Tara Ariano August 11, 2015 Share August 11, 2015 The final collective of invited comics competes. Link to comment
Maverick August 12, 2015 Share August 12, 2015 Collective? Are they all living on a farm and wearing burlap sacks? Or have the Borg finally found Earth. I'm sure the host will say "are they right, ladies" when the Borg proclaim "resistance is futile". Link to comment
Amarsir August 13, 2015 Share August 13, 2015 While Norm is right about J.K Rowling, I don't think that's particularly relevant to the joke. The comic saying that Harry Potter meant more to him than the Bible is not affected in the slightest by the author's religion. On the other hand I don't think a vague Biblical joke is all that "edgy" either, especially in L.A. I certainly saw that punchline coming a mile off. So personally I thought it was the most boring part of his set and couldn't believe it's all they wanted to talk about. That said, he had a good energy and delivery and I'm not surprised they put him through. The rest were fine, with nothing standing out good or bad. I continue to like the judges' feedback, as it continues to show the mechanics of comedy and how to best phrase a joke or set for maximum reaction. 3 Link to comment
Cramps August 13, 2015 Share August 13, 2015 (edited) That Comic that did the JK Rowling bit was super old school hack. The minute he started that joke, I knew the second book would be Harry Potter and I figured out every beat of it before he said it. Most of the rest of his jokes were equally dated and predictable except for his last one. I didn't laugh once at that last comic that Roseanne said had the best set of the night, but thought the pharmacist had a real natural talent. Norm can be a really harsh judge, but he's often correct about who isn't good--although sometimes I think he doesn't give his real reasons. I'm not super excited about anyone yet this season. Edited August 13, 2015 by Cramps 4 Link to comment
ClareWalks August 13, 2015 Share August 13, 2015 Clayton English. UGH. When he was hanging out with Karlous in the video package I was like "please god, don't be another Karlous, with the tedious weed humor nonstop." Yup. His entire damn set was about getting high and being annoyed with cops for trying to stop him from getting high. NEXT. 1 Link to comment
Primetimer August 13, 2015 Share August 13, 2015 We finally have our list of semifinalists -- and not a moment too soon for Norm Macdonald, who has definitely stopped enjoying himself. Read the story 1 Link to comment
CMH1981 August 13, 2015 Share August 13, 2015 So why did Norm going all "odd" on the Friar's Club kid? I mean yeah, his jokes were very shticky but that was just strange that the first joke was all Norm could focus on. Does Norm have some agenda against someone who is a member of the Friar's Club? Link to comment
Amarsir August 13, 2015 Share August 13, 2015 Clayton English. UGH. When he was hanging out with Karlous in the video package I was like "please god, don't be another Karlous, with the tedious weed humor nonstop." Yup. His entire damn set was about getting high and being annoyed with cops for trying to stop him from getting high. NEXT. Karlous was the one who didn't seem to give a damn and treated every task like hanging out at a bar, right? I'll give Clayton a pass on topics if he at least seems like he's willing to put the work in. 1 Link to comment
iMonrey August 13, 2015 Share August 13, 2015 While Norm is right about J.K Rowling, I don't think that's particularly relevant to the joke. Agreed. Norm seemed more interested in scolding and being didactic with his superior knowledge of J.K. Rowling. Maybe he's some kind of evangelical himself and took offense at the idea of someone criticizing someone who wanted to quote bible verses to a total stranger on a bus, but that's weird. I did not think Clayton English was all that funny, I would have rather seen the lady who'd gone to Guantanamo Bay move forward. Her set was funny. "We have to know how much fuel to put in the plane." "Uh, all of it!" 4 Link to comment
Gregg247 August 13, 2015 Share August 13, 2015 I wasn't very impressed with Clayton English, despite the fact that he apparently lives close by me here in Atlanta. Hi s material seemed a little dated. Most of the comedians on this episode were "okay", but not laugh-out-loud funny. I thought Amir K had some potential. Hopefully, one of these finalists will emerge as this season's Rod Man, who I found hilarious last year. I like Norm MacDonald, but his short critiques leave me shaking my head in confusion. I think his humor works better in long-form, where he gets into a rhythm of a story and takes you along for the ride. 1 Link to comment
