Here is the new thread for Last Comic Standing discussion. The old forum has been archived here for future historians to marvel at.

They really need a rule that comedians can't use jokes they used in their Comedy Central special. I'm looking at you Reep & Arj.

Dear lord, Gerry Dee is terrible. I mean, even when I don't think a comic is funny, I can usually at least see why someone else might think they're funny. But he just made me cringe. Wasn't crazy about Jon Reep either, mostly because at this point, I don't think anyone deserves to get a laugh for pointing out that certain aspects of a person's lifestyle might indicate that the person in question is a redneck.

I love Matt Kirshen, but I kind of think Lavell is going to win. He's the kind of comic who would ordinarily bug me because we haven't seen anything besides fat jokes yet, but the jokes are written and delivered so well that I can't hate him. As for Amy Schumer, she didn't blow me away, but I am looking forward to seeing more of her. She has potential.

I liked Ryan Hamilton a hell of a lot more than I did when he auditioned, except that I work in an eye doctor's office, so at the end, I was just left with this intense desire to sit the boy down and explain to him about monovision.

Aside from Matt, Fiona O'Loughlin and Andi Smith were the only two that I'd actually pay to see. I can't believe they were both cut, yet we have to suffer through Gerry Dee for at least another week.

I can't express how relieved I was that Mel Silverback didn't advance.

Fiona O'Loughlin got straight-up robbed.
Gerry Dee stinks.
I like Matt Kirshen.

My money's on Lavell.

I ADORE Fiona; I really wish she'd made it through. I did notice that she has the exact same delivery as another famous Aussie--Dame Edna! But they both crack me the heck up, so I'm all for it. There were lots of good comics tonight. Really like Ryan. Arj is funnier than he was tonight. Andi was funny, and I liked Greg, and Dwayne, too.

I have to say, Lavell is likeable, but he doesn't have strong jokes, except for the seatbelt thing. Basically it's just "Hey! I'm fat!" I'm really not a fan of Gerry Dee. At all.

Looooved the Brit kid (Matt?) with the "two facial expressions" gag.

It is becoming pretty apparent that they did "cast a show," rather than send the funniest through. Well, at least the challenges should be fun.

I would have bet money that that horrible "funny mom from Connecticut" was going to make it through. They so obviously edited in laughter during her set it wasn't even subtle. "Whee! I fake sleeping to avoid sex! Ha!" It's way too cutting-edge and ahead of it's time for this show.

Jerry Dee was first one called though, so I was 50% on my wagers tonight.

Just like last week, I will hold off on any real judgements because we only saw 1 minute (at most) of a 4 minute set. My gut reaction is: "Whatever." The head-to-head stuff should be reasonably interesting with the mix of people we have moving on, and I don't mind looking at Amy Schumer, so, ok. (I did like her "You think I don't want you looking at me" joke.)

Memo to the Thea Vidal, or whoever it was saying "I got to hang out with the 30 funniest comedians in the world." No offense to anyone there, but you got to hang out with 30 funny people. World-class? Well...ok, you got to hang out with Joe DeVito (maybe), but let's not go overboard.

Anyway, next week, it's an entirely different show - almost literally.

PH'd? Just as well, I guess. Do you have any idea how hard it would be to think up a dispargaging title for Lavelle? Do I go with the unhealthy weight or the weirdly-shaped head? And once again...if I want to see a big black guy be funny, I watch Rob & Big.



Would've been nice to see her do some more rountines that didn't involve her inability to stand her kids. And how many Fionas have there been on reality television?

I wished Arj had had a better set tonight and made the finals, but he's too good for this show anyway. He's a regular on Flight of the Conchords! You don't get funnier than that, IMO. ("Ooh, you're a legend Dave!" :))

Loved Matt Kirshen and Fiona O'Loughlin...the rest, from what we saw of them, were meh. I thought that Gerry Dee and the Connecticut mom were actually uncomfortably bad, like to the point where I felt sorry for them. And yet Gerry made it through? Whatevs.

PH'ed? So sad...

Fiona O'Loughlin I can't stand. You hate your kids? If you're lying, you're a one-note comedian. And if you aren't, God help your kids.

So how are the finalists chosen? Is it the four panelists, or does the audience have some say as well?

I'm not as offended as I was last week, but that's probably because I don't think there were even 5 people I really liked this time around. I wish Ryan Hamilton and Fiona had made it through and I thought the girl who made the "I don't want to go to your candle parties and buy stuff from your imaginary store" joke was decent. Out of those who made it, I'm glad Matt Kirshen made it through, but I don't really give a shit about the rest of them.

