Filed Under Improv, Live Events
This past Saturday’s Aristocontest was another great show. Thanks again to comics Roger Hailes, Jack Kukoda, second timer Joe Lipari, Seth Herzog and winner Kurt Braunohler, whose rendition of the Aristocrats act as an autopsy report was completely inspired. Thanks again to PIT Aristic Director and Elephant Larry-ite Alex Zalben, who organizes the whole thing including me. Go see Elephant Larry’s sketch show BOOM!
Filed Under Sitcom, Sketch Comedy
Comedy Central announced what they’re working on for 2006 (or rather, in some ways, who they’re working with). Some of the ideas sound like they’ll fall with a resounding thud (I liked Jackass, but I got all I need of “Wee-Man"), but overall there’s a lot of great potential in here. With network comedy only starting to rally back with “My Name is Earl” and “Everybody Hates Chris” and other basic cable nets failing to launch anything else comparable (or even attempting to), Comedy Central has a near monopoly on funny (save for HBO). It’s nice to see that it’s not making them lazy. Even better is they’re braving into more and more narrative comedy, a territory the networks seem to have surrendered until recently.
Highlights for me, are, of course, David Cross and Jon Benjamin teaming up for an animated series called “Freak Show” who the freaks double as superheroes. The superhero parody bit would seem mined thoroughly (in both senses), but when one of the Freaks is a Log Cabin Republican and the talent is this good, I can’t wait.
Lewis Black‘s “Red State Diaries” is a fantastic idea - him exploring the realities of what supposedly is homogenous ultra-religious territory. It’s almost Insomniac sober and with a social conscience (well maybe not too sober). I imagine Lewis is far less explosive in real life, so it should be interesting to see another dimension to the comic. I wonder if, much like the soon to premiere Colbert Report, this will keep his rants from appearing on the Daily Show.
Mike Birbiglia has a script deal for a show based on his life, including his “jealous brother.” Mike’s insanely funny with this bizarre sense of innocence that can’t be entirely true. I actually used to work with his brother Joe, so I know there’s a lot to draw from here (but knowing Joe, any jealousy is very good natured). The show’s title is “My Secret Public Journal”, based on a radio feature that you can listen to here. The first one dated 9/13 talks about the aforementioned brother.
Another script deal is with Stella’s David Wain for “Teacher’s Lounge,” a show about alcoholic, sex addict school teachers that sounded a bit like the lost and lamented Strangers with Candy. (There’s plenty of people still angry about that cancellation.) That gut reaction is assuaged by the video the idea might be based on (which can be viewed right here). The tone is definitely distinct and far more real, staying away from the surreal tone Strangers often took.
There’s alot more there including the anime parody “Ghost Foot”, Nick Di Paolo mea-culpaish “Culture Clash” and Nick Swardson in the Adam Sandler produced ”Gay Robot.” Full press release after the jump.
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Filed Under Sitcom
I’m not a Will & Grace viewer, but my lady is. But the computer is within DVR range for me to get curious enough about this year’s premiere stunt - the live broadcast. I agree with others - the screwups were the best part. Seeing actors restrain laughter can be pretty damn entertaining. But the thing that struck me the most is for a form that’s all about artificial laughter, the sitcom seems to have some sort of iron clad rule against actors making any themselves.
You have characters often times saying things that are trying to get a laugh, it’s incredible that the other characters don’t respond in kind. I don’t really remember any of the other Friends laughing once at a joke Chandler made, even though he was supposedly the funny one among them. I’m sure I’ve seen characters laugh before, but it’s usually a plot point ("Promise you won’t laugh!” “I won’t. I swear!” Character reveals costume/hair/disfiguring injury. “Bwa-Ha-ha!") or so intensely artificial that it’s cheesy (as satirized at the end of every episode of Police Squad).
My hardest - and I believe viewers’ hardest (since I am egotistical enough to think everyone is exactly like me) - problem with sitcom is their absence of connection to any sort of reality - where supposed friends can say mean things without consequences, obstacles are solved in a half hour, and everything glides in the predictable rhythm of setup-punch-punch. Keeping characters from appearing to enjoy one another’s jokes might just be another sign of the sitcom needing a little reality.
