Amarsir

Ep 2: Really good performers. Every set felt like a complete act, not just a collection of tricks. I do agree with the first judge pick, though I actually might have given the win to the Wizards in the end. (But I don't mind the end result either.) Either that room needs better air conditioning or makeup needs to powder the performers better, because most of them are visibly sweating and that shouldn't happen. Not that SyFy would ever do something amateurish, of course. But they should really know better. And I'm getting adjusted to the format. With more shows we'll know the judges and the Wizards better, so the contestants will be the ones we don't recognize. Or they could simply the format, which also wouldn't be bad. But I imagine the Iron Chefs didn't stand out the first time either.

I'm writing this after Episode 1, and will come back after the second. I don't think it's necessarily unfair, but I do agree it's a big advantage for the "Wizards". If they have a close-up artist, a slight-of-hand expert, a mentalist, and an escape artist, it's easy enough to say "oh, there's a mannequin - close up guy does that. And the mentalist can do something with chalkboards." That way none of the Wizards ever has to play outside their strength like the contestants do. Big advantage. But it should be hard, so I'm OK with that. Plus the Wizards will be back every week (right?) so the show wants to put them in the best light. I agree with you guys on the format, and @Kromm's suggestions on how to fix it. I think the problem is that most of us, even those who would call themselves Magic fans, have no idea who these people are. If it was a singing competition then you get 4 Legends, 4 one-hit wonders as "the Wizards", and 4 amateur contestants. Makes sense. But other than P&T you could have randomized any of the other 10 people and I wouldn't have known the difference. And I don't mean that as an insult to any of them. It's just that I'm not informed enough to know. As for the specifics of Ep 1, I disagree with both judge decisions. Disappearing a can and stuffing Spam in a Super Soaker is not in the spirit of the trick the way "pick a card of Spam" is. And yeah the burning card trick was impressive, but they didn't just invent that backstage. It's a prior act they crammed in without innovation. So the other duo should have won. And then the same thing happened in the final where the more creative idea lost to "these are my standard tricks". That might be a drawback of having professional judges - they're more likely to reward difficulty while we just want a show.

Oh I love that episode. All the Dee insults, Charlie the lawyer, the "Catch a Predator" ending, and my favorite moment is Dennis needing to be reminded that he and Dee weren't really going to murder the Waitress.

For reference, all the US and UK episodes are available here: http://whoselineanyway.org New CW episodes are on their own website, as AntiBeeSpray listed above. And if that's not enough, all of the GSN episodes of Drew Carey's Improv-a-Ganza are in full on YouTube. (That appears to be a non-official person's channel, but GSN had originally uploaded them all themselves so I suspect they don't mind too much.)

Top 5. It's not unheard of for them to do different groupings after that initial tour for their own benefit. (For example I saw Alonzo, Iliza, and Jon Heffron perform together on a "LCS Winners Tour".) But the official tour after the season is the top 5, so Rod Man, Nikki, Lachlan, Machi, and Rocky will all be going.

Lachlan was the best he's been all season. Especially that first set, which was all on a single topic (TV) and relatable without being old or cliche. If he'd been that good all through the series it would have been a lot tougher. But he did prove that he'd earned a top 3 spot. And after watching that section like 10 times, both the bleeps and the conversation they were having around it, I think Roseanne said "Fuck Lachlan". And the context that makes sense is that they all agreed Lachlan had the best set of the night but Rod Man was the best over the season. And the debate was which is more important. Russell seemed like he wanted to reward the best set of the night, while Roseanne and Keenan wanted to reward all 12 weeks. That's just me guessing and the conversation was not just bleeped, but chopped up. But that's the best interpretation I can get of the evidence. This may seem like nitpicking, but I think Nikki should rephrase her "athlete's foot" joke so that "athletic body" is the last words in the punchline. It's a really clever joke, but I got there like a second before she finished talking and that ruined the rhythm for me. I would write it more like this "The doctor said I got Athlete's Foot because I don't dry off my feet when I get out of the shower. But I know that's a lie! I don't dry off at all but nobody ever says I've got an Athlete's Body!" Tiny nuance, but phrasing matters when you want optimal audience reaction. Both judges had fine sets. Roseanne seems out of practice though. Her timing and delivery were just a bit off, like she wasn't quite ready for the audience to react at the times it did. Not a problem, just something she'd probably improve on if she did that set a couple dozen times.

