Last Comic Standing

While the first few seasons still exuded a certain old-fashioned charm, the series stands and falls today with the judges and their sense of humor. So much more standard McDonald's. Can entertain and Last Comic Standing is definitely the best reality show based on the selection and sacking process. But the competition is really ridiculous too.

Network: NBC; Genre: reality/game; Content Rating: TV-14 (for language); Classification: contemporary (Star range: 1 - 4)

Season Reviewed: Complete Series (2 seasons)

At it's concept, 'Last Comic Standing' is a respectable and welcome change of pace from the average network reality show. Finally, I thought. A show that isn't a popularity contest or self-indulgence in dating, but something based on substance and merit. Comics get eliminated by competing in literal head-to-head stand-offs on stage to get the most laughs. And it's a stand-up comedy show, so right there it would seem to have a leg up on the entirely humorless reality genera. However, in execution, 'LCS' is very different and sometimes tedious to watch. Like a dating contest where the entertainment relies of cat-fights, this show is only as entertaining and funny as the comics that are on it and unfortunately, many of them aren't that funny. They aren't that funny but even they upstage host Jay Mohr.

There are certainly comedians on this show that are funny and innovative, but to get to them we have to wade through a lot of bad ones, a lot of limp gags, stale acts and old punch lines. All the black comics talk about getting pulled over by the cops, all the white comics talk about being cops and pulling over black people and all the women talk about boyfriends that can't commit to marriage. Has the stand-up comedy scene really not changed at all in the last 20 or 30 years? The comics that are genuinely talented and innovative (Rob Cantrell, Ralphie May) usually get tossed off the show in the head-to-head matches by the idiots in the audience for someone simpler and more mainstream. In season 1 this ultimately lead to a disappointing ending in which the forced comedian-with-no-sense-of-humor Dat Phan won the whole thing more for his sob story background than doing the same act impersonating his mother over and over and over. The result was so irrevocable and lame for me that I don't care what happens in coming seasons.

There are a lot of unnecessary standard reality show elements here. What does it serve to isolate the comics in a house together? Why are there 'immunity challenges' if only to make it more blatant that NBC executive have no ideas and this show is cut from the exact same unoriginal cloth as 'Survivor'? Still, arguing over who is funniest is a more worthy endeavor than who will "get the guy". Well, I'll give NBC one thing. At least they are keeping this show exactly where reality shows belong - in the dead of summer.

* ½

Usually I'm not a fan of reality television, but I got into this show after the first episode. I'm a fan of stand-up comedy and this show had many quality comedians.

Dat Phan was energetic and great at physical comedy. I liked how he would sometimes open his act in "pigeon" English, then he would say, "I'm kidding, I speak English". What a great "ice breaker!"

Dave Mordal and "Don" Vos were a laugh riot. I especially loved Dave's idea for a pilot of a bunch of goofy, incompetent terrorists. I was laughing so hard when he described it, even if the "focus group" hated it. It cracked me up when they focused on Rich Vos, always ironing and when he would say "I stink".

I liked Raphie May's "angry" style of comedy and my sides were hurting from laughter when he was taking pot shots at Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown as he went head to head with Rob Cantrell.

Rob Cantrell was just plain goofy and I liked it. When he chose Ralphie, that took a lot of guts going up against the best in the house and you saw the respect he gained from it. I also liked it when he showed us his lava lamp and said this was the brain that told him he was going to be a "super funny comedian."

Cory Kahanie, Tess and Geoff Brown were funny as well. I liked Cory and her stories about her teenage daughter.

The last 2, Sean Kent; I don't really remember much of his stand-up routine, but Tere Joyce, I didn't find funny at all. She wasn't funny in the beginning and her "cha cha cha" I thought was very annoying.

When I look back at this show and the reason why I loved this and couldn't care for the other reality television shows, like any "Survivor" shows or "The Bachelorette" in comparison, because 5 years from now, will you actually remember any of the winners or care if Trista and whoever she chose will still be together? I doubt it.

Five years from now, I can see most of the 10 finalists moving on to bigger and better things in their comedic careers.

No pun intended, but Ralphie in my opinion has the potential of being the next big thing out of the whole group. Dat and Dave as well stood out.

Like its sister show AGT, LCS took a long time to get the formula right. The first season ended with Dat Phan winning .... whatever the judges were on that year, they should have shared some with the viewers at home. For season 8, the judges (as is the case with AGT) are finally functioning as a team (although one suspects Russell Peters is not quite as well known as he thinks he is, and seems occasionally lost, actually making this reviewer nostalgic for highly photogenic Natasha Legerro).

Unlike the case with Season 1, one suspects that, whoever actually wins, there will be multiple career breaks to go around. Joe Machi, for example, is the kind of creative spirit that most TV comedy show writing teams would kill for; Rod Man has a delivery so unique they could teach it in Comedy School and even then no one would be able to imitate it; and that self-conscious Canadian comic "who looks like a mannequin" comes across as a genuine diamond in the rough. Good TV!

These comics are just not very funny. Even Jay Mohr's material is pretty lame, and he is supposedly an established comic. I think he's a better actor than stand-up. I usually like him in films. And you know they edit everything down to just the best stuff, so it must be pretty painful to watch an entire taping. It just goes to show stand-up is a very tough thing to master. I know they have to fill up an hour, but the stupid Survivor type stuff is dumb. If the comics they chose were funnier, they could have an entire hour of routines and just vote like American Idol. But then they would have to have a helluva lot more material that was actually funny. It seems to me a stand up should have a solid half hour at least if they want to make a living at it. None of these qualify, except maybe the bald guy with the glasses. He's the only decent one on the show. As for the rest, they are real snoozers.