jpgr1

Nate Bargatze's new comedy special is kind of funny, but it doesn't quite measure up to his usual greatness. The jokes feel a bit half-baked, and they're pretty safe and predictable-not the clever stuff fans are used to. He's still got that deadpan style and charm, but the pacing is slow and the laughs barely get beyond a mild chuckle. There are some relatable moments, but they're few and far between. All in all, it's a letdown compared to his better past specials.

Also, who told him to put a whole section on animal cruelty in his set? Who are the people who laugh at this and find it funny? All of us who were watching agreed that he lost us at that point.

There is no real story line. It's just a meandering mess. Nothing ever makes sense and I'm guessing it's not meant to. Nothing is ever followed up on. No one talks to each other, when they have nothing else to do but talk. Each episode has like 25 characters. It's impossibly hard to keep them all straight. I'm constantly looking at the cast list trying to figure out who they are talking about and how they play into the non-existent story line. Sometimes characters are referenced that briefly appeared two years ago. Like I'm supposed to remember someone from season one who had 10 lines of dialogue and was killed off in episode three?

Worst of all, I don't really care about any of the characters. There's no connection, no chemistry, no bonding, no emotional depth. I don't feel anything for any of them. They can all get eaten by zombies for all I care. I don't know why I am still watching. I should just cut my losses at this point.

The only good aspect of the show is the creepy version of Que Sera Sera playing over the intro credits.

Slogged through over 5 hours of this mess for about 90 minutes of good content. Aside from a few really great moments I feel exhausted and frustrated and pissed off that I wasted so much time watching this live.

Highlights: tributes to Ozzy, Foreigner, Kool and the Gang.

Low points: lots of off tune singing, terrible sound (broken microphone), people who can't read off cue cards, and worst of all some really REALLY long-winded endlessly tedious and boring speeches. Loved Ozzy calling them out. Unreal that anyone would think that a night celebrating so many artists is the right venue for them to get up a preach a sermon that lasts 30 minutes. Talk about sucking all the energy out of a room.

Also, the show should have ended on a high note with the big energy fun and exciting tribute to Ozzy, not with the MOR "jam band" Dave Matthews. What was with them putting the DMB at the end? Save the mediocre for last? Something tells me that had more to do with Julia Roberts (or the ceremony producers) insisting she go last because she's such an A-list star. Reality check: This isn't 1990. She's not. *yawn*

Overall, a really terrible idea to try to watch this live. Stick with the edited down replay, though I suspect that version will still have many of the same issues.