New Endeavors, uh, Anew

Goodness gracious, it's been 2 weeks since I made a post!!?? Wowza. Well, I'm not sure if anyone is still checking in over here after my blatant neglect, but if you are, and you happen to watch the NBC show Heroes, then by all means come over and see the brand new site I started. See, I really wanted to torture myself with high amounts of pressure to commit to things I had no time for. So, I ask you, what would be more perfect for that than a whole website of my own? Exactly. The site is found here. It is part of the Quantym network that I mentioned previously. We also have a great site for you Fringe lovers. I thought I'd post the review I did of the premiere episode from last week, as I'm very excited for this weeks new episode.

And They're Off and Running

Episodes 3x01 and 3x02 kicked off with a three-hour Heroes-apalooza event on NBC. They started with a preview show where they did some catching up from last season. Some of us did need reminders of where exactly we left off. They also included some great bits from the Season 2 DVD extras that were a lot of fun to watch. The setting for the preview show was outside the Premiere party, and many of the most popular characters stood on the red carpet in front of a throng of screaming fans and introduced the clips. Some of the actors were a little wooden as they read their lines (yes, I’m looking at you, Ali Larter. I’ve seen carousel horses that were more emotive.) After an enthusiastic countdown to the top of the hour the episodes “The Second Coming” and “The Butterfly Effect” began.

What worked:

There were some great callbacks to Season 1. I felt it gave it a nice feeling of starting over, which, let's face it, we could use. Sylar had to (almost) start from scratch hunting down “evolved humans” after losing most of his abilities. Hiro is once again daydreaming about destiny and fiddling with the clocks. Claire is repeatedly throwing herself into harm’s way and filming it.

We saw the beginning of many compelling mysteries. Is Linderman alive but invisible, or is he dead and a hallucination? Or is he dead and come back Obi-Wan style? Is Tracy Niki or is she her own separate entity? How did Daphne know to be in Hiro’s office at that very second? How did the painting of the earth blowing up get in both Africa and New York? How many people are seeing this vision? Did Ando betray Hiro like Hiro says, or is Hiro wrong just as Ando says?

The special effects were stellar. How cool was that 3-dimensional trail of color frozen in time and space behind Daphne? The gore in Angela’s dream was spectacular! Claire’s decapitated remains were especially gruesome. You know, in a good way.

There was more of the Heroes special brand of humor. The scene where Sylar is stopped by two of the Companies finest, filmed through the dash-cam as they make the poor decision to taze him was downright hilarious. Hiro was fun to watch as he taunted Daphne in her Parisian apartment. “Here kitty, kitty.” The talking turtle, however, was by far my favorite scene. From the moment when Usutu asks Matt if he knows Brittney Spears, I had a new favorite character. Don’t hold me to that, though. I can be fickle.

What didn’t work:

I could really do without this new turn for Mohinder and Maya. Sure, his storyline was getting stale, and it’s a way to get another superpower without having to introduce yet another character, but I liked the old Mohinder. This new slimy “how you doin” cheeseball annoys me. Plus, I don’t like how suddenly the powers are based in the adrenal gland. For two seasons they have indicated that Dr. Chandra Suresh’s research and book were about the DNA of the superheroes. They have shown the powers to often be passed down along familial bloodlines. This passing out powers twist is cheap. I don’t like it and I think it’s cheating. And finally, was Mohinder going to destroy the syringe with the magic potion by incineration? Oh, no, he wants to throw it in the river. Because it’s so likely to just sink to the bottom and not affect the water or the critters living in there. I know the pollution in NYC is bad but I don’t think it can neutralize stuff that turns you into a fly. I wonder what it would do to an actual fly!?

I’m uncomfortable with Nathan becoming uber-religious as a storyline. Hopefully it is a result of the “near-death” experience and it eventually fades away. It’s not that I don’t believe in God or have a problem with religious based plotlines. Believe me, I loved Highway to Heaven and Touched by an Angel. I just think that this as a story could go horribly wrong. He’ll either be made to look like a fool by the other politicians just because he is religious, or they will deify the superhumans. If it’s the former it will be a distraction. If it’s the latter, it may just jump the shark.

My conclusion: I think it did more good than harm. I give it a 7.5 out of 10. It had lots of action, laughs and set up a great start for this next volume. Knowing we will have a complete season this time (knock wood) makes me look very much forward to how this act plays out.

Sourpuss

I have been looking for concentrated lemon juice for weeks now. I always like to have some on hand not only for cooking but for one of my favorite beverage concoctions, a Clam Digger (I prefer lemon juice instead of lime, and lots of it.)

After finding yet another empty shelf at the supermarket I came home and googled "lemon shortage." And, well, yep. We have one. Apparently it isn't just here, it is an international shortage. In 2007, there was a horrible growing season in the European crops, and freezing weather in California and Argentina destroyed what should have been the backup supply. Add in drought conditions in Spain and Australia and lemon lovers are really screwed. Once the lemons become a rare commodity, more of them go to the markets as fresh because they can sell them for more. Concentrating them for bottled juice isn't as lucrative, hence the empty shelves every time I go to get a bottle.

From what I've read, the juice will start to get back on the shelves mid-September, but the shortage problem won't be totally alleviated until mid-2009, when this years crop is harvested, juiced, and bottled.

Since the bottles are gone and the fresh lemons are kind of expensive to buy and juice enough for some of my recipes, I thought my lemon consumption would now be limited to the lemonade mix in my cabinet. However, a few months ago I came across a box of something called True Lime next to the Splenda in the sugar aisle. I like to put it in my water because after years of guzzling soda and ice tea (the diet kinds) I cannot handle flavorless beverages. I have not tried the lemon version, but I did add some of the lime to my Clam Digger this morning and it was okay. Not great, not revolutionary, but it will do in a pinch. So there's that at least.

A Tropic Thunderous Review

I have just returned from seeing Tropic Thunder. I am so excited to be reviewing this movie for a variety of reasons. First of all, it will be the very first Related 2 Cayley movie review. This is taking some getting used to because I usually recap as well as review, and I have to be careful not to spoil the movie for anyone. Secondly, there has been a whole lotta advertising for this movie. And an almost equal amount of complaining as well.

I definitely had my mind set on looking for the controversial scenes and aspects of the movie. Earlier this year when the previews started coming out, it became quickly noted that Robert Downey, Jr. plays an African-American character. That, as you may recall, set off the first wave of criticism. Many were outraged that they would go through all the time and effort to make up this white actor, when they could have hired an actual black man. It was revealed that Downey was playing the role of an actor that was so into method acting, and so devoted to his role that he insisted on not only playing the role, but undergoing skin pigmentation procedures instead of relying on makeup. The actor-character is so devoted to his craft that he will not drop playing the character even after the scene is over. So, as it turns out, Hollywood was not forsaking it's African-American talent pool. Tropic Thunder was in fact making fun of Hollywood celebrities that go insanely "method" and can't see where boundaries lie, and the hubbub over this initial reaction died down.

