Last Comic Standing - June 7 recap

In the world of third tier summer television programming, anything goes. Case in point: Monday’s season premiere of Last Comic Standing on NBC, a show that has seemingly died more times than Kenny on South Park. They aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but if the first episode is any indication, this season has the potential to be one of the funniest ones the show has ever seen.

The affair kicked off with the introduction of a new host, and a genuinely funny one at that, Craig Robinson of The Office and Hot Tub Time Machine. He addressed the question on everyone’s mind immediately. “Last Comic Standing is back,” he announced. “I bet you’re wondering, how the hell did that happen?” Craig was nattily clad in an ascot and a smoking jacket—not the last one we’d see tonight—as he reminded everyone what the competition is about while plunking out a little tune on his keyboard. The grand prize this season is not just a vague talent deal, but $250,000 of cold, hard cash. Craig’s song ended, revealing an enthusiastic throng of would-be contestants behind him lining the streets outside The Improv in Los Angeles.

Inside, the comics auditioned for an entirely new panel of judges, and again, this season has made a tremendous upgrade by selecting Greg Giraldo, Natasha Leggero, and Andy Kindler, a trio of respected working comedians. Giraldo is a staple of the brilliant recent run of roasts on Comedy Central and his quick wit and experience are an excellent addition to this show. Kindler is another veteran, one who provided both valuable commentary and absurd fashion suggestions. I’m not as familiar with Natasha Leggero, but she was very funny and wildly charismatic. It’s no stretch to say this is the best panel of judges the show has ever seen.

The format of the show remained familiar, with the comics auditioning for the judges in hopes of being called back to another showcase performance. The night’s first performer, Maronzio Vance, set the tone for the evening. He tried out for the second season and admittedly wasn’t ready then. He is now, as he was funny and earned a callback. Lest we think that the nature of the audition shows has changed completely, we were quickly subjected to the vintage LCS parade of sideshow freaks, including a gothic killer clown and a man with an acoustic guitar and a devil costume, who was told succinctly that not only was he not getting a callback, but that he simply shouldn’t leave the house. “There were really some diamonds in the rough,” observed Natasha. “But I have to say, a lot of rough.” Unlike recent seasons, however, there were many more comics that could be seen as diamonds. Some of the bad ones were even good, like Kirk Fox, who pulled the plug on himself after a meandering tangent. “I peaked in the hallway,” he admitted. The judges admired both his sense of humor and his outright surrender. He was invited back for the showcase.

One frequent criticism of the show is that the producers often cast for types, not just for the funniest comedians, and those who think that will not be dissuaded by what they saw on Monday. We saw an at-home feature piece with Laurie Kilmartin, a single mom who has been performing for over two decades. She seems genuinely smart and funny, and she deserved better than some of the stagey bits they showed with her son at home. The show usually provides a handful of comics that I personally find tremendously annoying, yet ones I know will probably advance to the finals of the show. In this premiere episode, there weren’t many that fit the bill, but Fortune Feimster did. She also rated an at-home feature that consisted of nothing more than her dressing up and using silly, grating voices. To me, she was painfully unfunny. But she made the showcase, and I’d bet that she advances farther.

At the auditions, the good continued to mix with the bad. What I enjoyed was that instead of just outright awful, like the Buck Starrs of auditions past, this time we had comically talented judges critiquing overplayed, hackneyed stage styles and techniques. “I know what you’re thinking” was one line that they sagely picked on, followed by a plethora of performers trying to get a laugh with that exact phrase, usually at the expense of their own appearance or ethnic background. This was another point of emphasis for the judges, who observed how often current comics poke fun at themselves with bad jokes about their mixed race origins. Deft editing then revealed a veritable parade of just those kinds of jokes. The momentary lull left Natasha a little dazed. “Now I know why Paula Abdul was constantly high on pills,” she said in one of a handful of deserved potshots at American Idol.

Prescription medication may have helped Natasha weather the storm that was Edith Piaf, a pseudo-ventriloquist dog act. It was unique, for sure, since the dog in question was real, and the voice coming from it belonged to a woman with a microphone in the wings while another “performer” simply sat on stage holding the dog. It was as bizarre as it sounds, yet I laughed out loud at the canine that could have been Triumph’s long-lost cousin, and so did Greg. “I did laugh,” he admitted. “Because I laugh at anything weird or unusual.” Alas, Edith was not asked back.

But as the first day of L.A. auditions drew toward a conclusion, there was reason for optimism. This was an undeniably strong group, one so adept that humorous but imperfect comics like Guy Torry were left to wonder whether they were good enough. He had great stage presence and would have been a true contender in recent seasons, yet the judges observed that his material was not yet on par with his performance. This was a brilliant, dead-on note, and not the kind of wise comment we have seen often before in the early stages of this program. “The caliber of talent in Los Angeles has ranged from super polished headlining comedian to really unique voices who are about ready to break out and that’s what I’m looking for,” stated Natasha.

We were shown glimpses of fifteen comics performing at the showcase, although more than that actually took the stage. There wasn’t too much drama as 11 contestants were picked to advance to the semi-finals, with the lone bit of manufactured tension coming by leaving the single mom’s name to be called last. Unless this was your first time watching a competitive reality show like this, it was clear that she was advancing. The others joining her were a diverse, interesting, and mostly funny group.

Host Craig took to the monsoon-pelted streets of Los Angeles to do it all again for a second full day of auditions. There was plenty of crazy left for day two, including jugglers, balloon artists, and one guy dressed as an alien warrior, with an outfit complete down to a meticulously made up mask. “I think some people think if they put a crazy get-up on that they won’t have to write any material,” said Andy. Cut to: a guy in a furry suit on stilts. “And they are almost always wrong about that.” One flashy bit of styling worth noting belonged to Jonathan Thymius, a dry, older gentleman who took Andy’s joking suggestion to wear a smoking jacket to heart, showing up for his callback in a sparkly gold number that was a complete contrast to his personality. It was a great choice, and the judges loved it.

Showcase number two saw seven more talented performers picked to advance. I loved Rachel Feinstein’s unique perspective, Paula Bel’s sardonic manner, Chip Pope’s enthusiastic and infectious presence, and Jason Nash’s hilarious bit about his three year old son sounding like a World War Two general. After the first round of auditions, it is hard not to get excited about the prospects this season. It’s like watching a very talented draft class of athletes move from the college ranks to the pros, and after recent years so bad that I literally could not handle the show anymore, my spirits are buoyed. We have an amusing and enjoyable host, knowledgeable and hilarious judges, and several contestants that were laugh-out-loud funny. There has only been one audition stop, and we already have a wealth of unique comic voices to root for. Comedy is certainly subjective, but anyone who has watched the show before would be hard pressed to deny that, after this episode, it looks like a former train wreck is solidly and surprisingly back on track. Next week, the auditions move to New York City, and if the talent approaches what we saw in week one, we’re easily looking at the best potential group since the show’s heyday in seasons one through three.