America's Got Talent -- Season 8 Thread -- (Stern, Mandel, Klum, Scary Spice)
#201
DVD Talk Hero
Re: America's Got Talent -- Season 8 Thread -- (Stern, Mandel, Klum, Scary Spice)
The country guy will win. It's a fix; he's a plant. He'll "win," and the coal industry will use that fucking "Coal Keeps the Lights On" song in commercials for the next five years.
#202
DVD Talk God
Re: America's Got Talent -- Season 8 Thread -- (Stern, Mandel, Klum, Scary Spice)
Kenichi's best act was the video game thing. He should've held onto that for the finals. While he's still good, nothing is up to par as that.
#204
Re: America's Got Talent -- Season 8 Thread -- (Stern, Mandel, Klum, Scary Spice)
Agreed. I was blown away by the video game thing, and nothing he did afterwards came close to that superb matching of technique with concept. I thought his last performance with the green lasers was terrible. Maybe the TV cameras weren't in the right position, but I didn't get what the point of the lasers were. Was he supposed to be dodging them?
#205
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Re: America's Got Talent -- Season 8 Thread -- (Stern, Mandel, Klum, Scary Spice)
Glad that Kenichi won. Now he can get to spending that huge 25K a year annuity prize.
The three singing acts will likely get record deals, and Taylor Williamson will headline in every Chuckle Patch and Ha-Ha Hut across the country.
The three singing acts will likely get record deals, and Taylor Williamson will headline in every Chuckle Patch and Ha-Ha Hut across the country.
#207
Banned
Re: America's Got Talent -- Season 8 Thread -- (Stern, Mandel, Klum, Scary Spice)
REALLY glad Kenichi won...especially since Forte was the only one of the other Top Six who offered any real competition in terms of talent. The season retrospective reminded us of how much talent got discarded when the show became a popularity contest. Timber Brown, Catapult, Kristef Bros., Amanda & little dude...all were better than some of the finalists. And there were other, earlier acts which fell by the wayside despite the fact that they demonstrated more originality and talent than others.
Of the ones who made it, I'd probably have ranked them thusly:
1. Kenichi 2. Forte 3. Collins 4. Cami 5. Taylor 6. Jimmy
Neither my wife nor I got the love for Taylor's 'awkward' act. Wouldn't have minded his nervous Beavis impression if his material had been funny...but it wasn't. When you have to explain jokes (same thing happened with John Wing), you either disrespect your audience or doubt yourself. I wasn't even sure if one of his funniest lines ("I had a date...true story...") was planned or just a happy accident because he didn't seem prepared to pause for laughter at that point. And the lame James Lipton sequence ("Balls", "Boobs") was just painful to watch. I'm convinced that without the running gag of the Heidi flirtation...which she bought into to help him out...he would have bombed. When Howie & Howard declare material such as the "#2 pencil" line to be an example of "brilliant" humor, it seems that the bar for smart comedy has been lowered...a lot. I swear, Hee Haw could be a lot "smarter" than this.
I thought Kathy Lee's ad-libs were a whole lot funnier than anything Taylor presented during his entire run. And the dude has had 10 years to hone his material, test it on audiences, and weed out the crap. Mandel can say what he wants, but I fail to see how comedy is so hard for these people when they've been doing it night after night for decades...and have gotten the benefit of seeing other performers.
Saw Blazing Saddles for the 100th-plus time two nights ago and laughed my head off at lines I nearly know by heart. Surely comedians can come up with 90 seconds of really superior stuff & deliver it well. I guess the big grin-confused look-big grin again shtick went over well elsewhere. Maybe the guy can parley it into a career...without Heidi Klum.
Of the ones who made it, I'd probably have ranked them thusly:
1. Kenichi 2. Forte 3. Collins 4. Cami 5. Taylor 6. Jimmy
Neither my wife nor I got the love for Taylor's 'awkward' act. Wouldn't have minded his nervous Beavis impression if his material had been funny...but it wasn't. When you have to explain jokes (same thing happened with John Wing), you either disrespect your audience or doubt yourself. I wasn't even sure if one of his funniest lines ("I had a date...true story...") was planned or just a happy accident because he didn't seem prepared to pause for laughter at that point. And the lame James Lipton sequence ("Balls", "Boobs") was just painful to watch. I'm convinced that without the running gag of the Heidi flirtation...which she bought into to help him out...he would have bombed. When Howie & Howard declare material such as the "#2 pencil" line to be an example of "brilliant" humor, it seems that the bar for smart comedy has been lowered...a lot. I swear, Hee Haw could be a lot "smarter" than this.
