When we last left off...

[famita]

I have to agree that several of the ones who did not advance were a lot funnier than the ones who did. I guess I thought my "funny meter" was off and needed adjustments.

[Google]

 

[barefootdyke]

Originally Posted by pg13

I was in the montage of people "walking to the stage" at Cobb's in San Francisco...but then I was also the guy in the "Funny Booth" who had the curtain rod fall on his head...and I laughed hysterically.

i remember that moment!!!

[Harvest]

Originally Posted by pg13

Jeff Dye is on to Vegas. Jeff is the guy in the bright neon green shirt who talked about being a bad ass.

I'm also friends with Andy Haynes (the teeth/meth guy with the hat), Jesse Case (the bearded guy with the PT Cruiser)...

Do you know Will Durst too? His tryout (first season?) had one of the only funny jokes of that particular episode imo (although I can't remember it now, only that it was political), and I didn't know why they didn't put him through.

I thought neon green shirt guy was funny.

Was the teeth guy the joke about having to clean that part of your body twice a day or they'd fall out, and that is too high maintenance? Memorable -- we repeated that joke as we brushed our teeth that night.

PT Cruiser -- yesterday I saw one that had been tricked out with surfer-style striping, and then a white-haired old lady driver got into it. I remembered that routine (probably unprintable here, but you know what he said.)

People, I hate DirecTV. We only saw the first half of this episode, got tired and turned it on the next day only to have the entire episode stuck and a black screen, so we never saw the second half (This happens with other shows too, and I can spend 45 minutes on the phone with them before they declare they cannot help me). Just glad we stayed up long enough to see the entire SF segment.

Originally Posted by famita

I have to agree that several of the ones who did not advance were a lot funnier than the ones who did. I guess I thought my "funny meter" was off and needed adjustments.

My "funny meter" isn't off. I know some of the ones they moved forward were not as funny as some of the ones left behind (esp. in LA, where there were at least 3 left behind who were funnier imo than some of the Tempe ones who got tickets). We can only hope that the ones with tickets will bring the funny to later episodes, and that the discrepancy was due to their showing the castoffs' funniest bits while saving the best for later with the others.

[Rattus]

Okay, I guess we're not doing individual show threads this season, so I'll just post one comment on tonight's show (that would be June 12) here. Squirrelador. I can't believe how hard I laughed at that. Particularly the image of a 97 lb. half dog/half rodent walking along the power lines. Still laughing as I head off to the bedroom.

[pg13]

Yay for Dan Cummins and the Squirrelador!

Good to see Keith Alberstadt and Tim Harmston get some screen time. And it was fun to see Mary Mack on tv--I've worked with her in the past.

Boo for such careless dismissal of really good comics like Sabrina Matthews and Tracey Ashley (both of whom advanced further last year)...boo for not even introducing us to other good comics (I saw Bengt Washburn on stage at the Minneapolis showcase, though he was never mentioned, shown or even acknowledged)...and I feel very bad for a couple of other really good comics who got disastrous edits--specifically, Stan Chen and Dwight Slade (Dwight, in an amazing lack of respect for one of the top talents working today, was not only not named, but he was included in the montage of the supposedly really bad comics from Minneapolis--he was the one growling/howling/yawning.)

This actually seemed to be a better episode in that they showed a little more comedy and significantly less Freak Parade than previous audition shows.

pg--And does Taylor Mason know how much his act is nearly identical to what Jeff Dunham does?--seattle

[CAdreamin]

I thought it was a good episode too. More comedy and less freaks is a good thing.

[mindy384]

I've pretty much given up on this show because the judges seem to put through a lot of comedians who just aren't that funny. Seriously, my husband and I barely laughed at any of the advanced contestants so what is the point of continuing to watch?
We should start a list of all the comedians they advanced who weren't very funny (especially since they passed over some really funny ones!)
I'll start the list off with that asian girl from the first or second episode that made jokes about her family (maybe she had pigtails?) I'm pretty sure we all fell asleep during her audition.

Also-- just for people who do enjoy comedy-- I went to visit some friends of mine from college a few weeks ago and we went to a local comedy club and saw joe caparulo and if any of you have the opportunity to go see him you should!! I laughed so hard I swear I almost threw up (and my friend had a headache when we left from laughing for a hour straight)!!

