Is Carlin Back?
April 3, 2008 · Print This Article
Reluctantly, Brian welcomes back Mike, the officially comedy judge of BTB who gives his take on Carlin, Lewis Black and Gallagher. 2 of these guys get praised while 1 is panned, and it’s probably not the one you’re thinking.
Topics on the day include stand up around the world, the master of making rehearsed stand up seem fresh, the road vs. the big city, losing the funny and the evolution of Comedy Central. I’m a robo-scientist.
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com and give us a call on 206-203-4692
First! Yeah, take that, no new info.
Actually, I was wondering if anyone wanted to discuss the hack behind the “i’m from out of town” thing, because as a Kiwi, I see alot of comics from out of the coutnry doing it, and know that NZ comix are huge hackers when it comes to doing it ourselves.
Umm, i’ll see if I can dig up an example
Not sure exactly where you’re coming from, because most comics who work clubs are from out of town, but there is one part of what your saying that holds true. When I was a waiter at a comedy club, so many comics would come through and make the same tired local jokes. Not that they were stealing, just easy observations that everyone made. As someone who likes to open with local references when they’re on the road, I will actually ask the wait staff if other comics have made fun of a certain aspect of local culture. Not that I’m afraid of being labeled a hack, but if it’s overdone, the regulars to the club won’t be laughing and I will die inside.
I agree about Bobcat Goldthwait. His Pulp Comics special was hilarious. Also, that show was awesome. I loved seeing people’s bits as sketches. I disagree about Gaffigan, as he (to me) seems bigger than he is funny, but different strokes really.
Another guy that I think is super Under rated and for similar reasons as Bobcat, and I’ll probably get a bunch of shit for this, but Gilbert Gottfried. I never used to think he was super funny, just annoying, but Penn Jillett always had him up on the Penn Radio show, and he was always super funny and his stuff in the Aristocrats was gold.
I like the conversation between you and Mike about selling out. I think it’s an important topic and maybe something you could talk about specifically in a future show perhaps with another comic; I know we’ve already touched on day jobs and side work but I think it’s a great subject.
Although I haven’t stepped onstage yet, I consider myself to be in the Bill Hicks school of selling out i.e. Don’t fucking do it! I hate advertisements and wouldn’t want to fucking whore myself like that.
BUT, especially coming up, I would do shitty TV/ films for two reasons a) to pay for my ‘true craft’ a la Joe Rogan and his Fear Factor stint and b) to learn about the industry
and make contacts and get experience. Which is exactly what Stanhope says about his time on the Man Show, etc.
It is unfortunate however that we really don’t see what comics are truly like if they’re on sitcoms or panel shows but if its keeping food on their table so they can live and still tell jokes then thats cool by me. As long as they aren’t completely changing what they are just to get on TV………that’s NOT why you should be doing comedy!
Then you have the end product after years of struggle. No way someone like Bill Maher is a sell-out, (and no one would call him one) for presenting Real Time. (The best current affairs show on TV and thats saying something since I’m in the UK) Political comedy is what he does! The same with Rogan presenting UFC. And they both still revert to their first loves….Stand Up!
It’s also a shame that so many people just get into stand up to get on TV; I’m sure all the comics here have met many people like that…especially from the 80s and 90s.
But I completely agree that someone like Lewis Black shouldn’t be doing every shitty TV show in town…leave that to someone who NEEDS it!
(Sorry for multiple posts….can’t get used to my new keyboard!)
Glad to hear Carlin’s special was good. I’m too cheap to get HBO.
Glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t like Lewis Blacks’ show. I’ve seen 3 out of 4 of them including last nights and I think I manage a smirk or slight chuckle one time for each show. Last night Giraldo (sp?) was using parts I know from his act for god’s sake. If I recognize it then chances are anyone who watches Comedy Central on a regular basis will too because he’s always on.
I’ll also be the first to say I didn’t like the History of the Joke. I gave it 40 minutes and decided that perhaps giving myself an appendectomy with a plastic butter knife, clothes pins and a bottle of Everclear might be more rewarding. Maybe I’m Jaded I don’t know.
