Last Comic Standing
 

I'm surprised there isn't a thread this season, last season we had a weekly thread. Is anybody watching?

I was a little dissapointed with some of the choices this season, some of the people who made it and some who didn't. Couldn't beleive Tommy Johnagin didn't make it (he made the joke about his dad shooting somebody from 300 yards and calling it self defense), and Dante did with impressions that didn't have any comedy behind them, they were just impressions.

Lavell is probably my favorite, he does rely on fat jokes a lot, but his delivery is spot on, and his jokes consistently clever. Matt and Doug were a close second but they went home tonight.

I was stunned that Ralph Harris won a second head to head tonight. Maybe I don't get his humor, but I don't think he has gotten a slight chuckle out of me, I don't understand his appeal. Doug Benson's routine was hilarious, he can be hit and miss, but I thought he nailed it tonight. I was sure Doug had won, since Matt didn't have his best showing.

I made a comment in another thread about LCS (though I can't find it with a search), but I was really disapointed with the comics selected. They blatantly rejected funnier comics for more famous comics. Debra was the perfect example. But, I chalked it up to editing and moved on...

But after the last few head-to-heads, I'm done with the show. We saw the complete 5-minute sets, and Ralph Harris didn't even get a smile out of me. He was completely unfunny and shouldn't have been on the same stage as the other two. I'm guessing that one of those "producer votes" gave him the win.

It's a funny show, it's obvious that it's not even close to being contest. If they changed the premise, that's one thing, but don't bring in "judges" whose votes don't count and audiences whose votes apparently don't count. Why should we believe that America's "vote" actually counts.

There was another thread, but with only a couple of posts per episode, it slipped into oblivion.

I was very surprised that Ralph Harris beat out Matt & Doug. Not only is he not very funny, but I've seen him do some of his bits as much as 15 years ago.

The immunity challenge last night was funny just by itself.
For those that didn't watch, they introduced 6 girls from Deal or No Deal that each comic was going to spend a minute or so with in private, but at the last minute they subbed a drag queen, a party clown, and a nun for 3 of the girls.

On a related note, I met that drag queen, Jackie Beat, when I was in Vegas in March. He's a comic that opened for Roseanne at New York New York. Even got a picture with him that I'm probably going to use for my Christmas card this year.

I just tuned in for a couple minutes and stumbled on this joke. Thought it was one of the best.

... Then I realized she was trying to save me right there. I told her, 'I don't want to be rude, but you're wasting your time. I'm Jewish.' She said, 'Oh, honey, that's okay! You just haven't found Jesus Christ yet!'

I said, 'Oh, no! We found him! Maybe you haven't heard the bad news yet....'"

I love this show, but last night was bullshit. Ralph Harris hasn't been funny at all IMO, but Doug did a great set and I think Matt Kirshen is HILARIOUS. I'm still going to watch it of course, and right now I'm cheering for Gerry Dee and Amy Shumer. Amy is ridiculously quick and just flat out funny. I'm hoping when the public gets to vote that Ralph and Lavell get sent packing right off the bat - not funny.

What gets me is when the comics go after someone who "hasn't paid their dues yet." We saw that last night when Doug and Ralph went after Matt, who has only been doing stand-up for a couple of years, and we've seen it in past seasons. Who the hell cares how long someone has been doing stand-up? Either you're funny or your not. There are some things about timing, etc., that you only learn by doing, so experience matters -- but if you're funny, you can overcome inexperience, and if you're not, no amount of experience will help.

Anyway, Matt and Amy are the only two comics I found consistently funny this season, so with Matt gone, I'm 100% rooting for Amy.

(Amy Schumer trivia: she is the neice of New York Senator Chuck Schumer).

That got the best reaction ever -- disapproval turning to laughter. Conan O'Brien always gets excited when he gets that reaction from the audience, and I totally agree with him -- for a comedian, there must be nothing better than knowing that you are so funny that the audience wants to be mad at something you have said, but cannot help but find it funny.

