(S04E11) Let's get the details of the first 88 minutes of the finale out of the way right now: Dat Phan stunk. Alonzo Bodden and John Heffron both showed why Season Two is considered to be the best LCS season. Jay Mohr is a funny guy, even though he is, as his boss Peter Engel said, "a big pain in the ass." Anthony Clark must have needed a lot of help during the six years of Yes, Dear, because the man can't even read off a cue card properly. Oh, and for some reason, the producers showed us a seance that wasn't good enough to make the initial cut during the Queen Mary phase.Then we had sets by the two finalists, Josh Blue and Ty Barnett. Here's my question to Ty: where the hell was that material yesterday? The question becomes more relevant after jump, so keep reading.
I'll just reveal the winner right off the bat: it was Josh. Not a big surprise; all the comics loved him, and it seemed some sincere studio audience love came through the fake standing ovations every time he played. He's a funny guy and a good guy; I'm sure all of that contributed to his win.
But the guy who had the better material was clearly Ty. He had more material, better connections between material, beter timing, better rhythm, and better delivery. His set tonight was really, really good, the funniest set he performed during the entire series. He had a really strong bit about how easy life would be if you had a speechwriter and a spokesman like the President has. The bit built humor through heightening the situation and using callbacks to earlier jokes -- callbacks that weren't forced, by the way. But it left me wondering: why didn't he use this routine last night? Yes, he was more relaxed tonight when he knew nothing was at stake. But, even if he was more nervous last night, he might have convinced more people to pick him if he used tonight's routine. Did it cost him the title? Probably not, given how much people loved Josh. But if he used tonight's set, he may have at least given himself a better shot.
Either way, both guys are on their way to long and successful comedy careers. Just ask Alonzo Bodden. He rode his exposure in Seasons Two and Three -- he joked that he was the "lost" LCS winner -- to quite a run of headlining shows and network development deals. And he hasn't slowed down, because his set tonight was probably the best of the night, just edging out Jay Mohr's. His jokes about living in the suburbs because he wanted to find the Desperate Housewives, but he only found Soccer Moms, were really good. But his routine about how dangerous it was to go out and play as a kid was great: like the monkey bars, a set of rusty metal pipes stacked higher and higher, but that's ok, because if a kid falls down, there's ashphalt underneath to stop them. Just some funny, funny stuff.
Heffron was good, too. He's still on the relationship tack, which is where he was two years ago. But at least his timing and execution make up for the sameness of the jokes, like the line where he asks "Did you young guys realize that when you get married, your wife moves in with you?" and how she makes him get rid of things that he thought he'd never get rid of... like his roommate.
The less said about Dat Phan the better. You're Asian. We get it. Stop doing your mother's voice and all that kicking. And my Sulu impression is a hundred times better than yours.
Theo Von won the online vote. Must be all the girls still in love with him from Road Rules. My neice has better comedic timing than he does, and she's only five.
Jay Mohr? I really hope he hosts next year. He may be a preening dick, but at least he can command a stage and read off a cue card without looking like he's biting through his tongue. Even though he flubbed some of the lines in his routine, he knew he had the audience in his corner. That's needed on LCS, as we all could see.
So, whew... we're done with another whirlwind season of LCS. Despite Clark's almost defensive-sounding call that this was "the best season ever!" it was the worst. Yes, even worse than Season Three. The show just had no life or energy to it this year, no feeling of tension as people were eliminated. And the comedians were, let's face it, just not that funny.
If Mohr comes back next year, I hope he cleans house a little and helps the producers filter in a stronger set of comics into the auditions. And, you know what? Just be up front with us about that; we're all on to their little games, so why even pretend? We just want to see good comedy; if the comedy is good, we don't care how it got to us.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-09-2006 @ 11:07PM
marie_ks said...
Thanks, for the recap! I missed the show since I just got home, but now I feel like I didn't miss a beat.(only some funny stuff by Alonzo Bodden...)
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8-09-2006 @ 11:34PM
MrsEldubya said...
I knew Josh was going to win but I agree that in the last couple of weeks Ty has been the better comedian. They just didn't show his strong stuff earlier on to get the audience behind him like they did Josh. Ty has been fantastic the last three shows but still I knew Josh was going to win.
Now if only a woman could win LCS!
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8-10-2006 @ 12:28AM
Paul Davidson said...
Ty's set was hilarious. I totally agree. I also thought that Mohr's set was one of the best of the night as well.
But this season sucked the big one.
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8-10-2006 @ 12:39AM
Brody said...
I wanted to shoot Dat Phan in the face. If someone that untalented can win, I would hate to see what the other contestants from season 1 were like.
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8-10-2006 @ 6:50AM
Kenmo said...
