Abie Philbin Bowman: Pope Benedict, Bond Villain

Abie Philbin Bowman nods humbly to two inspirations: the Marxist peasant in Monty Python & The Holy Grail; and his own sister, an 'emotional ninja' and source of much Mr. Miyagi-style wisdom.

It's his sister who is the star of this show, telling him that rational discourse is often a cover for deeper emotions. Philbin Bowman digs under the skin of debates on religion, politics, financial meltdown, even his own atheism, and finds something more interesting than Rich V Poor or Catholic V Heathen. We are, he concludes, a species of hopeless emotional fuckups, trapped in an absurd illusion.

It's heavy and it's challenging. It's also fantastic material for a comedian with the intelligence, energy and wit to go after the really good jokes, and Philbin Bowman is that comedian. The Vatican and the IMF are shown to be driven by insecurity; Western commerce is motivated by a fear of death; James Bond is like Santa Claus, both lame wish-fulfillment fantasies distinguished only by ages of their fans. Even advocates of God and Richard Dawkins are shown to have amusingly similar motivations.

If there's a problem in this show, it's that the thesis is too broad for a 55 minute slot. He needn't be in such a hurry though. A comedian this funny and this smart is going to be around for a long time.