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'Last Comic Standing' and the perils of democracy
So, it's my job and everything to report on the happenings on Wednesday's final Last Comic Standing performance show. But it's awfully hard to be excited about it.
Let me just paraphrase Kent Brockman here: Sometimes, democracy simply doesn't work. (Spoilers right around bend, folks.)
How it is that, among the final three comics, Gerry Dee didn't make it through to next week's finals is something that I really just don't understand. I went back and looked at last week's performances, just to make sure I wasn't imagining that Gerry was easily the best of the bunch. I wasn't remembering it wrong: He had funnier material, at least to my ears, than either Jon Reep or Lavell Crawford.
And yet, when host Bill Bellamy announced -- about 40 minutes in to the show, by my clock -- that one of the two finalists would be Lavell Crawford, I wrote this in my notes: "Oof."
Actually, I wrote that earlier too, when Jon was revealed as the first finalist. Lavell, I don't have a problem with. He's been a little inconsistent in the final rounds, but as he showed in the one-liner challenge at the top of the show, he's capable of thinking on his feet and coming up with good material (although I heard the bowling joke he was telling at the end of the challenge from another comic, Warren Hutcherson, quite a while back.)
But Reep has been just so ... average throughout these last few rounds. I just haven't heard anything at all memorable from him.
That streak continued when LCS finally got around to letting Reep and Crawford perform one last time. The man from Hickory went first, and spent his entire time on a bit about his dad snoring. I used to laugh with my brothers about our dad doing the same thing, but I don't think any of us ever thought it would play to a crowd.
So your potential Last Comic Standing-winning performance, then, was one more bit from Crawford about his weight. And actually, it wasn't bad, as he riffed on people's perceptions about his size, doing his best carnival-barker voice as he related the tale of buying an oversized bucket of chicken.
If it's me -- and I've been running against the grain for most of this season, so who knows -- I'm giving the $250,000 and the Bravo special and the NBC deal to Crawford. I doubt we'll be seeing Lavell! on the air in the 2008-09 season (no LCS winner has so much as sniffed an NBC pilot), but he seems like a good guy, and I can accept him winning.
I just don't think he was the funniest comic on the show this year -- nor, for that matter, did anyone from this year's crop stand up against some of the past winners. Kathleen Madigan finished, what, sixth on her season, and she didn't have all her best material during her time Wednesday. But she was easily better than any of the three guys vying for the crown this time.
I'll be back next week to report on the finale. But I'm not expecting to be amused.
Faced with this choice, who ya got? Lavell or Jon?
Gerry Dee was easily the best comic on the show this year, the problem was he was a Canadian. Americans got another vote wrong.
C | Sep 13, 2007 5:21:16 AM | #Wow, I think I've finally come up with a downside to your job. After Gerry was eliminated you had to keep watching, whereas I got to turn the television off (something I might add that I've never done before in the middle of a show).
This season of Last Comic Standing was a joke (no pun intended). How does Matt get eliminated before Jon, Ralph and Doug?
How does Gerry get eliminated but Jon go on?
And dang it, I still miss them all living together.
Overall I've been completely disappointed this year.
Brian | Sep 13, 2007 6:59:12 AM | #Glad I was not the only one thinking the whole show was just not funny and Gerry got robbed. Kathleen was the only one of the "guests" who was even remotely funny and she was just barely at that.
Sal | Sep 13, 2007 7:16:39 AM | #I gave up on this show pretty much after season 3, so I haven't really watched more than brief bits and pieces here and there this season. No one was ever very funny that I saw.
Of the 3 finalists, I think I've seen about 1 set each, with Jon's being last week's (saw it during the rerun at 8 last night). Based on the one performance I saw a couple weeks ago, I really don't see all the hype about Gerry (and even less so about Amy, who was very painfully unfunny). He was OK, but not greet.
Not that the other two are anything special either. Lavell made me laugh a little a couple weeks back, but none of the three compare to a Ralphie May or Dave Wardell (season 1).
As for last night...as soon as I saw Jon get through, I knew there were going to be a lot of unhappy people here. And as soon as they brought on that no-name hack from a long-since-canceled improv show (Whose Line...), I just shut off the TV.
Dan | Sep 13, 2007 8:11:26 AM | #While I completely agree that the quality of comics was low this year, and that LCS wins the reality show filler sweepstakes, what made this show nearly intolerable for me was Bill Bellamy. He's not funny, he laughs at his own non-jokes all the time, and his relentless milking of applause is just pathetic. "Give it up one more time for . . .."
Last week, a commenter said he was going to go to a comedy club next year if he felt tempted to watch LCS. Sounds like a good idea to me, and I hope I haave enough sense to follow through with it!