I think it will be more memorable than some. The other day Iliza Shlesinger was referenced somewhere as "Last Comic Standing Winner" and I had to go to Wikipedia to confirm that she'd actually won her season. At which point I was reminded that the season with Amy Schumer and Doug Benson was won by Jon Reep with runner up Lavell Crawford. Which I think is why we don't need audience votes. I think home viewers are much more likely than judges to pick an early favorite and get fanatic in voting for them forever. And if it's just studio audience votes then the comics are encouraged to use the same material every time: a la Dat Phan. There's no guarantee that judges will be impartial, but they'll do better than random people on the street.

Part of Rod Man's comedy comes from the fact that he doesn't seem like he belongs on stage. And I don't mean that as a criticism, but that he's cultivated this character of "I don't know, the world confuses me, and I'm in over my head." I was mentally rotating through TV characters to see who he could compare to, and I landed on Redd Foxx in Sandford & Son. Now that show's before my time so I've only seen bits of it, but I think if you paired him with a good straight man you could get decent comedy out of it. Nikki could work, though I don't think she has the writing to pull it off. Give her a Roseanne-like setup where she's getting by but finds comedy in the everyday. Again though, Roseanne was the one who made her sitcom work and I don't think Nikki has that talent. Lachlan could fit anywhere because he's so generic. And I do mean that as a criticism, but it could work for him. (I said in a previous thread that Rocky fits in the formulaic "Dad" role sitcom, and Joe could work in an ensemble but not as protagonist. But they won't be getting shows anyway.) Wanda Sykes remade the format for this season (making it at least the 4th format change in the show's history). So prior seasons wouldn't be any guide. But it seems they're going with Judge picks all the way, and I'm fine with that.

That was the weirdest game of Props I've ever seen. Not in a bad way, because we want to see the actors having to stretch. But between weird stuff, and explaining the joke, and making each other break, it was all a bit surreal. I thought that maybe Ryan didn't get the 420 joke. Because Aisha had said "internet" right after giving the points (and Heather said something like "I get it"), so she could have been making a callback to something that got cut.

I pictured him as always disjointed. But I went back and looked at his semifinals performance, and it was just two subjects: life used to suck (watching your kids die) and then ordering pizza with "never forget" on the box. Unusual topics, as now. But more funny angles on each one, which to me indicates he's spent more time on them until he has another observation. And some of Joe's later stuff could be really really good if he finds ways to build it into its own set. For example, his very last joke set up like this: Iran is taunting the US. They may have a nuclear weapon. We have lots of nuclear weapons. We lost 8 nukes at sea. That's a lot of very heavy setup. It's a tense subject which is perfect for an edgy punchline. But then his actually punchline was "I can't even lose one virginity". Now that's not a bad joke on its own, but it's a complete waste of such setup. If Joe finds the time to write 3-4 more laughs in there, and then uses that line, I think it works much better. Hopefully he'll do that because back when Amy Schumer was mentoring him, she said she knows him from the clubs as someone who works very hard on his sets. So I look forward to him revisiting the joke some day with more polish on it.

I wish NBC hadn't tried to stretch 4 performances out to an hour. After an excellent return and makeover by Wanda Sykes, this was some Season 3 level crap to fill time. (That's not a critique of the performers. It's just that together they had 20 minutes of content and the show was an hour.) When Joe brought out "team" and "gang", I know he was doing it because Russell specifically said he likes that. But by the 5th time it was a detriment. Either do a quick reference and drop it, or find another way to ramp it up. It was gimmicky, and I loved his set but that brought it down. (Joe was the only one to make me laugh out loud several times, though Rod Man came close. "Southern accent" and "pay them less" were great, but I understand if they didn't carry the set. ) Nikki's schtick is getting old to me too, but I'm also tired of her pointing out "Last Female Standing". Yes, all other things being equal it would have been nice to see more women in the top 5/10. But if you think about it, promoting herself as the last woman is an implicit slight to female comics. Not that she's bad, but that the implication is "I might not beat the men but at least I'm better than other women." You're one of the last 3, congrats. I don't care where you are in relation to your gender. (BTW, on "Funniest Wins" on TBS, 4 of the top 6 were women. Just wanted to mention that.)

