Last Comic Standing: The Final 5 (open spoilers)

Cafe Society
1

Anyone else watching this? I’ve been following since the beginning, and I have to say, it’s like any reality show-- people who are really good get cut too early, and lame asses cost into the final five.

About whom am I speaking specifically? Well, I really liked Debra DiGiovanni and Matt Kirshen. When then went into a head-to-head last week, I felt it was a lose-lose for the game. They both did great sets and it was a close call. Then, this week, Matt and Doug Benson left. I thought both of them were better than Ralph Harris, who bombed the challenge this week (the speed-laugh competition) by acting like an immature ass.

Amy kicked ass in the challenge, yet Lavell (who is hilarious and who is my favorite to win) and Ralph openly gave the :rolleyes: when she won. Bad sportsmanship there, and I was rooting for Ralph to get spanked after that. Alas, twas not to be.

I don’t think Gerry Dee is funny at ALL. How did he last this long? I know Jon Reep won last week, but he didn’t deserve it, he was just one of the better ones in a competition where most of the competitors sucked. Lavell, Matt, Amy, and Debra were all funnier than he was IMO. He just doesn’t do it for me and isn’t as funny as anyone who was eliminated so far except Gina (who wasn’t funny at all, really).

Ah well. What do I expect from shows like this? I’ll keep watching because there are plenty of funny moments and overall it’s a decent competition.

Anyone else watching and have opinions on the show?

2

Gerry Dee is pretty funny. I watched a 45 min set of his maybe four years ago and it was really really good. He strikes me as someone who is a bit hamstrung by the time constraints they get and I understand not liking him. While he is my favorite, I’m surprised he’s done well.

I find three of the finalists completely and totally unfunny. Ralph Harris is a horrible comedian and belongs back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I’ve heard him in the past and for the life of me, I don’t know how he survives in this. Lavell and Gerry are 10X the comedian he is. The girl is terrible and so is the country guy.

I don’t agree with you on Debra. I thought she was one of the worst they auditioned with the exception of the Greenwich lady. Debra was unbelievably cliched. Bleh. I’m glad she’s gone.

I’m sorry to see Matt go, I really liked him

3

[QUOTE=drm]
Gerry Dee is pretty funny.
[/quote]

He hasn’t done really well on the show. He’s skated through under the radar so far. Maybe if we get more of him, I’ll see what you see.

He’s much better in those set pieces than he is with any sort of ad lib. He’s terrible at that. I don’t think he was better than Doug Benson or Matt Kirshen, though, and he seems like an egomaniac to boot.

Oh, come on! Amy pwned everyone in this last challenge. She was awesome. I realize she is a sorority girl style Sarah Silverman type comedienne, but she does get a lot of good lines off. Jon Reep does nothing for me.

She was hit or miss, and not everyone’s style, so I can see why you wouldn’t like her.

4

[QUOTE=Rubystreak]
He hasn’t done really well on the show. He’s skated through under the radar so far. Maybe if we get more of him, I’ll see what you see.
[/quote]

He’s got a specific style and I totally get not liking him. I think I like him so much because he reminds me of someone…

He auditioned last year or the year before and made it reasonably far and I think I commented then that he takes a long time to tell a joke. I’m surprised he can get anything down to the 5 minutes NBC gives them(or whatever it is).

His humour is all stuff I’ve heard dozens of times before. His shtick is tired.

Yeah, maybe horrible is a bit over the top. She has a style and is reasonably clever and does do self deprecating humour (which I enjoy), a lot of the stuff just doesn’t hit me for whatever reason. I suppose I should give her SOME credit, however.

I’ve seen her in the past as well, I guess I’ve just heard all of her jokes before. I watch the Canadian comedy channel a lot and she’s someone I’ve caught.

Lavell wins handily though, I really like him.

5

[QUOTE=drm]
Lavell wins handily though, I really like him.
[/QUOTE]

I agree he’s the man to beat. I’ve never seen him do badly yet and he always cracks me up. That means he probably won’t win, of course, because the winner is never the person I think it will be on these type shows.

Are we the only two people on the SDMB watching this show???

6

[QUOTE=Rubystreak]
I agree he’s the man to beat. I’ve never seen him do badly yet and he always cracks me up. That means he probably won’t win, of course, because the winner is never the person I think it will be on these type shows.