Michael | Sep 13, 2007 8:17:52 AM | #I couldn't believe Jon went and Gerry didn't. He was so funny last week (and more confident then he's ever been). Jon is not that great compared to the others. Amy should have made it further then him, Ralph should have made it further then him (and I did not like Ralph).
Craig | Sep 13, 2007 8:26:01 AM | #Unfortunately, the way this show works is that the better comics end up getting booted early, especially when they eliminate two at a time. The sometimes have the strategy of saying - I'm funnier than . . . and pick the best one thinking that no one else would pick them, well it backfires and then you have good people eliminated (although I never liked Dante, so, not him). Also, sometimes the strategy is to get rid of the good people early, knowing the lesser people will run out of material by the later rounds. Anyway, the only reason Jon Reep is still here is because American t.v. audiences like familiarity, and they know him as the car guy. Oh yeah, that guy - loved those ads! I'm voting for him. Go figure. This show is a good concept, but the format needs an overhaul.
Sue | Sep 13, 2007 8:31:47 AM | #Greg Proops was terrible, came across as the same liberal, bitter anti-American he was on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. Kathleen was bland, Gilbert Gottfried made me pay attention, at least. Lavell's hockey-bowling joke I heard 20 years ago by someone else. I think Chris Rock did the bowling joke as Nat X on SNL. John Carupalo or Matt Kirshen would have killed in the Final Five.
JT | Sep 13, 2007 9:00:01 AM | #I was really hoping that since Canada, UK and Australia were allowed to vote, that they'd compansate the the stereotypical American hill billy (taking time away from their meth lab...hilarious bit) vote. Alas...it was not to be.
I first saw Gerry Dee years ago during the Halifax comedy festival and was so excited to see him in the final 3...I thought he was a shoe in to win it all.
Like several others, once Lavell was annouced as the 2nd finalist, I switched over to a CSI re-run.
MJ | Sep 13, 2007 9:47:00 AM | #I removed LCS from my DVR when Amy got eliminated, now I just read the recaps, and now that Gerry Dee is also gone, I won't even bother doing that. Done with this show. Lavell, just ain't that funny!
Jo | Sep 13, 2007 10:17:56 AM | #That was one long painful hour. Who are those people in the audience laughing hysterically at Lavelle's and Jon's jokes? I blame the audiences for a lot of the mess this season has become as just about every one of the "fan favorites" has been awful and yet they would be getting free passes to advance.
And last night, even though there was no reward, it was more of the same with the audience going nuts for Lavelle's almost-jokes.
With a track record of Dat Phan, Josh Blue and now this year's winner, maybe it would have been better if this show hadn't been renewed.
Are you kidding about Lavell Edwards "quick wit" in the one-liner contest?
In addition to the overdone bowling joke, he just repeated the "little testy" joke of another comic and made a lame joke about how he looks bad naked.
Yet the crowd went wild for him. Another sign that the people voting in this thing have no clue what funny is.
Did we really need Greg Proops on the show last night. He was not funny at all and I didn't need to hear his political commericals for Obama and Hillary. Levall has really let me down this year. He started out great and has gone down hill. Although he is funnier than Reep.
derek | Sep 13, 2007 2:08:09 PM | #I don't think this section needs more complaining about the lack of funny from the "comics" because you've all hit the nail on the head. We last good comedy the second that lame audience voted off Matt and Amy.
What I want to know is, did anyone else see how much of an @ss Lavell was during the announcements?!
Starting with the one liners - you're telling me that "Mr. Originality" couldn't be bothered to prepare at least two jokes when they told him advance about it? I was pretty surprised to see Jon Reep get named 'safe' first, too, but when he went to shake Lavell's hand the guy completely stiffed him! Then later he stood there, not cracking a snaggle-toothed smile and just looking like a pissed-off child. I began to have hope that maybe he knew something we at home didn't yet... that he'd seen the card and knew he was going home. But no such luck for some excitement, NBC can't be that kind, and Lavell-mama's boy-Crawford was spared.
I was sad to see Gerry go, but especially because it meant that Lavell (who can't even golf clap because his arms can't wrap around his massive girth!) was staying with his worn out tired jokes about his weight and how he's perceived.
LCS has turned into nothing more than a sympathy show. If you feel pity for someone, dial 1 now! UGH, this show is permanently off of my saved DVR list.
Nolette | Sep 15, 2007 11:52:15 PM | #You are all complaining about the finalist. Wait until Wednesday when the top ten get reunited and perform. It will show us how bad this season truly was. I love my comedy and have stood by this show despite it's numerous changes. Season 3 being by far the best but most underappreciated canceled by NBC 2 weeks before the finale. This season was suppose to pan out to be similar to S3 with the comics going more head to head then they have in recent years, but they were lacking the talent. How do you bring in second rate comics to talent a comedy contest? Bring back the orignial scouts and that is a step in the right direction to fix this show.
Chris | Sep 17, 2007 11:25:19 AM | #
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