I don't really get why everyone is so apeshit over Lavelle. He seems very Dat Phan-ish to me with his one joke on repeat.

Amy Schumer took the DiGiovanni "What the hell?" spot for me tonight. What the hell?

And I think the audience only chooses the Capital One Audience favorite, while the judges choose the other 4. That's my impression anyway.

I have a long standing relationship with Lavell Crawford. Been watching him since I was too damn young to be watching BET Comic View. I love him. He can do no wrong in my eyes. I hope he wins the whole damn thing. It's a damn shame that he had to be on this show in the first place, IMO. We've only seen little snippets on the show. In the short time they have been given, they have to go with what they know works. Makes perfect sense. And Lavell knows those 'fat jokes' work, at least for the majority of the audience. He's made me pee my pants the first time I heard some of those. And I still laugh hard hearing them now. It's his delivery that gets me. I've seen full, long sets by him, and he can do way more than make fun of his weight. But as of yet, he just hasn't had the time or the need. I can totally see him winning. People will be too damn scared to challenge him, IMO. And if they do challenge him, the audience will always go for him.

I really hope these comics get better. The only time I laughed out loud was the guy who did the Navy Seal video game joke and he didn't make it through. Last year I thought that Gerry Dee was funny, but last night he was almost painfully unfunny. I smiled a few times at other comics, but I just didn't really think that anyone else was LOL funny. I could see Latrelle being funny if he does something other than the fat jokes (which I really don't find funny), but I do really like his style/delivery.
The comics from season 1 and season 2 would wipe the floor with these comics (at least from what I've seen so far). I remember even during the early rounds, laughing so hard that I almost fell off the couch when Dave Mordal was on stage. And, John Heffron & Alonzo Boden from season 2 were very funny even in the early rounds as well. Hopefully once we see more of their acts, these comics will be funnier.

Two lines made me laugh out loud last night:

"Maybe I'll see a fire truck!" by the kid Brit

"I don't want to be a seat belt anymore," by Lavell

Glad those two moved on. I know Lavell has only done the fat jokes so far, but I think he's got potential. Just his stage presence and mannerisms make me want to see more. Overall I thought the comedians were better tonight. I'm not a fan of Dodge Hemi-boy, but can't complain too much about the choices. I really like Arj Barker, unfortunately, I don't think his style of comedy plays as well in a big theater as it does in a club so I'm not surprised he didn't make it.

I love Lavelle, fat jokes or not. There seem to be some fresh angles ("So I can live!") which is what I think good comedy's about. Folks I'm glad I won't be seeing more of: Thea, because I think her stuff is tired (also her jokes hahaha); Mel Silverback, talk about a one-joke shtick; minivan mom from Conn, whose stuff IMO was as lame as DeNiro impressions.

I also loved weedy little Brit guy, but hope he doesn't lead every set with "I know I look like a child." I thought Hickory guy was funny as hell, but maybe that's because I grew up in rural NC and he's My People.

Things in general I don't think are funny: jokes about how much you drink, jokes about how much you hate your kids, jokes about how drinking and childrearing overlap in your life.

And I know funny is almost always about pain, but I must confess that I cringe when I hear things like the "anorexic sister" routine. Funny to us, but somewhere in my consciousness is the niggling awareness that for some small portion of the audience, it is unbearably painful and unfunny. I'm not sure it's smart to be doing comedy about a mental disorder with a higher mortality rate than depression. You've got to know that for some of the folks in the seats, it's a dreadful miss.

Arj, the large black lady, and Mel Silverback got robbed.....come one, gorillas holding squeegees? That was hilarious! I wasn't crazy about Mel the first time I saw him, but he was on last night.

No weecap of the last episode from Omar? Nuts. I was looking forward to that.

Personally, Fiona O'Laughlin I love. Especially when compared with the Connecticut Mom, who was cringeworthy.

Amy Schumer I didn't mind, Matt Kirshen I really liked so I'm glad he got through. The other three? Bad, bad bad. Lavell might be very funny, but the litany of fat jokes left me unmoved. Same with John Reep and his Hick-ory jokes and Gerry Dee and his attempts. I didn't mind those last two in auditions, but I guess they knew what their audience wanted, even if that audience didn't include me.

But I was dismayed at how many of the jokes on display from so many comics were painfully old. Thea Vidale and her 'my boyfriend didn't worship me' joke? Aaaancient. My main problem was watching the audience going wild over something I found dull, and knowing they were the ones who did well. Lavell got a few people standing at the end of his set, so I knew he'd get the audience prize, considering Dante got the same thing last week. Both their screened bits were about the same age, as well.

