By KefkaTaran

Testees
Episode 1
Starring Steve Markle, Jeff Kassel, Joe Pingue, Kim Schraner
FX Network
Thursdays @ 10:30 PM

For the first five minutes or so, Testees seems full of a Judd Apatow-esque kind of potential. Main characters Ron (Steve Markle) and Peter (Jeff Kassel) are goofy-looking everymen living in an apartment together with no money and less class. The two exchange awkward banter that’s a bit crass but also strangely endearing. Most importantly, it gets the point across: This duo of bemused slackers needs cash fast. There’s even an Office-style opening.

And with that we’re off into the main premise of the show and what FX hopes will keep viewers tuning in. As it turns out, Ron and Peter have just quit a job a Testico, a local facility that tests out new drugs and products on willing human lab rats. The probable structure of each episode is clear from the outset: Ron and Peter head to the lab and get a suppository — complete with an unnecessarily lengthy robot rape gag in this debut — then the two wait for unexpected but hilarious side effects to ensue. It’s a concept that lends itself more to gross-out scenes and fart jokes than dialogue-based comedy, so it’s no surprise that as soon as the two enter Testico, whatever charming humor they had is immediately thrown out the window.