S08.E06: Challenge 1 - Sketch

[Tara Ariano]

The art of sketch comedy tests the comics in their first group challenge. Cheryl Hines is the celebrity mentor. Also: a stand-up test at the Hollywood Improv.

[Actionmage]

What I Liked:

*Cheryl Hines and her reaction shots during the actual sketches

*The teams didn't write the material, but were given the same single script and encouraged to add their own touch(es)

*Nikki being the mobster/cookbook author

*Rod Man explaining what being the leader of the team entails

*Lochlan's vote/ list of who he's funnier than!

*Everybody being held to their vote

*Lil' Frank and his glass eye (heaven help me)

*Stand-up is the final arbiter of  who stays

 

What I Didn't Like:

*The older, white guys blaming Aida for the team loss

* Aida saying that her bad day started before the set; Aida, you're talking to ROSEANNE, her career is made up of taking her bad days and beating the hell out of them in her comedy. (That said, I like how Roseanne was supportive of Aida throughout the process.)

*Jimmy? Pocahontas was ten and didn't "date". Crack a history book, not the Disney Channel, huh?

 

What I Was 'Meh' On:

*Jimmy and Aida's stand up;  Jimmy was yell-y and Aida seemed low-key.

*The Little League everyone-act-polite backstage stuff (at least when the cameras were rolling)- I don't need everyone to be besties, but I sort of don't buy that Jimmy wasn't happy that Aida was leaving as well. I know they may work on the same bill at a future date, so why burn bridges, but why show the non-drama?

 

I was glad that both Jimmy and Aida were knocked out so that there would be no crap left over from that clear divide.

 

Nikki and Joe for F2!

[Amarsir]

I like the structure with immunity challenges, voting, and head-to-head.  Wanda Sykes deserves a lot of credit for getting rid of the weak part (audience voting) and keeping the stuff that made it interesting.

 

Not having seen the whole sketch makes it harder to say, but I also felt Aida was the weak link on her team.  She was flubbing lines and needing to be bailed out, then complaining they weren't "listening" to each other.  But again, maybe that's true and we didn't see it.

 

She also had the weakest set of the three.  Jimmy and Rod Man were both solid, although between the former always yelling and the latter always repeating every single thing (every single thing) I could get tired of either one pretty quickly.

[Irlandesa]

Not having seen the whole sketch makes it harder to say, but I also felt Aida was the weak link on her team.  She was flubbing lines and needing to be bailed out, then complaining they weren't "listening" to each other.  But again, maybe that's true and we didn't see it.

 

I think we did see that.  She did flub some of her lines but they all did.  I think when mentioned "listening" she was talking about all the times that people were talking at the same time.  Jimmy, especially, ended up talking over his teammates.  Ultimately, the team just didn't find the rhythem or chemistry the first time discovered.  They kept talking over one another and would descend into silence when they were thrown by it. 

 

As for the stand up, I didn't laugh at Jimmy's set at all.  He was energetic but I had more natural laughs coming from Aida.  Rod Man seemed lost but I guess that's his thing.  I remember him being funny so I'm not sad he won. I  am sad that we're down to one woman. 

[Tabasco Cat]

Pocahontas was about 18 when she was captured and held for ransom, 19 when she married John Rolfe, and 20 when their son Thomas was born. Perhaps you're thinking of the anecdotal story about how she saved the life of an Englishman ca. 1607 when she would have been about 12. There's no solid evidence that that incident ever really happened. Before telling someone to check a history book it's usually a good idea to have your own facts straight first. Jimmy's set wasn't that good because it just wasn't that funny, not because he failed to research his subject matter.

 

Moving on, I thought Rod Man was the clear winner in the head-to-head-to-head showdown. Overall I did not like the format of the challenge. They were at the mercy of whoever wrote that script and it seemed pretty lame. I doubt the greatest comic geniuses the world has ever known, all assembled, could have made that funny. It's like your agent telling you, a fresh young comic, that he's got good news and bad news. The good news is he's landed you a gig on national TV where the writers will write your material for you! The bad news is that the show is Saturday Night Live. You can only polish a turd so much.