To me, a sell-out is someone who has whored themselves out for anything that comes along just for the cash. Black seems as though that’s the direction he’s headed. Someone like Stanhope doing a Girls Gone Wild video or the Man Show are fine in my eyes because they’re not sacrificing anything in the process. You’d expect that from him and be shocked if he turned it down. Now either Stanhope is more discerning or he just doesn’t get those kind of opportunities as often, that I don’t know.
“What’s the story with that bridge? Somebody get a good deal on blue paint recently”. Not a very funny joke even if you know the backstory, but it is used by 75% of comics on their first visit to my home town. Some people laugh out of politeness.
I am reliably informed that in Australia, this sort of joke is known as a Harold Holt. Holt was the Australian Prime Minister who disappeared one day whilst swimming at Cheviot Beach. The Australians commerorated him in the way that only Aussies can, they named a swimming pool after him in Glen Iris, Victoria. Everybody can come up with every conceivable joke about this themselves, and it is not possible to top naming a swimming pool after the man, therefore there is no need for visiting comedians to mention the subject,
Thanks for playing Jake Johannsen, over the Summer I lived in Iowa City and my apartment was apparently remarkably close to where he actually grew up.
I don’t think it is necessary to move to LA or New York early on in your career. If you’re in the Midwest or down South (or Hawaii), there are enough opportunities to work your craft in the surrounding area, and many times the crowds are wonderful because it’s the biggest– and only– thing going on in their rinky-dink village that night.
I’ve heard from many guys who have done stand-up for a long time that if you ARE gonna go to NYC or LA, be sure you pick the right place. They each have a very different comedy scene, and people with different motives or styles should be careful and aware of the city they choose to make their homebase or stomping grounds. It’s kind of hard to articulate what I mean by that, personally, but the environments are so different and the way/pace of life in NYC and LA creates distinctly different comics. I’ve thought about road-tripping for a week to do shows in New York because I consider my style to be more of a New York-comedy style. I’m not 100% sure why, I just sincerely doubt I’d survive for any amount of time in a West Coast-style comedy environment right now.
I think the 4th comic Letterman had on religiously during that time was Brian Regan. Seemed like he was on at least twice a year from 1996-2004.
Can’t wait for next week’s show!
I’m pretty sure the Exodus is when everyone moves from one place to another. So when the exodus comes, you can either move, or stay put. Maybe this crazy bastard is confusing the Exodus with the Rapture? Cuz that rapture is some serious shit, son!
And here I thought Exodus was just a crappy metal band.
Mike, you have to see Bill Cosby performing live. You can’t go by his cranky off-stage antics. Just like you can’t judge Carlin’s comedy performances by his rantings on Olbermann and Bill Maher.
He’s still at the top of his game, still brilliant and still laugh-out-loud funny. Go see him, you’ll thank me.
OMG… Dana Carvey’s Critic’s Choice! “But I Reery rike OJ!” They would play that oooover and over on Comedy Central, in between ad nauseum showings of Kids in the Hall.
When they weren’t playing Desperately Seeking Susan back to back.
hey, as much as i like the root of all evil i do have to say you guys are right about some aspects of the show. BUT, I have to say this, at least the show spotlights other comedians other than Lewis Black. Especially alternative comedians. last night they had patton oswalt and greg giraldo on. if this is the kind of talent the show can provide im all set. its kinda remeniscint of tough crowd with colin quinn in that regard.
I think the difference between “selling out” and “making it” really comes down to what you do for the money. If you call your own shots and create a show out of what you do best, great. Real Time is a great example, as is Penn & Teller’s Bullshit (even though they’re magicians first, they’re still hilarious, and that show is one of the best things on TV). I liked Tough Crowd and still can’t believe that got canned while Comics Unleashed continues to make even good comics look, to borrow a phrase of Bill Hicks’, like suckers of Satan’s cock.
Selling out, to me, is comics doing “couch” shows - like those VH1 things where they just present a list of stupid shit from the 80’s or whatever, and a couple of token comics sit in front of a green board and “riff on it” as if they’re talking to someone off camera. They can plug almost anyone into that formula.