Are we the only two people on the SDMB watching this show???
[/QUOTE]

Heck, in the world.

Noone else I know watches it. It’s too bad though, it’s one of the only reality shows I like.

7

[QUOTE=drm]
Heck, in the world.

Noone else I know watches it. It’s too bad though, it’s one of the only reality shows I like.
[/QUOTE]

Well, maybe I’ll just PM you next week to discuss the ep, if no one else wants to discuss it. Whaddaya say?

8

[QUOTE=Rubystreak]
Well, maybe I’ll just PM you next week to discuss the ep, if no one else wants to discuss it. Whaddaya say?
[/QUOTE]

sounds good.

9

I’ve been watching it off and on, usually in rerun on Bravo, but didn’t know Doug got the boot this week. Damn shame as I’ve enjoyed his work for a long time. Of course the same was true for Bob Zany and he didn’t even make the cut after the return visit (he bombed).

10

I can’t believe Matt lost! Ralph isn’t funny at all.

11

It seems like they are trying to speed things along this year. I don’t remember eliminating two people each week after the challenge. And what is up with the random change the rules between weeks? Last week Debrah had two votes against her, with one person having immunity. So it ended up being just her and Matt. This week same thing happens, two votes against with one of the two having immunity so lets pick another to go to the head to head, or is it just me?

I am mixed about not having them all living together in the “house” or QEII as it were. Does anyone else have an opinon ?

12

[QUOTE=Rubystreak]
Anyone else watching this? I’ve been following since the beginning, and I have to say, it’s like any reality show-- people who are really good get cut too early, and lame asses cost into the final five.

About whom am I speaking specifically? Well, I really liked Debra DiGiovanni
[/QUOTE]

Oh, how I cheered when that loathsome woman was kicked off the show. The results are openly fixed so it’s not like any of it’s fair, but geez, she was as funny as a kick in the balls.

Doug Benson was about as funny as two kicks in the balls. Honestly, the only reason they put him on the show was that he’s been in comedy for 22 years and they wanted to throw the veteran a bone. The reason he’s been in comedy so long without making it big is that he isn’t good enough. He’s trying to be Tom Green and Andy Kaufman and he doesn’t have the skill to pull it off. Ralph Harris, similarly, is trying to be every black comedian he’s ever seen, and he doesn’t have the skills to pull it off. Gerry Dee’s credentials as a comedian are puzzling inasmuch as he never tells any funny jokes.

That said, this ios mostly to be expected. Stand up comedy is immensely, incredibly hard, maybe the hardest of all forms of performance art.

The only ones who strike me as even being moderately funny are Amy and Lavell, and the departed Matt.

The problem with this show is that there’s not enough stand up comedy. I don’t want them living in the same house together, or more precisely I don’t care, because who gives a shit what they think of each other? So Lavell rolled his eyes at Amy, so what? If I want to watch a basketball game, I don’t want 78% of the broadcast to be how the players get along in the locker room, with 22% of it being heavily edited tapes of the game. I want to see stand up comedy and nothing else; the variations like speed comedy or medieval comedy are fine, but I have no interest in their blabberings when they aren’t being funny. They have 44 minutes of time, let’s see at least 39 minutes of comedy. Instead, we don’t even see their entire sets when they’re competing for elimination.

13

Yeah, they must have edited out the funny parts of Ralph’s set because as far as I could tell, both of the other guys blew him off the stage. Matt got screwed.

14

I’ve been watching all along as well. I’m glad that Amy is still in, and sad to see Matt go. He was a hoot!

15

[QUOTE=RickJay]
Oh, how I cheered when that loathsome woman was kicked off the show. The results are openly fixed so it’s not like any of it’s fair, but geez, she was as funny as a kick in the balls.
[/quote]

Openly fixed? Do you have a cite for that? What is the point of the whole thing if it’s fixed? I’m not saying you’re wrong, just wondering where you found it out.

I don’t get the Debra hate. She had some funny moments and unfunny ones. She is funnier than Jon Reep and Gerry Dee, neither of whom have made me laugh once yet.

:confused: That seems like a bit of a dumb reason to keep someone on the show. I thought he was pretty funny, funnier than Ralph Harris anyway.

I do agree that I just want to see comedy, not a lot of interpersonal angst and side bullshit. Compared to the other reality show I watch, Project Runway, Last Comic Standing has a much higher content to melodrama ratio.

