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Comedy Central is gearing up for its second "Comedy Central Test Pilots" competition, a contest that allows amateur comedic filmmakers to create their own series for inclusion on Comedy Central's Motherload broadband site, and for the chance to have their series included on the upcoming late night showcase Web Shows.

Submissions will be accepted starting June 1 through July 10. Last year, a sparsely-animated series called "Awesome Friends" won the competition, which I found somewhat surprising since I didn't find that particular series all that funny. Apparently, though, other people did, which completely challenged my theory that everyone thinks exactly the same way I do. I'm just now coming to terms with this.

Anyway, the first round of winners will be chosen by a panel of judges and shown on both Comedy Central's site and on AtomFilms. The final winner, however, will be decided on by regular ol' online viewers like you and me.

Previously I mentioned a new Web series for Comedy Central's Motherload site called "Crash Course in Comedy." Well, the first couple lessons from comedian Ted Alexandro are up with more to follow over the next month.

These new webisodes are somewhat different than other offerings on Motherload, as amateur comedians can actually upload their own performances to demonstrate what they've learned from the online instructions. In theory, I suppose it's an interesting idea, but the segments suffer from a kind of schizophrenia by trying to be both funny and informative at the same time. I'm not a comedian, but I think most established comedians would tell you that stand-up comedy, or any kind of comedy, isn't something that can be taught. One either has a knack for it, or they don't, and no amount of lessons are going to turn you into Steve Martin anymore than piano sheet music will turn you into Beethoven. The only thing that can turn you into Beethoven is a "spirit meld" orchestrated by a mystical wizard; I think everyone knows that.

Check out one of the first lessons after the jump.

Quick, name me five Middle Eastern comedians. Heck, name me one. Maybe you can think of some, but I can't. Hopefully that'll change after I watch The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour.

The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, is a concert film featuring four comedians of Middle Eastern descent, and will have its TV premiere tonight at 10:00 p.m. on Comedy Central.

Comedians featured in the special include Maz Jobrani (The Knights of Prosperity), Ahmed Ahmed, Aron Kader and Dean Obeidallah. If you want a taste of some of these comedians, check out webisdoes of The Watch List over on Comedy Central's Motherload site, which features clips from the sets of various Middle Eastern comedians, plus sketches.

The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour will also re-air on March 13 at 10:00 p.m., and on March 14 at midnight.

Just over a month after Comedy Central launched a slew of new web-only series for its Motherload site, the cable network is putting together a new TV series featuring clips from the web site as well as Viacom-owned AtomFilms.

Web Shows will hardly be a high profile program at launch, with a 2:00AM time slot. The program is set to premiere on March 6th, with 6 episodes scheduled so far.

Some of the programs that will make the jump from Motherload to TV include Baxter & Maguire, an animated short featuring a pair of testicles, Balloon Heads, a celebrity mocking show, I Love the 30s, a spoof of VH1's various countdown shows, and Tiny Hands, a program about a guy with... get this, tiny hands.

The best television programming out there isn't on TV. It's on VBS. Alright, that's a bit of an overstatement, but Vice Magazine's VBS broadband channel, which is currently in beta, is into overstatements. With director Spike Jonze as its creative director, VBS has set out to "rescue you from television's deathlike grip" and "exploit every Utopian vision the internet has thus far failed to live up to." Big words from a little network, but so far, they're kicking broadband ass and taking names.

The network is a heady, hipster mix of politics, fun and music. Some of the best programming so far - Heavy Metal in Baghdad, a five-part series in which the filmmakers search for Baghdad's only heavy metal band Acrassicauda. The short series presents a unique take on civilian life in Iraq. Soft Focus - former Nation of Ulysses and Make-Up frontman Ian Svenonius interviews musicians like Chan Marshall, Will Oldham and Ian Mackaye. Dos and Don'ts and Friends - alternative comics and other off-kilter folks hold forth on still images of sexy, sexy people doing sexy, sexy things.

Not too long ago I mentioned that some new series would soon be popping up on Comedy Central's Motherload site. A couple of these series have already debuted, and I have to say, I'm not exactly floored by what I've seen so far. Granted, it's hard to justify spending too much money and energy on a Web-only series that might not be seen by that many people, but Motherload still managed to provide some really smart and funny shows, like "I Love the '30s," "All Access: Middle Ages" and Jon Glaser's "Tiny Hands."

One of the newest series to hit the broadband player is "Guacamole," from comedians Michael Blieden and Matt Price. I don't think anyone has ever created a show about a tub of guacamole and a can of minestone soup, but to be honest, I'm a little torn about this one. I like both the comedians involved, and there are some funny bits, but the premise of inanimate objects talking and living like normal people doesn't seem all that original. I'm either going to get bored with watching food "talking", or it's totally going to win me over.

Yesterday I mentioned that Comedy Central's Motherload site was gearing up for more new Web-only programming, and now I actually have a full list of all the show's slated for the site.

