(S05E11) There's a famous story about Jerry Seinfeld. Early in his career, when he was starting to feel the first warmth of "industry heat", he was offered a spot on the Tonight Show. This was the early eighties, remember, when a killer four minutes and a wave from Johnny pretty much guaranteed that you were headed for future glory. He turned them down. His reasoning was simple. He had a great four minutes and would probably have killed; what he was worried about was that he didn't have the next four minutes for the second show. He wanted to kill every time he was called back. It was an audacious thing to do, turning down Johnny the Kingmaker, but we all know how it worked out for Jerry.
Tonight we got to see the final five's next four minutes. Some of them should have turned LCS down...
We're down to the final five tonight and the producers of LCS have decided that, to celebrate, they would become a flat-out clone of American Idol. It's ridiculous and insulting! Everyone knows that the only person qualified to uncreatively rip-off American Idol is Simon Cowell.
They even went so far as to flash to people in the audience holding signs for the different contestants. We can only conclude that either those signs were a legitimate and organic outpouring of love for five comics that have captured the hearts of Americans everywhere or the producers had a few PAs make them and then had them handed out to people as they were brought into the audience. Call me a cynic, but I'm gonna go with the latter.
That being said, NBC gave us what we've been asking for all along: more comedy. They're still shorting us (20 minutes out of 44 -- that equals a lot of over-produced "highlights" packages), but tonight's episode automatically becomes the best of the entire run due to the focus on comedy. Hopefully the ratings will spike upwards for these final five shows and serve as a signal to the producers that the extraneous crap is just that: crap.
Before we get to the individual comics' performances tonight, I want to write briefly about set construction. There are a lot of different philosophies for putting a set together, but all of them have one rule in common: start strong and finish strong. When I was coming up, I was taught that you put your second best joke first and your best joke last. You don't always have to do that, but it's a rule of thumb that most comics I know keep in the back of their mind.
On top of that, you also want to create something of a thematic flow that establishes both what you want to talk about and who you are as a person. A good set leaves people not only with the impression that you're funny, but it also gives some insight as to the person you are (or, at least, the person you're pretending to be on stage).
The complexities of putting together a good four minutes are such that Seinfeld decided he needed two years to get his act together for Carson -- and that's from a master comic!
We should therefore keep this in mind when criticizing the comics tonight. It must have been tremendously difficult to make decisions concerning what their strategies should be. Think about it (and if you're not a fan of analysis and just want to read what I thought of each comic's performance, skip down to the first paragraph that doesn't start with a number!):
1) Even if you have hours of material, a lot of that comes in the center of your act. As a headliner, you do 45-60 minutes of comedy. If a bit comes at minute twenty-six of your act, it would be scary to open with it. Seriously, these kinds of things worry comics. A lot of things change in a comic's act, but the opener and the closers are usually crusted into place forever and ever because they're your old, reliable friends. Now you have four separate openers and closers to worry about!
2) Presumably, the comics used their best stuff to get to the finals. We're now down to second and third tier material. For a guy like Ralph Harris who has been doing this for a hundred years, this might not be a problem. Amy Schumer, on the other hand, probably has considerably less to draw from -- her third-tier material might be something out of a notebook that she tried at an open mic once! It thus raises the Dat Phan dilemma: do you recycle? If the other stuff you have is weak (or, more importantly, perceived by the comic as weak), do you go with the tested material that the audience has already heard? Would it matter to the voters?
3) TV Clean. Remember, a lot of comics are coming out of the clubs where dirty no-no words like poop and buttocks are said with much regularity. I don't know these comics' club acts, but if I were a betting man, I'd wager that there have been a few tense discussions with NBC censors about what material is okay and what isn't. I think this is a huge consideration: I've done a lot of shows where I've had to take a tested joke and change one of its key words from "Jersey-dirty' to "Midwest-dirty" and it almost always screws me up. Comedians can be as bad as hockey goalies when it comes to ticks and rituals: you throw even one word out of alignment and it plays with our heads. Do you go with a reliable, but dirty joke (and change the words)? Or do you try a lesser, but TV clean joke?
4) Likeability. There are a lot of jokes that are dependent on your rapport with the audience. If they like you, it's a lot easier to get away with "edgy jokes." Not necessarily dirty, but jokes that push the boundaries of an audience's acceptance. Witness what happened to Gerry Dee two weeks ago in the jester competition. He made some Bush jokes and was booed right off the stage. Those jokes might work after forty minutes, when the audience loves you and will follow you anywhere, but might be a set killer if you trot them out two minutes in to a four minute set.