[mindy384]

Originally Posted by mindy384

I've pretty much given up on this show because the judges seem to put through a lot of comedians who just aren't that funny. Seriously, my husband and I barely laughed at any of the advanced contestants so what is the point of continuing to watch?
We should start a list of all the comedians they advanced who weren't very funny (especially since they passed over some really funny ones!)
I'll start the list off with that asian girl from the first or second episode that made jokes about her family (maybe she had pigtails?) I'm pretty sure we all fell asleep during her audition.

Also-- just for people who do enjoy comedy-- I went to visit some friends of mine from college a few weeks ago and we went to a local comedy club and saw joe caparulo and if any of you have the opportunity to go see him you should!! I laughed so hard I swear I almost threw up (and my friend had a headache when we left from laughing for a hour straight)!!

but i should throw it out that there was quite a bit of profanity .. just to let you know in case you are used to the FCC tv comedy and may find it offensive!

[pg13]

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

I just noticed that Last Comic Standing has been moved into the "Shows We're Not Covering" section here at the FORT.

I remember when LCS was THE REASON to come here. In fact, it was when Dat Phan eliminated Dave Mordal in season one...and I felt an incredible urge to tell someone about how I thought that was abominable that I sought out a forum for me to express myself...and thus, I joined the FORT (only to find that my opinion was held by a LOT of Fans of Reality TV.)

...of course, just as Dat Phan won over America...Dat Phan won over some FORTskateers. That made for some great, and tediously long, forum posts. And even when it was over...it wasn't over. People on this part of the FORT wanted to keep going...to keep posting as a group, even though the show was over.

Season two wasn't as good as season one...but it was still reality tv and this is where fans of reality tv came to talk about it. Season three was a mess...and then they canceled the show right before the last episode--which, for many, was the last straw.

When they surprised everyone by bringing the show back for Season Four, it was clear that there just wasn't the same level of interest in the show here on the FORT. After all, this show wasn't playing by the rules and didn't seem to care--so, because IT didn't care, it didn't make any of US care...

I recognized this when I became the recapper for Season Five. I was writing my backside off...and there just wasn't the level of interest in reading 300 page essays on a show that just didn't inspire any devotion.

This year...I know more about the show than I ever have before, having actually been through the process of trying to get on the show...and then having some close friends make it to various stages of the competition (oh, have I got some spoilers for y'all...)--but when only one person posts to a Show Discussion thread while the show is actually on (and being a West Coaster, that person hasn't even been me)...you can't really blame the FORT powers that be in moving the show...

I keep saying--appreciate the show for what it is, not for all of the things that we all believe it should be.

I hate to say it, but I can see NBC pulling the plug on this season before it ends if they don't see something that indicates that a few more people are taking my advice.

pg--"I thought the rock/paper/slap fight between Iliza and Jackie was damn fun tv last week."--seattle

PS--Oh yeah... RIP George...you cantankerous old coot. Without you, there wouldn't be modern stand-up comedy. Without you, I'd have never wanted to do what I do (...of course, the whole "modern stand-up comedy" thing is definitely more important in the grander scheme of things...)

[pg13]

Semi-Finals Part One--June 26th

A few thoughts for any stragglers still hanging around...

**I thought my friend Jeff Dye did a rockin' good job. It will be interesting to see if he recycles any of his "Jeff at the Gym" bit for future shows, because I've seen the full bit...and there's a lot that he didn't do tonight. (He may have cannibalized it too much tonight to pull any other parts out...but we'll see...)

**I thought Phil Palisoul had a good set...but he didn't move on. I got to hang out with Phil recently...and he's an awesome guy, and really good to see do a full set.

**If Last Comic Standing was meant to be a fair competition...if it is supposed to live up to even the admittedly low standards of a show like "American Idol"--then there's no way that Richard Belzer and Steve Schirripa should have been allowed to be tonight's celebrity talent scouts...as they'd seen and "judged" some of these performers previously... When they see God's Pottery, they've seen them during the New York afternoon auditions and the New York showcase...so, they'd have far more to go on than simply how they performed during their semi-final set. Not so for, say, Drennon Davis or Shazia Mirza...