I don’t think anyone begrudges artists for getting work and advancing their career. Selling out to me means doing something you don’t believe in for a paycheck. Ray Romano doing a sit com is hardly selling out, but “bad boy” comics like Carlin, Leary and Black doing kid’s movies and tv shows is a totally different matter. The worst was Carlin doing a 1-800-COLLECT commercial less than a year after releasing an album making fun of those commercials.
Carlin acknowledged his commercials in one of his specials. He said (and I’m paraphrasing) “if you wonder why I think I can do material on commercials when I do 1 800 collect commercials, well…you do the math.
It’s easy to sit in the peanut gallery and talk about selling out but we all know that if we had any real integrity, we wouldn’t be so worried with what others are doing. We would all take any shitty commercial that came up if it paid us a decent paycheck. I’d take a job for the Nazi Party if they cut me a nice check.
I think the local church here is totally silly but I’m still auditioning for parts in their commercials and propaganda videos because it’s an easy paycheck. Am I a sell out? Yeah. But who wouldn’t switch places with me? The straightest guy in the world would make Brokeback Mountain (timely reference I know) for the money and fame that Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall made from it.
And regarding the first post by Sando…I think what he was saying (and something that hits home with me) is comics coming in and doing the hackiest joke about their town that they thought they were so clever for thinking up. Ie: Every comic comes to Utah with the same Mormon jokes every week and we’ve heard them all and they bring nothing new to the table. If someone actually came up with a good joke, we’d be impressed but that’d be hard. In fact, when I did my interview with Brian a while back I mentioned that I was marketing my comedy shows to the liberal (non mormon) audience here in Salt Lake but the segment got titled “Are You Mormons Ready for Some Comedy?” I’m not holding that against him, but that’s the sort of thing we hear all the time.
I’m sure Sando’s heard every Kiwi joke known to man.
I’m off my soapbox. Good to see you guys again.
Totally agree Brian, Real Time for Maher and Bullshit for Penn and Teller aren’t selling out because it’s their idea and concept and it is true to them! Bill Hicks in his last days was actually getting a TV show together trying to get his own point of view across and trying to stay true to himself……
Patrick/Smiley: The difference between Root of All Evil and Tough Crowd is that I made a point to watch Tough Crowd because it was funny and spontaneous. I just have a hard time watching things when I feel like I know what’s coming. I almost feel like I could script one of those shows. It’s nice to see other comics get the nod but it just seems like the ones they’ve had so far are mainstays with CC. Give me somebody new to look at or else I’d rather see Colin Quinn get his show back on in that slot. But hey that’s my crotchety opinion, you’re entitled to yours as much as the rest of us.
Sina, in my opinion the major difference is that you need the money, the people I’m talking about don’t. I’ve done tons of shit gigs including corporate stuff for companies that I think are awful, but I never had the option of that OR making 5 figures for 1 night of stand up. People are entitled to do whatever they want, and if they can get a sweet paycheck, more power to them, but when you have an established career, money in the bank, and you still take shit that goes against your character, I get to call you a sell out. It’s one of the perks of being a celebrity. People who have accomplished nothing in life get to judge you.
So, we’ve defined “selling out” as when you’re wealthy and well-known, you take a job that contradicts your persona on stage. Such as Lewis Black in Accepted. But NOT George Carlin in Dogma, because I thought that having Carlin play a bishop was the funniest shit ever.
But, the Root of All Evil doesn’t contradict his persona on stage. And, yes, it sounds scripted, but like Brian and Mike said just about all stand-up is scripted, and all court appeals. The show doesn’t pretend to be an improv, make it up on the spot show. And, I thought it was funny. However, someone said parts were taken from his act. Since I don’t remember his act, I wouldn’t know.
Also, I can see what Mike was saying on the show about “liking the Gallagher in the 80’s.” But, I feel like that’s not enough to justify still saying that he’s one of your favorite comics. I loved the Dane Cook from the Harmful If Swallowed days and he was one of my favorites, but now he’s a shmuck. I don’t go saying he’s one of my favorites anymore, because I don’t agree with his career now. I dunno, maybe it’s a moot point.
There is an interesting opinion piece on Chortle by Michael Monkhouse about why stand-up comedy is more common in the anglo-sphere than in the rest of the world. Basically, English is a funny language!
