From Denise Martin of Variety.com


If you can't register to Variety, the pdf article is here from Dane Cook.com.

The premiere will be JUNE 11 on HBO after The Sopranos. A trailer can be seen on his site (Video section) or on his Myspace profile

Now, admittedly, I'm a huuuge Dane Cook fan. And I know there are people out there that doesn't like his comedy, that's fine. I just hope when the show premieres, here's a good place to chat about it (the boards over at DC.com can be a bit batshit crazy, even for me, but overall they're still good people, just too many emoticons and "!!11"s).

Why this will be a fun show? Dane Cook's comedy is fun and simple, like your regular college frat friends, yet he uses a very defined vocabulary that lets you know it's not all toilet humor. His appeal may seem superficial (that he's good lookin' -- I'm a guy and I still agree) but it's really the way he can paint out a story with his jokes and he's really really good at it. He's the rare 'stand-up' guy (much like the Comedians of Comedy guys) that loves to do stand up and that's what he's from. He's not the TV/Movie-Comedian that you notice on movies and say "hey, he's that guy that does something funny". Dane Cook uses the mic straight up.

You may remember Gary Gulman from the meh that was Last Comic Standing. And he's actually a funny guy. The others are Dane's good friends, also comedians. This is like your typical roadtrip home movie, except perhaps 10x as wild and there's way too many girls asking for autographs on their boobs.

Think of this like: "Comedians of Comedy" is to nerds (I term it affectionately because I'm one) and "Tourgasm" is to hot sexy people..so to speak. It's going to be fun.

*BUMP* Hehe I guess I made this thread a little too prematurely seeing as the premiere of the series is June 11.

But I have something to add in order to bump: Dane Cook is going to be the first guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight! (Thursday May 25)
and
He's going be on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Friday (Friday May 26)

He's sure to bring the funny on the show as usual. I find it pretty awesome for Dane to be a first guest on Leno. I mean, he's pretty much the hottest comedian, but how often does The Tonight Show feature someone first that's not on the tabloid all the freaking time? He's still "underground" to me no matter what, so him getting recognition in that form is cool (he's been on the show before, just never "first guest" status)

Anyway, watch both appearences to get a gist of what Tourgasm is about as well as Dane's latest movie roles (with Jessica Simpson; Steve Carrell; Kevin Costner)

eta: it's JUNE not july

ETA (sorry to bump..again): Dane on Jimmy Kimmel (5/26/06)
and
Dane on Leno if you just scroll down the page a bit. He shows a clip of Tourgasm on the JimKim appearance and brings the ha-ha.

BUMPED!

The premiere is this Sunday! Mama Clare and I are so psyched. Yeah, you read that right--my 57-year-old MOM is a Dane Cook fan.

skillzdatkillz (funny handle, by the way), I totally agree with what you said. DC has a terrific command of the mic. Yes, he does frat boy potty humor and works blue, but I can't think of another comedian who can do "girl talk" so well and would use the phrase "when a sound goes--hiiii!--into your cerebellum, located next to your limbic system" in his act. I think he's just great.

And to be extra superficial, he looks really good in clothes. There are some people who wear clothes really, really well, and Dane is one of them.

What did you think of Dane's appearance on Leno? I wonder if the boots he was wearing were the boots he needed to have IN his life.

Yay! I'm just happy there's another TWoPer out there to join me in the DC love fest! Thanks Miss Clare for adding something other than my own fan-boy squeel heheh!


You are right, he's photogenic in everything. That suit was rockin' even though we've seen our share of the funky tees/jeans combo for a while. That and he's so relatable in the stuff he brings up, very not-hollywood (thank god!)

I just may have to get HBO for this.

I adore Dane Cook. I seriously almost wet my pants during one of his stand up routines when he was doing the Burger King drive-thru bit. "Picklessss...picklesssss..." Or when he was doing that bit about how people on stage always ask the audience how they feel by round of applause and talked about doing that for car accidents. "Ma'am, by round of applause, how do you feel...she's not clapping...she's not clapping!!" Physical comedy bores me in general, but when he does it? Funniest shit ever. I love him. I die laughing everytime I see the clip of him lifting up his shirt and saying "Suck my back!" and gliding/tapping down the stage. The way he moved was hilarious in itself. He could have done just that, and I still would have cracked up. I remember thinking, why isn't this guy more popular? I'm glad he's getting more recognition now.