[Amarsir]

I think we did see that.  She did flub some of her lines but they all did.  I think when mentioned "listening" she was talking about all the times that people were talking at the same time.  Jimmy, especially, ended up talking over his teammates.  Ultimately, the team just didn't find the rhythem or chemistry the first time discovered.  They kept talking over one another and would descend into silence when they were thrown by it.

You may be right. I considered that jumping in because he was listening, and was in a role where he could use that to keep it rolling.  But no argument he was heavy-handed about the whole thing, and regardless I have no problem with him getting blame since he put himself out there.

 

Pocahontas was about 18 when she was captured and held for ransom, 19 when she married John Rolfe, and 20 when their son Thomas was born. Perhaps you're thinking of the anecdotal story about how she saved the life of an Englishman ca. 1607 when she would have been about 12. There's no solid evidence that that incident ever really happened. Before telling someone to check a history book it's usually a good idea to have your own facts straight first. Jimmy's set wasn't that good because it just wasn't that funny, not because he failed to research his subject matter.

Also, the point is to attach a name to a joke about breaking up via smoke signals. Not to tell a historically accurate anecdote.

 

Overall I did not like the format of the challenge. They were at the mercy of whoever wrote that script and it seemed pretty lame. I doubt the greatest comic geniuses the world has ever known, all assembled, could have made that funny. 

 

On the other hand, it saves them from criticism on the writing. This way they were judged on their ability to act and to "punch up" a script they didn't write.  Those are crucial skills for any comic who wants to work in Hollywood, either in front of or behind the camera.

[DrSpaceman]

        It didn't really seem like either group really did great with the sketch.  And I'd probably rather see them given more time and given more flexibility in what they could say and write in the sketch rather than just given a script to make funny.  I realize the point of the show is to attempt to find a TV stoar who will be doing just that, but still, some of the best TV and movie stuff is unscripted, on many shows. 

 

        I thought Rod Man clearly won the stand up, but again, it was more by default.  I thought both the other two's routines were just weak and not funny at all.  I honestly don't even remember what Aida said, not a single joke, and Jimmy did three variations of one joke that was not even original or that funny as a premise.  I've even heard variations of the "smoke signals" part of it before and done much better by other comics.   I didn't think Rod Man was great, but he has the ability to make lesser material funny just with his presence and delivery.  Though I will admit I can see how his delivery and repetition would annoy some people. 

 

 

           I think this is a decent format, but I think one of the things that differentiates this as a reality show from others is to be chosen to perform and potentially voted off is both a good and a bad thing.  One the one hand, if you are voted to perform, you might be going home.  On the other hand, if you NEVER are voted to perform your stand up, yes you slide through to the next week but then no one ever sees your stand up routine and you have less exposure, which defeats the purpose in some ways of being on the show.  Its the biggest problem I have with the show.  Performing on TV should be the reward they all want, not some sort of punishment they dread because they may get voted off. 

 

               Also what I don't understand, why would anyone have voted and said they were funnies than anyone on the team with immunity?  That seems pointless from a game standpoint. 

Edited June 27, 2014 by DrSpaceman

[BusyOctober]

Jimmy reminded me of a less funny less likeable Colin Quinn.  I never thought Aida was better than some of the others who were cut during semi final rounds.  Not sure I have anyone I'm really rooting for, but I like Rocky, Joe, Rod Man and Nikki enough that I'd pay to see them. 

 

After watching 10 minutes of any recent NBC sitcom, I'm not sure I'd consider a development deal a "prize".  Maybe the funnier comics can stay on long enough to get exposure and dodge the bullet of "winning" certain cancellation death (see Whitney, Michael J Fox Show, Sean Saves the World, etc, etc). NBC hasn't been Must See TV in decades.

[DrSpaceman]

Well I wouldn't say its been decades since NBC has been must see TV, but there have been no hit comedies they have developed since basically Parks and Rec, 5 years ago or more, that I recall.  And Parks and rec doesn't even get great ratings, its just gets good critical reviews. 

 

The Thursday night NBC comedy must see TV lineup is certainly dead, which is sad. 

[BeatrixK]

I'm still am chulcling to myself when I repeat Lochlan's 'Hall, but not Oates.'  *snort*

 

Yeah - Rod Man deserved the win, but mainly because the other two didn't bring it.  (Although Mr. Bea and I were cracking up when we kept doing the Freddie/Eye thing afterwards...so there is that.)

