TVSquad

No matter what the context or setting -- whether he's hosting TV shows like "National Lampoon's Funny Money" on the Game Show Network, performing stand-up comedy on "The Tonight Show," starring in his own half-hour special on Comedy Central or countless other TV appearances, Pardo's work is not only highlighted by a wonderfully expressive mug, but you could be excused for thinking he invented The Deadpan Expression, The Arched-Eyebrow Look Of Disdain, The Are-You-F**king-Kidding-Me Wide-Eyed Expression, or the Grin of Real (or Feigned) Surprise, among others. We need to point out that, while some of these facial masterpieces are presented in response to things a contestant, guest or audience member has said, sometimes Pardo is reacting to things he himself says!

1. Where were you born?
I was born on the south side of Chicago... that's the baddest part of town.

(S04E01) A couple of things about Last Comic Standing has always bugged me a little bit: 1) Even in the later rounds of the show, they don't show nearly enough of a comedian's routine for the audience to get a good feel for what he or she can do, and 2) Half the people who get picked to move on are selected not as much for their comedic talents but for their backstories. That feeling hasn't changed in Season 4, the first time LCS has aired since it's ill-conceived "Season 1 vs. Season 2" year ended with a whimper in December 2004.

This time around, we're back to the usual format, opening with a two-hour show where talent scouts Ross Mark and Bob Read comb the country for candidates to take to the semi-finals in L.A. They went to L.A., Tempe, Austin, New York, Chicago and Miami, auditioning what was considered the city's "best" -- and worst -- stand-ups. What struck me about the audition phase this year is how they decided to not show as many bad comedians as they had in the past, instead concentrating on maybe a half-dozen good comedians who happened to have nice back stories to tell.