5) Finally, there's the very real worry about how much you should front-load your four minutes. What I mean is, let's say you have eight really strong, club tested, TV clean, likeable, tried-and-true material left in your act. Do you blow those eight minutes in the first two competitions and not worry about the final two? Or do you spread it out? In the former scenario, you make it deeper but hurt your chances of having anything left in the final show. In the latter, you make the good stuff last longer but might mediocre-up your set so much that you don't make it far enough to make it worth your while to save anything for the final shows.
I do not envy these comics at all.
But! I have to review them. Please let it be known that for all of these comics (well, except Bill Bellamy), I respect them and admire them for making it as far as they have. It's my job, though, to review the show. This show being all comedy, my hand is kind of forced: I have to review the comedy!
Seeing as there are five comics and five letters in the American grading system, let's put these comics on a curve and rate them from F to A (remember curves from college kids -- the F doesn't mean that the person "failed" just that they were the lowest performer in relation to the other test-takers).
F -- LaVell Crawford. From tonight's show, at least, it seems that all the fear the other comics had about challenging LaVell was misplaced. I thought his pacing was odd (especially on the sound effect with the crossing guard joke) and that his Mexicans as slaves joke was inching dangerously close to Dwight Kennedy's joke of the same premise from the semi-finals. Not so close to actually count as hack, but close enough that it merits mentioning. This grade is in part because of expectations. I think LaVell had set a high enough standard for himself that I was expecting big things (no pun intended -- hey, if you couldn't tell from his stand-up, LaVell is slightly overweight) from him tonight and he didn't deliver.
D -- Amy Schumer. She's funny as hell, but I really thought she ran out of steam towards the end of her set. More than any other comic, I'd say that if she had done the Seinfeld wait, she'd run away with this show. Last Comic Standing '09 would have been a complete Amy Schumer romp. I still think, though, that of all the comics on the show she's got the best chance of popping up in her own sitcom (or as the delightfully off-kilter best friend in somebody else's sitcom).
C -- Ralph Harris. Again, Ralph is likeable and professional, but I just don't find myself laughing all that hard during his act. Compared to his two face-off challenges, I thought tonight's set was stronger, which might bode well for him as that's indicative that he's got a lot of material to draw from.
B -- John Reep. Though he suffered from the most obvious producer-planted fan signs (do you really think those model-looking girls in the audience were such big fans of his Hemi commercials?), his set was fun and enjoyable.
(By the way, did anyone else catch that he talked about the fact that the audience was drinking? This fascinates me. Is the liquor free? Who provides it? Is NBC worried about a Jimmy Kimmel incident where the audience gets out of control? Are there bouncers there in case someone imbibes too much and decides to heckle the comic on stage? If you were a hobo, wouldn't waiting in the Last Comic Standing audience line be a good idea? These are questions that need answers.)
A -- Gerry Dee. My wife doesn't like Gerry Dee. She says things like, "I don't know why, but just something about him is very creepy." Women will say these kinds of things because they can. I bring this up because at the end of Gerry's set, my wife turned to me and said, "I hate to admit it, but he made me laugh the most." I'm not a big fan of the "our parents used to hit us!" kind of jokes, but I thought his stuff about wedding gifts was fantastic. Funny, clever, and true.
As a whole, I was disappointed with the performances tonight. I think these five (well, four after next week) have better in them than this and I can only assume that a lot of them were "holding back" for the final weeks. I'm expecting better next week.
One last note: did anyone else miss Matt and Doug as much as I did?
For another take, check out Shecky Magazine here.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-23-2007 @ 12:37AM
Chester said...
Jay, that was a great review of tonights show.
I agree with you but have to say I found Amy funnier than you did but I'm biased towards her from the get go.
You didn't mention the host....he sucked
The host is not funny one bit
I was waiting for chuck berry to hit the gong
LaVell: he was not funny tonight.
His one trick pony got up and went to Happy Burger
Jon: Funnier than Levell but not by much, his Bud joke saved his whole 4 minutes
Ralph: Very good, and the part where he pretends to upchuck then swallow was over the top funny.
Amy: Okay I'm biased because I like her style of Comedy. Her style is not original but for me it's the type I like.
Gerry: He was the funniest but just a hair funnier than Amy. At least it wasn't about the classroom.
