TVSquad

If you tune in to the premiere of the new Comedy Central Presents... stand-up shows tonight, you'll see a couple of familiar faces in John Mulaney (11PM) and Kristen Schaal (11:30PM).

Schaal might be the easier face to place - her role as Mel, the lone groupie on Flight of the Conchords expanded this season, to the point where Bret and Jemaine were actually living at her apartment for a while. Mulaney has done more work behinds the scenes writing for Saturday Night Live (he's been on camera once or twice, in the fine tradition of writers like Conan O'Brien). But he's also been on shows like Important Things with Demetri Martin and Best Week Ever.

Both are worth catching for their stand-up acts. Schaal brings some of the quirkiness of her Conchords character, without the creepiness. She's got a great, vivid imagination, which is easy to see in this clip about her dreaming of George Washington.

Jokes.com
Kristen Schaal - Sex Dream
comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

You can get a good idea of Mulaney's sarcastic, pop culture infused sense of humor from his Best Week Ever appearances, but he's great when he has a chance to spread a story out a bit. He does a great bit on his new CD, The Top Part, about the character archetypes on Law & Order that you'll most likely see on the show tonight (I won't spoil the punchlines for you, but it's clear he has watched even more Law & Order than the rest of us, which is to say a lot). Hopefully, you'll also see his bit about what became of Jerry Orbach's eyes (Google this to get a hint of where he's going, or read our post from 2007 about it).

Here's a self-deprecating bit of Mulaney's, about meeting strangers on the train:

Jokes.com
Kristen Schaal - Sex Dream
comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

If you live in New York, there's a good chance you can see both of them live easily - they both gig there frequently.