S08.E03: Invitational 4

[Guest]

The comics deliver their sets during the final round of invitationals.

 

[bentley]

Tonight's finalists were such a disappointment. "Tell it to my balls" lady was just not that funny, and I hardly thought it was the joke of the night. I felt like she ticked a box on some executive's list somewhere--quirky white female. I thought the same thing about the  black female who made the joke about wanting to be a damsel in distress. The man-hungry overweight black female comedian seems so outdated.

 

The guy from Tennessee deserved a slot and so did the Zimmerman guy who did the snake bit (heh snake bit).. I loved the tall black female who made a joke about her class pictures. I've seen those class photos where there's always one overly large kid standing out from the crowd, so that was pretty funny. Did I miss something or did the weird white guy have only the one rescue dog joke that they showed? I can't recall a lot of comedians that got into the finals when they only played one joke of his set. If so, that one joke was promising, so I'm good with it.

[Kromm]

Why was the VT with Comic Husband and Wife mostly consisting of Comic Wife (who was the funnier of the two, IMO), when she didn't even have a set on the actual show?

[LakeGal]

'Tell it to my balls' lady just annoyed me.  Her quirkiness wasn't funny.  Actually not many of them on this episode made me laugh.  I always end up wondering what we didn't see/hear.  They spend a lot of time on some that don't make it.  Then we hear one quick bit on others that make it.  Maybe they are hiding their good jokes for later. 

[Ohwell]

I hope like hell they're hiding their good jokes for later, because I haven't been impressed with most of these comedians since the ones in the first episode.  The only ones who stood out for me last night were:  redneck guy, black woman who loves pork, and guy with two teenagers (even though he was a little too hyper--thought he was going to have a heart attack at one point).

 

I thought the last one, the former foster kid, has the basis for some good material (even though it's sad), but he needs to work on it.  He's a little too green right now.

[snowblossom2]

Tonight's finalists were such a disappointment. "Tell it to my balls" lady was just not that funny, and I hardly thought it was the joke of the night. I felt like she ticked a box on some executive's list somewhere--quirky white female. I thought the same thing about the  black female who made the joke about wanting to be a damsel in distress. The man-hungry overweight black female comedian seems so outdated.

 

The guy from Tennessee deserved a slot and so did the Zimmerman guy who did the snake bit (heh snake bit).. I loved the tall black female who made a joke about her class pictures. I've seen those class photos where there's always one overly large kid standing out from the crowd, so that was pretty funny. Did I miss something or did the weird white guy have only the one rescue dog joke that they showed? I can't recall a lot of comedians that got into the finals when they only played one joke of his set. If so, that one joke was promising, so I'm good with it.

 

I agree re: "Tell it to my balls" lady. However, I didn't find the Zimmerman guy that funny nor the Tennessee guy. I also wondered by the rescue dog joke guy was picked. I liked the foster kid guy but was really disappointed in this round.

 

[car54]

I agree, the balls lady was not that funny.   Her outfit was about the funniest part--she was going for the quirky.

The only ones who made it through that I thought were memorable were the foster kid guy and the really hyper dad talking about his teenage kids.  I'm not sure I would want to see a lot more of that but he at least had a cohesive set of jokes.

I want to see what the guest judges bring to things--I saw Wanda Sykes on Ellen and she said it was really fun.

[Actionmage]

I think  lots of folks are okay with Mike Gaffney and Monroe Martin getting through. (Yes, I have been keeping track of the names and who made it to Semis. I'm a weirdo.) I have nieces and nephews in their teens and laughed about the teen girl stuff. Monroe was great in how he turned his experiences into something that was funny and thoughtful. Not a rarity, but done without the set seeming bitter shows that Mr. Martin seems to have a handle on the past.

