Jack Dee Live at the Apollo

Hey, didn't Jack Dee use to be funny.

I decided to watch this because Jack Dee was in it, but if I had known it was a made for TV series of shows and not a recording of one of his performances, or how unfunny then I would never have wasted my time.

Like the other reviewer I saw the show which had Joan Rivers as a guest, and I like them can't understand why Jack didn't use this opportunity to showcase new comedy talent instead of inviting a has-been like her. Her jokes were rather awful, and she seemed to have to resort to crudity, probably for lack of good material. Perhaps it was a deliberate act of not inviting good comedians, because they would have surely overshadowed their host! One to miss.

As the title suggests, this series is Jack Dee, live and he's at the Apollo. The audience has a few stars in it at the front but is mostly just normal punters. After opening up the show and warming the audience up, he gives way to guests to come onto the stage and do their stuff. The strangest thing about the whole affair is just how unfunny it is. I've been to many stand up shows and can confirm that there are a lot of good stand up comedians around but unfortunately they have not been invited to this programme. With the glitzy presentation, this wants to be a big affair but it doesn't work mainly because the material is as weak as the delivery.

The episode I saw had Joan Rivers as the main guest, with Dee opening and closing the show. The opening ten minutes are pretty poor – the jokes are obvious and pretty poor and the audience know it as much as I did. Dee can't get with the audience as well as he needs to. This can be seen in the reaction shots where you can see lots of unimpressed people sitting behind the couple that are laughing. Actually, the most notable thing about the reaction shots and laughter track is how badly done they are, you need to see it to understand but it is obvious that few of them are actually live – they have been edited in and around to support some of the weaker gags. Rivers made things a bit better but I didn't find her that funny – but at least her volume meant I stopped falling asleep. Dee returned at the end to read out some texts from the audience and yes, it was as unfunny as you imagine it could be.

Overall this is a big comedy night out but it was roundly unfunny with the material mostly being obvious and misjudged and the comedians really struggling to engage their audience. The edited laughter is very badly done at times and it just made me realise how weak a show it must have been even for those actually there. Dee could have used this to bring out 2 or 3 up and coming comedians with imagination and wit, but he didn't, playing it safe with glitz and obvious material – a real shame and a pretty poor show all round.

I am just now watching this program for the second time here in America. I confess that I watch an inordinate amount of Stand-Up comedy, and allot more of it these days comes from BBC America.

Across the pond we have SNL, Mad TV, Comedy Central (which is always on my tube), so I like to see this kind of show from other countries. It's Big!--and I like that. Jack Dee is funny in a cynical way, I like him and think he does a good job hosting the show.

Having only two episodes to go by so far, I can say that I like that the show focuses on one talent. I've grown weary of the 6 minute set that dominates American stand-up culture. However, an hour long show still provides ample time for two talents to do 20 minutes each, with Jack opening and closing.

At first I thought this was the same Apollo Theatre we have in Harlem, New York City USA (and that would have been really neat), but it's obviously not the same one and I feel quite silly for assuming there is only one Apollo Theatre in the world!

Joan Rivers is funny and def has a core audience, however, I was disappointed in much of her material. Sufficed to say, her act seemed quite dated.

Ardell O'Hanlon is extremely funny, in an innocently charming way. I first saw him in a stand-up special on Comedy Central about 4 years ago, and I'm happy to report that his material was a fine blend of old and new.

To make one direct reference to another comment: I did detect a bit of "canned laughter", however most of it seemed to match the visual audience reaction....the people in both episodes seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves.

Overall, I say this program is good enough to tune in for. I hope to see more comedy!