniques such as the clone stamp, paths and masks, the liquefy filter, and layers and curves. Each episode runs around five minutes or less, during which you'll see a typical screen capture video of Donnie executing the actions that he's narrating. But Donnie seems to be afflicted with ADD, often digressing from the intent of his tutorial, and he's often interrupted by visitors and phone calls. This series is humorous, but I've actually learned some good tips for improving my Photoshop techniques.
Horrible People. "An evil, comic soap opera."
This parody of a soap opera is slightly reminiscent of the 1970's series Soap. The five-minutes episodes take place at an engagement party where horrible people do horrible things to one another. Episode 1 starts off with Carter, who along with his fiancé Margaret is guest of honor at the engagement party, choking Danielle, whose fiance Michael has hinted is pregnant, with her own sweater. Meanwhile, Carter's mother is scheming to gain control of Carter's fiance's family fortune after the marriage. Expect more convoluted over-the-top storylines following more characters throughout this series.
Melodramatic? Yes, but it is a parody, after all. But's also very entertaining and it drew me in after only one episode. Horrible People is in its tenth season and I'm hoping My Damn Channel makes more than the first season available to Roku viewers. If not, I'll have to continue watching online. This is not an amateur production. The writing, filming, and editing are top notch, and the actors are experienced professionals.
My recommendation? If the style of humor of any of these series appeals to you, you'll probably enjoy My Damn Channel. Add this channel to your Roku lineup and catch up on the first-season episodes. If the Roku offerings aren't expanded, visit the My Damn Channel website to watch the remaining seasons and to check out the many other series offered there.
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