It was clear from the beginning of the season that the best comics were not necessarily going to get on the show. They passed up a slew of better comics, I guess in a bid to create tension in the Queen Mary phase... it didn't work.
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8-10-2006 @ 9:11AM
Wendy O said...
Ty had a great routine last night but I still like Josh best. I saw him in person a month ago and he was great - very funny and a lot more relaxed than on TV.
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8-10-2006 @ 9:48AM
Robert Harken said...
From the very first night,actually very first moments, I looked at Josh and said "there's your winner " never mind that he is only mildly funny and strongly predictable ! Josh is physically challenged and America can't get enough of the sympathy vote. Why can't these challenged people have their own LCS like a comic special olympics. In Josh's defense this season LCS was unbelievably BORING!! I actually drove to the post office during the finale because who cares ?! You watch that boring rapping granny on that other show will get the sympathy vote and probably win!
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8-10-2006 @ 9:58AM
Drex said...
This show has only gotten worse every season, NBC needs to stick a fork in it already.. If you want to see some real comedians and great writing on TV check out Lucky Louie on HBO, because LCS is total trash now..
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8-10-2006 @ 10:56AM
gt said...
haha lucky louie, you're kidding right? this season of lcs was extra lame but come on. forced comedy using forced f bombs and forced nudity so they can say they have a reason they're on hbo.
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8-10-2006 @ 11:14AM
Obed said...
Hey, Josh used his handicapped to get him the win. Others have used their skin color. Ty did not, he was the better comic, with the better jokes the last couple of weeks. He should have won.
I think people voted for Josh for his goofiness.
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8-10-2006 @ 1:00PM
MrsEldubya said...
Brody... the first season was very entertaining with some great comedians but when they went head to head before a live audience, no one had heard Dat Phan before and he had a good solid 10 min routine that killed. The problem was the viewers knew he used the same material over and over again but the people in the theater watching and voting did not. That's how he won over Ralphie May. I don't think there was a big nation wide vote that year like now.
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8-10-2006 @ 3:36PM
Jan said...
I thought both Ty and Chris Porter were much better comedians than Josh. If you look back and think about it, Josh really only made comedy about himself and his handicap. I dont think he really ever told a joke. As for Dat Phan, Ralphie May blew him out of the water, that was a total upset season. I think Ty and Chris will have much better careers in the long run. Just for the record. Alonzo Bodden is great :)
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8-11-2006 @ 1:55AM
EMan said...
I agree with Jan. Ty and Chris Porter rocked this show. I was blown away that Chris was eliminated. I thought all around the comics were weak this season. And honestly, Anthony Clark either needs to go back to school and shake his nerves or get the hell of prozac. His hands EVERY SINGLE show were a jumping mess. Even a Speech 101 class in college could help him up there. He sucked as the shows host and I thought he was more of a noise factor than a host. I couldn't command the screen let alone the crowd; a nervous reck! And he couldn't keep himself from reverting back to his little "down south" accent. He was a mess. Take back Jay or just find someone with some talent that can stand in front of the camera! I still think the whole living together to create drama is just a waste of time and a waste of air waves/digital signals! Just give us what we want! Comedy! It was cool to see all the previous successes in the show like Alonzo and Dat. I thought the Last Comic Downloaded was as stupid as a film of a horses ass.
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8-27-2006 @ 7:12PM
notaphan said...
Forget the season 1 finale, Dat Phan shouldn't have beaten Dave Mordal! I saw Dave live not long ago and laughed til I cried. I get it that the audience didn't know Dat was using the SAME material, but I never understood why the audience could forgive him for opening with an unoriginal 'aren't you glad I don't actually talk in that crazy vietnamese voice' bit and then spends the REST OF HIS ACT doing his mom impression!!
Josh was funny but in that way that you have a friend who's really funny, not in a professional standup kind of way. His finale felt like he was KILLING TIME because he had no material. One joke about Gabe's blackberry was fine, but he had to bring it up in every one of the faceoffs!
Chris Porter was okay but needed to have some material NOT about being on drugs. One set fine, but don't be a one note comic (*cough*HEFFRON*cough*)
Ty clearly had the material and skill of a pro...I guess that's why they don't call it BEST comic standing. Every voting show would benefit from having people vote 'against' the person they hate the most...you'd see more decisive victories with fewer bad calls (you could see that in season 4's head-to-heads when one person would get 80% of the votes)
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8-27-2006 @ 9:19PM
Jenn Thomas said...
It's been said before, but it is SO obvious that america only voted for Josh because of his disability-which is ridiculous. It's a comedy competition, not a "who has a worse life" competition. He was not funny AT ALL! All he does is talk about cerebral palsy--"We get it, you're handicapped--move on!!" Ty was so much better, but I do agree that Chris Porter was the best. It's like Chris Daughtry and American Idol all over again!
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