47 replies to this topic

[Elle Renee]

Come on, FRANCIS!

That is never going to get old. :)

[mumbles]

Li'l Rel wuz robbed. His audition and his club set made me laugh out loud.

[Captain Tact II]

Come on, FRANCIS!

That is never going to get old. :)

Verily. Thou doth speaketh (spaketh?) true. Is Francis Ant's real name or something? Because he seemed way too pissed (and the other judges seemed way to entertained) for it to be otherwise.

Also? Good call on British humor by Alonzo- "It's either so high-brow that you have to pretend to get it, or else someone's throwing a pie". Which inspired me to try and describe the only "middle of the road" British humor that I know of (The Jeeves books) off the top of my head to my brother. I don't think he got it.

[alexmarsz]

Another good show. They really do have the knack of mixing just enough bad stuff in with the good acts to remind you that they are there but not belabour it.

Ant's name is "Anthony," coincidently enough. That guy was really hit and miss. I loved that he messed with Ant. His club set was really lousy, but it wasn't cricket's-chirping-lousy so I don't know that the audience reaction was matched up fairly. Still, with only 3 spots from London, definitely none to him.

[rosettaresearch]

Can we replace all the Minneapolis comics who got in with the London ones who did not. The London comis were all hilarious. Most of the Minneapolis ones left me "eh."

Matt K (edited to correct the man's name. I suck at names). to go all the way. I literally fell off my chair during his set.

Edited by rosettaresearch, Jun 28, 2007 @ 4:24 PM.

[SweetPickle]

Why did we have to suffer through Bill Zany? Seriously dude, retire already. Enough. You're not funny.

I was very disappointed that the guy with the DeSoto joke didn't get through. He cracked me up.

The guy who was calling Ant Francis, he was hysterical during his audition. Then during his set, is it just me or did that look totally set up? Something felt off about that.

I loved the Brits. They were fantastic.

[Standoffish]

I need to move to England. With the exception of the extremely unfunny blonde that inexpicably made it through, the Brits had me rolling on the floor. They should have skipped Minneapolis.

[tsgeisel]

I don't know what's scarier, the fact that there are people who'll call the 900 number to hear the punchline for the "Jokes of the Night" because they've never heard them before, or that there are probably people out there who'll be telling it around the proverbial water cooler tomorrow.

It doesn't help that I've told the first two jokes at Ren Faire. A lot.

And, in case you're wondering: "In his sleevies", "Fsh" and "To the Mooovies".

So...now that the show is over on the West Coast...Doug Benson? WTF?

[Standoffish]

Do Doug Benson and "Ant" have the same agent? Benson rolled out some pathetically unfunny material and "Ant" laughed like a Botoxed Madman.

Edited by Standoffish, Jun 28, 2007 @ 12:09 AM.

[pjamma]

Doug Benson? WTF?

I was thinkung the same thing. He has a TV show. Are there rules on who can enter? Would it be possible to have say Chris Rock, Sara Siverman, Eddie Murphy, Jerry Seinfield and Carrot Top living in a house competing for the $250,000 if they chose to randomly show up at the auditions? Cuz that, minus Carrot Top, would be funny. Hell, Carrot Top being the house with those guys would be funny because of the "how did he get here" looks and diary sessions.

[dogismycopilot]

Do Doug Benson and "Ant" have the same agent? Benson rolled out some pathetically unfunny material and "Ant" laughed like a Botoxed Madman.

My take on this was that all three judges were laughing at Benson's fake enthusiasm -- because of how he was in the L.A. audition -- and not at his jokes per se. It felt like they let him through just for old times sake. And it is nuts that someone like that is allowed to try out for LCS. BTW, Ant is a botoxed toupe'd madman. At best.

Oh, crap, I just realized you meant the "performance" and not the audition. Sorry.

I couldn't understand a word L'il Rel said in his audition. It was so fast. Could anyone repeat one of his jokes for me?