Matt Kirshen has been doing comedy for five years. That's a pretty long time if you ask me. Not twenty years, but it's not like he's some guy who got into line on a lark.

And he should have won last night. Since the vote was close, I imagine he would have won if he'd gone second or third and was fresh on the audience's mind.

Of the comedians left, I like Amy and Lavell the best.

I think it's more like they're all friends. I'm sure most of the comedians good enough to travel run into each other on a semi-frequent basis, so if you've been doing standup for long enough, you know enough people and enough people know your name to build a network. The guys who just started or who tour overseas probably don't know the other comics nearly as well. When targeting someone, you naturally target someone you either don't like or don't know instead of targeting your friends.

I really do think the show is rigged. Many people who make the show have had Comedy Central specials or HBO specials and are represented. So their formula is to 1) find a host not working who used to be on a show, 2) call up the representatives of a few comics you already know and tell them to try out with a guaranteed amount of air time, 3) hold open auditions for fill-ins.

Amy and Matt seem like fill-ins (more so Matt than Amy who is apparently an "up and comer" on the NY scene), so they have to go eventually to make room for the people guaranteed airtime (Ralph, Gerry, Lavell). I also think that Gina and Mel were other fill-ins, and that Jon, Debra, Dante, and Doug were all guaranteed some smaller amount of airtime vs. the big 3.

I'm willing to bet everything up to Top 5 is staged to make sure that certain people get a certain amount of exposure. I doubt that the Top 5 voting is fixed, though (that would be a heck of a scandal).

And when I say rigged, I don't mean that they change votes, but that they do what they did to Drew Carrey: the judges (or audience) votes, and a separate group of producers vote, and the producer group's vote counts more or equal to the judge (or audience) votes. So if the producers vote to keep someone (because they vote as a block), you'd need 100% of the judges (or audience) to vote the opposite way just to force a tie.

I can't believe people like Ralph and that old-timey act. I remember him from the early '90s, he had a TV show (On Our Own) and I wasn't crazy about him then.

I'm sorry, but none of the comics this season are funny at all. When you compare them to Season 1, even Dat Phan, with his repeating of the same jokes over and over again, was funnier than any of these comedians.

I do agree though, Amy and Lavell are the best they have, but Lavell's fat jokes are not going to last forever. Amy seems to have a quick wit on her, which helped her last night with the big surprise. Her being young and inexperienced has helped her a lot, because she has taken more chances than the other, more experienced comics.

I really miss having the comics living together and seeing the interactions between them during that time. Oh how I miss Season 1 with Dave Mordal, Rich Vos, Rob Cantrell & Ralphie May... even Dat Phan.

Chris

I don't get how Jon Reep is on the show, I don't find him funny at all, and judging by the non-reaction of pretty much everyone in this thread I think nobody even pays attention to him so he just kind of slides by.

I've liked this season, but last night was ridiculous with the worst comedian on the show beating out the 2 best.

Ralph Harris is not funny at all. I just don't like the way this show is structured with the "voting booth". It becomes all voting strategy, and if you're not in the head-to-head, you get a free pass. Seems really strange to me.

Ive been watching the show off and on, and last night I watched the head to head. Im glad I wasnt the only one, because I thought Ralph Harris was about as funny as a bag of hammers last night.

I remember the first season and the constant re-use of jokes by Dat Phan and the other comedians was one of my big gripes, and it continued into Season Two. However, my understanding was this was something forced on the performers by the producers, and they weren't too crazy about it either. While this season is far from perfect, at least we're getting more new-ish material.

Seems to me, if you win a head-to-head, then they should give immunity to that winner in the next head-to-head, and have the other comedians go at one another in the challenge format.

I'm confused, was this on last night? My DVR didn't record it for some reason, and nbc.com lists week 8 as the most current episode (the one with the medieval theme).

:confused:

Yes, it was on last night and it was new

I hate Comcast.

that's a really good idea - especially when someone like Matt had to go head to head twice in a row - and last night wasn't because of the voting booth technically... I thought it was kind of unfair how last week they did a head to head with 2 people but this week they insisted that it be 3 and therefore Matt got screwed - why didn't him and deborah get to challenge someone else last week as well... weak.

