Two Underrated Kids in the Hall Sketches

Kids in the Hall is one of the best—if not THE best—comedy sketch shows in the history of television. Quirky, hilarious, and often ahead of its time, Kids in the Hall relied on creating hilarious, memorable characters and great comedic storylines for each half-hour sketch episode. When most people think about Kids in the Hall, they think about the show’s most popular sketches—such as the reoccurring “I crush you!” character or the many gay waiters performed by Scott Thompson. But among the show’s many sketches are a few hidden gems definitely worthy of more recognition. Let’s look at two very funny, but very underrated, sketches from KITH.

Season 5: Dipping Areas

Dipping Areas is an underrated sketch from the show's fifth season, which centers on a waiter at an "upscale" restaurant whose inquiry into the type of dessert his patrons have ordered results in a low key but memorable discussion about what to do with the dessert plate's dipping areas.

The key to the comedy in this sketch is the show's ability to take something to small--"Patrons use up their dipping areas before they run out of mouse"--and turning it into something much bigger than it really is, creating humor out of something many people have experienced before in their workplace. Who hasn't had a similar discussion at work over something so unimportant?

Season 3: The Polite Axe Murderer

Who says an axe murder can’t be polite? In this sketch, a polite axe murderer—drenched in blood, of course—knocks on the door of an older woman in order to ask her if he can borrow her axe. He’s been chopping up her neighbors—the Dumonts—and he swung his axe too hard, resulting in it flying out the window. Because it’s so dark, he can’t seem to find it, and he’s come to the neighbor for help. Unfortunately, she’s only got a rubber axe from a vacation and a small hatchet, though the small hatchet will “have to do.” The absurdity of the murderer’s politeness and the calm, with which the neighbor responds, as if he were asking for nothing more than to borrow some milk, is really what makes this sketch one of the most underrated of the show.