Check it out:
http://www.chortle.co.uk/correspondents/2008/04/04/6607/the_language_of_comedy
Can I submit a bar joke in German brian? Jan, if you ever wondered what the German for hack material is, then whatever you’d describe this joke as would be it!
“Was ist der Unterschied zwischen einer Schlange und einer Autoschlange?” - “Bei einer Autoschlange befindet sich das Arschloch vorne.”
An oldie but a goodie!
Also the opening line of a German comedian whose name I have forgotten:
“Some people think that none of us Germans have a sense of humour. I don’t think that is very funny!”
I have to agree about the opinions of the “Root of All Evil” show. I really, really wanted to like that show so much because I think Lewis Black can be funny most of the time. But yeah, it looks like he’s reading straight off the prompter (which he is) so his timing is way off and the laughs are more geared towards the stupid way he “reads” his responses, not so much the material….at least in my opinion.
I like Giraldo. I think he’s talented when it comes to acronyms and really going to the extremes with them, but I can slowly see him being dragged down by this show. I also noticed a couple of lines that were from one of his sets previously, but still…at least it *seemed* like it was on-the-fly responses instead of staring blankly into the camera and delivering a line or two with a grin while the “Applause” sign flashes just out of camera view.
The only reason I’m still going to root for this show (for now) is if they start letting on different comedians each time, not just the same ones week after week. If I start recognizing bit lines from seeing their stand-ups beforehand, I may as well not watch.
P.S. They should’ve let Carlin be the “lawyer” on the first show of Oprah vs The Catholic Church. It would’ve been more entertaining….but would that be considered selling out?
Last night comedy central presents had a special by robert kelly. all i can say is that it was about time. it was a really great show and he was still able clean up his cringe material without any major rewritings. apparently hes got a cd coming out from comedy central soon. i cant wait to pick it up and listen to him uncensored. i think he might be one of my new favorite comics.
I agree Brian. If you don’t need the money then you can pick and choose what you do. Bill Hicks used to give Jay Leno a lot of shit for doing those Doritos ads. But where’s the line? When do you have enough money? I know a lot of us can say once we have a million dollars then we can turn down the $500,000 paycheck for one day’s work but would we really do it? I feel a lot of these guys are insecure with their money and feel that it can all end any minute so they’re going to cash in as much as possible while they can.
Not many comics have careers that span as long as Carlin’s.
I’m not being argumentative by the way. I am just pondering thoughts out loud. In philosophy I totally agree with you 110% but I’m just wondering if I’d act that way in practice.
Staying on topic…I don’t like Root of All Evil that much but Lewis Black has paid his dues many times over and it seems like he’s finally getting some breaks over the last 8 years or so…so I’ll turn the other way when he does stuff for the paycheck (Accepted, Unaccompanied Minors etc). I do know that Comedy Central censors the shit out of their new shows though. Maybe he’s just a victim in all this.
I’m not trying to be argumentative either, I hope it’s not coming off that way, I think is a really interesting topic. I think you made a good point about the money, and to expand on that…You also have to keep in mind how fucked up show business is and how small the percentage of people actually making a living in it is. Taking shitty TV/movie roles is probably the same mentality as me taking a shitty road gig that pays good money, “I better take this now because it might be a while before I see something like it again.
Or, maybe Lewis Black actually thought Root of All Evil would be good. It’s a decent concept, two contriversial or crazy subjects to have two comedians make jokes for going back and forth with Lewis Black coming in at the end.
I could see how people would love it in theory. And I’m still trying to give it a chance.
Charles
“That’s awesome.
So, it’s in Germany, but it’s not really popular yet? It seems as though comedy there is about as popular as slam poetry is here. At least, that’s what I guess from your answer. There’s a group of people who enjoy it, but for the most part, it’s not very mainstream. Am I getting that right?
Also, is it in any other European countries that you know of?
I heard Italy has a form of stand up comedy. I hear they love aryan looking women (white, blonde hair, blue eyes) going on stage and speaking Italian like an off-the-boat immigrant. I don’t know how much truth there is to that, but if there is–ladies there’s your hook!” ”
Sorry for interrupting the current thread, but I wasn’t quite sure about if it would have been read, when answered in the old one.