Tidbit:
The ones who don't go on and who are not Americans are still winners since they are given 0-1 work visas that cost 10 thousand dollars good for 2 years.
For them 10k is a lot of money and usually they don't have that kind of coin lying around.
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8-23-2007 @ 12:48AM
Trina said...
I love Ralph Harris and was thrilled when he got into the top 10, but he's starting to really irritate me. I saw almost all of the material he's used so far several years ago on Comedy Central. I forget if he had his own special or if it was on Premium Blend (or one of their other standup shows), but either way it's old stuff. And since I tivo-ed that show and watched it multiple times (I really liked it, hence my first sentence) I've seen all of it repeatedly. I don't need or want to see it again, and I seriously hope he has some new stuff to trot out for us soon.
And yes - I miss the heck out of Matt!
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8-23-2007 @ 12:50AM
judgy said...
This show is just plain weird. Ralph Harris has had a comedy special on Comedy central and MTV, and was one of the stars of a network television show. Reep was also on a show. Dee is a successful comedian in Canada. (There have been precedents on LCS, like Bill Dwyer, but none this blatant)
Amy is the only real fresh face on the show. I didn't care for ehr at first, but, I have warmed to her. What is this show? A showcase for amateurs ala Idol? A stepping stone for middling comics like John Heffron? Or a platform that takes the place of Carson?
Its a shame. Because were it the former, someone like Shumer would really get the boost she needs.
I don't understand this show.
but, they finally realized that we want the comedy. Sort of.
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8-23-2007 @ 9:34AM
Linda said...
I love John Reep, but I gotta say I was disappointed in his set. No new stuff. I'd heard it all before from him. My 15 year-old was sitting next to me last night saying the punchlines before John! Too bad.
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8-23-2007 @ 8:58AM
cs0875 said...
I thought Gerry Dee was the funniest. I am rooting for Amy, but sadly she wasn't that funny. John Reep was my #2. I don't understand why people find Ralph funny though. I haven't laughed at him in any part of the competition, and I find him annoying and a bit of a d!ck. His drunk family member part was so annoying, I said to my fiance "hell would be that bit played over and over for all eternity"
As far as what judgy said, about how famous you need to be. I don't understand it either. In season 1, none of the comics were well known, and same with season 2. In season 2, they said Jim Norton was too famous, yet he wasn't on Lucky Louie yet, he didn't have an HBO special, I don't even think he had a Comedy Central special, just a 5 minute set on one of the Comedy Central shows. Yet last season they had Bill Dwyer who did have a comedy central special, and this year Ralph Harris. Jim Norton probably wouldn't have gone far in lcs (I think he is hilarious, but too off color to recieve votes from an audience that isn't there to see him or a similar comic).
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8-23-2007 @ 9:43AM
C. Robertson said...
None of them were funny. Your wife is right; Gerry Dee is creepy, and as a woman I don't think Amy is funny at all, but then I don't think most women are funny. Based on overall performance I still like Lavell. Maybe he ran out of juice last night but overall he still skunked the competition.
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8-23-2007 @ 10:35AM
justelise said...
I think that some of the funniest comedians were eliminated already. I don't think a 22 year vet like Ralph Harris should be on the show. If he's been doing stand up for 22 years and it hasn't translated into bigger and better things for him, that should be a testament to his character. Last Comic Standing shouldn't be rehabing the careers of 10+ year vets. It should be discovering fresh comics.
I'm really disappointed with the female talent chosen this year. I don't find anything that comes out of Amy Schumer's mouth funny.
I'd have to say that Gerry Dee is the funniest guy left. Had I not seen Ralph Harris in his own specials and on a bunch of shows for the past 12-15 years (I'm pretty sure he was doing the same jokes and impressions since I was in HS), I might think he's funny. LaVell and John do nothing for me. I'd argue that John's routine lacked the energy he usually seems to have on stage. Maybe my perception of his energy level was due to how the show is edited.
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8-23-2007 @ 10:43AM
Matt said...
I chuckled the most at Gerry, followed very closely by Amy.
None of the other three were funny, at all. Ralph had 4 minutes to wow the home audience, and he spent 3 and 1/2 of it on a drunk joke. Yeah, Ralph. We know what a drunk person looks like. It's not enjoyable to be around. Thanks for reminding us.
Lavell was just plain bad. You're right, I think he completely ripped off Dwayne Kennedy...he certainly couldn't rip off Dwayne's execution, though. More I'm fat jokes just ran that set completely into the ground.