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Filed Under Funny 2.0
Don’t put too much stock into online personality tests, but one, a 3 Variable Funny Test, was impressive. Very well constructed by someone who gets what makes particular kinds of people laugh. The three axes it grades on are Clean/Vulgar, Light/Dark and Spontaneous/Complex - the later being why I was judged to be “The Wit” (more complex) and my fiancee “The Cutting Edge” (more spontaneous). There’s some smart distinctions in the test that are often quite hilarious themselves (well, depending on your type I suppose). One answer to a question on enjoyment of the Onion is labeled “I did, but I don’t.” Good stuff. Take it and post your results in the comments section.
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Filed Under Sketch Comedy
Interesting articles on comedy is this week’s New York magazine. I’ll have many more comments tomorrow, but one quote from Lorne Michaels caught my eye (possibly because it indirectly crucifies my blog, as if the quote top right isn’t enough of a warning that I’m wasting my time). He says:
“I don’t want to get into any theoretical ideas about comedy. Anybody who talks about comedy for more than two minutes is not funny.”
Of course, I remembered the seminal book on SNL, the far too long out of print Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live
He analyzed comedy endlessly, theorizing, with an acid head’s attention to the underlying dynamics of it all, about what worked, what didn’t, and why. One of his favorite themes was the expressionistic barrnness of the old Honeymooners set; later he would become an advocate of realism, saying that humor derived from the one off-center element in a setting of absolute normality.”
Guess you weren’t too funny in ‘75 huh, Lorne?
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Filed Under Stand-Up Comedy
In an act that’ll send thousands of fledgling comics to the front rows of their favorite stand-up’s shows, last weekend Dave Chappelle tapped a young audience member and stand-up of six months to be his opening act at the Pittsburgh Improv. Clyde Toledano was found by Chappelle while he was conversing with the audience. Toledano asked Chappelle to sign his joke notebook, which brought cheers from the audience to read it. Chappelle didn’t want to embarass Toledano as he had once been, but was inspired to have Toledano open for him right there.
It all sounds too good to be true, as some on aspecialthing have mentioned. But with Toledano’s blog offering copious evidence and online new sources corroborating, it’s pretty obvious that Chappelle’s not only funny, but incredibly nice. Toledano entitled one of his blog entries featuring a photo of him and Chappelle, ” Life Begins To Suck From Here.” With a chance like this, let’s hope not.
Hmm… maybe Chappelle could pick someone to do a third season of his show this way. Aspiring comics, if you want to open for Chappelle, try these dates:
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Filed Under Improv, Live Events
This past Saturday, the People’s Improv Theater and this site held our first Aristocontent, an evening of the filthiest joke told over and over again. Even with the joke told in a variety of differing ways (in song, as political satire and a tagteam telling featuring one player censoring the other), I had to admit I was a little worried people would be sick of it after a while. But the show went for an hour and forty five minutes and I didn’t detect any audience fatigue at all.
Thanks to all the participants: Andres du Bouchet (read his version), Joe Lipari, Shayna Ferm and Katherine Bryant from Fearsome, the sketch group Meat, Bob Powers (whose telling made me a little sick), Nate Kushner and PIT founder’s Ali Farahnakian who naturally segued into his version, casting himself as the agent.
Many thanks especially to Alex Zalben from Elephant Larry (who you should see if you haven’t yet), who came to me with the idea. So much fun. We’re talking about doing another one mid October. Watch this space or the Aristocrats Joke Database for more details.
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Onion local print editions in trouble? Rex Sorgatz shares a rumor that some of the humor paper's city editions are underperforming and may be shut down.
Zach Galifianakis: 5 Reasons to Care courtesy of Patton Oswalt and 5 Reasons to Not Care courtesy of David Cross. Now, you decide.
New Releases for 8/26: in books, Simon Rich's "Free-Range Chickens"
Big re-release week for comedy albums today with CDs for Blue Brothers "Briefcase Full of Blues"
Tom Smothers on his landmark satirical comedy hour: "...the funny thing was that I didn’t know that we were saying…that the show was saying anything important…until they said, 'You can’t say it.' And I said, 'Well, that must be important!'" (Bullz-Eye)
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