princelina August 13, 2015 Share August 13, 2015 My sister saw Amir K in Vegas last year and thought he was very funny. (And she was pregnant at the time so -- not drunk :) 1 Link to comment
LADreamr August 14, 2015 Share August 14, 2015 Norm live tweets the show (west coast). He was offended by what he seemed to think were blasphemous jokes about the Bible, and I think, Jesus in general. Link to comment
ae2 August 14, 2015 Share August 14, 2015 There must have been more to the Bible / Harry Potter joke that they didn't air. None of the judge responses mesh with what we saw. Regardless, the guy's jokes were largely obvious setups. Hated Karlous last year, but Clayton had a good stage presence. I hope he has some broader material going forward. 2 Link to comment
Kromm August 14, 2015 Share August 14, 2015 Clayton English. UGH. When he was hanging out with Karlous in the video package I was like "please god, don't be another Karlous, with the tedious weed humor nonstop." Yup. His entire damn set was about getting high and being annoyed with cops for trying to stop him from getting high. NEXT. Also... mumbling. He was a bit better live, but in the package you could barely understand him at times. Link to comment
Joimiaroxeu August 14, 2015 Share August 14, 2015 Clayton had a good stage presence. I hope he has some broader material going forward. Yeah, I think maybe he needs to leave the Black man versus cop thing on the back burner for now. Too soon. Hopefully that's not most of his act. I was surprised at the veiled hostility toward the Harvard girl. Perhaps her act read as a little condescending, like she was making an effort to hold back her smartness for the sake of the great unwashed audience? Link to comment
nkotb August 14, 2015 Share August 14, 2015 I loved Karlous last year, and was severely disappointed that Nikki Carr & Rocky LaPorte made it further than him, so I was predisposed to like Clayton. I don't think it would've mattered, though, because I found him to be hilarious. He & Karlous both just have a natural, funny charisma to them. I'd love to see him do well. I was stunned that the valedictorian/star athlete/prom queen didn't get through, because I thought she was hilarious and very natural, especially for 20. The spat between Norm and "Harry Potter" dude made me uncomfortable. I was glad when it was over and was pretty surprised that they let him through. **Side note: we went to the "Last Comic Standing" live tour this past fall, and while I couldn't stand Nikki Carr on the show, she was freaking hilarious live, probably second only to Rod-Man. Conversely, hubs & I both loved Joe Mackey on the show, but he wasn't good live at all. That was disappointing. 2 Link to comment
ae2 August 14, 2015 Share August 14, 2015 **Side note: we went to the "Last Comic Standing" live tour this past fall, and while I couldn't stand Nikki Carr on the show, she was freaking hilarious live, probably second only to Rod-Man. Conversely, hubs & I both loved Joe Mackey on the show, but he wasn't good live at all. That was disappointing. That's good to hear about Nikki. My assumption was always that her energy must be something that really works live, but doesn't come across well on screen. Did the comedians do a lot of the same material they did on the show? I loved Joe also, so sad to hear that he wasn't good live! 1 Link to comment
nkotb August 14, 2015 Share August 14, 2015 I hope this is ok to discuss in this thread... I should rephrase, if we hadn't seen Joe on the actual show, he would've been hilarious live. However, everything he did live was everything he did on the show, which was good, don't get me wrong, but it was just exactly what we'd seen. Nikki was much better when she had carte blanche to say exactly what she wanted, and boy did she. I was irritated that she made the finals on the show, but once I saw her live, I totally got it. Rod-Man was hilarious, not surprisingly. He really adapted to the audience and told jokes that reflected the community where we were. I would absolutely go see him, Nikki and Lachlan again (same for Lachlan, he really adapted to the community we were in, and he hilariously called out audience members who took bathroom or beer breaks when he was doing his set). 1 Link to comment
