standup comics-related stories
Posted Jan 12th 2009 7:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Celebrities, Documentary, Reality-Free
"B as in bandits. Who rob. And what do they rob you of? Logs. A blog is something that's contagious. It festers here and it eats away at the planet."That's Amy Sedaris, explaining what blogs are. She's part of the new, six-part PBS documentary
Make 'Em Laugh, which starts airing Wednesday night at 8pm (you can also buy the DVD in stores tomorrow). Amy not only explains the blogs, she also tells us what the internet is in general (like a big cave you drive out of). And "vlog" comes from the Latin for "head cheese."
This portion of the show is after the jump. Looks like PBS/WNET is going the VH-1 route and getting all hip with this documentary, having various experts on comedy sit off to the side of the screen, talking about comedy and making funny remarks, a la
I Love The 80s or...well, 22 other shows.This looks like a fun documentary though. Besides Sedaris we'll hear from people like Dick Van Dyke, George Carlin, Carol Burnett, Chris Rock, Will Ferrell, Sid Caesar, Richard Belzer, Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr, Billy Crystal, Michael McKean, and others. They're also going to feature many online humor, including
College Humor,
Funny Or Die, and
zefrank.
Continue reading Amy Sedaris explains blogs - VIDEO
Posted Jul 11th 2007 10:02AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Web, Celebrities, Game Show

There's a funny
post by Ken Levine over at his blog. He talks about how it seems that the goal of standup comics now is to host a game show. Think about it. Howie Mandel, Bob Saget, Jeff Foxworthy, Drew Carey. They've all gone from having sitcoms and dramas and doing standup to hosting network game shows like
Deal Or No Deal and
Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader. Ken wants sitcoms to make a big comeback, so the talents of comics can truly be showcased and not put into that game show personality machine that either makes them annoying or (even worse) lame and bland.
But what if Sam Kinison had hosted a game show? After the jump, Ken's very NSFW scene from a Kinison-hosted show.
Continue reading What if Sam Kinison had hosted a game show?
Posted May 3rd 2007 1:39PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Celebrities, Talk Show
Back in January, comedian George Lopez went on WOMX and told hosts Scott and Eric that Jay Leno is "the biggest two-faced dude on TV," "one of the worst interviewers on TV," and a "backstabber." So when Leno saw Lopez at The Laugh Factory's salute to Richard Jeni (who committed suicide earlier this year), he wanted to bury the hatchet with him. The two started talking, and Leno wanted to find out why he said those things.
One problem: it wasn't George Lopez, it was Paul Rodriguez!
As if that's not embarrassing enough (Leno has known Rodriguez for 30 years!), but Leno's explanations were lame too. First he said he didn't have his contacts in, and then he said he was confused because he was upset over Jeni's death.
Ouch.
Posted Apr 12th 2007 8:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Web, Celebrities, Talk Show
You can watch several episodes of the TV Land talk show Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg right at the TV Land web site (full episodes from the second season and highlights of the first). Steinberg has interviewed everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to Bob Newhart, but the show that I'd like to talk about is the one where he interviews Daily Show host Jon Stewart. It's actually one of the best interviews with Stewart I've ever seen.
Continue reading Jon Stewart talks about drugs, Petticoat Junction and eating lightbulbs
Posted May 10th 2006 5:48PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, NBC, TV Royalty, Talent, Music and Variety, Celebrities
American Idol mastermind Simon Cowell has grabbed
Regis Philbin to host his new talent show
America's Got Talent, which NBC probably hopes will be its own
Idol.
America's Got Talent won't be just singers though. There will also be dancers and jugglers and standup comics and everything in between. The first prize will be $1 million. The show starts on June 21 with a two hour special, then settles into its regular Wednesday time slot.
Wow, you know how the auditions for
AI can be hideous. Can you imagine how awful some of the standup comics are going to be?
[via
TV Tattle]