Last night FOX aired Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, and they're getting a little heat about it today. They re-enacted a scene from a Family Guy episode that made fun of deaf actress Marlee Matlin. Then they took it a step further and had Alex Borstein imitate Matlin singing a pop song. No worries though, since Matlin was there to defend herself.
Me? I thought it was funny.
Did Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show go too far?
Posted Nov 9th 2009 5:00PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Video, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Tags: alex borstein, deaf actress, family guy, fox, marlee matlin, seth and alexs almost live comedy show, seth macfarlane
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-09-2009 @ 5:44PM
Tim Mahoney said...
Who's giving the heat? The uptight A** Brigade? They need to get over it, and learn to laugh.
Reply
11-09-2009 @ 6:06PM
wulfn1 said...
GAWD! that was just too funny! Now I'm mad I missed the show.
Reply
11-09-2009 @ 6:09PM
Ryan said...
Actually this was the point where I changed the channel.
Mainly cause I didn't think the joke was strong enough to sustain a full song, nor is Marlee Matlin well known enough by name, and it was was in pretty bad taste.
I may be bias cause I've always liked Marlee Matlin. I don't think she sounds anywhere as bad as they portrayed her. Felt like someone doing a bad impression for 5 minutes.
Reply
11-09-2009 @ 6:27PM
Liz G said...
I am a huge fan of Family Guy but thought the whole show REEKED. It just isn't as funny non-animated...
Reply
11-09-2009 @ 6:49PM
Master Cylinder said...
It was not good. They write cartoons, not variety shows. The bit with Alex singing Adelweiss with Seth after she criticized him for it would have worked in animation with a snap cut, but in live action it was lame.
Incorporating movie trailers into the show was repulsive.
Reply
11-09-2009 @ 6:58PM
Jay said...
Alex Bornstein is a real performer, I do find her funny.
Paired with Seth MacFarlane, however, it may not be comedy gold.
Reply
11-09-2009 @ 9:36PM
jimbo said...
I must admit that I did cringe when they did this, and I can usually handle off-color humor, but this came out of left field and thank goodness marlee was in on it, otherwise it would have been in incredibly poor taste!
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the show overall, not a classic, but definitely better than any Simpsons episode.
Reply
11-09-2009 @ 11:01PM
wulfn1 said...
do you REALLY think they would have ever done a sketch like that without first consulting the artist they were planning to lampoon?
And REALLY what's the difference (knowing she knew) between impersonating her, or impersonating any other actor/actress in the world? Hell, they do impersonations of Stevie Wonder all the time... but THAT'S ok because he can't SEE it?! Please get off the damned high horse and LOOK at what you are being so upset over.
11-10-2009 @ 2:19AM
tingrin87 said...
"you want to learn some sign language?"
"uh, sure, thanks"
"F*** you!"
11-09-2009 @ 10:23PM
Scott H said...
I thought it was the biggest disaster on TV since the "Star Wars Christmas Special". I'm a huge "Family Guy" fan, and found absolutely none of this live show funny. The only slightly entertaining part was at the end, when they sang original songs from FG episodes.
Otherwise it seemed like the whole point was to say the most outrageous stuff possible. Jokes that work when animated characters do them just come across as repugnant when you're watching a real human being say them.
It felt like a warped "Donny and Marie" show. Stilted scripted jokes, interspersed with awkward singing. I'm guessing that Seth's next contract with Fox will be for millions less, and this "special" will be the reason.
Reply
11-09-2009 @ 11:36PM
Jason said...
Ok, so you ask if they went too far in the headline, and then say it was all ok in the article. Hunting for hits are we? Personally, I thought the impression went on a tad too long (in typical Family Guy fashion), but Matlin showing up made it amazing.
Reply
11-10-2009 @ 1:36AM
jimbo said...
WULFN1:
Dude, you sound more upset than me, and I wasnt really upset at all.
You need to get laid with a real chick, and give that doll of yours a rest!
Reply
11-10-2009 @ 4:15PM
wulfn1 said...
funny. But off by a mile.
11-10-2009 @ 8:59AM
Martin said...
At first I thought yeah this is pretty bad and going on too long, but then Matlin came out and pretty much made it worth it. It wasn't the best half hour ever, but it wasn't the worst, and they really didn't go anywhere near too far considering the one joke that seemed tasteless actually had Matlin as part of it.
Reply
11-10-2009 @ 10:32AM
turaho said...
Seemed like a fairly typical Family Guy bit--the joke had promise but the execution was obvious and went on for far too long. Typical of that half-written Dane Cook school of comedy where all you do is think up a funny premise and don't bother writing any actual jokes to go with it.
Reply
11-10-2009 @ 11:59AM
Fort Griffen said...
When does the funny stuff start?
Reply
11-10-2009 @ 2:22PM
Leroy said...
Why do so many people who seem to think Seth M. is the devil incarnate and the least funny man on the planet feel it necessary to watch all of his shows and post nasty comments to every TV Squad article about him? Doesn't that make you complicit in keeping his "awful" shows on the air?
Reply