I really enjoyed the first two seasons of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. Thanks to those summer shows, I found out about comics like Rich Vos, Todd Glass, Rob Cantrell, Kathleen Madigan, John Heffron and Alonzo Bodden.
Then NBC went and turned Season 3 into a fiasco as they tried to take advantage of the success of Season 2 and went right into a battle between the best comics from the first two seasons. The result was disaster so bad that they never showed the final episode on NBC. It ended up airing on Comedy Central at some point.
That whole experience kind of soured me on the show. I watched some of the tryouts for Season 4, but couldn’t stick with it. I barely even noticed when Season 5 took place last year and looked headed for the same result this summer until I just happened to turn on the final tryout episode a few weeks ago.
I was hooked again. They have finished the tryouts and the semifinals. The first two comics were eliminated last night, thankfully both comics I really didn’t like too much. Esther Ku just didn’t have much to offer and God’s Pottery finally ran the same schtick into the ground.
I haven’t developed a true favorite yet, but that will eventually happen. I’m actually just happy I might be able to hear some fresh voices on XM’s comedy channels thanks to this.
This show gets worse and worse every year. What started out as a great idea by Jay Mohr with some really funny comics has turned in to absolute network crap.
Every year they go to a major city like New York and select around 7 finalists (most of them mediocre, pretty boys, predictable girls, has beens, or people with connections), and then go to the middle of nowhere and find these unique and hilarious people. They’ll select a couple of people then say, “Unfortunately, we only have one spot left.”
The talent level goes down every year. They replaced Mohr with possibly the worst TV host I have ever seen in Anthony Clark who was sweating and shaking and depressing; then replaced him with an experienced host (former MTV VJ), but a pathetic comic in Bill Bellamy. Everything is so contrived and so commercialized. Now the shows feel like PBS fundraisers.
Haven’t been watching it, but wish that wasn’t the case. I really like Sean Cullen.
I never noticed that about Eliza, but you’re right. Esther also bothered me because she used some material from the week before. They shouldn’t be allowed to repeat jokes – the best should have lots and lots of stuff to work with.
I actually caught the tailend of that episode. I was partial to Esther Ku, although that may or may not have something to do with my attraction to her.
Her whole “making fun of Asians is funny because I’m Asian” schtick was okay, not spectacular. I wish she could have stayed. Although, I didn’t watch enough to hear her dreaded laugh, which from what I can assume, is horrific. I only saw the final thirty minutes, which good thing for me, was when the three comics performed on stage.
I agree with you on the God’s Pottery group. Didn’t really feel their stuff. Eliza was alright, but I just had some type of objection to her because I felt like she was a hunchback or something. She couldn’t stand up straight!