I will be eternally grateful that Mel Silverback, gorilla comedian, did not go through, though. He was anti-funny to me, and that he gets such a positive reaction after people have had time to take in the gorilla mask remains an enigma to my poor mind.

Jon Reep...don't get him at all. I hope he has more than "I'm a hick from Hickory" jokes.

Gerry Dee: WTF? He hasn't been funny yet. This is an obvious fix.

Matt Kirshen: Love him. I hope he goes a long way.

Lavell: Underneath all the fat jokes may be some serious comedy. In next week's previews he gives a hilarious comeback to Deb heckling him. Looking forward to seeing more from him.



Joe DeVito, please tell us your dish about Tom Arnold!

Gerry Dee: "I shout a lot until it's funny.."
Lavell: "I'm fat and that's funny"
Reep: "I'm a redneck and that's funny"
Amy: "I'm funny because it's funny to be a bitch!"
Matt:"Look, i look like a 12 year old! Isn't that funny?!"

It's a sad bunch, all 10 of them..

Yeah, tobester it is.....

This is probably the worst bunch since.... LCS4! (Though I grew to love Ty last year and I thought Michelle & Gabe were very good).

I'm done. I might turn it on to try to catch Lavelle or Gina, maybe Matt. But that's it. Gerry? Debbie? Ralph? Doug? COME ONE producers! America should've been allowed to vote since Semi's, like American Idol.

Do the producers already have some lame sit-com planned for Doug Benson? And is that why they picked the worst, least funny "comedians" to compete against him? And is that why Benson himself has so far turned in uncommitted, unenthused, unfunny sets that he seems to be barely awake for? Is that what's happening here? I can't conceive of another reason for the choices they've made the last 2 weeks.

Ugh! I was so looking forward to seeing certain people move on & NONE of them did. Camping Girl! Flute Man! Black Seinfeld! Say it isn't so!

"You ain't got no neck, Nick!"

Oh give me a break. That anorexic sister line was hilarious. Isn't it lovely how people can find other people's pain funny, but when it comes to something that's happened to them, they turn emo and self righteous?

Fiona should have gone through. From what we've seen, her set was by far the most unique and smartest of the night. But people are dumb and go for the "Look at me, i'm fat!" routine instead. I really hope Lavelle has some other tricks up his enormous sleeves.

Lavelle's schtick about being fat and black is essentially the same as Ralphie's.

I saw that comedian in Atlanta last April and almost choked to death I was laughing so damn hard. I am so very very sad it he didn't make it through.

In the minority here but I adore Gerry Dee. Admittedly, he was less funny last night, but in the auditions my family and I watched "The Be-her likeeed the hoonay" over and over and over. It's become a catchphrase in our house. We are all hoping for big things from him because the man can be funny

I dreaded listening to Lavelle last night because I find it hard to even look at him but he was hysterical. You could tell by the audience's reaction that whatever we didn't see must have been a riot.

Loved the line "I don't even like to lick stamps" That comedian was so funny, it's a shame she didn't make it. Personally, I think the five chosen tonight are worlds better than the five from last week.

Sorry, I thought Lavelle was really funny! His schtick about "so I can live!" cracked me up!
Agree that most of this season's talent isn't......funny, so much.
Don't get the Gerry Dee dislike, I liked him.
Still love Mel Silverback!

So true. I thought she was funnier than the other girl with the "lights out" jokes who made it through. But they were both pretty close.

Do the PTB splice in audience shots of people going crazy on routines where the audience isn't really doing anything? I know you can manipulate audience cheering volume very very easily in editing. And I tend to think my comedy tastes are pretty generic and average, but sometimes the audience response was just - odd. They were either mostly very drunk or just have different taste or it was edited to show amusement that didn't happen in real time.

And also, Ant? If you are that gosh darn into gorillas, go to a zoo. He has wheezing seizures of laughter when the guy's hairy paws touch the mike. That's not funny. Thank heavens costume dude didn't make it. Can anyone explain his appeal to me? It seemed like the audience shots as he walked off stage showed a significantly less enthused audience than the cut-aways during his routine. Maybe that was an edit.

I think Mel Silverback is funny. The gimmick is so blatant, audacious, hack-y, and absurd that I find it amusing. The "Does this electric stick amplify sound?" line was great.

But here's the rub: I doubt I could, in fact I'm sure I couldn't, find it funny enough for a headlining-length set.

Still, I wouldn't have minded seeing him move on only to see how he would have handled the ridiculousness of the costume thing while being filmed in the house.