Although I was impressed with Amy on last nights show, I haven't found her funny in general. She relies on relationship jokes as much as Lavell does fat jokes.

So whatever happened to Dat Pahn anyway? Man, there's someone that shot straight to obscurity...

Because they needed to get to a final 5 in 3 episodes and started with 10. Two episodes had to be a 2-person elimination and one episode had to be a 1-person elimination. I'm sure they originally decided to go 10-> 8-> 6-> 5, but when they had the opportunity to just have a single elimination last week, they just said "screw it."

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I'm surprised at the Ralph hate here; dude is very dynamic and connects with his audience very quickly. Yes, that makes a difference in a tri-header. Recently saw his Comedy Central special and thought he killed, funny that he is using all the same material from his 3 year old special but whatever.

I hate that Doug left, he really brought a unique flavor to the show. I think Amy is being groomed as the next big thing and I'm not sure I dig that. Out of the crop that's left, I have to give the nod to Gerry for having that 80's kinda style that set it all off.

Matt Kirshen was ROBBED! I don't find Ralph Harris the least bit funny and Lavell's fat man act is overdone. Perhaps its just that I identify more with the white nerdy guy but screw that.

Doug Benson...I don't get him at all. He wouldn't have gotten my vote anyway. I'm so not invested in any of the final five this year. Amy probably will get my vote but I'm not impressed with her act which is probably more an indictment on her experience as opposed to her talent.

Another Amy fan here. I think Lavell was funny in the heckling challenge, but his routine doesn't impress me. Ralph Harris is just generic and safe, which explains why he keeps winning challenges. I can't even remember Gerry Dee's material enough to say what I thought of it. And John Rupp is like a cut rate Blue Collar comic, which is pretty bad because I'm not that impressed with that sort of comedy to begin with.

Wow - Lavell, Ralph and Jon Reep didn't even have me laughing ONCE. IMO they tanked tonight. Amy was just alright with a few decent jokes, but some were serious groaners. Gerry Dee was easily the highlight, I loved the bit about 17 side orders of gravy and the $45 wedding gift... that was some funny stuff - he's getting my votes.

thought the exact same thing. Lavell (although I've liked some of his stuff in the past), Ralph, and Jon all sucked tonight.

Amy wasn't good, but had a couple of laughs.

Gerry, actually was the best of the night. Which I wasn't expecting.

Bring back Matt!!! I loved the shot of him watching Ralph's set just looking up like "I can't believe I lost to a set like this".

I'm going to see John Pinnette (hilarious) and Kathleen Madigan tomorrow night at Mohegan Sun.

Gerry seemed completely drunk. He was slurring his words slightly and wobbling around like he ws about to keel over.

What's wrong with this picture? It doesn't seem like I'm the only one who thought that Matt's previous sets were better than ANYONE on stage tonight. I'm not sure how much of a springboard this show is to "stardom" but I'm not quite sure if any of them deserve to be headlining at a bigger venue. I also think that they all are better than what they showed tonight but it serves as a reminder of how messed up the entire system is.

I think that whomever wins the "pre-voting" head-to-head battles should secure a spot in the voting rounds. If I can remember correctly, Ralph won the first week and Matt the second or something like that. Why not have the remaining contestants duke it out with the top 3 going on to join them? I'll most likely watch the rest of the show but I really don't feel a need to.

Same here. My two favorites of the show were Doug and Matt, so to have them both be eliminated last week and to have the performances this week be so horrible is very disappointing. They've got a week to come up with 4 minutes of comedy, 1 of which can be the opening, pauses for laughs, and the ending... and even using old material they can't come up with anything. -confused- Amy and Lavell have relatively distinct styles that can help them garner a bit of success, but not if they're going to choke as baldly as they did tonight. The rest have just seemed consistently generic throughout the run of the show, in my eyes.