Speaking of boundaries, the movie got into even more trouble for crossing a big one earlier this week when it was revealed that the movie features rampant use of an offensive word for the intellectually disabled. I personally hate the word myself. It is the word "retard" and I do agree that it needs to stop being used for so many reasons. From what I had heard it is "all over the movie" and that the movie is specifically making fun of the intellectually disabled. I was a bit shocked to hear this, and thought it might be an exaggeration by the typical reactionary types, but then the Special Olympics people issued a statement that they were calling for a boycott of the movie. That made me wonder if this movie was going to be over the top offensive and/or stupid; two ways a movie can go that are rarely mutually exclusive. My feelings about abandoning the showing until I had seen more reviews wavered during the week but in the end my curiosity prevailed.

To be frank, the movie most definitely is offensive. It does use the word "retard" often enough to be very noticeable. But thats not what makes the movie offensive. It offends everybody. One could say it offends the handicapped, rap artists, war veterans, those with gastrointestinal distress, Asians, children and substance abusers. It is not for the squeamish, sensitive or those prone to huffiness. If you tend to take umbrage at just about everything that can be remotely perceived as a slight? Avoid this movie. Stay away in droves. If you like action, tension, humor, slapstick and stuff getting blowed up, and can recognize irony when you see it, go right ahead and see this movie.

**This next paragraph might be considered a spoiler but I am really not trying to ruin it for anyone. If you want to see the movie but the issue of the recent controversy is bothering you, you may want to read on, as I don't give away too, too much.**
The background information on the "insulting" sections of the movie involve the actor, Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller). He is an aging action hero (with beautiful biceps I might add) that wanted to earn himself an Oscar by playing a serious role. In the hopes of achieving movie legend status like Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump and Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, he takes on the titular role in the movie Simple Jack, and yes, Simple Jack is intellectually disabled. And yes, Tugg Speedman does refer to the type of person he was portraying as the "R" word. Repeatedly. Like, a lot. He is having a conversation about the movie with Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey, Jr.) and he says many insensitive things about the people with whom he studied to learn how to behave as if he was, to use their word, simple. But what was painfully obvious to me is that Tugg Speedman is a moron. He doesn't get it. He's using the word because he is insensitive, self-centered and, I will repeat for emphasis, a moron. If anyone should be offended by this movie it should be morons. They would never get a protest going, though. They would probably end up picketing a supermarket because they were showing "Tropicana". But I digress. Lazarus even baits him into saying more moronic things by saying just about every offensive word that is a synonym for the "R" word. But this isn't to make fun of anyone with a disability, it is specifically to humiliate Tugg. It even acts as a cautionary example in that people will realize that when you talk like that, other people will consider you a moron. Therefore, I cannot see what all the fuss is about. You don't leave this movie thinking, "You know what? I actually hate retards now. I think I'll go taunt one." If you even need to give it a second thought, you think, "Wow, the guy who said all that was quite moronic. I'm glad I don't think like him." There was one small detail that did make me uncomfortable. In a scene featuring a discussion about adoption, Speedman's agent says he would be lucky to get to choose his kid, as he was "stuck with" his kid, and he holds up a photo. It is a split second thing and it is hard to make out if the kid is sad and broody or if they are trying to say he is developmentally delayed. If it is the latter than the idea that his dad is stuck with him is far more disturbing than any word that is bandied about. If it is the former then they did a poor job of conveying the idea. Either way we see the agent and his son at the end of the movie and they appear to be reconciled, but again, it is so fast it is hard to tell.

Ultimately, although there is a huge influence from this Simple Jack movie on the plot line and on the character of Tugg Speedman, it is not the central theme of the movie, and you will not be assaulted left and right with the "R" word. You will however hear every other filthy, crude and disgusting word ever meant to offend in the history of offensive words. I'm not kidding, they swear a lot. If they ever show this on network it will be cut down to 22 minutes and sound like one long dial tone. And it's worth every cringe-inducing utterance.

The movie has some breathtaking cinematography, and spectacular stunts and explosions. This is one of those movies that needs to be seen in the theater. If you go, make sure you get there early, you don't want to miss anything, she emphasizes because she doesn't want to give away the very beginning of the movie which, once she realized was a gag she found hilarious. The press made a big deal about the realistic way Downey was made up, but I found the most fascinating special effect was the character played by Tom Cruise. It took me a while to recognize who he was. I figured it out through his voice and his nose, which were his only features left unaltered. I didn't even know Cruise was in this movie, with all the hype about it being a Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr. movie. In fact it also features Matthew McConaughey and Nick Nolte. There are also lots of those "Oh, I've seen him before, he was in that movie. That's whatsisname" actors like Jay Baruchel and Steve Coogan. The characters that these and so many other great actors portray are all very multifaceted for a comedy. They all reveal secrets and vulnerabilities, and by the end of the movie they are all in some way redeemed. Well, all except a dead guy and the guy that personifies Hollywood, which will always remain unredeemable.

I was given a survey before entering the theater and on it were such questions as when did I decide to see this movie, where did I hear about it and would I recommend it to a friend. The answer to the last one is yes. I won't say you shouldn't see it unless you have a sense of humor because comedy is subjective and you should be allowed to laugh at whichever type of humor you choose. There is nothing wrong with not finding some things funny. I am one of the apparently miniscule percent of the population who thought There's Something About Mary was incredibly stupid. However, Tropic Thunder does seem to require a sense of perspective. If you go in looking to be offended you will not be disappointed. If you go in looking for a lot of laughs, gross-out humor, action and surprises, you will have a blast. So, go. Enjoy.

Last Comic Standing: Finale

Well, I partially got last week's wish: Tonights episode is only an hour and a half. Still, thats a lot of filler. The show opens with a spectacular major award show style "Last-Comic-Standing-And-By-The-Way- Did-We-Mention-We-Have-The-Olympics-Here-On-NBC?" production number that includes God's Pottery in the beginning, and at the end supposedly the rest of the top 12 comics. They are gestured towards but are never actually shown.

They had each comic do an Olympic moment type segment. They weren't entirely as bad as they sound. They weren't laugh out loud funny, but kind of cute. I wonder if they will show them during the Olympics?

Joel McHale from The Soup had one of my favorite segments tonight. He did a recap of the highlights of the season. It worked exactly like an actual episode of his show, which made it all the more hilarious. He featured a small montage of Iliza scantily clad in and around the Casa de Comedy. It was a little disturbing – ok, a lot disturbing – when they cut straight to her Dad, cheering for his daughter's ass louder than anybody. There was some more disturbing clips as we revisted Marcus dressed up like a beaten up Wonder Woman for the calendar shoot and Paul Foot getting turned on as he washed the LCS Short Bus. Then he played a montage of Esther Ku laughing. Wait, why was this a favorite segment of mine? It sounds so gross and annoying. Of course it's because McHale made it all funny.

My other favorite segment was with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. He was just as brutal and insulting as always. Even Triumph noticed Iliza's boobs grew as the show went on, so I now know I haven't been imagining it. He insulted the rest of them in turn, and was very funny, but I think he should have tried to get Jim Tavaré's name right. Triumph compared Tavaré to the Hunchback, compared Jeff to an America's Top Model (who sucks) and pointed out Marcus' future as a clerk at Virgin Records. My favorite line was when he asked Louis Ramey, "Did you say you eat and drink comedy? Eating and drinking comedy is how you turn it into crap."