That is one of the most unconvincing articles I've ever read. (Although admittedly I don't spend time on Gawker.) Only the Jimmie Walker one seems like an actual offense, and the article calls it "more alleged then the rest of them." In particular I remember the two RedEye jokes mentioned, because I was watching RedEye at the time. And they turned it into a joke about Andy and Greg having a time machine, coming forward in time to steal Jay's joke, then going back to use it. But it was all joking, and they clarified that they thought it no more than coincidence. (And had similar clips with other hosts including Kimmel and Stewart using jokes similar to their own.) I don't know to what extent the Tonight Show did or didn't take ideas from other comics. But when your sources are Rush Limbaugh from 3 years earlier and a couple of guys who say their joke wasn't stolen, it feels like a shitty article. Honestly, though not a huge fan of Leno I did get sick of the bandwagon-y Jay-bashing. He had the job others wanted and got the ratings to hold it. Letterman didn't get the spot, Conan didn't pull the ratings, and neither them nor their fans every stopped blaming Leno for it. Fallon is doing a great job with The Tonight Show (via ratings; I don't watch) and to my knowledge has never said anything bad about his predecessor. So I don't know what is or isn't original about him, but I have a hard time stripping away the criticisms from the jealousy. That said, the final 5 didn't get "mentoring" with Jay Leno. They got a catered lunch with him. It's fine, just don't pump it up NBC.

This is why Rod Man is going to win. He's got such a comedic persona that he can do "Patty Cake" and be hilarious. I agree as well. He'd do better if he could connect his jokes, and this set just didn't. (Possibly because he's running out.) It's not that one-liner comedians can't succeed, as there have been many good ones. But when you're resetting every time it puts pressure on that next joke in a way you don't get when the set has some flow. I did enjoy every set. Nikki's material has been among the weakest to me all season, but her delivery was superb. Although ... I always get a little distracted when I hear a comic I know is gay doing "hetero" jokes like she was. Now I know everyone has their own history and it could be coming from a real place, but part of me is always wondering if you're doing that because it's actually you, or because you feel like you have to. (I first started wondering that watching Jim David years ago, similar situation. I never got to ask but always wondered why he'd do something not true to himself.) Anyway, Rocky had a good set but it started and ended weak. "Italian neighborhood - Rome" is a great joke but not a good punchline. I was thinking about what name would work best and I think "Sicily" would. (Yes, I know.) As the judges said you need a word that travels to the audience and especially with his accent, "Rome" doesn't. And then "adverbs" was a weak finish too. So bye to Rocky, but he wasn't bad. Just the weakest.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's purely a production thing. Sideways scene requires a special set with a decorated floor, an overhead camera and an attached board for the floor line for them to push off of. Hardly the most complex of sets by TV production standards, but just enough that they might want to set it up, use it 6 times in a season, then take it down and not use it again. Similarly I wonder if there's something about Helping Hands that makes them go think "well we went through the trouble of buying this tarp ..."

Joe deciding to roast the audience was such a hilarious concept that I laughed when he went into it, but ultimately don't think it really worked. And I think it really hurt him to go first. First is never an advantage for anyone in these roasts (which is why they make the host do it) but in Joe's specific case he was breaking the format. And that doesn't work when the format hasn't been established yet. Had he gone fourth, and we'd heard "Lachlan is here", "Nikki is here", "Jeff Ross is here", to be followed by Joe going "the audience is here", I think it would have been superb. So, unlucky a bit. But overall everyone was decent. Even Karlous, possibly because he had to actually write something or possibly because being mean works for him. Roasts are always a good show for me. (The TBS knock off "Funniest Wins" did one two weeks ago, and it was also their best show.) My impression after Joe's performance was "this wasn't your best set, you know it's not your best set, but you don't need to do your best set when the other guy is phoning it in." If Keenan felt the same, it would make sense not to say that.

As I think about it, when a comic gets his own show he tends to play the straight man with wittier punchlines, not the goofy comic character. However, if instead of a big headline lead they set it up as an ensemble show, most of them could work. What you need is someone who can come up with situations and find the comedy in them, not necessarily act it out all him/herself.