(But, we all know that it's not a real competition...and, as I think I've mentioned on here earlier, the production staff had loved Munch and Bobby Baclava because they'd been so funny ripping the crappy auditioners in New York...they brought them back hoping the magic would be there again...

And, if it was meant to be a fair competition...then EVERYONE would get their moment in front of the celebrity talent scouts...good or bad. But, since it isn't...you get someone like Winston Spear...who was called out for criticism on national television FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON WHATSOEVER.

...AND, what REALLY makes me mad...is that Steve Schirripa's comments to Winston Spear were dead on accurate! I mentioned the "Reverend Jim" thing to my girlfriend while watching the show...and then we both noticed the extreme (and glaring) change in tone/character he displayed in the last joke--and Steve was right there with those notes... If this was ever to be taken seriously as a competition, don't you owe it to your audience to share the notes for EVERY performer???

**Drennon Davis suffered from being in the same group as God's Pottery, as they were both kind of going for a similar "goofy, childish, put on character" vibe. Then, Drennon went for a meta-comedy approach in front of an "up for it" Vegas crowd...bad strategic move, methinks.

**It was nice to see more actual stage time from everybody. On the other hand, I kind of miss the handing out of keys as the key to moving on at this stage...

**I hope Andi Smith is right about her exposure on this show, and that she gets an opportunity to widen her booking range a bit--as I'd love to see her out here in Seattle. I can't say that I'm surprised that she didn't move on in this reality tv show thing...but I do get a kick out of her dark and snarky perspective...and would love to work with her sometime.

**Same with Dan Naturman--who wandered in the background of one of the Fearne segments backstage (a segment that he didn't get for himself) as if he knew he needed to get whatever face time he could because he wasn't moving on... I think he's very funny and I'd love to see him work more.

**With the exception of Phil Palisoul, I don't think anyone who didn't move on had done so well that they should feel ripped off that they didn't move on. I think Shazia knew she didn't land a knock-out, Winston got dumped on by Steve...so he must have known he wasn't moving on, I think Drennon knew he didn't get it, I think Dale knew he didn't get it...and I think the Meehans knew they weren't moving on. The two Erins had good sets, but not great. Liom seemed happy just to have performed. Andi & Dan could have been cast, but didn't make it impossible to skip them.

**Adam came out of the blocks strong and told a lot of jokes. Good strategy and he had good energy. I wasn't bowled over or anything by anything he did in particular, but biting the bullet and going out first in a comedy competition is a tough slot...so his making it through is definitely good on him.

**You know that I'm both a friend and a fan of Jeff's, so...just know that I'm happy that he's moving on.

**I'm also a fan of God's Pottery--though, I do wonder if they truly belong on this show... They're a musical character duo...which might be a tough sell in a minute at Medieval Times... I suppose that might be worth it just to see what they will do...

**I was somewhat surprised that Ron G moved on...as I didn't think that his "crying sound effect, repeated endlessly" was working the room... On the other hand, I'm not surprised that Ron G moved on from a casting perspective...and I can't point to anyone who really deserved to take this spot away from him. (Had this spot been filled by Phil, Andi, Dan, Erin, Erin, Shazia or Dale...I wouldn't cry foul about Ron not making it...and I can't cry foul about Ron making it and those others not...)

**And Paul Foot is an interesting choice. I suppose you want to get a return on your investment from the international group...but while Paul is a bit quirky, I think both Liom and Shazia would get more consistent laughs in the challenges to come. Shazia would also be able to interact in the house more than either Paul or certainly Liom would. And, with Shazia...there'd be at least one female performer moving on from the first semi-final...which has to worry a couple of the guys in the second group, doesn't it?

...but, as a card-carrying Anglophile, I have a soft spot in my heart for someone like Paul moving on... So, again, I can't really complain.

Next week should be VERY interesting. There's a lot of good people in next week's show...and not nearly enough spots for all of them. (And I'm a little sad that I've been pre-spoilered about most of this...because even knowing what happens, I'm still nervous for those I know make it and for those who I wish would make it but I'm pretty certain don't...)

pg--GRATUITOUS PLUG: If anyone is in the Seattle area on Saturday July 5th, I'm headlining a dedicated comedy club on a weekend night for the first time. It'd be great to see any of you who might make it!--seattle