saber5055 August 15, 2015 Share August 15, 2015 (edited) There must have been more to the Bible / Harry Potter joke that they didn't air. I know. That was so odd. It was like that comedian insulted Norm's religion or something, like Harry Potter is a religion and JK Rowling is that religion's god or golden idol. I thought he was joking, then he went on and it was obvious he was serious. Gesh, make a big deal about the allegory that Rowling MIGHT have been writing about? It was like Norm was getting all bent about someone making a joke that Herman Melville didn't really write Moby Dick as an allegory about good vs. evil. Lighten up, Norm, it's JOKES, not a Scientology meeting. I was unimpressed and not all that comfortable with Amir K. I would have switched him with the blond gal who flew overseas on the plane with "not enough" fuel. I thought she was good, and I enjoyed her set. Edited August 15, 2015 by saber5055 1 Link to comment
backformore August 22, 2015 Share August 22, 2015 I got Norm's criticism, and I agree with him. He didn't like the cheap joke, because it's kind of well-known that Harry is a character modeled after Jesus - the SON who sacrifices his life to save everyone else. If the comic had used a different book as "my favorite book" and used a nonsense quote, the joke would have worked . As it is, he used "Harry Potter" as a throwaway to mean "a child's book with no relevance", and made it clear that he probably never read the book. Because you actually COULD find a quote from Harry Potter that rivaled a Bible quote. The guy just chose a random phrase. I thought Norm's point (which he didn't really make all that well) is if you're going to use a cultural reference - know what you're talking about. 3 Link to comment
backformore August 23, 2015 Share August 23, 2015 Adding to my thought above, even though it was the next episode, Norm also didn't like Harrison making the NAACP joke - that it should be African-American, not "colored." Again, it's a cheap joke that doesn't make sense if you know that the "colored people" referred to in NAACP means all ethnic minorities, not just African-American. While Norm comes across as being cranky, I think it's more that he is resentful of comics who make jokes when they don't understand their own references. being offensive on purpose is better than being semi-offensive because you don't know what you're talking about. 3 Link to comment
Ohwell August 23, 2015 Share August 23, 2015 Norm might be "right" but if he's that sensitive, then he shouldn't be a judge. This is supposed to be a comedy show, and he just throws water on almost everything. Link to comment
Amarsir August 23, 2015 Share August 23, 2015 I'm not sure to what extent he's being sensitive and to what extent he's being scientific. Surely it's some of both. I like that he scrutinizes every part of the joke to see what works, what doesn't, and where there's room for improvement. But on top of that he does tend to lean a little toward personal preference and that undermines the analytical part of it. 1 Link to comment
backformore August 23, 2015 Share August 23, 2015 Norm might be "right" but if he's that sensitive, then he shouldn't be a judge. This is supposed to be a comedy show, and he just throws water on almost everything. I don't see it as "sensitive". I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that. Norm is a judge, he's JUDGING, because he has some experience as a comic, writer, etc. He's supposed to "throw water" if he thinks something isn't funny, that's the whole point of him being there. I don't think Norm was offended - he was giving a critique, though he was being kind of obscure. His critique was along the lines of - be intelligent when you're telling a joke. Look stuff up, to make sure you KNOW what you're telling jokes about. Don't just take cheap shots at things you don't understand. 5 Link to comment
Ohwell August 23, 2015 Share August 23, 2015 (edited) I have no further comments on St. Norm. Edited August 23, 2015 by Ohwell Link to comment
Uncle Benzene August 23, 2015 Share August 23, 2015 I find Norm's critiques a hell of a lot more interesting than Roseanne's incessant "Well... I thought you were just great!" 3 Link to comment
DrSpaceman August 23, 2015 Share August 23, 2015 Well whether replacing the colored part with african american would be technically correct, I still think the presmise that is brought up is a good one. Using the term "colored" in this day and age by anyone else to describe any group would be considered racist. Yet this group that is all about fighting racism still uses the term. Many jokes like this aren't based in suggesting a correct solution but pointing out absurdity, which the joke does. 2 Link to comment
ghertigirl August 26, 2015 Share August 26, 2015 I thought Amir K had some potential. I saw him perform live, opening for Maz Jobrani and he definitely left me howling and wanting more. I was glad to see him go through. Worried though after Roseanne's comments, since she usually loves everyone. Norm is interesting. I love Norm but he certainly is a grumpy old man, isn't he? Link to comment
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