There was some actual stand-up filler segments. Season 5 LCS winner Jon Reep did a set. He did a lot of his same subject matter (read: Hickory!) It was funny, as was the set by Jon Lovitz. He had some good political material. Speaking of which, they bizarrely had some short, humorous-ish statements by John McCain and Barack Obama. McCain pointed out that funny presidents get elected to two terms, and unfunny ones only serve one term. He then said he was the funniest candidate running, at which point you hear a voice off camera say, "Yeah, funny looking." Obama wanted us to know that if we didn't think he was funny, we obviously hadn't seen him bowl. I give both candidates a C-.

According to my satellite TV service's guide to the program, there was supposed to be appearances by Gilbert Gottfried and Penn and Teller. Either DirecTV lied, or they got left on the cutting room floor. The rest of the show was actual LCS elimination business, but don't worry, they kept that to a minimum and got back to the filler as soon as possible.

The comics get eliminated in this order:
Louis Ramey. That one hurt. And they axed him first. He was my favorite. He was original, brilliant and just so funny. I was really pulling for him to win. Even he looked shocked at the news. Sorry, Louis. You've made a fan in me and I look forward to seeing more from you.

Jim Tavaré. A one-two punch for me because I also liked Jim a lot. Kudos to NBC for putting through an intelligent and quirky act that doesn't look or sound like a "typical" comedian. The man played for the Queen, so it's not like he's languishing in obscurity without American recognition, but still: I think a lot of people wrote him off early on. I'm glad he made it to the finale. Jim, if you're out there, I consider myself also to be fan of yours, and as such a supporter, would you consider telling me why you were on crutches that second week? I am just concerned, you understand.

Jeff Dye. I must admit I found him unremarkable the first time I saw him. I mean that literally: I made no notes about his act. I was even a little sour that he got through when I thought there were much funnier comedians left behind. But the man grew on me, and and he did turn out to be much funnier than I originally gave him credit for. Congratulations, Jeff.

Marcus. Here is another guy I was totally blindsided by. The first time we met Marcus it was to tell us he was an ex pro-wrestler turned comic and he could do voices. I rolled my eyes and assumed we'd be seeing a macho poseur who could do Jim Ignatowski at parties and thought he had an act. Well, he was none of those things except the part where he had an act. He did not rely solely on the impersonations, he used them to accentuate his funny and original material. He also had many objective and informative points to make in the interviews. I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions, bro. You have a whole mess of talent. I look forward to see where you go in the business.

Which leaves our first female winner of LCS, Iliza Shlesinger. She battled some huge talents and a bit of chauvinism to beat comics with a lot more experience than she had. While at times I felt like she herself was doing her impression of Dane Cook, she did have excellent material and was a real hit with the crowd. I think she is a fine comedian and a bad ass chick to boot, considering the target she had painted on her back. It is nice to see a female win this competition for a change, but my heart isn't totally in this win. Again, I think she won it fair and square but I still wonder what would have happened if Jackie Kashian or Mary Mack had made it through. They were also strong acts. I really shouldn't rain on her parade, because I am really happy with the win. And Iliza, my mom is a huge fan of yours as well! Congratulations on the win, but more importantly, thank you for spanking Papa CJ.

So, that's the end of Season 6. NBC hasn't really come up with the perfect formula for this show. If there is a Programming Fairy (I'll have to ask Elimination Fairy about that) I would really like to see the best parts of all the seasons next year. I want two hour episodes definitely, but I would like fewer weeks of auditions. I know you show us people lining up supposedly overnight by the thousands to get their big break, but never have I seen a final 10 contestant saying, "I dunno, the guys at the office said I was pretty funny so I gave it a shot and I can't believe I made it this far!" You take professional comics, we get that. Those wacky off-the-streets auditionees that scare the scouts don't need to take up that much time. I like the idea of shipping in the "international" comics, and was happy to see so many make it through to the house. So you may keep that. You're welcome. And for the love of God, don't short change us on the head-to-head challenges. I guess there is some tension involved in having a three way competition, but the old formula of "I know I am funnier than..." where the person named most often gets to pick their challenger from the ones that said his/her name was golden. It made it personal. This season where one person chooses two people, whether they challenged them directly or not made people collateral damage. And make the head-to-head battles a regular thing. Doing just two episodes that way? That blew, NBC. Seriously, what a disappointment. Knocking out seven comics in two weeks is insane. You could have had at least two more weeks of head-to-heads and narrowed it down to the final four, and then had three "American Idol-esque" eliminations. I think that would have made a lot of us fans really happy. I'll be tuning in next season to see if you listened.

If you have read this article, I would love to hear what you thought of anything I discussed. Please feel free to comment. Thanks!

Mii, Myself and Wii

It's been an exciting week for our now Wii addicted family. For one thing we found out that we all love the tennis game. Even my 4 year old plays better than us sometimes. He waves the controller around frantically for the most part, but it works for him. He's even beaten us more than a few times. And between my foot still not being right and the weather being alternately stupid hot and down-pouring lightening storms, seeing him jump around and get at least a little exercise has been great.

Also, my son and I went to GameStop and bought our first gamey type Wii games. Not games that smell, but the games with story lines and tasks, as opposed to those "regular" Wii sports games where it's all about the score. Does that make sense?

I got Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I already had it for PlayStation2, so I was already familiar with everything I needed to achieve and pretty much where to go. I had heard that the Wii graphics were nothing compared to the newer game systems, but I am used to the PS2. Both versions of this game looked pretty much the same on each system. The reason I bought a game I had already "mastered" was because in the Wii version you handle the controller like a wand. How cool is that? I'm hoping they come out with an attachment that makes it look and feel like a wand as well! When the next Harry Potter movie comes out in November, I'll get the Wii version of that game. But since I am impatient, I got this one to play with until then. Besides, there were some tasks on the PS2 version I never got the hang of, but Wii-wise were a snap, so maybe I can finally complete it all the way. That's right. I can justify anything.

My son got The Bee Movie game. This is definitely designed for younger players, but probably older than my boy (4). He likes to drive the little car around the hive but you have to unlock pretty much most of the games one by one. Which of course means I have to unlock the games one by one. This shouldn't be a tough job, seeing as how it is supposed to be for kids, right? Nuh-uh. There is almost no instruction on what they want from you. I am currently stuck on an early level where I think I am supposed to be flying through the rain and pollinating flowers as I try to find an apartment. There is this flow of air that zips me along, but always ends up "killing" me and making me start over again, so maybe I'm supposed to avoid it? But it is filled with all the little doohickeys that you want to collect, so maybe I'm supposed to go in it. Either way I get to a point where the air stream ends and I don't know what they want me to do next. That's when I get hit with rain, "collapse" and go back to the beginning. Usually when I get stuck on a game (I am terrible at figuring things out) I can go online and find a "walkthrough" guide or a forum where I can get the answer I need, but nobody out there has done any thing like that for this game. So I remain stuck, and my son just tools around the hive, occasionally being a taxi for a little variety. I can't even figure out how to get into the buildings that say they are an arcade or a delivery van mini-game. So I don't care for this game all that much.