And for any of the experienced comics, what happened to that Buddy guy in London between audition and performance? Why didn't he do some of the same material? Just curious if it was self-sabotage or just bombing? Except for him, I too wish they'd taken all the Brits.

Edited by dogismycopilot, Jun 28, 2007 @ 12:38 AM.

[tsgeisel]

And for any of the experienced comics, what happened to that Buddy guy in London between audition and performance?

Well, I'm not an experienced comedian, but I'm just guessing they let in Buddy because he called Ant "Francis", and they never really had a chance to hear his real act.

Also, there's a big difference between an audiance of 3 comedians who know what's funny, and a club full of customers who don't know, and are waiting for a comedian to show them what funny is. So while the experienced comedians may have been thinking "this guy is funny, let's move him on", the night time crowd just wasn't getting that from him.

But, mostly, I think it was "Francis".

[alexmarsz]

I figure the guy has jokes, but not an act. And his best "set" was nothing more than a run of weak stuff. (Though not as weak as the editing made it appear, I'd bet.)

In other news, I still think Doug got robbed last year since his "segue" bit should have earned a house spot. He didn't wow me tonight but it was still generally funny. And if I work from the backstory of why they rejected him in LA, coming in with the same jokes but a different "what you asked for" delivery is pretty funny.

I also thought Bob Zany had some good lines. Not enough of them I'm afraid. But he's been working in the business so long I just hope that elves bring him some jokes in the night and he can finally make it big.

[gertiefarish]

Only know Doug Benson from his audition last year (and I think he posted in the old thread on occasion) but I agree--the segue bit was gold.

I miss Dave Mordal.

[amiable]

Just coming in to this show lately...Are they doing a house this year? How many comedians will be going to the house?

[secretagentman]

I really enjoyed Tommy Johnagain and Miss Ashley from UK. I still don't understand how Ant became a judge on this show. I don't think he's funny in the least, and he's a dick. Did they say the next eps is in 2 weeks? Is that because of July 4th?

edited for name correction

Edited by secretagentman, Jun 28, 2007 @ 9:06 AM.

[hutchlover]

Li'l Rel wuz robbed.

I agree, Mumbles. I really thought he'd go through, too. And Doug Benson? WTF? He's so seriously not funny. I didn't think Ava was that great either.

I wish Dave Mordal had tried out again.

[shakey9571]

What exactly was the last word(s) of the lil' Mr. Bean looking guy's Katrina joke? I missed/didn't hear it. Something like: "New Ultra Orleans ? ? ? ?" Anyone catch that?

ETA: Thanks, mookiestarz. I heard the whole lead up, and the mention of racism by a previous audience member, but it was the 'now whiter' part I didn't catch that left me hanging. Funny guy.

Edited by shakey9571, Jun 28, 2007 @ 8:41 AM.

[mookiestarz]

It was something like "New Improved Orleans Ultra. Now whiter." It made me laugh out loud. I think he did a great job of leading up to it.

[shortnsweet421]

I am just a little biased (ok probably more so) towards Doug Benson. I think he is absolutely hysterical, you just look at him and laugh ala Eugene Levy or Groucho Marx, I love him on the Vh1 specials. It must be alright for contestants to appear on TV as long as they are not really well known, for example Bill Dwyer a contestant last year also comments on Vh1 specials.

His "audition" in LA seemed, I don't know, fixed. As in the producers made it all up to see "improvement" or something. It just didn't feel real. I agree that he was robbed last year probably again because of the producers. Doug Benson delivers and because they put a mix of weaker comics in with obviously stronger ones in the house, he would have been to good for what they wanted last season.

[ThatPoshGirl]

Was one of the guys that got sent through in LA one of the rednecks in those horrible hemmi commercials?

[pinwheel]

This was the weakest audition set so far. I saw Doug Benson and I thought, I know that guy. Not funny. But then I thought Bob Zany should have made it through. Hey, with a name like Zany...