So, here it goes:
I think it is mainstream… kinda. Its just different here than in the USA. Theres no real comedy circuit, not that Im aware of anyway, and nobody ever got to do a sitcom cause he did stand-up. But we have Comedy Festivals like the Arosa Humor-Festival in Switzerland and prices like the Salzburger Stier.
I think its there but not really present. If you would ask somebody on the streets to name a few comedians, I don’t think he could name more than 3 or 4.
But there are so many more doing their thing, they just don’t have the exposure. For example, there are only a few german comedy cds out there and only one or two have gotten the attention they deserve. And stand-up on tv is also rarely seen. There are a lot more sketch format things than stand up. They have one or two shows for stand up, but you cant say the send it on prime time. Its mostly Thursday night on 11:45 pm or something like that. I almost never catch it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand-up_comedy
Just scroll down till Germany. That sums it up quite neatly.
As far as other countries go: I have no idea. I’m limited to German and English but I think there are funny people in France too.
Just joking…
Ha! Why did I not think to check Wikipedia?!
Thanks, Jan.
Hmm..Apparently, Spain and Hong Kong have comedy scenes. I didn’t know that. But then again, I also thought Köln (where, apparently, they host the Hollywood Comedy Nights) was in France, not Germany–who knew?! (probably people in Westphalia…)
Does anyone else find it weird that whoever translated whatever to wherever decided to have a _Hollywood_ Comedy Night? Isn’t Hollywood kind of a crappy comedy scene compared to New York or Boston? I guess it’s just the appeal of the “Hollywood” name.
Im sure brian has more to say about the hollywood scene, ut ive personally heard its about so so. on one hand its a great alternative scene. ex: andy kindler, and comedy deathray. on the other every hack who wants to break into acting tries to use stand up as a luanching board cuase it’s hollywood. am i close to the mark on this one.
All the LA comedy info I have is second hand from buddies who have gone that route, but that’s pretty much right on Patrick. You go there because almost every major talent agency is based in LA, and you can pretty much fill your days jumping from one audition to the next. As far as the quality of comics, it varies. Lots of legitimately talented stand ups move there hoping to make a bigger name for themselves, plus big names drop into the major clubs all the time when their looking for release from whatever movie/pilot they’re working on. On the other side of the spectrum, every dolt who is trying desperately to break into show business seems to want to cover their bases, so you get a lot of actors/singers/waiters at the Sizzler who take up valuable stage time with their train wreck acts.
I heartily recommend everyone get this month’s Playboy, and yes, you should read it for the articles:
There’s a 20 questions with Bob Sagat, and a lengthy excerpt from the upcoming biography of Chris Farley, written by his brother.
Speaking of Playboy, anyone else notice the cartoons are incredibly unfunny?
wait, there are words in playboy? and cartoons? How could I have missed that. hmmm…oh thats right becuase of the boobs. boobs come into the equation and my brain is done.
hey guys… sorry it’s been a while since i’ve checked in — it’s been a busy few weeks. i hope to write a long-winded contribution to the site soon. in the meantime, i wanted to share a clip from last saturday’s SNL:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/16389/saturday-night-live-meet-the-family
could this be the last nail in the christopher-walken-impression coffin? please god, could it be?
Robert Kelly definitely needs to be featured on the underrated comics this month. It’s kinda funny how all of his buddies are making a name for themselves and he still hasn’t. Dane Cook is probably one of the 50 most famous people right now, Jim Norton is doing 1500 seat theaters, Colin Quinn got his own show, Patrice O’Neal had that VH1 video clip show that came out before youtube hit it huge, and een that tall guy from tourgasm had an hour long comedy central special. (What was his name? the guy who talks about the snooze button and soda pop names. now he’s overrated!!)
-There’s no way Jim Gaffigan is underrated! He might be the biggest draw right now outside of dane cook, the blue collar guys, and maybe chapelle. Here in Seattle, he sold about 10,000 seats on his last trip. Chris Rock? about 5,000.
thought you’d wanna know these things.
