Matt DaSilva ('12) getting his guido on during the semester premiere of OHT.
Classes can wait, you’re On Harvard Time.
With its catchy slogan and Harvard-specific satirical sketches, the campus comedy news show, On Harvard Time, has gained a strong viewership since its launch in 2007. Now in its fourth full season, OHT continues to make changes — a new backdrop, new correspondents, and in this semester’s premiere, a new anchoress.
Last semester saw the induction of Chris Liberge (’12) into the anchor position, filling the shoes left by original executive producer and anchor, Derek Flanzraich (’10). With Flanzraich nearing graduation, he passed the comedy torch onto the lighthearted Liberge. Beginning with Flanzraich’s materialization over a thumb-sucking Liberge and ending with a historic run down the Widerner steps, OHT presented a flawless anchor transition.
This semester begins with the inception of another newbie behind the newsdesk — Hana Bajramovic (’13) to fill Alexandra Zimbler’s (’10) spot. The inauguration of OHT’s new female anchor, however, doesn’t quite live up to Liberge’s rise to power. The early search for Liberge’s new desk-mate is hilarious, as Liberge laboriously and increasingly exasperatedly attempts to report alongside his doppelganger, a Satanic goth woman, and a violated sock puppet. Just as the search seems hopeless, in walks Bajramovic, breezing through in slow motion as ethereal music fills the studio. After this grand entrance, one has high expectations for the new female anchor, yet we see that her character fails to develop throughout the remainder of the episode.
Playing off of Jew jokes and alcoholism bits, Bajramovic’s character feels vague and undefined. The on-screen, playful chemistry that Liberge and Zimbler shared, with banter and butt-slapping exchanges, is replaced with a relationship that it seems the OHT writers have yet to decide upon. Hopefully over the course of the next few episdoes both the writers and Bajramovic herself will work toward a better defined comedic persona, allowing her to make a stronger impact on the show.
Other sketches in this episode, however, show an incredible improvement in OHT’s comedic acting and tight writing. Matt DaSilva’s (’12) guido from the Jersey shore proved that OHT has reached a new level of correspondent talent, with actors playing absurd circumstances with unwavering conviction — a formula that creates hysterical characters an audience is sure to love.
Another impressive improvement is seen in OHT’s newly-developed editing and framing prowess. The entire episode is executed flawlessly, with seamless transitions and beautiful frames. The only remaining issue with editing seems to lie in timing: a few jokes and images aren’t given quiet enough time to hit. Viewers see images of Nalgenes and Obama flutter into the frame, but there’s never quite enough time or joke development for the humor flying across the screen to land. Additionally, despite the clear improvement in comedic writing, one aspect of the production that seems to continually plague the show is its use of vulgar humor. Instead of landing solid jokes, the show tends to resort to cheap humor that moves toward offensive: the result coming across as a sort of vulgar filler for an unfinished script.
Overall, OHT has made incredible progress over its last four seasons, making huge strides in comedic acting and editing, and we hope to watch them continue their ascent toward hilarity as they work to improve character development and move away from crude humor.
– The Harvard Art Review TV/Film Board