 

Deanne "Tell It To My Balls!" Smith was fun, in that I felt she was making fun of catchphrases. That she was a woman who spoke of balls? Not funny in itself, but that she surprised Roseanne enough to get a big ol' laugh outta the Domestic Goddess herself showed that it was made into a gimmick by the network. Granted, I actually want to figure out how to stun and surprise folks with a random "tell it to my balls!", but Deanne might surprise us. I enjoyed her Atheist convention joke.

 

Tommy Ryman, of the 'future rescue dog' joke series, was okay, but as a pet owner, I wasn't impressed. I wasn't outraged, but I wasn't laughing or chuckling much either.

 

I liked Karlous ('Carlos') Miller because his energy was calm, but he delivered some solid laughs.

 

The comics who were briefly shown last night were: Yamenika Saunders, Pete Lee, Luis J. Gomez, Chip Pope, Sean Donelly, Kellye Howard, Kurt Metzger, and Tommy Ryman. Of those folks, Yamenika and Tommy  got through to  the Semi-Finals.

Folks I personally enjoyed, but they didn't go through: Billy Wayne Davis, and Kellye Howard. I liked his set ("You know what rednecks and gays hate more than each other? Sleeves.") and I wanted to see more of Kellye's set.

 

I am excited for the semis, so we can maybe seem longer sets, maybe? Plus  Wanda Sykes as a guest judge?  Super!

[ari333]

Awww you guys, I'm such a sap pushover because I liked last night's show. I, too, thought, "Tell it to ma baaaawllllss" was making fun of catchphrases.

 

So to get this straight in my head, are they choosing the funniest standup or a funny person for whom they could fashion a network sitcom around?

[DrSpaceman]

They are looking for a combination of the two.

Just hard to say who is and isn't funny so far. I am glad this round is over and hope to get more in depth looks at these comics now.

[car54]

I think that's a very valid point--Keenan in particular seems to be recommending that the comic pick one consistent persona for their set and to stay with that--which speaks to them looking for someone who could be in a sitcom.

I thought the guy with the snake jokes would be good on Parks and Rec...he'd make a great civil servant character.

[Sarah D. Bunting]

Sean ranks the episode's highs, lows...and unseen acts.

[attica]

Another refugee from  previous season: Kurt Metzger, who advanced a bit in a previous LCS (I remember his Michael Jackson funeral jokes making me laugh), but didn't get into the semis tonight. But I see that he's working (Louie, Amy Schumer), so I'm sure he's fine.

[Monty]

I cannot say enough about how much I agree with Roseanne about comics who start their sets by insisting on fake applause breaks.

[Ohwell]

Another refugee from  previous season: Kurt Metzger, who advanced a bit in a previous LCS (I remember his Michael Jackson funeral jokes making me laugh), but didn't get into the semis tonight. But I see that he's working (Louie, Amy Schumer), so I'm sure he's fine.

I knew I had seen that guy somewhere before!  To this day, I tell the Michael Jackson funeral jokes to people who have never heard them.  Glad to see he's apparently doing fine.

[Traveller519]

comedy is so subjective that the comedians unfortunately get graded through whatever frame people's preferences set out for them. As mentioned above they're being graded on a couple factors. In addition to their stand-up and ability to do something with the NBC Developmental Contract, they're also trying to be evaluated on how they'll handle being a part of the ensemble that is the show going around.

 

There's a lot of diversity, which is good for avoiding However many weeks of getting the same style of jokes thrown at you, but it means the "characters" tend to creep through, and people's without the breadth of stand-up get through.

 

My case in point. There have been some very funny black women come through. I thought Zanaib Johnson's stuff was fantastic last week. Tracey Ashley is a known commodity at this point with her Album coming out to much applause earlier this year. Chloe Hilliard had good material. And Tyree Elaine had some nice fresh energy. But the two that advanced this week seemed to fall into the old Stereotypes, which were more Characters. Nikki Carr had the "tell you what it's like" swagger, and  Yamaneika Saunders was the man-eater. Add in Erin Jackson from the first week who I don't think will be able to distance herself from Tracey.