I saw his stand up at the Garden in Boston a month or so ago. Good stuff. "Someone shit on or around the coats"

I had other plans already for that weekend and was so pissed I couldn't go. I heard it was a wicked awesome show.

I already have the DVR set to record this. I can't wait.

Me too! It was the best time seriously. I travelled 3 days through 3 states, from Canada no less!Yep, he really deserves it too. I don't think there's any other "entertainer" out there that I can say that to because he's earned everything he's done and he's so good to his FANS! That's the best part, letting us know that the appreciation goes both ways and it's all about his comedy craft and not about the silly side nonsense. Good guy.

I would have preferred to see him in a more intimate setting. The sound was screwed up and i missed some of it.

Count me in on the Dane Cook love. I've seen him three times at the Comedy Connection in Boston, met him twice, gotten autographs and had pics with him and was just great. All three times I got to see him my friend and I were sitting first row stage right. I usually don't like sitting up front at comedy shows because you never know when the comedian is gonna pick on you but we loved to be that close to him. At one show one of the stagelights was blinking off and on and he looked dead at me and said, "Is that you? Are you touched by an angel?" I just lurve him.

I am thrilled for his success. I love my signed copy of Harmful if Swallowed. I'm just sad because God only knows if or when he'll come back for dates in the club again. Maybe never...sniff...then I'll never have a matching set of signed dvd/cds.

The dvd included with Retaliation gave a preview of Tourgasm which was hysterical by the way. At that time is wasn't clear how Tourgasm was going to be released. I never thought that it was going to be shown over several weeks on HBO. I'm thrilled he's getting this opportunity on HBO.

My only gripe is why does it have to be on at 11:00pm? The Sopranos and Big Love are over so what's up with that? It should've been given more of a prime time slot.

Hassenfeffer ah, I envy you meeting him so many times! Heh. But I guess because of "Entourage" having the 10pm slot that's why Tourgasm is pushed later? I like Entourage and feel it's a perfect compliment as a lead in (though..in retrospect...two shows both about 4 guys.. sausage fest!) But whatever, I'm willing to bet Dane will beat out Entourage in ratings!

Ah, I see about the scheduling now, good point. Thanks skillzdatkillz. Re: his recent Jay Leno appearance I missed it that night but the next day my DC buddy told me that he was wearing a suit. A suit? I couldn't believe it. I caught the clip on his website and I have to say I thought he looked good but I do prefer him in more casual attire.

This other time at the Comedy Connection, it was New Years Day, the last time we saw him there, he came out on the stage, and said, "Look, I brought some video from christmas that I wanna share with you." He turned around to the blank TV at the corner of the stage, crossed his arms, looked up and I'm telling for you for a split second I thought we were gonna get a video treat. Well, doesn't he turn around, look at me and say, "You really thought I was gonna play something? Didn't ya?" Lurve him. That's all I gotta say.

Don't we all? :) Over at HBO.com They have a 35 minute interview talk with Dane where he talks pretty deeply about his focus and career. It's pretty neat to hear his thoughts.

It's pretty cool how he had this career dream and by really showing up he's attained all the good stuff. I find what's amazing about his style is that he's like a kid, after doing creating something unique and fun, and wants to do it all over again as soon as possible. He loves the game and doesn't indulge with drugs/alcohol that's why the sky's the limit with his imagination.

*sigh* I know it's TWoP and not DC message boards, so a pre-apology for gushing over the Dane Train!

I only know him from his dead-on Cruise impression on Kimmel, but I'm looking forward to this show.

Heh! Yeah, that was brilliant, he got the mannerism just right and good thing it was still fresh at the time.

Sad face for me, though I want to have lively chats here about the show (hence thread starting..), I'll have to depend on folks that may or may not post it on the interwebs (live in Canada, don't have HBO).

But I know I can count on you guys to jot some good stuff about the show when it airs and I'll be forever grateful in reading it all!

Oh BTW, Dane is one of the presenters on tonight's MTV Movie Awards. So look out for that!

So, where do I go to purchase a ticket for the Dane Cook love train? I adore that guy. I saw him years ago at the Laugh Factory in L.A. & it made me believe in love at first sight. I can't freakin' wait for Sunday, and I'm glad I have HBO East so I can watch it at 8 instead of 11.

KAAAAATIE! KAAAAAATIE! WHERE ARE YOU, KATIE?!

To get ready for Tourgasm, we're listening to Retaliation in my office today. "I'd love to be able to shoot spaghetti out of my fingertips. Because nobody likes to be covered in spaghetti."