The most exciting news of all is that we were able to buy a Wii Fit today. I have been thinking that after I finished physical therapy, since I have a Wii and all, that using a Wii Fit would be really useful for getting my strength back. Plus I think I'm on a gadget bender. Some women can't get enough shoes, I just want more expensive gizmos! I started looking around just to get an idea of how much they go for. Amazon had them for $170! A friend said she got one for about a hundred bucks. All my regular stores (Target, Walmart, Toys 'R Us) had them going for $89.99 but they were sold out with no idea of when they would have them back in. Even their on-line stores were sold out, with no one taking pre-orders. I was beginning to realize this was not an easy device to locate. I am not ready to do more than a quarter of the exercises, but I figured if we see one, we should grab it now anyway, and the exact scenario I envisioned happened today. My husband was in Target for something else and as he walked by a shelf, one lone Wii Fit box caught his eye. So he grabbed it. He's a good man. Just goofing around with it today, I love it. So does my son. There is a balance game called Ski Jump where he has to squat down as the guy goes down the jump, and when he gets to the end of the ramp he stands up straight to make the guy jump. If he doesn't stand up, my son realized that the guy will tumble off the end of the ramp and roll down the hill in a big snowball. He thinks that's the greatest thing ever. I liked how the Wii Fit fitness age assessor had me five years younger than my actual age but the Wii Sports fitness age assessor had me fourteen years older than I really am. Wii Fit totally knows how to flatter a gal better.

Last Comic Standing: Fourth Elimination Episode

The show opens with a musical number that is both very funny and oddly contrived. The Dan Band sings a song that I believe is called "Last Comic Standing". It has some funny lines, but the best part about it are the two guys dancing in suits Britney-style behind the singer. They did a great job. What was just downright painful to watch was the comics coming out to introduce themselves and say why they will be the Last Comic Standing. It's just so... Miss America contesty. I don't know why they didn't just slap some feathered headdresses on the comics and make them do a dance number. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Hopefully they enjoyed it, they acted like they did, at any rate.

They keep saying that we will find out who was voted off from the previous week but it's not apparently obvious how they will do that. I would have thought they would tell us who didn't make it through, then the final 5 would perform, but they launched into Marcus and Ron G's sets without any indication of when we will find out the eliminated players. All I can do to get my question answered is to watch and wait. Before each comic performs they do a background interview/bio story that includes family members and photos from their childhoods. It was a really nice touch.

Marcus comes up first and does a fantastic job. He is safe because he won the immunity the week before. He talks about airport security, lead singers who are unintelligible and rap lyrics. This gives him an opportunity to do a wee bit of his impressions without it being an act by an impressionist. I'm sure I've said it before, but I love that he can tell funny jokes without always falling back on an impression just because he can, like many impressionists do.

Next up is Ron G. I think I finally figured out why I don't care for Ron's humor. It's a totally personal thing, and I'm sure many people think he's perfectly funny, but I think he has a mean streak. He relies entirely too much on making fun of other people. The subjects of tonights act are all people he thinks talk in an annoying manner; either too slowly, due to retainers or because of poor acting skills. I have a pet peeve about acts where putting other people down equaling comedy. Oh, and this is where we find out who has been eliminated. After they do their set, Bellamy then announces whether they make it through. Ron G. does not make the cut and he says goodbye. Thank you, Elimination Fairy!

Jim Tavaré takes the stage. I still really enjoy his act. He always has a tuxedo on, and that might make one think he's going to be over-the-top sophisticated, with a snooty aftertaste. But his jokes are innocently silly and off the beaten path, especially his tribute to Jimmy Hendrix and his example of the repertoire of the Double Bass. I am rooting for him in my top three, but I am resigned to the idea that he won't make it. He is up against some really intense rapid-fire comics, and I think the audience will vote them in before him. But for this week he is in and was not eliminated. So I am still happy.

Then it's Bill Bellamy! Wait, what? Kinda strange to sandwich him in at that particular juncture. Was it because it was the end of the first hour?

They also fill in time with a sneak peek at the new reality show NBC Will Not Rest Until We Kill Someone where contestants will do have to do all those jobs that we see on Ax Men, Ice Road Truckers and Deadliest Catch. It may also end up being called America's Toughest Jobs, but that seems like an understatement.

After all the shameless plugging we get to another of my top three comics on this show, Louis Ramey. I learn from the intro that he's been doing comedy for 20 years, and it shows. His delivery is so patient. Tonight's set touches on the Amish a little, then settles on a story about talking to small town citizens about what America would do if ever there was an attempted invasion by terrorists. I don't want to (and don't think I can) write out his jokes verbatim here but lets just say that as an African-American trying to get Americans to vote for him, he has definitely pulled in the redneck and patriot demographic tonight. There may be a person or two out there in this nation that might want to make a note of how he did that. Oh, and of course he made it through to the finals.

Adam Hunter. Adam is another comic I have not enjoyed in this competition. He has some funny jokes and he is a good looking fella, but his jokes seem incomplete, like he went with the first punchline he could think of for every premise, instead of looking for something more funny. His mini-bio piece talks about his love of wrestling, and then his first joke was about the Olympics. Did he tell us funny personalized wrestling related jokes and stories of which one might imagine he has plenty? No. He went for a crack about flames in San Francisco. A second later he's onto a new premise. Not surprisingly, my Elimination Fairy pulls off another request for me and he gets the boot.

I joked about it in an earlier post, so I wanted to clarify that I am not a fan of Jeff Dye because he's cute. I really enjoyed the set he did last week and this week especially. He talks in his bio about how he announced to his folks he wanted to be a comedian, and they were completely supportive of him. He pointed out his parents in the audience as he started his set, and I almost got the impression that his set was in their honor as he poked fun at them in a very loving way. I thought that was nice. He also did a great bit on the board game "Guess Who". As they drag out the announcement about the good news that he has not been eliminated they give us a really long extreme close up of his face. And, um, wow, is he cute!

Ahem, anyway, the last two comics are Iliza Shlesinger and Sean Cullen and this time they have them both perform and then gather them together to announce the last comic moving on to the Final Five.

Sean Cullen has a really funny bio piece. I do like Sean, and I was happy to see he did an actual set this week instead of just a couple jokes and a song. He had a great premise based on James Bond movies. He did great bits on the villains, Sean Connery's acting, and the musicians that have not done Bond theme songs. It was definitely the funniest he's been on the show. I really wish this had been the set he chose to do last week.

Before she starts her set, is it me or are Iliza Shlesinger's boobs getting bigger every week? Did anyone do a re-count to make sure they got back all those rubber falsies from last week? Anyway, and in the interest of total fairness she is also very attractive, even though that is not the direction in which I roll. But I hate to be unfair and focus entirely on the male's physical attributes. Did I mention her boobs? She does yet another great set full of drinking and stories from old jobs. I love her energy and her originality, even though it does occur to me that she mostly insults people throughout the set not unlike the way I criticized Ron G. for doing. I don't know what she does differently; perhaps she makes it so colorful and specific that it seems less negative and more "I know someone like that!" relatable.

They do the expected dragging out of the results, but Iliza makes it three in a row and Sean goes home. Sorry, Sean, you can blame me for mentioning you to the Elimination Fairy. As for who I will be submitting to EF this week? It may not be necessary. It would appear that they are going right for the throat next week and axing four out of five comics and giving us the winner. It doesn't even appear that there will be any performances since they said over and over tonight that these were the final performances. I hope it's only an hour long episode because sweet Mother of God, that would be far too much filler comedy driving me crazy to get to 120 minutes of air time.