 

4 I thought were great stand-ups, and 3 of those I hadn't seen before and am very interested to see more from as we progress. The two that advanced this week I didn't enjoy as stand-ups, but seem like they will be fun in the ensemble, and the producers likely see as someone to build a sitcom around.

 

Regardless. The fact that of the 28 finalists, 7 are black women shows off just how ridiculous it was of NBC's other bastion of comedy, SNL, to drag its heel's in finding a Black female perfomer.

[Ohwell]

I thought Zanaib Johnson's stuff was fantastic last week.

I couldn't tell if her stuff was fantastic or not because I was seriously distracted by those pants.  I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who felt that way.  If she wants to be on a show, I believe she needs to change her look.  The shaved head I find kind of sexy, but those pants?  Just No.

[Kaoteek]

I hope like hell they're hiding their good jokes for later, because I haven't been impressed with most of these comedians since the ones in the first episode.  The only ones who stood out for me last night were:  redneck guy, black woman who loves pork, and guy with two teenagers (even though he was a little too hyper--thought he was going to have a heart attack at one point).

 

Yeah, I don't know if it's the editing, the constant overpraising from the jury, Roseanne's constant howls of laughter, the pointlessness of JB Smoove, or the simple fact that most of those jokes/routines are... well... predictable &/or tired, but I'm really underwhelmed by this season, so far.

Edited June 7, 2014 by Kaoteek

[Kromm]

Sean ranks the episode's highs, lows...and unseen acts.

I'm glad that pointed out the absurdity of Mary Mack getting the lions share of the attention in the VT (and being far funnier in it than her husband) and mysteriously not getting her actual set heard.

And the line Mary ends the VT with definitely tells us that she was there competing (the joke about Tim coming third is built on HER coming first).

[DrSpaceman]

Rewatched this episode, really liked the first and last guys.

I think Karlous Miller was the first one......he seemed the most comfortable on stage and the most at ease in front of the audience, had the best stage presence.

Still looking forward to see how they do the next round of the show

[bilgistic]

I have really tired of J.B. Smoove's yell-hosting. You have a microphone; stop yelling!

I like him on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but he's grating my ass here. The twee suits borrowed from Andre 3000 don't help.

[Amarsir]

It seemed to me that the judges were being more critical this week. Perhaps just my observation, but I wonder if the editors were only showing praise in earlier episodes and decided to round it out as we got further in.

While I can appreciate that a comic's act will be best when it represents him/herself, I also feel like too much of that puts them in categories. "I'm from the south / the inner city / a big family. It's weird being gay / tall / jewish / adopted / a parent and I'm always running into people who are all [caricature]." Sure, write what you know and show us the funny in it. But when someone is specifically finding untapped areas like "snakes as pets" (Zimmerman) ai think that needs to be encouraged.

[Ohwell]

I agree 10000% about the "categories criticism.  I get tired of that, too.  While I might find some of those bits funny, I do appreciate the comedy that doesn't focus on the comedian's weight, sexuality, race/heritage (so sick of that), marital status, hometown, etc.  What's left, some might say?  Well, I think there's plenty of material out there if one is creative enough.

[LADreamr]

Yeah.  I kind of lose respect for women comics who come out and immediately trash themselves.  I think it's a cheap joke, it perpetuates that kind of meanness towards women, and makes me wonder if that's the best they've got.  Be the one not-size 4 who is just allowed to be funny, smart, original and confident.  Then you'll have my vote.

[heebiejeebie]

I loved that Roseanne ranted about coming out and doing the "let's hear it NY (or wherever the show is taking place that night)".  I didn't pay money to be part of a cheering squad for where the fuck I live.  Make me laugh.  Don't try and validate my real estate buying choices in life.

 

I think the editing was really off this episode.  There were a couple of comics let through that, subjective takes on what is funny aside, all we saw was one weak joke.  the audience reaction assuming it was true, supported that.  In fact the balls bit got huger laughs when the judges basically took it apart and put it back together again.  Instead the show highlighted some good bits that now I will not see more of.  Maybe I'm unique but that doesn't make me want to tune in next week over doing or watching something else.  Maybe the comedians that went through will bring strong material next time,.  Do I care to gamble on that? eh.

