Comic Relief 2006

Robin, Whoopi and Billy were like three "Robin, Whoopi and Billy" impersonators in a Peoria "celebrity tribute" lounge act. It looked like them alright, but the real spark and talent was gone, nowhere to be seen. And cursing Bush & FEMA does not make up for it. Terribly sad to say, Robin has become a less-than-funny generic shadow of his former self. Note to Whoopi: chronic M.F. mantra-chanting does not replace funny. They were all simply going through the motions. Billy looked embarrassed. He knew this thing wasn't working, but was helpless. -- Various comics were good doing their bits, but the overall vehicle was quite lame. It pains me to say this, but the truth must be told. As someone once said, comedy is the truth, only faster. Was this painful truth fast enough?

I found this special to be vulgar and un-funny. Flipping the bird to our president on national TV is not amusing. I felt the comics were unprepared and trite. Many if not most took advantage of the camera to spew their political views. Asking for donations then alienating half your audience seems unwise. Remember Lenny Bruce? I'm not surprised, few do. I would have been interested in more real life clips and less crotch grabbing and potty humor from the hosts. The interviews with the displaced were heart wrenching. Billy's skit with the kid was priceless And Rite Rudner was a lady as always. They were the only two high spots of the whole thing. It aired in my time zone at 6pm. I couldn't get me kids out of the room fast enough.

This was one of the best donation shows ever created. Williams, Goldberg, and Crystal were amazing let alone the guest appearances from Wayne Brady to Lewis Black to Dane Cook was brilliant! The comics not only gave us laughs but also gave us the truth with our government and how it handled the situation and showed us the people that are still devastated from Katrinas aftermath. I give it two thumbs up if I were a critic! The views of New Orleans were horrific and something that should be helped. It is great to see people are still fighting from all the damages. I know that after watching this I was emotionally struck by how much Katrina destroyed the great city of New Orleans. Hopefully all of you watched and donated to a great cause.

Although the cause is a good one and the comics were sometimes funny, the vulgarities over-shadowed some of the humor. Whoopie was right when she said TBS would have a difficult time airing the language. Celebrities selling the shirts and the DVD became a bore. PBS is bad at soliciting for donations, but this episode of Comic Relief was a poor clone. The most touching segment was "Lassie" and her story; the scenes of New Orleans and the devastation still there are heart breaking. It's good to be reminded of what still needs to be done. Our government is lagging; the comics pointed that out several times; Bush was deservedly bashed. Did the comics talk to each other at all before the broadcast? There were similar jokes about Kirstie Alley, Dick Cheney, and others. Again, the cause is a good one, but the performances were generally lame this year. Whoopie couldn't get a word in edge-wise between Robin and Billy (no real surprise, however), and the TelePrompTer must have been on vacation. Sorry, folks - this was not the best version of Comic Relief.