Last Comic Standing: Third Elimination Episode

Before I begin I owe a huge apology to Iliza Shlesinger. I have been spelling your name wrong for two weeks and I am so sorry about that. I am usually rather particular about getting names right, having grown up with "Cayley" being oh so butchered left and right. However, you may see me slip an Eliza in once and a while. Don't take it personally, a lot of people google Eliza Shlesinger and I don't want to lose that traffic. And now I think that probably took care of that search parameter for this week.

Tonights episode opens with the male comics plotting not to vote for Iliza because, as Louis Ramey so accurately points out, the more she gets exposed, the more the show is about her; if she wins another round, she will win the competition easily. The other guys don't seem to be going for it. I agree with Jeff Dye that it should be about who is the funniest and that the funniest comic should win. But if that was what the show was about, Jeff, Dat Phan never would have won Season One. He won the competitions because the audiences didn't realize he only had that one set that he kept doing over and over, and he won the national audience because everybody saw him crying in his bed/desk, and getting picked on by the other comics week in and week out. Exposure. People picked the name they remembered. At least that's the only reason that could possibly explain his win to me.

Japanese Restaurant Challenge: Normally they have some kind of cutesy name for the challenge but this little afterthought of airtime was apparently so slapped together they didn't bother to come up with one. Meanwhile: Comedy and Teppanyaki? Have I died and gone to heaven? And would that make it Comedyaki? They are performing to different tables of special guests that include Female Body Builders, some Deal or No Deal girls, some Sigma Pi fraternity brothers from an undisclosed college, and a "handful" of little people. I... I can't even tell you how it went. There were some rapid fire clips of jokes gone well, jokes fallen flat, the obligatory clip reel thing with funny voices and faces and gestures and poses... it was like the producers wanted us to know, "They did these great bits, but we ran out of time, so you know all the comedy gold that could have been panned out of this incredible collection of comedians and audience members? Yeah, we're not going to show it to you." By the way, this whole bit ran from minute three of the show to minute seven. They condensed the whole challenge to four minutes of airtime. Why bother doing it? Especially since the raison d'etre of this week's first hour is boobs. Why spare those precious knockerless four minutes (less if you count the Deal or No Deal girls) when they could have gone straight for the hooters?

They arrive back at the Casa de Comedy anticipating their clue for their next challenge. They have been left a number of fake breasts; the kind that women might put into a bra to make themselves look bigger, or to perhaps do fill in duty after a mastectomy. Admittedly, it was funny to watch them fondling, er, handling these things and trying to figure out what they meant. My favorite was Sean Cullin's guess that they were headed to a really erotic synagogue. (If you didn't see it, think yarlmuke.) Of course the breasts mean that they are heading to the Playboy mansion to tell bedtime stories to Hef's three girlfriends. I mean, it was so obvious, duh!

After they roll up the mansion, but before host Bill Bellamy brings them inside he drops a little more information on them. Whichever comic wins this challenge wins immunity and will automatically move on to the final performance show in Las Vegas. The eight comics choose a number, which in turn gives them each a title of a bedtime story that they need to make up for Hugh Hefner's girlfriends: Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson from E!'s The Girls Next Door. This was another strange and weak challenge, probably because it had that rushed sense to it yet again. I realize they can't show every single second of action, and I'm sure they had very little to work with considering the girls were a really tough crowd and the comics seemed ill prepared. They don't tell us how long they gave them to prepare, but I'm betting not much.

One quick note, I am going to combine my reviews of both the challenge and the performances to save some space and repetition. Anyway, after the story time, the Girls discussed the comics in a language of their own, made up of giggles, baby talk and their own special name for each of the comics, such as Tattoo, the Chick, Tall Vanilla Latte, and Dark Meat. I'll let your imagination work out who is who.

Bellamy gives them some more information about the next elimination. instead of everyone going back to the graveyard and voting for one of the group, because the non-immunity holding comics will all be performing for elimination of three of them, decided by America calling in their votes. That of course gets all kinds of mind-blown expressions from the comics, and for good reason. I on the other hand show nothing but disappointment. I really came to like the graveyard voting and the three way battles. It seems like such a waste to have only had it work that way for two weeks. Meanwhile, it's worth noting that the winner was announced at the 47 minute mark of the first hour. The next time jokes are told are at 7 minutes past the next hour. So they spent 20 minutes giving us commercial breaks, recaps of what we just saw, the comic's "last supper", interviews about how this will be so important to them to win, and shots of them writing in notebooks and computers. All this time I am screaming at my television, ALRIGHT ALREADY, NBC, GET ON WITH IT! I'm thinking we could have done with a little less angsty, repetitive interviews and had more Comedyaki. Just a thought.

Anyway, here's what I thought of all the performances, including the story challenge:

Marcus - Challenge story: All Dogs Go to Heaven But Grampa Didn't. He worked his magic on the ladies with his excellent impressions. He entertained the Girls. He may not have had a plot or an ending, but he entertained them. I gave it a 7 out of 10. He won the challenge and received immunity, so he did not have to perform in this weeks elimination.

Ron G - Challenge story: Jack and the Bean Stalker. He was completely infatuated with the Girls, especially Kendra, who giggled at everything he said. Bridget laughed politely. Holly stared blankly, but I don't think that was any reflection on Ron. As he was leaving Kendra called him over and he sat on the bed, asking her if she liked dark meat. Hence, from that moment forward, he was known as Dark Meat, in case you hadn't figured that one out. I gave the story a 1.5. Performance: His whole act was about how much things suck. It sucks to be single, it sucks to have no friends, it sucks the way women treat men. It was just so negative. I gave it a 4.

Adam Hunter - Challenge story: I'm The Same Age As My New Mommy. He talked and talked and made no sense. I never thought I'd ever have anything in common with the Girls Next Door, but he confused all four of us. He was pretty sure they liked him. I gave it a 0.5. Performance: It was a weak set, and the jokes were a little dated. He did a George Bush joke that criticized his Aids policy. Isn't there a war going on that he's getting a bit of flack about lately? I just don't find Adam very polished or very original. I gave it a 3.

Iliza Shlesinger - Challenge story: The Pirate, The T-Rex and the Grandma. She walked in, showing confidence and an awful lot of knowledge about the Girls' show. She told an actual story and used words they understood: their names. I thought she did the best job. I gave her a 9. Performance: This is her 3rd elimination show set in three weeks. She has told the other comics she is using all new material, stuff she has never tried on stage before. If this is true, it's risky. She does sound a a lot less confident delivering this set than in other weeks, but I'm still not sure what to believe. I give her a 7.5.

Sean Cullin - Challenge story: Dragon's Just Don't Understand. Way, way to much gay sex in this story. The way it was edited I think he went on way, way too long. It got a 2 from me. Performance: He started off with high energy and some silly (in a good way) jokes. Then he did a song about farmers that wasn't really all that funny. I found out this past week that Sean used to be a part of the comedy musical group called Corky and the Juice Pigs. So now I understand why he does almost all songs in his act. He got a 5 from me.

Jim Tavaré - Challenge story: Pretty People Always Get Their Way. So right there he's going in with the deck stacked against him. You can't make fun of pretty, spoiled people to women who make their living being beautiful and pampered! They turned on him of course. He may also have been too cerebral for them, and I'm pretty sure they thought he was the guy from The Hills Have Eyes. I gave him a 6. Performance: He had his usual relaxed way about him, with clever jokes, some of which were accompanied with sound effects on his double bass. I give him an 8.