So happy no neck didn't get through or mel silverback. Not funny, didn't get Gerry Dee or amy shumer, should have seinfields son and thea for me. Hick guy wasn't funny, not sure he should have gone, through, but not sure who I would pick as the 5th. These 5 were funnier then last weeks 5 by alot.

PS as I type this waiting for my car to get done at the service department, there is a mouse running all over the place, and just climbed into the display car in the lobby.

Hey, I'm just saying it's a fine line and comics have to gauge the percentage of their audience that will find something funny vs painful. Don't think that makes me a fucking jackass.

Jon Reep wants to "ween"? I think maybe he should take that up with his mother. I can't stand this guy. One Jeff Foxworthy is more than enough.

I really liked Matt. Maybe it was the accent.

I hate Lavell.

I actually wanted the guy who did the sports caster bit to move on, I enjoyed it much more than any of the other people who went on besides Matt. Also? Easy on the eyes.

Eh ... none of the comedians really did it for me last night. I didn't mind Gerry Dee as much as some others, but I agree that he wasn't very funny last night. I enjoyed Matt more during his auditions than last night, although he might still have potential (though I agree with the person upthread who said they hope he doesn't start every set with "I'm not really a child").

Jon Reep was slightly less annoying this time, but only slightly -- I'm not exactly elated that he went through. I REALLY don't see the appeal of Amy Schumer, and I don't like Lavelle, either.

I agree that the Connecticut mom was painfully bad.
Mel Silverback? Is just weird.

Actually my favorite last night was probably Sean Rouse -- I wouldn't have minded if he moved on.

I liked sportscaster guy, too, and his bit was a good illustration of how I wish we could see these guys for more than 30 seconds. It might have developed into a really funny set...or it could have been another "No neck Nick" routine where we are supposed to laugh at the foibles of someone we don't know. "My dad" bits are funny, I think, to the extent that they resonate with the audience because they're really about lots of people's dads.

As long as they're not anorexic dads :-)

Hey, that son of a bitch Doug Benson just left me a slightly angry email because I badmouthed his performances upthread. He took offense to the fact that I called his sets "uncommitted & unenthused" (he left out "unfunny")! I didn't know that celebrities could do that! I've insensitively spouted off about plenty of people whom I've never met over the years, & none of 'em's ever spouted back. My 4th Wall has just been blown!

Anyway, I actually think he's funnier than he's been on the show. But I think he's just phoning this show's performances in. You hear that, Doug Benson?! You're better than that, you son of a bitch!!!

Yes. Yes they do.

For this? I love you, Whyistherumgone....



I have also been watching Lavell since BET's Comic View, and he's joked on stuff other than his weight. He's funny as hell and I hope he wins. By the way, has he lost weight? He looked much heavier on BET.

I soooo don't get the Lavelle hate. He had me about falling out of my chair with his "I don't wanna be a seatbelt anymore" line. His delivery was perfect. And he does have more than just fat jokes. I'm going to blame editing on this one until proven otherwise (though maybe he really did only choose fat jokes). Lavelle is one of my favorites right now and I'd be SHOCKED if he doesn't finish in the top 3.

Jon Reep was not at the top of his game last night, but I'm still happy he made it because I want to see what he can do with more time.

Amy Schumer wasn't horrible, but certainly not very original. Andi Smith so outshined her (and almost everyone else) it was embarassing. Seriously ... "your imaginary store"? Awesome. I'd pay decent money to see her in person.

Matt Kirshen is a cutie (in a harmless way) and quite funny. I'm not sure he's going to have enough to win it, but for his age and experience, he's doing very well.

Gerry Dee was funnier in his auditions. I think last night was a tough night for almost everyone, though. If the audience made me uncomfortable, I can only imagine how those up on stage felt.

As much as I adore Fiona, she just didn't step up last night like she should have. Of course, she was still better than almost everyone who made it last week, but what can ya do?

Hee, wow, really? Well, if you're still reading, Doug, I think you're actually a victim of people's resentment of the perception that you got through based upon past achievement or cronyism. If I were you, I'd just make up my mind to prove everyone wrong. Get yourself into a challenge immediately.

I, too can't see the hate for him. He's one of my favorite comics, and I'm in tears almost every time I see him on tv.

Like some said before, he does have more material other than "I'm fat." I agree that he had to do some quick stuff that anyone could laugh at. If you watch ComicView enough, you'll see him.

And I think it's his delivery that gets me every time. He sounds like he's going to run out of breath any minute and fall off the stage, crushing everyone in the front row.