I thought Kathy Lee's ad-libs were a whole lot funnier than anything Taylor presented during his entire run. And the dude has had 10 years to hone his material, test it on audiences, and weed out the crap. Mandel can say what he wants, but I fail to see how comedy is so hard for these people when they've been doing it night after night for decades...and have gotten the benefit of seeing other performers.
Saw Blazing Saddles for the 100th-plus time two nights ago and laughed my head off at lines I nearly know by heart. Surely comedians can come up with 90 seconds of really superior stuff & deliver it well. I guess the big grin-confused look-big grin again shtick went over well elsewhere. Maybe the guy can parley it into a career...without Heidi Klum.
#208
Banned
Re: America's Got Talent -- Season 8 Thread -- (Stern, Mandel, Klum, Scary Spice)
Anyone else at Nick's comments (seconded by Stern) re: 'white people dancing'?
Laughed even more imagining the reaction if Stern had said, "Only thing funnier is watching black people trying to swim" (see Gervase, Survivor thread).
Laughed even more imagining the reaction if Stern had said, "Only thing funnier is watching black people trying to swim" (see Gervase, Survivor thread).
#209
Re: America's Got Talent -- Season 8 Thread -- (Stern, Mandel, Klum, Scary Spice)
I, for one, liked the comedian. However, Collins Key got far too far in this show. He should have been booted off long ago. He's barely better than the magicians working tables at Red Robin.
For his "empty envelope" trick, the first time I saw it, I figured he had the page inside the envelope in a hidden pocket and, when somebody sits on it, their body heat does something to the glue so then the page "magically" appears. His thing about stopping wherever they say stop is so obviously rigged. He holds the card in place where he wants to put it and says, "Stop? Here?" Yes, Collins, right where you want to put it.
You could literally hear the glue in the envelope pulling away from the outer paper layer when Kathie Lee opened it. It was so freaking obvious how he did the trick. Two books, one with the page already ripped out, sleight of hand with the book with the page in it and swaps it for the one with the ripped page.
This is basement level tricks. The fact that the judges lauded him like he's the next David Copperfield was just sickening. None of his tricks were that amazing. He needs to go back to working kids birthday parties.
For his "empty envelope" trick, the first time I saw it, I figured he had the page inside the envelope in a hidden pocket and, when somebody sits on it, their body heat does something to the glue so then the page "magically" appears. His thing about stopping wherever they say stop is so obviously rigged. He holds the card in place where he wants to put it and says, "Stop? Here?" Yes, Collins, right where you want to put it.
You could literally hear the glue in the envelope pulling away from the outer paper layer when Kathie Lee opened it. It was so freaking obvious how he did the trick. Two books, one with the page already ripped out, sleight of hand with the book with the page in it and swaps it for the one with the ripped page.
This is basement level tricks. The fact that the judges lauded him like he's the next David Copperfield was just sickening. None of his tricks were that amazing. He needs to go back to working kids birthday parties.
#210
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Re: America's Got Talent -- Season 8 Thread -- (Stern, Mandel, Klum, Scary Spice)
Finally caught up on the last two weeks of the show. I was bummed when the KriStef Bros got booted off but happy that Taylor made the top 2. Probably for the best since he can tour and be a famous comedian, while Kenichi would have been screwed had he lost. Cami got robbed and should have easily been 3rd. Collins Key can go die somewhere. Pretty good season overall.
#211
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: America's Got Talent -- Season 8 Thread -- (Stern, Mandel, Klum, Scary Spice)
Finally, after hopping on board last year, the correct act won! (fuck that dog act) Go Kenichi!
I have no problems with Taylor taking second. He was quirky and was all around fun to watch. The choir singing his punchline was fantastic. However the bit with Lipton was half baked and could have used more work.
Jimmy Rose should have been the first to go. Once he survived the first cut I knew he'd beat out Forte. There was no way the Nascar crowd in the bible belt were going to vote for opera over country. Speaking of, I'd rather see Forte than that il Divo group they had on. Their performance was severely lacking.
I liked Collins Key, but he needed more spectacle. Plus his last trick was easy to figure out. Still entertaining.
No complaints about Cami, girl can sing but there was no need to have 50% of the final 6 be singers.
I have no problems with Taylor taking second. He was quirky and was all around fun to watch. The choir singing his punchline was fantastic. However the bit with Lipton was half baked and could have used more work.
Jimmy Rose should have been the first to go. Once he survived the first cut I knew he'd beat out Forte. There was no way the Nascar crowd in the bible belt were going to vote for opera over country. Speaking of, I'd rather see Forte than that il Divo group they had on. Their performance was severely lacking.
I liked Collins Key, but he needed more spectacle. Plus his last trick was easy to figure out. Still entertaining.
No complaints about Cami, girl can sing but there was no need to have 50% of the final 6 be singers.