Helping Hands is just so tired and predictable. However, Kunal did as well as anyone could possibly do with it. He was involved, he was game, and yet he made it about Ryan not himself. If every guest was that good ... well, I'd still be sick of Helping Hands. But A+ to him anyway. IMHO I felt like Weird Newscasters was a little too specific and as a result it through the pace off. Interacting with Colin is fun and going to the audience has lots of opportunity. But doing it that much in one game, especially when we knew it was coming, made me wish it was a little faster. Also - and I'm being very picky here - Scenes from a Hat and Props are both "grab bag" style games. Both are funny and creative and I enjoyed them, but I probably wouldn't put both in the same show. (Similarly I wouldn't put Lets Make A Date and Newscasters together.) We could have used something of a more freeform scene, like Mission Improbable, Hollywood Director, Forward/Reverse, Film Noir, etc. But again, I'm nitpicking on that.

Hulu has it for free. (And all past episodes too.) http://www.hulu.com/search?q=last+comic+standing

I think that's exactly what Mark is doing. Rather than looking for safe investments with limited growth, he'll take a long shot at something that could be 100x growth. We saw it the episode after this one too, when he bought into Rugged Maniacs. (Though at $1.75m I can't imagine that great a return.)

http://www.cwtv.com/cw-video/whose-line-is-it-anyway/ has all the episodes up.

My first instinct was that going last would be an advantage in the tours, because if that same group is sitting for 4 hours it's the last set of laughs that they'll remember the most. (Then add on the time he had to pre-write some lines and it works to his advantage.) But mostly I think it was a fair win and I loved Howie getting into the mentor role with them. Monroe could still get invited back for a guest spot in the finals. (Not to win, just to perform.) They liked him so much I wouldn't be surprised. (Though via web vote he has to beat Alingon Mitra, who has been beating all comers so far.) Black Batman is a funny concept and I wish Monroe had developed that more. "Scared of gay people" is played out and "bear rape" is more uncomfortable than funny. The diabetes set could work, but needs polish. On the other side, Joe's doing unique stuff and that's why I like him, but I've heard that "Founding Fathers" joke a dozen times with minor variation, so there was nothing much to it for me. (I've heard that Hitler kind of joke before too, but not as much.) Still, "texted him the whole way" was a great finish so Joe was the clear winner by the second set. I wonder if it will help him in the future to have been so popular here, or hurt him because he's used up a lot of material now. That's the thing about Joe's style vs someone like a Rod Man - if a joke falls flat he can't just cover with personality, because his delivery is so stark you'll hear the crickets.

Same impression! Any day now I expect D.L.Hughley and Matthew Perry to come in with a God complex, insult the man, and then invite him to a walk-and-talk.

Good link. I knew Crumbs closed but didn't realize Marcus had stepped in. And then it says he's invested in Wicked Good Cupcakes now too? That's a negotiation I'd have loved to hear. As I recall, Kevin O'Leary is getting 45 cents royalty per jar. And it's hard to imagine Kevin giving it up, nor Marcus going along with it.

Nikki was thrilled to be on the show, and in that regard I'm happy for her. But I don't think she deserved one of the spots. She was weak on the pre-interview and clearly didn't have her head in the game when talking to Ellen.* Rocky seemed like he was doing better in the pre, for one. Monroe misjudged but got into the groove. But Rod Man killed it. I think one of the problems with DC's performance was that it's a 4-minute story crammed into a 3-minute set. Not that more Sushi Chef voice would have saved him, but if he'd paced the telling, spread the voice out, and made the ending less obvious, it would have worked better. Lachlan was good though. I wonder if the others were voting for him not because he's weak, but they consider him a threat and wanted to make him use up material. * Nikki: I've got this joke about working in a fried chicken place. Pre-screener: OK we can use that. [later] Ellen: So you work any other jobs? Nikki: Nope!

This made all of the top 8, top 10 really, very likable. The only ones who made me laugh out loud during their new footage segment were Joe Machi and Monroe Martin, but I really do want to root for all of them. I enjoyed their shop talk, and despite his brash persona I got the impression that Jimmy Schubert really means all the supportive stuff he said last episode (about how no one in the top 10 is a loser regardless). It also gives you a good sense of just how difficult this business is. A lot of us knew DC Benny and Rocky Laporte before this, and despite that they couldn't support themselves on comedy alone. That's really tough when having your own Comedy Central appearance doesn't save you from a day job.