John was the "best" of the awful three, but that's not saying much. Just a bunch of beer jokes to try and get an obviously inebriated audience on his side.
If we're lucky, they'll speed the show up, and Amy and Gerry will be the only ones to move on...with Amy subsequently winning. Maybe NBC can somehow bring back Matt and Doug.
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8-23-2007 @ 11:24AM
Randy said...
I miss Matt and Doug!!!
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8-23-2007 @ 11:49AM
RSL said...
Sounds like I didn't miss much. There was no way that I was going to watch after last week's travesty and this week's review lets me know I made the right decision. Here's to you, Jay, who contractually has to sit through the rest of the season of this dreck. ;) You're a better man than I am.
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8-23-2007 @ 3:15PM
Arthur said...
Did anyone watch the part right after the set ended for each contestant and they showed each comedian's family members? I thought I saw at least one famous comedian that was in Gerry Dee's "friends and family" shot. Did anyone else pick on that? (I thought it was Russell Peters)
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8-23-2007 @ 10:38PM
David said...
"I'm a big fan of Queens [NY]. Where's ANT?" -- Amy Schumer
Best line of the night, and no one in the audience laughed, but that's ok -- it was targeted to us.
For the first time this season, I didn't find LaVell Crawford funny. I have been thinking that Jay and the commenters here have been harsh on him, but tonight I sat there stone faced through his whole set. The Mexican jokes were completely stale.
Ralph didn't make me laugh either, but he never has. I'm just not a Ralph guy I guess. Brothers from Philly should be funnier to me (a Jew from NY) than Ralph is ...
Jon Reep did much more original material tonight, I thought. There was none of that Blue Collar Tour stuff, and I thought he was good.
I'm not a big Amy fan, even though she has moments of brilliance (see top of post).
Gerry Dee was the funniest for me tonight. I'm not a girl and I'm not scared of Canadia people, so he didn't creep me out in any way. I hate his delivery, but I liked his jokes a lot.
I'd vote out Ralph for tonight's show.
Oh, and those signs were 100% contrived by the production staff. It was blatantly obvious, and worse, totally unnecessary -- they added nothing to the viewing experience.
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8-24-2007 @ 1:56AM
Jim said...
Gerry was the best this week, hands down, so it stands to reason he will be the next to go.
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8-24-2007 @ 6:40PM
Jim said...
P.S. To further the comparisons to American Idol: I swear Antonella Barba was in two of the cut-aways.
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9-03-2007 @ 12:37PM
Mason said...
okay...here's how it is...
LaVelle: The first time I heard I thought he was hilarious but not anymore, his annoying act all about his weight is old.
Amy: Definately likable, tackles an overused subject but does it very well and in a unique way.
Ralph: He is funny but annoing, he is okay but should have been eliminated a long time ago.
Jon: Just plain funny, he's from the south but all his jokes are'nt about being from the south.
Gerry:Extremely funny, his original matierial kills everytime, and I hope that he ends up being the winner.
Notable Comiedians from the Show
Matt: Definately the sharpest of them all should not have been eliminated yet, but would not have won.
Doug: He should not have been eliminated, he deserved to win the entire compition, and I can't wait to see him at a comedy club
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8-31-2007 @ 12:24PM
stuck in the midwest said...
I"m late to this show but I the last one didn't get recorded and I missed it. I don't know who the top 4 are but the worst was definitely Lavell. I really miss the little Brit child. But as all the seasons of LCS have told you, subtlety can only get you so far.
Ralph has plenty of energy and style. I'm not so fond of his material. He doesn't deserve to leave before Lavell does though. He won two challenges for goodness sake. That should count for something.
As for the rest, Gerry Dee was funny and relaxed, Jon Reep did not annoy as much, Amy was cute and mostly funny in an unoriginal sort of way.
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9-01-2007 @ 10:21PM
Sarah said...
I actually went to this taping and I thought my hands were going to fall off from all the practice clapping. Yes, I said practice clapping. We even did a practice standing ovation, which I might add, never actually took place during any of the sets. Jay. you are completely right. The signs were props handed out. The entire thing is So contrived. They have people arrange the audience according to 1) who you know (duh) 2) what you are wearing and how you look (I'm not saying this out of spite, I was placed in the front row despite the fact that I was 2/3 at the end of the line, but I had on a killer dress).
The beer was purchased (free, are you kidding me?) from a bar in the lobby at a premium price, I don't think any one there could afford to get smashed.
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