"You're very rude, enjoy your spaghetti!"... "You're very egotistical!"

One of my favorite Dane Cook routines is "Monopoly" - "It's four in the morning, Grandma! YOU WIN!...Where'd you get the pink 50s, you cheating whore?" And "Not So Kool-Aid" - "'Oh yeah!'? OH NO!"

Oh! And I can't hear a car alarm without thinking "HELLOOOO! I'M A CARRRRR!"...

Yeah, needless to say...I'm pumped.

Here's a little article about Tourgasm I found on ew.com.

Get on the Bus

Incidentally, Dane said on Jimmy Kimmel that he has more than a million friends on Myspace? That's terrifying! Think of how many bulletins you'd get!

HappilyEvrAftr, I LOVE Car Alarm. That Dane Cook is a silly bitch.

I'm all over the love train for this man.
My friends are sick of hearing about it already.
Can't wait for Sunday!

I have seen the commericals for this show but I never heard of this guy. Sorry to sound ignorant but what is the big deal about him?

Don't worry, it's not ignorant cek125 since he's still not *that* mainstream (but probably by December..he'll be household name for sure) -- which, truth be told, is what makes him so endearing to me, that he's not "access hollywood" material and all that nonsense.

But back to your question, well, it depends how you see what big deal is. For me, he's a big deal because his comedy style is very hip and young while at the same time you can tell there's a lot of eloquance to the way he does it. He appreciates his fans unlike any other performer I've seen, (updates his messages; posts on his message board etc.) which is why we all love to follow him wherever he goes. And well, superficially, he's a good looking young comedian so that does add to the factor of why he's appealing across the board (not that Lewis Black isn't "attractive"...but you get what I'm saying I hope)

ETA: I uploaded this a while ago, but it's a good profile of Dane's popularity and his down-to-earth-ness

Just to add to that, he's a really great physical performer. It seems like he tries to inject as much energy and enthusiasm into his act, which really takes his comedy up another level. I just think he's really entertaining to watch.

Have to admit - I didn't think I would like this very much... but I actually enjoyed it. Dane came off as a pretty fun guy - but I have this uncontrollable urge to punch Jay Davis in the face.
It'll be interesting to see the guys dig deeper into each other as the tour goes on, because it definitely seems like a tour bus will bring out the inner bitch in anyone.

I thought that was awful television....Jay Davis ...wtf?....a thin skinned comedian? Looked like Spinal Tap but was light years less funny!!!

You know, starr_00, I'm totally with you: I didn't expect to really like it, but I did. Dane Cook is funny in small doses, but I thought he'd be incredibly annoying and probably full of himself (especially since, as that producer fella and the opening slides said, he's the savior of comedy or some such crap come to bring laughter to the "kids," which I bet just makes guys like Dave Attell sooooooo happy to hear), but he's not as manic in real life as I thought he would be and he actually seems like a really down-to-earth, stand-up (as in, "good") guy. Except for that hand gesture thing that's on the tour logo and that he and his fans do all the time. That's kinda a bit much.

Robert Clark I saw on Tough Crowd and knew that he was funny, if not always to my taste, but basically a decent sort.

I've hated Gary since he was on Last Comic Standing and I'm glad he doesn't look to be a big part of the show.

Jay Davis, though? HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE! Never heard of him before tonight and I wish, now, that I had never heard of him at all. What a prick! He's a comic and he doesn't know that guys bust balls all the time? He's saving himself for Jesus? Jesus H. Christ, I say!

I'm definitely going to keep watching, though.

Anyone else underwhelmed by this show? It just....wasn't that good. The "arguments" on the bus seemed almost forced for the cameras. I never laughed at anything the other 3 guys said and Dane Cook didn't seem funny at all off stage.

OMG, is Jay is such a girl. He wants to be greeted in the morning so he feels like a part of the group and he doesn't want to get picked on by the schoolyard bully. Grow a pair buddy.

I was underwhelmed too. This is Tourgasm, not Talk-About-Our-Feelings-and-Crygasm. That Jay is such a pussy! If you can't take being ribbed, why the hell are you a comedian? I want to see more of them interacting with the fans and taking in the local sights and fewer bitchfights.

I think maybe the problem is that Dane is too close to the production. What is he, the director, the producer, the executive producer, AND the creator of the show? Maybe he needs to loosen the reins a little bit and let someone with a different perspective bring the thing together.

I did laugh a LOT when Dane said, "Look, I had my back lasered! Come on, touch it!"

