October282005
Filed Under Funny 2.0
Remerging for the first time since 2001, comedy.com is attempting a revitalization with a vanity e-mail program. Many might already be happy with their gmail or yahoo mail, but I can see where many an aspiring stand-up, sketch group or a humorist might want an address that ends with comedy.com, if only to mark themselves as belonging to the industry before anyone reads a line of their e-mail. Another big selling point of the service is that its completely ad free. As an introduction, comedy.com has set the price of the service at $19.95 for a year for a limited time.
The site still hosts a large number of comedian profiles and a joke database. I’ve been told that if visitors respond to the e-mail service, the comedy.com team will make more original content for the web. Interested? You can sign up here.
October242005
Filed Under Stand-Up Comedy
This past Friday, stand-up Christian Finnegan nearly got beaten up by a drunk marine during his show at the Stardome theater in Birmingham, Alabama. He recaps all the details in his blog posting about the incident. The staff, including the eight it took to drag the guy outside, were great according to Christian’s account, having already cut the guy off from any alcohol prior to the incident and swooping in very quickly when he did make a move to the stage.
Despite the two empty bottles of vodka on the floor of the drunk’s car, Christian takes the ass-kicking attempt a little bit to heart, talking about how he’s been modulating material for other areas of the country to establish himself as a headliner. He states that he had already “de-balled” his set prior to the show, although he did do a bit about America being a bully. Christian concludes that wasn’t what set the guy off, but rather that he just screams “Yankee Faggot.” Comics… always focusing on the one person not laughing. Or the one trying to punch them in the face.
Christian has one great point: that avoiding beatings from the inebriated few and proud isn’t a mark of indie cred. He’s actively trying to entertain the rest of the country that isn’t below 14th St. in Manhattan. All self-deprecating references to becoming a hack aside, I think what Christian’s working on is exactly what makes a great comic… finding the common points in any audience that can bring them into your own voice. I hope he won’t think of himself as politically or culturally neutered for long.
In the meantime, if you’re a member of the armed services, here’s a schedule of Christian Finnegan’s next performances.
October192005
Filed Under Sitcom
The PTC has released their annual list of ten best and worst shows for families (though they cheat a little bit and only pick nine best… I guess it isn’t wrong to teach our children to quit before finishing a task). If you count Desperate Housewives, seven comedies litter the worst list (as it should be). I don’t really want to bitch about these to much. The PTC has some weak reasons for hating all of them, including claiming Family Guy and American Dad are pushed as family shows. Fox advises “Viewer Discretion” in every promo for the pair. The only rationale I can see for this PTC complaint is the words “Family” and “Dad” in the titles. But really, I’m just glad someone’s watching Arrested Development (#9 on the Worst list), even if they’re doing it while frantically scrawling what’s offending them.
More fascinating however is the PTC praising Everybody Hates Chris as a good family show. I’m not saying it isn’t, it’s just a far harder edged show that I would expect the PTC to like (maybe they were stretching to find nine). Of course, the PTC loves how in the pilot episode that the children are obediently being quiet so that their father can get some rest. Kids being good and respectful… it’s always comedy gold. It’s possible for a show to be funny and family-friendly, but some of the families the PTC prefers to see aren’t ones I would want to grow up or raise.
Filed Under Sketch Comedy
Former SNL cast member Charles Rocket committed suicide on October 7th. Though I don’t really have much awareness of his work, I feel sorry if only because I was one of many people who made fun of his bad SNL experience (albeit in a silly headline on a semi-obscure blog). I doubt his time at SNL contributed to his decision to take his own life… he had years to get over not being the next Chevy (as he and SNL Producer-at-the-time Jean Doumanian fully expected to). But it had to suck that no matter what you did, obituaries everywhere would lead with you being the guy who got fired for saying the word “fuck” on live TV. A far more generous and deserving obituary appeared in the Providence Phoenix. (As an aside, death by cutting your own throat is horrific enough that I shiver just thinking of it.)
Of course for the curious, here’s video of Rocket saying the word “fuck” on air (Windows Media), ultimately leading to the demise of the Jean Doumanian era of SNL.
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!
October122005
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.
Read More ยป
October012005
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.
Page 1 of 1 pages
del.icio.us
Stumble It!
Subscribe (RSS)