[Spencer Cat]

Bob Zany has been a hack for years. Thank God they didn't let him through. I'm glad Doug Benson got in, but it certainly wasn't on merit for his show performance.

Tommy Johnagin was hilarious. So was the thin guy from London. This season has potential with a lot of good comedians. Let's hope they don't completely drop the ball when they move to the house.

[ferretrick]

Wow. For once, I agreed with almost all the choices. Several people made me laugh last night-especially the two black women. (Drizzly weather and subtle racism-BWAH!) Also happy that Shane (Spencer?)-the scruffy English guy got through. More because he's cute as hell then because of his comedy, but still.

What was with the Francis guy? He was TERRIBLE. I could not believe I was siding with Ant over Kathleen and Alonzo's decision. I was thinking this guy is Jay London all over again.

[YuppieLawyer]

I love Matt Kirshen. I thought his audition set for very funny and the New Orleans joke he did in the showcase was really risky, IMO, and he pulled it off. Love love love him! I wanted the Jewish comedian from London to make it, too, instead of Spencer Brown. I honestly did not get what was so funny about him.

Lil' Rel was robbed! The woman who told the "you're so articulate" joke was fine, but I've heard that joke a million times, and her version wasn't particularly original. Rel, on the other hand, had me cracking up with his joke about his dad using 70s slang to chew him out. I liked his presence, too. He just seemed to have something special, and I'm really surprised he didn't make it.

In other news, I still think Doug got robbed last year since his "segue" bit should have earned a house spot. He didn't wow me tonight but it was still generally funny. And if I work from the backstory of why they rejected him in LA, coming in with the same jokes but a different "what you asked for" delivery is pretty funny.

I agree. I thought his audition bit was hilarious when put in context of the other show. His showcase was not fantastic, but I'm glad they put him through. As for whether he's too famous to be on the show, I'll just add my $.02 that I don't consider someone who's a regular contributor to Best Week Ever and other assorted VH1 clip shows to be too famous for this show. I can't imagine that any more than 20% (if that) of people watching will know who he is. They might recognize him as vaguely familiar, but not more than that.

[kickedinthehead]

"Buddy" looked like he might be a funny guy to know in day-to-day life ... but onstage, I agree his jokes weren't funny. WTF? At least he was kind of memorable, though, unlike many of the comics on this show.

From England, I guess I liked Matt Kirshen the best, though I'm not in love with him or anything.

Absolutely none of the Minneapolis comics stood out for me ... well, I suppose the Spokane pet-cobra guy was alright. I'm not a fan of Doug Benson...

[alexmarsz]

Bob Zany has been a hack for years. Thank God they didn't let him through.

I actually liked him more last night than I ever have before. Opening with "the last time I played here I got the same turnout" - that's a good joke. Walking into an empty room with just judges is something every single auditioner over every season has done. The fact that he still found space for a joke about it is impressive. And some of his backstage comments weren't bad either.

But oh my God. His friends have got to have an intervention and get him to stop saying "baybay!" That just screams "hack." Maybe he should venture into sitcom writing, I think he can write jokes, just not deliver them.

[RobertBlue]

I was thinking this guy is Jay London all over again.

Hey. Jay London actually had a well-rehearsed routine with actual jokes. Not bizarre comments that ammounted to nothing. Jay's puns were written and rehearsed, this guy was just a jackass who kept saying Francis.

[rosettaresearch]

My opinion of the judges thus far:

Kathleen -- really trying to find good comics. understands how hard it is and willing to give someone a chance.

Alonzo -- enjoying the moment. he knows this show is summer filler, he is just having fun. also willing to give someone a chance, since he done been there.

Ant -- needs to get the hell over himself. He is taking this much too seriously and thinks way too much of his opinion. Also, has totally forgotten how hard it is to get a break and seems to enjoy shooting down those who struggle (but not in Simon category -- he can't even do that well).