I tuned in not knowing it was a reality show and thought it would be Dane Cook's stand up. Who cares how the comedians got along on the bus? If they aren't being funny, I'm not interested. Does anyone know if HBO will air Dane Cook's stand up act at the end of this snorgasm?

edited because I need to proofread before posting!

I think they are supposed to conclude Tourgasm by showing the show at the Boston Garden, but I could be mistaken.

Anyway, I was totally underwhelmed & a little disappointed that the only Dane stand-up they showed is stuff I've already seen. The thing about smashing the ice cream in the little boys face was funny the first 20 times I heard it, and they didn't even show the whole bit with the little boy lying about the story when he's 50.

I agree with the majority, it was pretty disappointing. I didn't feel very emotionally invested. Then again, I wasn't very interested in the idea of it. In any case, I'll probably continue watching anyway to see if it goes anywhere.

I was surprised that Dane was so empathetic -- a little mother hennish. (Then again, he controls every part of the show, he can paint himself in whatever light he wants).

Mildly annoyed with Jay ("I cried and I let it all out and I'm just going to go out there and do comedy." ...Crying over being jokingly referred to as an ass-kisser? Really?). I don't like Bobby very much either, he's too abrasive. And Gary was barely on camera at all.

I liked everything I saw of the stand-up (hopefully, there will be new material from Dane in the coming episodes).

That pretty much sums up why I won't be watching. Besides, the idea of Dane Cook as the sexy comedian is kind of backhanded. How hard is it to be the good looking guy amongst the Lewis Black's, Dave Attel's and Larry the Cable Guy's of the world.

I don't hate Dane Cook, I think he is kind of amusing, but as in everything in life, there are levels. Dane Cook's current level of fame is nowhere near commensurate to his talent. Calling Dane Cook the savior of comedy is like proclaiming John Mayer the savior of music. Dane Cook should be on the level of that Rodney guy whose sitcom I don't watch.

After one ep, I much prefer Comedians of Comedy. Those guys are funny. Plus that damn pretty boy Gary Gulman complaining about the fish cut on his face? Weenie.

I just finished watching the pilot so I guess if I'm going to be hanging out here for the series' run I should say a few things first.

I honestly don't get Dane Cook's popularity and I am a HUGE fan of stand up comedy. He's ok and he's energetic but there are so SO many more talented and funnier comedians out there both blue and ... not blue. Lucky Louis' Jim Norton is a hilarious stand-up, Rich Vos, Brian Regan, the aforementioned Comedians of Comedy, I even prefer Bobby Kelly- maybe it has to do with Cook appealing to the younger set. But I digress...

I haven't decided if the inclusion of Jay is brilliant or stupid. It's funny to have a pretentious Frank Burns-type on the bus. Comedians are dirty people who talk about dark subjects and who rag on each other more and harder than anyone else. If you can't handle that, I don't know how you can succeed in the business.

Dane was eh. I liked Kelly. Gary didn't get much of a showing. Hated Jay but haven't decided if I love to hate him yet.

As for the person comparing it to Comedians of Comedy, I prefer CoC more. Part of what made CoC better was A) I prefer the nerds to the cool kids even if it's just one cool kid and three of his cronies, B) all of them were kind of equal, c) they had a better rapport/friendship all around than the Tourgasm crew and d) I have a boy crush on Zach Galifkanasis. I know, I can so do better.

So far, the show doesn't work for me.

Somebody pointed it out earlier, but I think a fundamental problem is having Cook serve in so many capacities. I think that Comedians of Comedy succeeded because it was directed by somebody other than the comedians themselves, and that gave the story a flowing narrative, something that's lacking in this show.

I really enjoyed this, especially after the suck that was "Lucky Louie". I liked Cook's Comedy Central special a few years back, but I don't really follow his career or anything and I'm not familiar with the other comics.
It reminded me of a real life "Entourage" set on a tourbus.

Alrighty, I finally got a chance to watch this and here is my honest to TWoP-Gods truth (fan-biased aside): I enjoyed it, but certainly the direction of the premise feels off-kiltered. Still, I wouldn't use 'underwhelming' to describe what I feel..more like lukewarm.