[DrSpaceman]

I think what we have to keep in mind is in addition to the fact we are not seeing the entire set by the comedians, we also don't know many of them.  They invite these people on the show because someone has already seen their act.  The three hosts are probably already familar with many of them and that bleeds through as well in their evaluations.  I don't think they are basing it all on how they do on stage on this show.  I view the stage part as their "job interview" we are seeing, but they all have a resume/history that follows them as well that the hosts know about and that plays into their decisions as well as to who advances

 

This is where this show is different than most other reality shows.  They aren't really plucked out of nowhere people no one has heard of before.  In fact they were explicity going from that this year, no open tryouts.  The hosts and producers know many of these people already and I would bet some were going to advance no matter what they did on stage in this part of the show

[Crisopera]

So, Billy Wayne Davis joins Guy Brannum in the small but select group of comics who bafflingly didn't advance to the next round.

[aradia22]

Carlos Miller was pretty good. I didn't actually laugh at any of the jokes but he was animated and I did like the way he took command of the stage. There was enough there to make me think he has stronger material.

 

I liked Joe Zimmerman. The jokes were solid but it was really the delivery and the way they slowly unfolded. I feel like he could be more of a TV writer. I think the jokes were chuckle-worthy but the way they built he got me to laugh.

 

Tim Harmston. I'm usually bored by the pre-show segments following them around but I thought he and his wife were very cute so I was already on his side when he took the stage. I could definitely see myself watching a show with the two of them in it based on that. However, when he did take the stage his jokes weren't bad but I think there might have been something off with the delivery because they weren't really connecting. Keenan gave him some good advice about inconsistency. I didn't pick up on that but that might have been a part of the problem.

 

Yamaneika. I think she was cute but I didn't see enough of her set to really sell me on her.

 

Pete Lee. Super recognizable to be appearing on season 8 of this show. I liked the cat joke though.

 

Luis J. Gomez. The one joke we saw was good. I wish we'd seen more of his set because I think it could have been interesting.

 

Chip Pope. Has he been on this before? I swear I recognize him from something.

 

Deanne Smith. Again, I wish we'd seen more of her set because she just became the "tell it to my balls girl". Her joke before that wasn't great and I could see what Roseanne was saying about her leaving too much dead air. 

[aradia22]

Nikki Carr. I don't think her jokes were special enough. If I haven't heard them before, I've heard similar material.

 

Billy Wayne Davis. The whole set was well written but it took me a joke or two to really get into it. The clincher with the origin of coon's age being dumber than racism got me. I agree that it's baffling that he didn't get through. While it wasn't perfect it was certainly better than the sets of people who did get through. I do think we could have counted on him to bring even better material in the next round, which again, is more than you can say for a lot of the acts.

 

Mike Gaffney. I liked the frenetic kind of coked-out energy of his set. It was the kind of sitcom-y material that isn't new but I think the delivery and the style of writing made it feel fresh and still funny.

 

JC Coccoli. I loved her energy and delivery.

 

Sean Donnelly. Again. I wish we'd seen more of his set. I think it could have been a good one.

 

Kellye Howard. Cute joke. I wish we'd seen more. There's no way to get a sense of someone's act from one joke like that. 

 

Tommy Ryman. Again, the one joke was cute but given all the praise Roseanne heaped on him, I wish we'd seen more.

Kurt Metzger. He must be a repeat, right? 

[aradia22]

Monroe Martin. I thought he was great.

[adhoc]

Saw half of the show. Gonna be honest--Monroe Martin was not funny to me.  Did he have some potentially good material to work with? Yes. Did he deliver it in a humorous manner that clearly distanced him from the foster care (and other sad childhood experiences) he was talking about?

 

Not for me. And that is a fail. 