[Ohwell]

I thought the sketches were stupid and a waste of time and I felt bad for both groups having to go through with it.  I thought both groups were bad, but I guess the Snakes group was just a little less bad.  I knew Rod Man would come out over Joe and Aida.  Sorry to see Joe go, but not Aida.

 

Lachlan looks like a handsome serial killer.

 

I've tried to get used to JB Smoove but he is just awful.

[teebax]

I've tried to get used to JB Smoove but he is just awful.

I've never been able to figure out his success.I first saw him on Curb Your Enthusiasm and didn't think he added a single thing to the show. The only times he made me laugh had more to do with Larry David than with him. And he was awful on that show with Will Arnett.

 

When my Dish Network DVR has a recording of Last Comic Standing, it still shows Craig Robinson as the host. I'd much prefer that. And I'd really like it if Wanda or Amy hosted it.

 

I do agree that I'm glad the audience doesn't get to vote. As a viewer of several competitive reality shows, I think the audience rarely gets it right.

[Amarsir]

Well, if you want to see allegedly-funny people making original sketches, you can check out "Funniest Wins" on TBS. Although I warn you, you're gonna see "Vine Creator" seriously presented as a claim-to-fame.

[ae2]

I know comedy comes in all shapes and sizes, but... I can't for the life of me figure out what is so great about Rod Man. The judges continually praise his delivery and his style for being original and hilarious. It comes across to me as repetitive and annoying. Between his "you knows", "likes", and "uhs" there is some funny material. It takes him so long to get to it.

 

That said, the other two that performed in the stand up showdown did not show their best material and deserved to be booted.

[reelbigphish]

Rod Man had me in tears. "Frank, duck. Duck, Frank." Also, nice to see Felipe Esparza on TV. I started to think NBC took the winners out back and shot them.

[iMonrey]

 

Also what I don't understand, why would anyone have voted and said they were funnier than anyone on the team with immunity?  That seems pointless from a game standpoint.

 

Well it would be a safe throw-away vote knowing they couldn't go home. Whoever gets the most votes has to go up against the people who voted for them, so if you vote for someone with immunity you know you won't be chosen for the showdown because they won't. 

 

That said, I don't get what happens if the only people who voted for the person to go all ended up being people with immunity. Would the loser just get the boot by default?

[OnceSane]

 

I'm still am chuckling to myself when I repeat Lochlan's 'Hall, but not Oates.'  *snort*

 

That gave me the biggest giggle of the night.  Kinda sad, really.

 

 

Lachlan looks like a handsome serial killer.

 

Thank you!  I tried to put my finger on what was "off" with him, & you nailed it.

[LADreamr]

 

I'm still am chuckling to myself when I repeat Lochlan's 'Hall, but not Oates.'  *snort*

 

I loved that.  "Oates is funny."

[califred]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that doesn't care for JB Smooth.

I loved Rod Man, it just takes him a bit to get to the funny.

[ari333]

Aww.. I like JB. But I like him more from Til Death, so there's that. He could stop screaming as host.

 

I love me some crass, sassy Wanda. "Line up and bend over!"

 

Rocky:  " Well, what's the challenge? We have to raise a family of raccoons?"

[tv4sho]

I've been a fan of Rodman since his BET comic view days and the things that bug some of you about him are the things I like the most!  I admit, last night was not his best, heck i've even heard him do that Frank eyeball bit before, but he was still funnier than the other two comics.  I can see him making it to the finals, but not winning as his style does put some people off. 

[Ohwell]

Rod Man had me in tears. "Frank, duck. Duck, Frank."

I was in tears too.  Even though I know his delivery is annoying some, it just cracks me up.  Since it's up to the judges, I don't expect him to win this thing (it'll probably be Machi--ugh) but I will definitely be checking to see if he appears in my area.  I'd love to see him live so I can just sit there with tears streaming down my face. 

[possibilities]

I think this is basically a casting call. They are testing not only funny material, but also suitability for anchoring a show on NBC. So they want to send home people who don't work well when they're not the only person on stage, people who don't take direction, people with any number of personality issues. The way they edited this week's episode, they kept featuring complaints that Frank was bossy, and Aida struggling with the stress. Then they cut to Rod Man being all relaxed and having no complaints.

