Who made it into the house from the first ten:

Kathleen Madigan
Gary Gulman
Corey Holcomb
Bonnie McFarlane
Ant

Who didn’t make it in:

Kerry Louise
Monte Hoffman
Jessica Kirson
Tim Young
Dan Adhoot

Did we say that Todd Glass knows how to work the medium like no other? We’ve known Todd for over 20 years. His antics dominated the opening montage of this evening’s episode. This may be the first time he’s actually had our respect. (Hey, we’ve known him for 20 years, we can say things like that! Hell, we’ve known Todd since he was actually the age he claims to be now! That’s how long we’ve known Todd.)

Our hearts swell with pride upon seeing Bonnie McFarlane comandeer the camera with only her personality during the opening. And we must thank her for staring straight into the camera and saying, “Women aren’t funny,” which also happens to be the title of her latest column!

Who died and left Ant boss? His assessment of Bonnie’s first joke (and its possible effect on her career) demonstrates an appalling ignorance of how television (and comedy!) works. Using the C-word wasn’t all that risky. Her justification for using it (when Mohr asked her why she did it) was priceless. It was gutsy but not as gutsy as if say, Phyllis Diller had been on the judge’s panel instead of Brett Butler.

What is with this “comedically challenged” nonsense as applied to Gary Gulman? (See the NY Post gossip posting below.) So far, he’s kicked ass and he’s been slobbered over by the panelists, both male and female. He’s third in the media manipulation derby so far.

Sure, the sets are heavily edited, and we really don’t see an entire uninterrupted set, but Kathleen Madigan is coming off as an accomplished comic and she’s making the most of this opportunity. She doesn’t seem to be constantly cooking up strategy. Instead, she’s doing comedy and doing it well.

Tess is a waste of everybody’s time. What is with those lame questions?

Traci is unhappy that Kerry Louise said that husband Tom Cotter wrote half her act. (“Now everyone’s going to think that Brian wrote half of my act!” says Skene, already a little testy that Cotter and Louise said, in last week’s episode that they would throw each other under a train to advance. “They give comedy couples a bad name!” Maybe it’s the editing.)

Very smart on the part of Gulman, McFarlane and Madigan to do different material each time they’ve been called upon to perform (at least it appears that way). Those who didn’t made it appear that they only had three minutes of material.

The prediction tally: Traci went 4 for 5… Brian went 2 for 5.

Why didn’t some of tonight’s contestants get in? Hoffman might have struck out because Sean Kent, a house guest on last year’s L.C.S. was a cancer survivor. (We can hear a TV exec saying, “We already ‘did cancer’ last year!”) Kirson might have gotten in had her offstage personality matched her onstage personality in terms of energy and quirkiness. Adhoot was hurt by his inexperience. Mohr noticed it; he asked him how long he had been doing it. “Three years,” was the reply. We called that one. The “motherless twins” factor may have done in Kerry Louise. Nobody, not even a TV exec wants to leave a pair of toddler twins without a mom for a month. And then there’s Tim Young. He gambled with the Buddhism thing and lost.

Tomorrow’s ten:

John Heffron
Tammy Pescatelli
Todd Glass
Jim Norton
Alonzo Bodden
Marina Franklin
Sue Costello
DC Benny
Jay London
Dan Naturman