I thought Lavelle had good delivery for the material (although I'll agree that his material's sort of one note). The moment Fiona didn't get through, tho, I did think: aha, the show's going on permanent hiatus on TWOP now. And I was right!

Or maybe it was the preview with the house thing that made me think that. I'd been sorta hoping as well that they'd have cut that part out of the competition.

Now I just have to decide if my adoration of Matt is enough to make me watch the rest of the season. Hm. Okay, this is a tough one.

I missed last night's episode, but Lavelle's name rings a strong bell. I don't think it's a name a recognize from a stand-up act. ... Was he ever in a sitcom? Anywhere else I might've seen him?

Also, does anyone know if Bravo is re-airing these episodes?

Thanks! :-)

I thought most of the comics had a "professional" delivery and were quite polished, but that's a problem in and of itself. Cutting edge comedy is more about viewpoint than delivery. The only comic who had a viewpoint I'd be interested in hearing about, was Andy with the deadpan attitude (not the "Andy" that made it onto the show). You really had to think about what she was saying to get it. I think I'll give this series a miss...and given the lack of postings, I'd say I'm not the only one feeling this way.

He didn't e-mail or PM me about the weecaps. Maybe he just doesn't like words that begin with "un."

[quote]I liked sportscaster guy, too, and his bit was a good illustration of how I wish we could see these guys for more than 30 seconds[/quote.]

That is definitely one of the great problems with this show. I'd love to see less time spent on craptastic people who never make it past their first audition in favor seeing more of the comic's actual sets. There are always people that I think got absolutely robbed based on the snippets that they show us, but for all I know, it was the only good joke in an otherwise mediocre set. It's not that I found anyone who advanced tonight unfunny, more that I found the highlights that they showed as unremarkable. So I'm left puzzling about how much is judging/producing shenanigans in favor of friends and how much is that which we don't see. I'd almost be more comfortable knowing that those that advanced out of the semi-finals were the top 10 vote getters out of audience choice (even if that meant breaking up into smaller shows or whatever to help audiences decide).

I really liked Fiona O'Loughlin and was sad she didn't make it in the final cut. I'm wondering if maybe her full set was too one-note but she really made me laugh and I'm always rooting for strong female comedians to make it through. I'm not overly impressed with the representation they picked again this year, but we shall see.

My dad is an Optometrist, and I just wanted to slap this guy silly for his monovision ignorance. Glad I wasn't the only Eye person watching going, Huh?



Not to rub this in further, but anything can be considered off putting by someone. That's how all the PC nonsense got started in the first place... I thought the anorexic sister bit was funny too.



Hee and WORD! My roommate and I love him on Best Week Ever, so he gets a pass for now.

In general, this weeks choices weren't as infuriating as last weeks, but that's par for the course on this show, IMO. There is a whole other, more interesting, potentially offensive show just waiting to be made with the rejects. So many interesting comics that were sent home because they are not middle-of-the-road enough, methinks.

I did get a PM from Doug Benson after all, but it was very nice and he offered tickets to see him next time he's in town.

Since I'm a whore for graft, I sent back a nice reply and told him I'm hoping to get him as the show progresses.

I just realized I don't get Jerry Seinfeld at all. So, uh... wanna send some tickets my way, Jerry?

I'm not surprised since from what I can tell Doug is super nice. You can dislike his comedy, but the guy is really cool. Personally, I think he's better than this competition, but I'm rooting for him all the way.

Spoiler on Shecky magazine regarding the winner of the first elimnation challenge.

I think the problem most of us had wasn't Doug Benson, it was his performance that night. Or what we saw of it. I just got this whole vibe of "I know I'm going to the house anyway, I just want to get this formality over with." I hope we see better from him as the season progresses. Or from anybody actually.

And, Omar, you whore you. I hope you at least held out for good tickets.

I thought he seemed surprisingly sincere during his interview segment when he said he thought he might not make it into the house. And I thought he seemed sincerely nervous during the winning announcements. And I thought he seemed genuinely happy and relieved when he was called. And this all seems understandable to me given the fact he didn't make it in last time around and didn't manage to make it past his first audition this season due to an Ant power trip...those may have been serious blows to his confidence. Still, I guess it's all subjective.

It does really irritate me though that no one here seems to think he got in based on merit. What we saw of his set seemed easily one of the strongest to me, and it just seems like people are targeting him because he's the most well known comic on the show.

I don't really care who wins so long as the people I like - all 3 of them - get a chance to shine and get exposure. It seems like exposure is really the main objective of the show anyway (have the NBC talent deals ever managed to produce anything in the past?)

LindseyQuinn, Try Monday at 10pm on Bravo.