Jeff Dye - Challenge story: Daddy Loves Mommy, Mommy Loves Lattes. He didn't make a lot of sense, trying to make all the characters coffee drinks, but he also used their names and they thought he was cute so they liked him. I gave him a 5. Performance: Started off pretty good, but the second part of the act about the homeless guy/spotting homeless people was exceptionally strong. I give him an 8.5.

Louis Ramey - Challenge story: The Princess Who Needed To Pee. He did a cute job with it and it ended it an actual punchline, and a funny one at that. I gave it an 8. Performance: This was a fantastic set. He is so comfortable to watch. He doesn't seem rushed at all, and his delivery is so well paced. In addition to all that, he has the best jokes on the show, hands down. He has a great twist to his observations. He gets a full 10 from me.

I'll be interested to see how the voting goes. So far my least favorite acts have all gone by some miraculous luck on my part. So if the Elimination Fairy is reading and wants to know who I deem should be booted, start with Ron G and Adam Hunter. Unfortunately a third one has to go as well, so I reluctantly vote for Sean Cullen. I love him in the house, in interviews, and in the challenges, but his songs? Not so much.

Last Comic Standing: Second Eliminations

Just before the show begins it occurs to me that I like the 2 hour long episodes this year. It means we get to see a lot more of the challenges as well as the whole of the final performances, and not the odd choppy editing that made everything seem so incomplete in past seasons.

We open on the comics at home, welcoming back Eliza and interviewing about her win. They give her a round of applause, including Papa CJ. Marcus gives her props in his interview. He says, "She rocked it. She came out strong. She deserved to win that night". Paul Foot says her humor is brilliant, but she is now vulnerable because she may not have more strong material for future competitions. CJ says shes not a strong comedian. Then he says, "Welcome to the big leagues, sweetheart." Wait, I thought he kept saying theres no comedy in India... so how would he know what the big leagues are? Could it be he doesn't actually perform solely in India? Could he possibly live and work in a different country with a rich tradition of comedy?

Comic Car Wash. The first challenge. They have to earn so much money washing cars and then they will get a clue for the second challenge. Why is Jim Tavaré on crutches? I wish they would explain that. If anyone finds out, please tell me. I worry. Sean Cullin says about this challenge, "It reminded me of the old days when performers had to clean things before they were allowed to perform." Marcus puts on a bikini top. It's a tad disturbing but the pattern nicely blends in with his tattoos. For a second there I didn't even realize he had it on. They all tell some cute jokes to the patrons and receive tips. They look like they are having fun and have great attitudes about it. By the end they have had a huge water fight, and all took turns doing Paris Hilton Arby™ commercial impressions. They return back to the house, change clothes and come down to find a gazillion carrots strewn about the floor. They are baffled as to their meaning. If they had just watched the previews they would know that they are meeting up with Carrot Top for the challenge called...

Mad Props. They have 20 minutes to grab pretty much anything they can use for prop comedy in a massive Bed, Bath and Beyond. I need to be in awe of them now because this would have had me apoplectic at the thought. When I first saw Carrot Top in the previews, I thought he had on a wig. In fact, watching the previews I caught a glimpse of him and thought it was someone dressed up as Carrot Top. I actually love Carrot Top, and despite all his critics, I think he's talented. I do try to look bored at his act and seem "cool" and above it, but he gets me laughing every time. But, um, does he wear guyliner? All the comics admit to having no experience with props, of course. Everybody runs around grabbing things and shoving them into overflowing carts. They get an additional hour to come up with some jokes, and to fashion things with scissors and stuff. Meanwhile, an audience and a stage is set up in the store. Carrot Top, of course, will judge them.

Without going into too much detail because it's really a visual thing — and to try to describe it will only make this article even more excruciatingly long — here are my opinions on the best and worse of the Mad Props Challenge:
Louis Ramey - Best: A colander hat with a light bulb on top invoking a Death Row joke. Worst: A shower curtain to pose in front of for fake vacation photos. He did a great job.
Marcus - Best: Lifetime's version of Iron Man. Worst: Angelina Jolie's lipstick. He did a good job.
Ron G - Best: Little Richard toilet paper roll. Worst: Black hug with a brown pillow? I didn't get it. He was not all that great. And he pointed out numerous times that he does not do prop comedy.
Papa CJ - Best: Nothing. Worst: All of it. He didn't do prop comedy, he held up objects as props. There's a difference. More specifically, he held up toothpaste and criticized airport security. Get it? Me neither. Carrot Top's response to that was a big raspberry. Cullin commented that CJ did no prop comedy, he just offended people, and not in a good way. I love that line.
Sean Cullin - Best: Midget pirate costume. Worst: 12 breasted alien bra. He was nonstop, and was really funny.
Adam Hunter - Best: O.J. Simpson starter kit. Worst: Paris Hilton as a duster. He was hit or miss.
Jim Tavaré - Best: Stepladder. Worst: Icebreaker, but I still liked it. They showed almost nothing of the set, so it was hard to tell if it was any good. Carrot Top said he was clever but not laugh-out-loud funny.
Eliza Shlesinger - Best: Mouse saddle, and it was good crafting, too. Worst: Gay nipple clamps, but still good crafting. She actually made a boob on which to hang the clips. She told longer jokes, almost giving each item a story. She was pretty good.
Paul Foot - Apologizes right away, and he explained too much. No best or worst, all just confusing and twitchy. He kept talking even after Bellamy outro'd him. He seemed devastated.
Jeff Dye - He had a theme. He reenacted favorite movies. It was a nice twist. I especially liked Land Before Time, ET, and Forrest Gump. For such originality, he wins immunity. Many of the other comics complain about that.

They show Paul Foot getting harassed by some of the other comics. Dudes. Not cool. Am I gonna have to start rooting for him? They all head out to the cemetery for the elimination vote.
I see something AWESOME! The booted acts get headstones in the cemetery. I wonder of they get to keep them? I also wonder where they that kind of fog in LA? And now I finally get it. They are in a cemetery because on stage they can either kill or die. Clever.

After the vote, Paul Foot and Papa CJ are tied, and they go together to decide on an opponent. They vote together to take Eliza. Idiots. They just watched her soundly trounce two other comics. CJ interviews that Eliza is a lovely girl but thinks she lacks comedic capabilities. Maybe he thinks her previous opponents were so bad that she didn't have to be all that good to beat them? I don't know. He was in the same room with the other comics when they assessed her set and they all had high praise for her. You'd think these very experienced male comics finding her set strong would be a good indicator. Ok, I did it. I played the gender card. I know there are people who don't think women are funny. I have no proof that these two feel that way towards women, I just have a gut feeling. Maybe being from England (and my theory that CJ does most of his shows outside of India is bolstered by one of the comics calling Foot, Tavaré and CJ the British comedians, not the Brits and the Indian) makes them think less of female comics. It's just a theory, but I think Eliza was onto something when she said she was vulnerable because she has a vagina. Foot interviews that all the Indian jokes CJ tells play the race card and that Eliza has the home turf advantage. At least he is acknowledging his opponents strengths instead of being automatically dismissive like CJ. I guess my thoughts on him being arrogant were more on the money than I would like. Louis thinks hes polished but I don't agree. I find his delivery odd, patronizing and obviously exaggerated. I feel bad for Foot. I think he is outside his comfort zone. He continues to interview that he believes Eliza doesn't have much material left seeing as how she has only been in comedy a short time (3 years.) But there are male comics in the same house that have less experience. If thats your logic, why not vote for them?