I'll still watch hoping there's some sort of redemption round in which those voted out have one more chance back in... it's not like Matt and Doug were voted out by a crowd of millions... Ralph won the challenge by something like 3% in what looked like a crowd of a couple thousand at most. Even that (Debra?) DiGiavanni, despite being excruciatingly annoying, had consistently better material than the people tonight. :(

I can't see any of the remaining five filling a 22 minute comedy special with much success, even if they recycled the best of what they've used on the show thus far.

I totally agree bunny. It's funny that you mentioned the "opening". I can understand their reasons to say thank you and etcetera but I found the first 30 seconds of so of Ralph's opening to be odd at best. It was humbling I suppose but at the same time I felt like it had zapped some of the energy from the crowd. I half-expected him to be like Thanks Everybody and then walk off stage. Of course I knew he wasn't but, upon reflection, it would have been a much funnier set if he had, hahaha!

I think the main difference between a great comic and good comics isn't so much as the material as it is the timing. These guys seem to have some sense of timing but other times not so much and that showed tonight. They are all talented comics so I'm not knocking on them too hard but at the same time it's hard to think that these were THE BEST 5 of the entire competition. I'll also admit I'm not that big on Amy although she does have some decent bits. Still, something about her, to me, screams really good amateur.

I'm sticking with my "rigged" theory. I've seen all of the Top 5 on TV many times (excluding Amy, who's apparently locally famous in NYC, though), so they have to be represented. I'm sure LCS producers talk to agents, they negotiate national air time, and people advance (up until the Top 5 at least) and are eliminated based on the amount of airtime they received and how much they have "left".

I'm sure it's done under the guise of a studio audience vote by making the producer vote worth 50% and the audience vote worth up to 50%, just like when Drew Carey was pissed off because people advanced after not receiving a single judge's vote.

So, eventhough Bill said that there was just 3% separating the studio audience vote last week, it could have been: 40% Matt, 37% Doug, 23% Ralph for the studio audience and 100% Ralph, 0% Doug, 0% Matt from the producers (because we know the producers always vote as a block from the Drew Carey incident), so the final "score" would have been 61.5% Ralph, 20% Matt, 18.5% Doug (or something like that).

In that scenario, the audience would have to be unanimous for one person just to be relevent.

Im really having a hard time watching this anymore. The best part about the previous seasons (well, at least s1, 2, and 4) was the chemestry between the comics in the house. There has been none of that. I couldnt even watch the performances last week, Bill Bellamy was so bad at the beginning, I just turned it off. Even deleted it from the tivo without watching it.

Just watched the past few episodes. What bullshit. Ralph Harris is painfully unfunny. Matt and Doug were robbed. There's something about Doug's delivery that I find very funny and Matt actually put thought into his material.

Of the five who performed, Lavell was the only one who made me laugh, although I appreciate Amy's sardonic wit. Gerry had a couple decent jokes but his demeanor (he was drunk or high or something) was distracting. Ralph and Jon did nothing for me.

I just don't get Lavell I guess. This week I thought he had 2 good lines, but that was it. He mumbles, lisps and doesn't keep his 'character' voices consistant within a joke - which really pisses me off. Granted, he was better than Jon Reep, but I thought Amy did OK and again, Gerry was the best of the night. His delivery can be weird, but I can overlook it because some of it is really funny shit. 'you got 7 out of 10, that was excellent.'

With the exception of Gerry, everyone was underwhelming this week. Reep is an idiot.

I guess no one watched again. For some reason, I was bored and noticed it on the DVR...

1) The fact that Amy lost to Lavell and Jon is a joke. Neither of those two have been funny all season.

2) With that said, tonight's performances weren't horrible. I couldn't watch the guy from Half Baked or Josh, and Bill just confused me with his "jokes", but the 3 contestants weren't as bad as usual. Gerry continued on with his "not great, but didn't suck" routined, Lavell made me chuckle once or twice (despite a redo of his Diabetes jokes), and Jon didn't make me roll his eyes. I mean, they weren't good, but for the first time ever, no one completely sucked.