 

I don't like the device of having the contestants challenge each other in the "I'm funnier than..." format. it feels to me like a gratuitous play to stir up drama. Just let the judges choose who did worst in the challenge and let it go at that.

 

I think they said there was a rule that you couldn't challenge someone who had immunity.

[Actionmage]

To quickly address those who thought my dislike of Jimmy's Pochahontas joke was solely rooted in accuracy/ inaccuracy:

 

If he wanted a funnier, killer breakup joke with a Native American woman with name value, why not Sacagewea? She went off with her infant to show two white guys how to get to the ocean from the middle of the country! If historical accuracy isn't needed for jokes, that's true enough. Also more of a demoralizing reason for a break up- 'I'm leaving with these two guys to find the ocean. Byee!"

 

Moving on, I found myself liking the Lil' Frank set because of how Rod Man told the story, as others have mentioned. For this story, repetition wasn't so bad. Neither was the line "He led with the wrong eye"! I tried not to laugh, due to the subject, but Rod Man won me over and I was fighting tears by the end.

[hilaryvm]

I'm not really a huge Rod Man fan, with the repetition, but I liked his set.  He also (from what we saw) clearly had the best stuff.  Aida was flat, and the Jimmy Schubert had very old jokes.  I liked them having to do a sketch, and the same one (especially that they didn't have to write their own), but I wish we had seen more of the sketches.

 

Also, I don't believe that you could pick anyone that had immunity - you had to name someone without immunity, though I could be mistaken.  Otherwise, why wouldn't everyone just pick someone with immunity?

[Kromm]

I'm not really a huge Rod Man fan, with the repetition, but I liked his set.  He also (from what we saw) clearly had the best stuff.  Aida was flat, and the Jimmy Schubert had very old jokes.  I liked them having to do a sketch, and the same one (especially that they didn't have to write their own), but I wish we had seen more of the sketches.

All comics repeat.  It's usually masked from us somewhat on shows like this, and in this case the editors simply didn't do him any favors.

 

I loved his material in this set even more than his previous ones.  The jokes almost don't matter (although these were good), it's his DELIVERY.  He and Joe Machi have that in common.  Part of it is their funny voices, sure, but just as much is also that you can see that both have developed really good timing to leverage those funny voices.  And exaggerated facial expressions to bring it over the top even more.  If these two aren't the final two, I'll be very upset (short of someone else in the cast suddenly sprouting unseen genius).  That Nikki lady was actually close to this too, I guess. Again, a funny voice, a mastery of weird facial expressions to amp it up visually, and a decent sense of how to pace the jokes.  As long as she stays away from non-stop food jokes, maybe she has a shot.

 

Aida and Jimmy were both horrible and deserved to go.  I'm not sad to see the two who IMO genuinely were the worst comedians (of the whole finalist group, not just the ones in the elimination round) actually leave. Good riddance and good luck, you two... Jimmy's an old hack who won't ever be better than he is, I think, but Aida is new enough maybe she can get better.  Maybe.

 

Karlous seemed at least okay on this episode.  Rocky was not horrible either--his comedy is old hat like Jimmy's but he has a more endearing "character" he's playing.  At least this is what I got from the little we saw of these two I mean--the sketches WERE heavily edited.  DC Benny, Monroe Martin, and Lachlan Patterson, again from the little we saw, seemed utterly forgettable (at least until Lachlan got to the elimination booth and proved he's probably the only comic on this season who SAW the previous seasons, since the voting booth became established a long time ago as prime real estate to toss out some of your best material to make yourself more memorable)

 

JB Smoove and his hyperactive make-some-nooooooise-ism still annoys me.  

 

Moving on, I found myself liking the Lil' Frank set because of how Rod Man told the story, as others have mentioned. For this story, repetition wasn't so bad. Neither was the line "He led with the wrong eye"! I tried not to laugh, due to the subject, but Rod Man won me over and I was fighting tears by the end.