Marcus interviews about the ways in which he thinks Paul Foot is a good comic. He is getting my vote for most supportive comic in the Casa de Comedy. He sees the good in everybody. Except CJ. So I love Marcus now.

I've always felt that the majority of comics are in "the biz" because they somehow didn't fit in. Picked on, shy, or maybe they were the class clown, but somehow they were not like the normal kids and humor was a coping mechanism. In my very humble opinion, and this is a blatant and gross generalization, the tendency is that the cerebral, obscure-reference comics were the ones who were bullied for being weird The high energy, goofy ones were class clowns who liked attention, and the ones in between were the quiet kids who hid in the back and observed. Paul Foot seems like the really, really smart kid who got bullied and became, for lack of a better word, eccentric, even more so than most British comedians, which is way over the top. So honestly, I like him, and I even enjoyed his set, but he's not the type of comic that we are used to here in the States. After a stammer-filled start with a great premise — harassing annoying morning people in the middle of the night — he continued with bad set ups to good premises, and then went uncomfortably too far with it, abruptly changing direction from homosexual sex to why we hang out in the living room. His stammering makes him sound rattled and unprepared. The comics watching point out that he got weird at the end and lost everyone. That pretty much sums up that set perfectly. I've finally realized what bugs me about his hairstyle. I guess it's a British mullet, cut in an almost childlike way in the front and kind of girly in the back. Just when you think a mullet couldn't get any worse, this one comes along. I think what distracts me the most is that mullets shouldn't cover your ears.

Eliza's plan is to stress the point that she is an American, and the first words out of her mouth are, "Whats up LA, it's great to be home!" Which sets that up perfectly. She is, again, high energy with large physical gestures that play well in large theaters not unlike the one in which she is currently. She hits all-American subjects like school coaches, and a game called The Oregon Trail, which I have never heard of in my entire life. But the crowd seems to know it and they apparently love her references. She further hits on drinking, laughing at your significant other during an intimate moment and water parks. The comic gallery thinks its another winning set.

And so now it's time for Papa CJ. I am all ready for him to go down in flames. And then he opens with a really funny joke. I'll admit it, he might have a chance. He touches next on airport security, how he gets "randomly selected" for a search every time he flies because of the color of his skin. It's also a good joke. He gets a little blue with some ass-probe jokes, and then turns on some poor guy in the audience claiming he is the prober. The gentleman doesn't look too thrilled but he is willing to play along. But now, two jokes in he's doing "India is taking your computer programming/7-11 jobs" schtick, and then makes a joke involving curry that I really don't understand, despite backing up my Tivo several times. I also notice that many sentences he repeats twice, not because the audience is clapping or making noise so loudly he needs to reiterate, but more of a way of making sure we understand that he will be telling the joke soon, so be sure and pay attention. He makes a Weapons of Mass Destruction joke and the crowd clams up. Between this and the anti-Bush jokes he told in the Mad Props challenge I am reminded of how things like this work in my microcosm of Boston. Perhaps it works the same elsewhere, but here we all have a crazy relative. At every family get-together half the time is spent complaining about, making fun of, and generally saying nothing but horrible things about him or her. But if one non-relative were to walk up and say, "Oh that guy? I know him, he's a real asshole," the family would all take umbrage with this fellow. And by "umbrage" I mean "possibly beat the crap out of him for insulting one of our own". Only we get to talk about our family that way, and only Americans get to make jokes about America like that. No, it's not fair but an American comic in Britain making fun of, say, the Queen's looks wouldn't go over well either, I'll wager. After the round of stares Papa CJ gets for the weapons joke, he switches (maybe intentionally, maybe because they balked on him) to jokes he told in the semifinals, about the possibility he could die and be reborn as an audience member's baby, nursing on his wife's breast. And he is saying this to the same poor guy he roped in earlier with the butt probe stuff. Leave the guy alone! Spread the abuse, don't ruin this guys night! He looks like he's pretty sick of being singled out and I can totally understand why. Especially after CJ "advises" the man to perform oral sex on his wife, but not quite as politely as I wrote it. After he finishes, Sean Cullin and Marcus both say what I'm thinking: it's the same set he did in Vegas. Wasn't CJ himself criticizing Eliza for probably not having enough material for another performance? Hey, CJ: I haven't heard her tell the same joke twice, bub, and all I hear is the same tired crap from you. He annoys me to no end.

Paul Foot gets told right away he's out and I feel sorry for him for pretty much everything that happened to him this whole show. One good bit of news for him, however, is that most of the comics thought he was going to win this round. They point out that when the audience is behind him, he is very charming and I agree. I wish him the best and hope he does well.

Bill Bellamy drags out the reveal of the winner, but not surprising to me, Eliza wins with 62% of the vote. And then she almost throws up. She actually gags. Awesome. Nevertheless, I am thrilled because finally I'm seeing an LCS where the not funny comics go and the funny comics stay. Well, the funniest of the ones they chose. I still would have preferred seeing Jackie Kashian over about half of the ones who are still in. But still, I can't wait until next week. According to the previews, however, there is some sort of change. I can't tell if the "last showdown in LA" means another three comics going head to head, or if they will make all eight perform and some will move on to Las Vegas. I hate to see something as fun as the graveyard voting go away after just three weeks. I do know this, though: next week there will be Playboy bunnies on trampolines, so guys, be sure and tune in.

Last Comic Standing: First Elimination Episode

Good Lord, why do I keep watching this show!?

I know I want to watch it because I love comedy. But every Friday these past few weeks I have planned to write a review of the most recent episode but for some reason never get around to it. I guess maybe the idea of watching the episode a second time for research purposes is too much to take, especially since I already know that I disagree with the comedians they ended up putting through. I just can't watch it again. But I tune in every week for every season because I keep thinking it will be different this time. What I want to know is why do I keep watching it when clearly it is a reality show and will therefore work on the laws of reality shows, and not by the laws of, say, good comedy. Why do I not understand that?

Of the 12 comedians that were selected to be in the show, only four of them I feel were funny enough to be on the show. That means that eight excellent comics were left behind in favor for other comics that perhaps would give the show more conflict and tension. So it's not so much who you can make laugh that gets you on this show, it is who you can aggravate and with whom you can create ratings-loving tension. Well, it doesn't say "Last Funny Comic Standing," now, does it?