-Robert Kelly’s new Cd comes out today, and if he sells 30,00 copies this week he gets to kick the head of comedy central in the balls.
http://cringehumor.net/featured.html
Gaffigan has always been a big draw in Seattle. I know his first album was recorded there and one of his specials. When he headlined the Mandalay Bay in Vegas, which was a much smaller venue, he only filled about 3/4 of the seats. I agree in the grand scheme of comedy, there are 1 million comics who would kill for his career, but I agree with Mike that for someone who has been destroying for as long as he has in the comedy world, it’s rare that anyone outside of comedy fandom knows his name.
Ok fellow Brits,
did any of you catch the US stand up night on Paramount Comedy channel the other night?
for me it was the first opportunity to actually WATCH Dane Cook for a good length of time as opposed to listen to him or catch snippets on the net.
They played his Vicious Circle show and I have to say that I tried tried tried to watch it open minded but I can honestly say that I didn’t laugh one bit…..I didn’t even find it mildly amusing amusing.
He’s overacting and lame premises are shambolic and immensely irritating; I honestly believe that any half decent comic could come up with the crap he was. Full props to him for getting where he is business but this was truly terrible…..I feel so sorry for the THOUSANDS of hard working comics that will get no where near where he is now.
No wonder he holds the record for longest stand up set. Nine hours is probably how long he had to go before he got a laugh!
This business sucks sometimes
hey guys, ive been really busy lately and am still busy, if it goes through I’ll tell you all why in the weeks to come but I had to say something about this very eerie occurance that happened. some of you may remember that a few weeks ago i told a joke about gun control and the NRA and Charelton Heston, namely how he should die. well now the fuckers dead. now this is most definitly a coincidence but when I heard hat news something odd went through my head. not ‘oh, poor guy”, I thought “Shit now I cant use that joke, and it killed last night, shit”. Am I really that Self Centered? Or just a good comic.
Haha, Patrick, that’s the problem with being a good stand up!
I suppose you could make a joke about ‘from my cold dead hands!’
Couldn’t even finish that SNL clip. The least they could have done was invite Kevin Pollack to do Walken, or at least write the sketch.
I saw Jeff Caldwell last night. Jeff is highly touted for being a clean and clever comic, and that he certainly is. And funny. But damn if he didn’t do an airplane peanuts joke. It was far from gut-busting, but I have to admit, he pulled it off. His delivery and persona made it work.
I saw yet another comic do a bowling = knocking down white rednecks joke. Didn’t Chris Rock do that 10 years ago? I always tell myself I’m going to call people on that shit, but I was showcasing at this particular club for the first time and didn’t know who was who, so I pussed out.
Hi all. I am not a comic but I am a avid comedy (and music) fan and collector. I have only recently come to learn of your show (heard 3) and site (read 5 or 6 threads so far but anxiously looking forward to catching up) and would first like to take this opportunity to say… Brian… GREAT JOB! What a brilliant place you have here on this forum. With all the negative boards out there it is so refreshing to find one in which the people are supportive, constructive and take the high road…all the while just letting it fly.
Ok…what I came to post about.
This goes back a few shows to “History of a Joke”. Brian comments, the jist of which is that HBO and particularly Comedy Central cuts/edits/splices shows to the point that the original, as I would say, “vibe” of the show is lost. It just so happens that right before I listened to this episode, I watched “Comedy Central Presents…Mitch Hedberg” - the 20min cut version that aired, so as to compare it to the 38min uncut version I had watched a day or so ago. I believe this is a dead on example making Brian’s point. Freaky Coicidence so I felt compelled to share. The aired version is good…no doubt…but so very much of Mitch’s personality is lost on the cutting room floor. For those who haven’t seen the uncut version, Mitch endears himself to us by showing his (all to common to us) human fraility…aka “stage fright” or “fear of failure”. He doesn’t think he’s doing so well but then hits his stride and hilariously, jokes that he should start “his spe…shawl” over—even repeating the beginning of the first joke as if he would actually begin all over. On top of cutting out the all to “human” parts of the set…they switched the middle with the end. The 20 min set is good…but does not EVEN leave you with the same feeling towards Mitch as the uncut version does.
