TVSquad

Do you like comedy? Sure, we all do. If you especially like your comedy in written and audio form, these two news items should have you clapping your hands and doing the happy dance:

First, that Comedy Death Ray CD I mentioned earlier will be out on September 12. The 150-minute CD, comprised of sets recorded during the all-night fourth anniversary Comedy Death Ray show at the UCB theater and sets from the SF Sketchfest, will feature such comedians as Patton Oswalt (King of Queens, Comedians of Comedy), Maria Bamford (Comedians of Comedy), David Cross (Mr. Show, Arrested Development), Paul F. Tompkins (Mr. Show, Best Week Ever), Doug Benson (Best Week Ever, Last Comic Standing), Brian Posehn (Mr. Show, Comedians of Comedy, Just Shoot Me, The Sarah Silverman Program), Neil Hamburger (Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job), and many more.

Do a search for my name on this blog and it becomes clear I have a nerdish obsession with animation. One of the things I love so much about it is that there are no boundaries whatsoever: a character can swallow a fork, get shot in the face, and decapitated by helicopter blades and still bounce back as if nothing happened. The only person in real life who could do that is Jesus Christ, and even He needed to rest for a few days afterward.

Most folks probably know comedian Patton Oswalt as Spence on the recently-departed King of Queens, but us comedy fans have known him for even longer as a very funny man who stands up and does comedy. He was the mastermind behind the Comedians of Comedy tour, and he's done voice work for a few Adult Swim series, including Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Also, he plays the lead role in the upcoming Pixar flick, Ratatouille.

Soon, Larry the Cable Guy will be as synonymous with Christmas as Frosty and Rudolph.

Okay, perhaps not, but the redneck comedian is hosting a Christmas special on VH1 this year. Mr. Cable Guy will co-executive produce the musical/comedy special, a twisted take on the old Andy Williams Christmas specials. In fact, one of the musical guests they hope to get is Andy Williams himself. Hint: check Branson, MO.

I'll admit I've never been a fan of Larry the Cable Guy, though I certainly don't fault anyone who can find success with whatever brand of comedy they choose. Still, a Larry the Cable Guy Christmas special with guests like Andy Williams and Tony Orlando makes me wonder exactly what the demographic VH1 is going for these days. Whatever it is, I'm not it.

The special will most likely air sometime in early December. It tapes in Las Vegas this August.

The third annual Comedy Festival in Las Vegas, which is presented by HBO and sponsored by TBS, kicks off November 14 and runs through November 17. This year, the event is being co-headlined by Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock.

Currently, the only other comedians listed on the site are Nick Swardson and Jamie Kennedy, but one assumes that, given the insane number of comedians who performed over the last couple of years (Dane Cook, Roseanne Barr, Louis C.K., Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Dave Atell, Sarah Silverman, Don Rickles, Bob Saget and others), we'l' be seeing more comedians added to the event. We do have until November, after all.

At least one special has sprung up via the Comedy Festival. TBS aired Earth to America! a comedic special about global warming that opened the festival in 2005.

This link is NOT SAFE FOR WORK. Notice I didn't use the standard internet abbreviation "NSFW," because I didn't want some benighted person in an office thinking, "'Not Suitable For Winger?' That has nothing to do with me, I was never in that band, and I don't even like the song 'Seventeen.' Everything about that acronym tells me to click that link."

Ricky Gervais is a funny man, but you guys already know that. If you want to see him perform his stand up live, he'll be at the High Line Festival in New York City in May, so get your tickets. It looks as if they range in price from $46.00 to $66.00, which really isn't too bad.

This year's festival is curated by David Bowie and also features bands including Deerhoof, Arcade Fire, Air, and others. So if you like funny British people and hip indie bands you'll want to find the nearest car, knock out the owner, and drive that stolen car straight to New York City. Just don't drive too far or you'll end up in the ocean. Or something.

If you can't make it to see Gervais perform, you can always watch the hilarious clip I placed below from Gervais' stage show in which he explains Creationism to his audience. It's both funny and enlightening.

(S02E18) This wasn't the funniest episode of Everybody Hates Chris, but I did like how it explored the dynamic between Chris and his father.

Kurt Vonnegut once told McSweeneys that a male writer should never write about his father: "you learn about life by the accidents you have, over and over again, and your father is always in your head when that stuff happens."

I understand, I really do. You have a favorite actor, comedian, musician, porn star or whatever, and one night you actually find yourself face to face with them. Maybe it's after a show, maybe it's an autograph signing, or maybe you both happen to be looking at cookbooks at Target. You don't want to pass up this opportunity to meet someone who has provided you with years of entertainment, so what do you do?

I have to admit I hadn't paid much attention to the work of comedian Richard Jeni over the last few years, but when I was in middle school and his specials aired on Showtime, I thought he was one of the most hysterical comedians I had ever seen. This equation of his is one I still quote from time to time:

'God is love. Love is blind. Therefore, Ray Charles is God.'

That makes perfect sense to me, but what's always a little more difficult to figure out is why a person would take their own life. According to Jeni's family, who released a statement saying Jeni's career was going fine and that they believe his death was probably a suicide, spurred by Jeni's having been "diagnosed with severe clinical depression coupled with bouts of psychotic paranoia." No official announcement from the autopsy has been made yet.

You can read the full statement on Jeni's official site.