 

Roseanne--I think it was Roseanne, it was one of the judges--said that she wished he'd gotten even angrier. EXACTLY!  Angrier, more indignant, something, in an over-the-top, bizarrely humorous way.  What I needed from him was something to lighten it up for me, make me feel it was okay to laugh at a sad childhood. Instead, I just felt sad, because he sounded like he was re-experiencing some of his childhood experiences (if only in a slight way).  

 

I know it's stereotypical, but the female comedienne who was describing her best friend as always moving her body, hands, etc.--that was hilarious to me.  Don't know who she was, and she did not get through. 

[Ohwell]

What I needed from him was something to lighten it up for me, make me feel it was okay to laugh at a sad childhood. Instead, I just felt sad, because he sounded like he was re-experiencing some of his childhood experiences (if only in a slight way).

Exactly.  He made me feel bad for even laughing at his jokes.

[millahnna]

The clincher with the origin of coon's age being dumber than racism got me.

 

That just killed me.  My favorite comics make me think and laugh (Carlin, Hicks, Izzard, etc.).   I didn't even realize he hadn't gotten through.  I kind of don't really keep up with the competition portions of this show.  I fast forward to get to the routines, the judging (in case of good back and forth) and sometimes the backstory videos.  If they go back to living in the house, I'll skip most of that, too.  I just want the funny stuff.

[Cramps]

Really disappointed that Billy Wayne Davis didn't make it through. Liked his liberal spin on the traditional Southern comic style. It was really funny and fresh.

The problem with Monroe is that he needs a few more years of stage time to reach greatness. The foster kid life story thing is very unique, he just doesn't seem like he's been doing comedy long enough to be fully in command of the stage.

[possibilities]

On the other hand, a newer comic might actually benefit from rather than be humiliated by the exposure and "mentoring" the show tries to sell itself as offering. I cringe when I see people who've been in the business 20 years having to be judged by people younger than they are, or even age peers who've made it big when they started out at the same time. It's just painful. And someone who's been doing this for decades is not going to take well to stunt challenges or having their stage presence tweaked by Amy Shumer.

 

In a way, I wish the show was only for truly unknown newbies with potential, but then I guess people who take the invitations appreciate the exposure, even if it's a little bit sad to see them going up against people who're just getting started.

[Ohwell]

I cringe when I see people who've been in the business 20 years having to be judged by people younger than they are, or even age peers who've made it big when they started out at the same time. It's just painful. And someone who's been doing this for decades is not going to take well to stunt challenges or having their stage presence tweaked by Amy Shumer.

I agree.  It kind of pains me to see the comics who have been doing it for a long time, "reduced" to going on a TV competition; on the other hand, I realize that they might not mind at all and they might even welcome the exposure.  However, for some reason, it just makes me uncomfortable to watch them, even if I like their routines.  

[Traveller519]

The Jimmy Shuberts and Rocky Laportes definitely feel like club circuit comedians trying to give it one last go at the big time. I get it, you don't know anything else and you don't want to do the travel circuit any more. but if you haven't been able to develop anything on your own, or have someone like Mike Judge develop something for you, it might be indicative of the fact that you're done.

 

The age of Social Media has made it easy for young and driven comedians to market themselves, which the older folks here appear to have missed on.

[Cramps]

The "young and driven" comics may not have enough strong material to get through all the rounds of this competition. The judges already were calling a couple of them on not being as strong in the semi-final round as they were in the first round, and that was because they'd already used up their best stuff. Jimmy and Rocky won't have that problem

[Traveller519]

Very valid point. And going back to Season 1, Vos and Mordal were the most pleasant to watch since they actually had that history. And they probably would have fallen into that bracket.

[Cramps]

But To semi-counter my own argument, if Rocky or Jimmy were truly amazing, they would have broken big by now. So they'll do well, because they've got years of stage time and material, that younger comics don't have, but neither is ever going to be a huge star-even if they win. Alonzo. Amy Schumer were the two comics that I discovered on this show that really blew me away with their material.