As I said, a lot of comedy is repetition, even among the same set.  In that case, when you repeat its often about tieing a bow around a story.  A lot of the old-timers did this too--Bill Cosby for example.  There'd frequently be places in stories where it came back to repetition of certain key lines to reel people back in (because it's not JUST a story, it's a joke in the FORM of a story, and so you risk losing your audience if its all waiting on one laugh at the end).

 

You know, not that it's the same kind of joke as he did on this episode, but I wonder if we'll ever get to hear Rod Man joke about his stage name.  It seems to be a combination of a Penis joke (cause you know... African-American stereotypes...), and perhaps a deliberate mis-association with Dennis Rodman.  I found myself wondering if the comedian's last name perhaps really WAS "Rodman" (it's not like Dennis has an exclusive) and had been adapted to "Rod Man" to play with that (as well as make that Penis joke).  But it's actually his first name--he's "Rod Thompson" in real life.  But I could still imagine him doing some joke where he goes on about how he's not the ex-basketball player who loves crazy Dictators and Drugs, although people DO confuse him with Scotty Pippin as well.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Kromm

[Amarsir]

That's clever, Kromm.  I don't know if that kind of joke would be his style, but I like a nice misdirect.

 

I thought maybe they'd put the full sketch up on nbc.com, but apparently not.  But I did learn there's a 2-hour ep tonight.  No idea what that means; perhaps the series is flopping (yet again) and they want to burn it off?

[aradia22]

It was interesting to move from stand up to a sketch challenge. We didn't see all of the sketches but you could see how some of them are better comedic actors than others. Even though they crashed and burned I think "The Business" generally seemed more comfortable on stage and more genuine in portraying characters. Team Sketchy Snakes seemed to work better but they still had the feel of your college's improv group. I wish we'd seen more of Joe Machi as his character seemed to be a good fit for his persona. Nikki seemed to carry a lot of that sketch. I don't like her standup but I can see how her constant mugging would work as an over the top improv character.

 

And yeah, I loved Lachlan's list of people he's funnier than as well.

 

Head-to-Head: I didn't find Jimmy's set funny at all. It wasn't awful. I just had no reaction to it. 

I've never liked Aida's material. I think she actually stepped up her game a little today by making it a little more personal but yeah, it still wasn't a great set and her energy was too low to make up for it. Rod Man clearly had the best set. It was a bit silly and maybe not his best material but I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to save his better stuff for later and particularly after hearing Jimmy's and Aida's sets.

 

JB Smoove and his hyperactive make-some-nooooooise-ism still annoys me.

I get that you need to have a hype man. I hate DJ's for the same reason. But I get it. It does keep the audience's energy up. What bothers me more about him is that he has some kind of a speech impediment or mush mouth so it's indistinct shouting. Like "meerssh seeemmme nooiissseee!" What? What did you just say? It bothers me more when he's reading out the set up for the challenge or running the voting because then I'm actually paying attention.

[Ohwell]

What bothers me more about him is that he has some kind of a speech impediment or mush mouth so it's indistinct shouting. Like "meerssh seeemmme nooiissseee!"

It's annoying to listen to.  Plus, I hate the last name "Smoove" because it really does sound like someone has a speech impediment and is trying to say "Smooth."  I don't know why he chose that name; he should have stuck with his real name, Jerry Brooks.

[whatsatool]

Ok Hall but not Oats.  Oats was funny.  ANd the racoon joke were the oases in the desert.  Not a funny night.

[Kromm]

Ok Hall but not Oats.  Oats was funny.

Well Oates had the funny 'stashe and the weird sideways, but piercing stare:

 

[DrSpaceman]

Also, I don't believe that you could pick anyone that had immunity - you had to name someone without immunity, though I could be mistaken.  Otherwise, why wouldn't everyone just pick someone with immunity?

 

 

The ones they chose to perform for elimination seemed to be :

Take the top voted person

Throw in the mix all those that voted for that person

Eliminate the ones with immunity

 

If you voted for someone with immunity then and you DIDN"T have immunity, you basically were setting yourself up for a higher chance of elimination.  If the top vote person had immunity, I think they would throw that person out of the head to head and all the people that voted for them would have to compete, so you are putting yourself at risk because the person you thought was the least funny would not be in the competition

 

Its confusing and much different from other shows with elimination voting.