Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn

I was a little leery of watching this show as I'm not a big fan of Colin Quinn or his time as the host of Weekend Update on SNL. What a surprise! I found 'Tough Crowd' to be very amusing, and not afraid to talk about issues with total frankness. This show is what 'Politically Incorrect' should have been, if Bill Maher hadn't stacked the deck with liberal types so that he could get the warm-and-fuzzies about what he constantly spewed on the show. Colin Quinn really has a good mix of people with views that aren't too one-sided. And the constant banter and insults flying back and forth give it a little extra zing. I hope this time 'Tough Crowd' can hang on.

When I first started watching this show, my impression was that it was getting off to a creaky start, the format was unwieldy, and Colin didn't seem to control it very well. I couldn't write it off, however, because I kept getting huge, healthy belly-laughs from it, and you've got to be grateful for that. Every evening I would look at the clock, think it's getting late and that I would not stay tuned, but always wound up doing so. I've built up a great affection for this show since then, and I'm glad to see that Comedy Central seems to be giving it a good chance to build a following. The post-"Daily Show" timeslot doesn't hurt, either.

It's not always easy to read whether an opinion expressed there is genuine or something said just for comedic effect, which to me is part of the fun. On the whole, and with some exceptions, the comedians on Colin's panel don't seem the sort of self-righteous windbags you'd see on a typical "Politically Correct with Bill Maher" show, a program to which this has been compared. Stupidity stated with conviction is usually just stupid, not funny. But even the most ill-informed of Colin's panelist can make me laugh while simultaneously p***ing me off, and there's always someone there to lob it right back at them to good effect.

Colin himself always appears to be incredibly ill at east, struggling with the prepared material on the show, and often seems to apologize in advance for the likelihood of some particular bit of comedy bombing. I'm not sure if there's any calculation in that, to get the crowd on his side, but I can't help liking Colin and rooting for him. If I'm being manipulated, so what? To quote John Belushi in "Animal House," it don't cost nothin'. Actually, I don't see any great need for including the troublesome prepared material in the so-called "third act," and would just as soon see the panel continue riffing on various topics during that time. I'd keep the various prepared closing rants each panelist delivers at the end, though, as they're often very funny and inventive, and give a good idea of the typical style of each comedian.

I really enjoy the vulgar camaraderie of these unruly comedic road warriors, and Colin's sometimes frustrated efforts to preside over them. To me, he's the perfect man for the job.

Finally we've got something to watch at 11:30. This is, usually, a very funny show. I say usually, because the success of the show is based greatly on who they have on the show every day. Because, quite frankly, Colin Quinn is not funny, and he's the only one on the show every night. He doesn't have anything funny to say, and when he does have a good comment, he messes up the delivery and stutters into his obligatory apology.

Anywho, when they have their best on the show (i.e. Greg Giraldo, Jim Norton, Nick DiPaulo, etc.) it's one of the funniest on TV. And when Jon Stewart was on, I almost p***ed myself I was laughing so hard. And the surprising part is, these guys actually have intelligent things to say. The only thing I think they should cut out is the "third act", where Colin takes over with some truly awful pre-written material that makes me cringe more than laugh. They should just let the comedians rip each other apart for an extra 7 minutes every episode.

Colin Quinn attempts to make himself over as a conservative mouthpiece, but he really doesn't have the chops for it. The 'transformation' was required because as a comedian his chronically unfunny Boston meathead viewpoint held no potential. This show serves to confirm that comedy still eludes him and that that previous gig was just an attempt to hide his anger behind a sometimes smiling face. He reminds me of Brutus in the Popeye cartoons. As you watch him you can see that he has great difficulty getting his lips in sync with his brain. His primitive mind tires of every topic before he's even partially considered it, probably so he can resume thinking about beer. Like all inarticulate people, his exasperation grows as he nears the end of his reasoning ability and the limits of his communication skills. The result is a transparent reactive posture that won't get him mocked by his southie buddies. His anger is understandable; I'd be angry too if my ambition outpaced the sub-standard brain I'd been given.

A chimp could make more persuasive conservative arguments.

I never liked Colin Quinn, neither on SNL nor in any of his other roles. However, I do very much enjoy 'Tough Crowd'. I think the appealing force of the show was the real comedians and their real exchanges, and the sense of real friends coming together to discuss and ridicule the issues of the day. Real friends, not the hackneyed cardboard cutouts you find on the show 'Friends'. If a fictional sitcom analogy has to be made, then it is more along the lines of 'Cheers'.

I believe this show has little in common with 'Politically Incorrect', although many make the comparison. That program was primarily politically focused, not focused on comedy. 'Tough Crowd' on the other hand, was focused on comedy. Some have made claims about the show being a failed conservative mouth piece, or not a liberal showpiece like P.I., but I watch this type of television for comedy and entertainment, not political advocacy. I happen to believe in freedom, and not leftist socialism or rightist authoritarianism, and I supported neither Bush nor Kerry, but I enjoyed the show regardless, because I enjoyed it on its merits, and did not let political ideology permeate all aspects of my life and prejudice my enjoyment of the program.