The comedians that made it through the semi-finals last week and are now living together in NBC's "Casa De Comedy" and competing each week to stay in the show are:

Marcus: Normally he does impressions, which are very good, but in his semi-final show he did a clever, funny routine, and I was happy to see him go through. He shows a lot of versatility.
Louis Ramey: I thought he had the most well thought out, funny jokes with perfect timing. I am thoroughly rooting for this guy. He does my favorite type of jokes, the bait-and-switch, where he starts talking about a common situation, and then gives you a punchline you don't expect. For example, "Once you go black... you can't get credit."
Eliza Shlesinger: A strong act, I had her written down in my notes as the semi-final show went along as someone I hoped would advance. She has only three years experience, apparently, but she looks very polished.
Ron G: He started out ok, but the single joke in his set went on way too long. I need to see him do a variety of jokes to get an idea if he is funny. If he can't do that for a semi-final round, I can't be confidant he has any good material.
Adam Hunter: He had some funny material on rooting for the underdog, which is something I tend to do (although it doesn't seem that way re-reading some of my comments here, wowza!) but he seemed to be relying on his energy more than his writing.
Papa CJ: If you don't already know, he came into the competition in the quarter-final show with all the international comedians, and he hails from India. I really wanted to like this performer but he has a tendency to rely a little too much on what he thinks Americans think about Indians. His jokes settle around in the "I know you hate it when we take your job" area. And I am trying very hard to chalk his delivery style up to "accent and speech pattern differences" and not "arrogant and smug superiority."
Paul Foot: His act started out pretty good. I am a huge fan of quirky British comedians and he is all three of those, but he quickly faltered and lost steam after an awkward segue. Another comedian that was left behind was criticized by the judges for being "jumpy" in his delivery but Paul Foot was far twitchier and yet nothing was said to him and was sent through. Interesting.
Sean Cullin: Canadian comic who is on the silly side with his jokes. He sang a song about porn which was not bad, but again, I would have liked to have seen more jokes from him since he only had four minutes. When you commit to a song you have to stay with it, and if it isn't going well you can't bail on it for funnier material. I'm not sure how I feel about him. I do like his interviews, so there's that.
Jim Tavaré: Did I mention I like quirky British comedians? This guy has that in spades, as well as good material and great delivery. I like how he can seem both high-brow and silly at the same time. Plus I like putting in the little 'e' with the accent when I type so I definitely hope he sticks around.
God's Pottery: I can't tell you how much I do not understand this choice. First of all it is so painful watching them keep up that stupid act all day long. It's a one-trick dead and beaten pony. If they had to put through a team act I would have liked to see the twin guys or even the three-man act, even though I felt they were technically more of a sketch act.
Esther Ku: I know it can be risky criticizing someone good looking when you are clearly not, because it opens up the assumption that you are "just jealous". I am not jealous of Esther Ku's youth or looks. Let me just get that out of the way because I am so happy with all that I am inside that all I care about in regards to my body is that it be healthy. That being said, I really want Ku to stop being so freaking pretty. I'll bet if she wasn't so pretty she would have so much more material. There are things in the world that you can talk about that audiences relate too. Being pretty enough to date anyone you want? Not one of them. I heard this morning she has some ties to Boston so my loyalty chip wants me to root for her. I am willing to give her another chance in tonight's show.
Jeff Dye: Speaking of young and good looking, hubba hubba! Jeff Dye is this seasons Gary Gulman. He's the easy-on-the-eye comic for the lady viewers. Not surprisingly, I did not take notes on his act while he performed. Apparently I gave his act a "B". So hopefully he's funny.

Now, on to this week's show. SPOILERS TO FOLLOW!


In the interest of brevity (too late! ba dump bump!) in this weeks review, I won't get into the challenges in a lot of detail other than to say that the calender bit: not funny. They mostly just tried to look goofy, and goofy doesn't always make it good. My favorite costume: Jeff Dye as the baby. He did look hilarious. The "Yo Mamma" smack down competition was a fantastic idea, but I can't imagine how they decided to put through God's Pottery to the last round when their whole bit was being complimentary all three rounds. I just want to shake them and make them adapt to the situation instead of keeping up this tired old shit. Jim Tavaré deservedly won that challenge against them, but funnier comics got left behind in earlier rounds, for some baffling reason.

The three way elimination show brought us performances by Esther Ku, God's Pottery and Eliza Shlesinger. If you've read this far you know who I want to see go home. Esther's set was the same as we had seen before, the whole "Oh Em Gee, I'm so Asian and pretty and I can make myself sound kind of stupid so you must laugh" act. God's Pottery may have done a song we have seen before, they all sound the same to me. Eliza gave a solid performance with a lot of movement and well written jokes, so it was no surprise to me that she won. Actually I take that back. It was a bit of a surprise because so often talent does not seem to factor into this show. Even some of the other comics watching and analyzing the show thought God's Pottery had won even though they all agreed Eliza had the strongest set. Speaking of that evaluation, I love the addition of the non-performing comics watching the showdown and commenting on the performances. They were so insightful and made excellent points about each set.

I guess the reason I still keep watching, to answer my opening question, is that I am fascinated by how these comics deal with the challenges with which they are presented, even if I don't necessarily think they are funny. There is a lot of last minute writing and quick thinking involved and for that I am impressed. Also, like a train wreck, I can't look away from the voting of the audiences. I just need to see who America (cough*producers*cough) thinks is the most funny (cough*marketable*cough) comedian.

Bonus footage: former Boston comedian and current humongous talent Dwayne Perkins showing up as #4 on the countdown of the 10 funniest jokes ever on LCS.

How About a Laugh Today?

I was watching Last Comic Standing a few weeks ago and was blown away by the set of comedienne Jackie Kashian.



I will really be rooting for her. I haven't laughed at an LCS comedian this much since Dave Mordal. (see following video) Unfortunately this video is tough to hear but it was the only one I could find with some of my favorite bits. And no ads from Comedy Central. I guess basic cable has to make money some way... hey, wait a minute...



When the episode of LCS was over I went searching for more information about Jackie. I discovered she has her own podcast, called The Dork Forest, where they discuss anything with which one can be obsessed. I haven't listened to it yet but I have subscribed to it. If any of you know me in reaal life, you can definitely attest to both my dorkiness and my ever increasing ability to obsess. So this one sounds right up my alley. I'll need at least a few days to figure out which obsession I should call in with first.

I also came across another podcast on which she has appeared. It is called Road Stories. This is one hour of stand-up comics telling stories of some of the more interesting jobs they have had. I have listened to one show, episode number 8, and I loved it so much I made my husband listen to it. See, he doesn't normally do podcasts. I think even if someone spent 15 hours making a podcast called "Every Ex-Girfriend Cayley's Husband Ever Had Spills All His Darkest Secrets" he still couldn't be bothered to listen to it. But I not only got him to listen to this one, and laugh, but he is also now quoting it quite a few times a day. That's usually a pretty good sign. At this point I should mention, for those who don't know, my husband spent 15 years as a stand-up comedian, and we met during the two years that I was also telling jokes. As short as my time in "the biz" was, I can tell you that the most fun I ever had in comedy was the times after the show, when the comics all hung around, sharing drinks and stories just like the ones I heard on this podcast. And I had the best of both worlds, too. Later, as the wife of a comedian, I got to hang around after the show hearing the stories without having to do any of the dirty work of actually having to be funny. In the one episode I heard, they talked about performing for tough audiences, getting to gigs with bad traveling companions and about "intro's" gone wrong. But that's all I will tell you about that. Get a drink, turn up some bad music uncomfortably loud, turn on this podcast, and pretend you just got off stage after the best set of your life. Um, not that that's what I do or anything. Nope. Not me. (Ooh, I think I just thought of something for Dork Forest...)