I'm sure the rest of the staff here at TV Squad would like to thank Jimmy Kimmel for the laughs he's served up at ABC over recent years on Jimmy Kimmel Live as his career on that network comes to an end.That possibility seems like more than a good bet after Kimmel ravaged his home base during an upfronts presentation Tuesday.
In a monologue that seemed to generate more winces than laughs, Kimmel not only bit the hand that feeds him, he band-sawed it clean off. Appearing before a New York City press corps, Kimmel tore apart NBC, ABC, Jay Leno and anyone else who wanders anywhere near the world of network television.
What's most strange is that anyone reading even a partial transcript of his monologue will be left wondering what part of it this gifted comic thought was funny. His remarks seem more vitriolic than comedic.
For example, find the humor in Kimmel's missive to ABC's would-be advertisers: ""Every year we lie to you and every year you come back for more. You don't need an upfront. You need therapy. We completely lie to you, and then you pass those lies onto your clients."
And, as he left the stage, he piped up with, "I think all our shows are going to work this year. I really do. I don't, really. The important thing to remember is: Who cares? It's not your money."
Evidently, Kimmel doesn't care too much about his bosses or his job at ABC. Maybe he thinks he's untouchable atop the network's after hours line-up.
Whatever the real reason for his outburst might be, Kimmel either needs to blame the cocktails he might've downed before his monologue or mix up a fresh batch to ease the pain of ABC's retribution.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-20-2009 @ 9:01AM
Freak Mojo said...
Really? You went so far as to call him "gifted?"
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5-20-2009 @ 9:08AM
Gill said...
I assume there was something more in his tone that made required this post? I see nothing in the text of those quotes that seem that far out of line with what a comedian would say. It may not be the funniest of jokes but its about on par with the level of insider unfunny that you'd find at awards shows and other "industry" functions.
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5-20-2009 @ 9:10AM
Jimmy said...
Awesome. Just ... awesome.
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5-20-2009 @ 9:51AM
Michael said...
I thought the best line of all was “NBC got such a head start, they’ve already had time to cancel half their schedule.” Truer words were never spoken... I freaking HATE how NBC keeps canceling my fave shows!
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5-20-2009 @ 10:32AM
cdawg said...
David Letterman does the same stuff all the time - he always rips on CBS. no big deal... definitely funny.
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5-20-2009 @ 10:49AM
rick cokely said...
Stephen Colbert, Wanda Sykes, Jimmy Kimmel etc... I guess comedians are supposed to just tell knock-knock jokes in hopes of not offending anyone.
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5-20-2009 @ 5:36PM
quadraphonic said...
He's a self-serving prat.. I'm surprised his inflated head hasn't knocked that chip off his shoulder yet. Kimmel was, is, and always will be second rate. I'd love to see ABC drop the hammer on this DB.
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5-20-2009 @ 5:47PM
JBob said...
The thing about claiming him to be self serving is odd. If that were the case, he would try to become a posterboy for ABC and rake in the millions. If anything, this attitude of speaking out for how he feels could end his career! If he's actually being mistreated and mishandled by his network, I say good for him for speaking out. We've all been there with our respective bosses... he's just got an entire country being critical of him and the stakes are much higher.
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5-21-2009 @ 3:35AM
Mills said...
I'm curious if you actually saw the clip of Kimmel at the upfronts, or if you're just basing this post entirely off of that NYT article, cause if there's one place to count on to understand some decent & edgy humor.... it's the NYT.
Granted about 30% of his material falls flat, but the quotes you mentioned above (which, by the way, are out of context without mentioning what lies he's talking about) get some decent belly laughs. But, that's how his monologue is every night, mostly hacky Paris Hilton/Paula Abdul/Lindsay Lohan/Octomom/etc. stuff with a few really funny, edgy jokes every now and then.
Here's the clip of it (while it lasts, I'm betting it gets pulled down soon) in case anyone is interested in watching it for themselves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCVWFp3if5E
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