I’ve read enough posts to know that some of you are saying…dang…it’s not good to make Brian’s head any bigger cuz with the new baby and all, they sure can’t afford the expense of replacing all the doors in their house so he can get through them. Hell…when he’s right…he’s right. lol lol —remember I did say I AM NOT A COMIC…I just laugh at stupid sh-t …even my own lame attempts at humor.
Well thanks for reading my post…I’ll certainly be reading y’all’s. -maniac
p.s. what’s the word on Josh Sneed? Mitch has been quoted as saying he’s the funniest out there.
Welcome Maniac. I’ve been hoping we’d get more of the fan’s voice on the show, so definitely stick around.
I feel like a dick doing this after such a nice post, but the show is going to be a day late. We’re launching the new website this week, and big surprise, it’s not going as smoothly as we expected. Talk to you Friday.
Okay. Midnight on Comedy Central was Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil. This episode judged Paris Hilton against Dick Cheney (W). With Greg Giraldo defending Paris Hilton and Patton Oswalt defending Dick. It was midnight on a Wednesday, and I have a hell of a lot of homework, so I decide to sit down and watch it (screw History of American Education) Now, I’ve only seen this show twice, both times with Mr. Giraldo, and I gotta say I’m not liking him much.
Both times, Greg Giraldo seems to be making semi-hacky jokes. And, during the video portion, where the comedians show something they’ve created, Giraldo did the same thing both times I saw him–interviews with people at a mall (or some place that looks like a mall). Maybe, I’ll ease up on the semi-hacky jokes front, only because he was given “Viagra” and “Paris Hilton” when I saw him on the shows. So, garbage in, garbage out. Or, I guess, in comedy, Hacky topic, hacky punchline.
Actually, fuck that. Because there are comedians who make hacky topics relevant again. My longwinded point is that Giraldo seems to be going for the easy punchlines.
I don’t know how exactly they go about making the stuff they do for the show. But something about it is off, I agree. But I do believe it can be good if they modify that one thing a little. I don’t know if they need to give Lewis Black more control over it, or the guest comedians more control. But something about it needs to change.
But the people here are right, it sounds a little scripted. But only a little! I think that sounding scripted is something you can’t let happen once, because then the whole “coming off the top of your head” effect is ruined.
All that being said, I lol’d a few times. I enjoyed Patton Oswalt on the show, but maybe it’s because I’m still getting over his CD, which I’m illegally starting to pass around to my friends. Seriously, how did I not find that until now?
That’s all. Oh, and screw finals in three weeks. I got some awesome premises I need to turn into jokes. I’m trying to be more economical with words, but look at this post and judge how that’s working out for me.
Charles, that’s an excellent commentary. And I agree, it seems very scripted, and for that I have to blame the rigid format of the show. When Lewis Black performs his stand-up, it seems to come from a torrent of anger and frustration which is his schtick. On this show, it just doesn’t work, because the Lew we all know and love rarely comes out, and his performance just seems wrong.
The format does not lend itself to spontaneity. There’s the opening statements, the arguments, the ripple effect, the closing, and the judgment. Each segment sandwiched between award-show-quality hacky-sounding intros and outros. It just sucks any bit of the illusion of spontaneity out the pod bay doors.
Also, comedy is about connecting with the audience, and the premise of the show is trying to convince the Judge you’re right, not connecting with the crowd. It’s a built in limitation.
And lose the suits for the two comedians. When’s the last time a comedian was funny in a 3-peice suit? Greg Giraldo looks like a defendant in a pedophilia trial, and Patton Oswalt looks like the best man at a same-sex marriage.
http://www.nerve.com/dispatches/nerveeditors/50GreatestComedySketches/01/
Great show as usual. Thought some of you may enjoy the link above.
“And lose the suits for the two comedians. When’s the last time a comedian was funny in a 3-peice suit? Greg Giraldo looks like a defendant in a pedophilia trial, and Patton Oswalt looks like the best man at a same-sex marriage.”
Now that’s funny !! lol lol lol lol lol
Holy shit, this new site looks tight. Nice job tony.
Nice timing Pat. We had the site up for about 10 mins checking it out and you got the first peek!
Wow…Patrick’s right. Great Job on the site!! Cleannnnnn -maniac