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The Upright Citizens Brigade




In 1996 , 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 Strip Club . On April 1 , 2003 , they moved to a new space at 307 W. 26th Street. In July of 2005, the UCB opened a theater in Los Angeles at 5919 Franklin Ave (between Tamarind & North Bronson Ave).


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 that would all be tied together in some way by the end. 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 never doing Pop Culture parodies or celebrity impersonations (with the exception of several impressions of historical figures such as Einstein , Harry Truman , and Jesus in Episode 108).

The four main actors never appeared as themselves but rather as the characters of Adair (Besser), Colby (Poehler), Antoine (Roberts), and Trotter (Walsh). 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 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, ASSSCAT 3000, which can be seen once on Saturday and Sunday nights in Los Angeles, and twice on Sunday nights in New York. 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. 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 .

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. Their only enemy is the status quo. Their 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.''"


EPISODES



Season 1



Season 2



Season 3



EXTERNAL LINKS