The one that caught my eye was "Stephen and Steven," an animated series from Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim of Tom Goes to the Mayor and the upcoming Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. The series will focus on Siamese twins who are attached at the groin and love online dating. Yeah, that pretty much sounds like Tim and Eric.

ComedyCentral.com's online video section, the MotherLoad, has always been a source of frustration. The clips don't always work and, when they do, they usually take forever to load. Of course, Mac users didn't have to deal with those troubles, because, well, the MotherLoad isn't Mac-friendly. So, most users turned to YouTube to get their fill of Comedy Central goodies... and they -- by "they", I mean "we" -- were horrified when a majority of the channel's content started disappearing from the site.

Folks, finally, some good news is here. Comedy Central is planning on giving a make-over to their site, including a revamp on the MotherLoad feature. The new player will be Flash-based and more friendly towards users with Macs, older PCs, or pop-up blockers. In a strange sort of way, I'm disgusted by how excited I am about this.

A few TVS readers have pinged us on this, in a kind of ear-flicking fashion that, while annoying, at least gets our attention (I'm talking to you, Jim):

After Comedy Central asked that clips of their shows be pulled from YouTube, many of them came back. It turns out that CC only wanted longer clips and full episodes pulled. And it turns out they did that for good reason: full episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are now available on CC's broadband video channel MotherLoad. Each episode's four segments are offered as separate video streams, but they're organized by show and episode on the slection panel to the right of the video screen, so going from one segment to the other should be pretty easy (the player will likely just move to the next segment automatically).

Not sure how long this is going to stick around, but if you miss the 50 reruns of TDS/Colbert that CC usually shows the next day, you can at least watch it at MotherLoad.

If you haven't been checking in on Comedy Central's Motherload broadband site, you really should, because there's some great original programming on there in addition to the clips and previews of the network's television shows. I'm not so sure I can recommend the two new additions, one of which, "Good God," launched today. "Good God" imagines Heaven as an office where God and his angels figure out how to keep the universe running smoothly. If you like your comedy bland and unoriginal, then by all means, pop on over and check it out. All the modern TV cliches are there: the nervous office geek everyone makes fun of, the hot chick with personal problems, a boss (God) who says wildly inappropriate things, and one black guy (The Angel of Death) who talks about his dick and lusts after white women.

"Baxter and McGuire," and animated series created by comedian Nick Bakay and King of Queens creator Michael J. Weithorn, features Bakay and comedian Dana Gould as the voices of two testicles. That may sound stupid, and it is, and it may sound like a premise that will get old quickly, and it will, but between "Good God" and a pair of chatty testicles, the babbling balls are the better show.

Anna mentioned back in June that Comedy Central would be airing another Roast this month, in honor of actor William Shatner. The show is taping this Sunday and will air on Comedy Central on August 20 at 10 pm. Jason Alexander will be Roast Master, and viewers will be able to visit Comedy Central's Motherload broadband video site to see uncensored clips from the episode. You can also visit the site before that, August 11 to be exact, and watch uncensored clips from previous Roasts, including Pam Anderson's, which was somewhat raunchy even when it was censored, thanks to a drunken Courtney Love and a top worn by Anderson that might as well have been made of Saran Wrap. I'm not sure if Shatner will be wearing something similar, but he should.

Sick of all the summer reruns? Tired of watching old Mighty Mouse clips on YouTube? Well, if you're looking for a few chuckles I encourage you to check out the series Tiny Hands over on Comedy Central's Motherload site. The shorts were created by and star comedian and writer Jon Glaser (Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Stroker and Hoop) as Dave Gordon, a man who is perfectly normal except for the fact that he has teeny little baby doll hands. Despite this handicap, he still manages to woo the ladies and even win fist fights. The shorts feature other great comedians including David Cross, Nick Swardson, and Jon Benjamin. You can also find the show on YouTube. I stuck an episode after the jump for your viewing pleasure. In this one, David Cross plays a sales clerk who tries to discriminating against Gordon, but our tiny-handed man still comes out on top.

Comedy Central is launching Test Pilots, an online competition in which people can submit one to five minute shows with the grand prize being a development deal to produce the series for Comedy Central's "Motherload" broadband site. Comedy Central is doing the contest in collaboration with IFILM, which was bought by parent company MTV Networks back in October. Rather than simply having the work judged by Comedy Central, three new pilots will be shown each week for viewers to vote on. Once four finalists have been chosen the grand prize winner will be picked by a panel of Comedy Central judges. Submissions are being accepted from May 22 to August 24, so if you have any ideas, whether it be live-action, animated, or whatever, go check out the details.

[via Lost Remote]

Comedy Central has put a 'best of' Chef compilation of clips on the Motherload section of its website. If you're wondering why, read this and this. I'm assuming it includes the classic "Chocolate Salty Balls" song, but I can only speculate because Comedy Central's website doesn't like my Mac. Grrr.

Speaking of Chef and Scientology and all things wacky... South Park fans have launched a campaign to boycott this summer's release of Mission: Impossible III, starring Tom Cruise.

[Via Pop Candy]