16

Disclaimer: I’ve worked in the stand-up industry and go to comedy clubs quite a bit. I’m picky as hell, and can’t stand hacks or comics who have to rely on one shtick.

The Non-Top Five:
Doug Benson – Meh. Hamstringed on this show, 'cause he can’t do his bread 'n butter stoner comedy on network TV. A couple of points for going down in flames vs. the nun, but I’m not really sorry to see him leave.
Dante – His performance that got him into the Top Ten is a classic example of why I hate people. It wasn’t funny at all, it was unbelievably contrived and hack, and yet it was the Audience Favorite. I wanted to hand everyone in that audience a copy of the Stand-Up Comedy Hack FAQ, and especially the section on impressions. His. Act. Sucked.
Debra DiGiovanni – Sometimes funny. Didn’t hate her. I can’t help but get the feeling that she does either a lot of crying or breaking things when no one is watching, though…she’s almost too publically happy.
Matt Kirshen – Ah well…he deserved second place, but LCS’s “let’s twist the rules on a weekly basis to make the game run the way we want” policy screwed him over. Shame to see him go.
Gina Yashere – Just not cut out for this. Audition was pretty good, but there were much funnier people left behind in London.

The Top Five
Lavell Crawford – The other case of the Audience Favorite in the semi-finals being the least funny one on the stage. Hey LCS, here’s a challenge you can lay out: Make Lavell do a two-minute act in which he can’t make a single joke about his being fat or black. Hasn’t made me laugh once…absolutely the worst of the top ten, which means he’ll likely be the winner.
Gerry Dee – Meh. Perhaps if we got to hear more than one or two jokes a week from him, the picture would be clearer. He’s just coasting.
Ralph Harris, Jr. – Pretty much just gets by by channeling Bill Cosby, and not doing a very good job of it. When he steers away from the family impressions, however, he’s quite good. He’ll almost certainly be in the top three.
Jon Reep – See Gerry Dee.
Amy Schumer – Hands down, far and away, no contest…the absolute funniest comic on the show. To me, good comedy is about being quick on the draw, and she is just unflappable. Unfortunately, a lot of her material requires people to think, so now that we’re moving on to the stage where America votes, she’s probably a gonner.

17

[QUOTE=Rubystreak]
Openly fixed? Do you have a cite for that? What is the point of the whole thing if it’s fixed? I’m not saying you’re wrong, just wondering where you found it out.
[/QUOTE]

Watch the disclaimers (but read fast.) They admit, as they have to, that irrespective of how the voting goes the producers have a say in who wins. This has been a source of considerable controversy before; look at the Drew Carey/Brett Butler brouhaha.

18

[QUOTE=RickJay]
Watch the disclaimers (but read fast.) They admit, as they have to, that irrespective of how the voting goes the producers have a say in who wins. This has been a source of considerable controversy before; look at the Drew Carey/Brett Butler brouhaha.
[/QUOTE]

I’m not familiar with this brouhaha. Can you elaborate?

And, come on people, the only reason to watch this show is Mel Silverback !

I will miss Doug Benson and I don’t get the Lavell love. I haven’t laughed at him once. At this point I am rooting for Amy.

19

[QUOTE=«Ðëëp¤F®ïêd»™]
I’m not familiar with this brouhaha. Can you elaborate?
.
[/QUOTE]

During Season 2, Carey and Butler were invited to be judges. When the finalists did not seem to match the judges’ votes, and in some cases didn’t seem to make a lot of sense, Carey and Butler openly voiced their displeasure. Two of the choices who made the final ten and were allegedly not on Carey’s and Butler’s ballots were Ant and Gary Gulman who - surprise! - were managed by none other than the Executive Producer of Last Comic Standing, Barry Katz. This was particularly blatant in the case of Ant, who (a) isn’t funny, and (b) is an infmaous joke thief, and in fact was caught stealing a joke straight out of a movie in Season 1. (In fairness, I think Gary Gulman’s hilarious.) Both Carey and Butler later said the show was openly fixed and that their role as “judges” was in fact meaningless.

NBC’s official response was simply that the choice of finalists was a “casting decision” and that they appreciated the judges’ input.

20

I am sad to see Matt go he was my favorite. Now I have to get another one.