But I also see the problems, because the heart of the show seems like it favors those that already have background knowledge of Dane and his style. So that probably is why it won't work universally. Really though, it's like a home movie -- if you know the people you tend to smile more, even at the dumb boring parts.
Yes, I agree completely. You can even tell Bobby wasn't that much of a bully because he was gauging how it might look on the camera. And the way Gary was laughing like it really wasn't a big deal. I'm not sure about Jay though, he might really be like that sensitive, but I get the feeling like he was playing it up more.
Agreed again! I was thinking his credit was going to show up everywhere! But yeah, I think that's was a problem I saw as well. It felt like the emotional backdrop of the tour is something he 'manufactured' rather than letting it evolve naturally.
But the point of the show, given at the beginning, is meant for you to be "on the ride" and not necessarily see the set acts. Nonetheless, I see your point, there weren't too many laugh moments, but more..uh..'moments'..
No, that is the concert film special called "Vicious Circle" set to premiere Sept. 4. That was filmed in April this year (it was amazing btw), while Tourgasm was filmed last year.

I hope that wasn't too much fan-wanking (I gave my honest opinion) and let you know why his appeal is so high amongst his fans. I wouldn't say he's the 'savior' of stand-up, but he really is the only comedian I find gets you interested in standup. With the bullcrap that was Last Comic Standing; he made stand-up comedy cool and worthwhile again. And I guess his style is geared towards the younger crowd like a rock band, and got popular that way.

I had no idea Dane Cook's career had already ended. HBO should have passed on this Behind The Music True Hollywood Story until after Dane relapsed from his Ritalin rehab.

Not to mention Club Soda Kenny, Patrice O'Neal...the list goes on.
I'm going to reserve judgment on this show until I see a couple more episodes. But I do hope Bobby keeps busting Jay's balls, causing him to completely flip out by the end.

I wouldn't say Sidecar is funnier than Dane. *Relistens to Superman Shirt bit* ...ok, it might be a push.

That is the one thing I think most people are looking forward to.

Sillzdatkillz said:



You see, I don't get that "he appeals to the kids"/"he makes stand-up cool" stuff. I'm 23 years old and, again, while I don't think Dane Cook is awful or anything, I don't think he's a comedy "rock star" or anything. I go for the Dave Attells (who, BTW, I thought was "down with the kids," too, but I guess someone decided that had to be Dane), Greg Giraldos, et al. Maybe I'm just a weird outlier of young stand-up fans, though. I guess what I'm trying to say is what annoys me isn't Dane Cook but the people who think he's all messianic or whatever.

Well, I guess I'm still grouping myself with the kids being 20, but I think I get you point.. that it's more the 14 year olds that see this guy and think he's the "greatest thing eva" and not realize there's a lot more to his comedy than his image. It's what I think of as the horrid MySpace Snob Mentality.

But for me, following what he's done, he does pay homage to the Dave Attells/ Giraldos (they did a Vegas Insominiac Tour together) as well as others. So that gets my respect in terms of attributing his success to others.

I'm also 23 and I too like Giraldo, Maron and David Cross, and the CoCs, Dan Naturman, etc.

Anyway, when it comes to "kids" I think Dane appeals to an even younger set. Attell appeals to an older "kid" demographic because of his discussion of much darker subjects, drinking, whoring, the like. I think Dane can appeal more to a much younger set because his subject matter is a lot lighter and his image plays more to it than his actual content and he's more attractive than the average comedian. Someone like Dave appeals more towards the early/mid-20ers and older who enjoy the darkness a lot more. Like I don't hate Dane I just don't think he deserves the fame and spectacle that surrounds him.

If it's any consolation, I think he'll lose about 500-1000 fans by tomorrow. I'll make this short seeing that it might be OT, but yesterday, the 13th, he (Dane) invited whoever that responded to special emails to a "very special taping of the Tourgasm finale".

What transpired was basically: get a huge lineup/crowd shot that waited for 5+hours in the LA sun for 5 minutes of seeing Dane, Jay, Bobby, Gary run by coming from, get this, a helicopter!! which amounted to 10mins. The crowd was asked to leave.

That was sucky; and I though I don't want to blame him, he's pretty much in charge of this production, so that was a very bitch move. The DC boards is raging with complaints.. it ain't pretty.

Oy, this was bad bad step for him, hope he learns, if not... even I might have to jump ship based on principle.

Question though.. were they told that it was going to be a whole set or was it for something to do with production? To me that invite sounds like helping him out getting shots for the show, which is what happened.

Bobby Kelly was the only worthwhile part of this show. It would have been deadly dull without him.

Hurricane Bitch? Can you say hack? Dane blew it when selecting the other comics for this show.

It was nice of Dane to greet the fans who were at the first venue so early. I got the feeling he would have done that even if there weren't cameras there.