From his first joke, it was clear that Todd Glass was going back to the house. Tammy Pescatelli did a controlled set, even and smooth, but nowhere near the energy of Todd’s set. But, this is reality television. And that was a real crowd. About as real as any. And Tammy won, 55 per cent to 45 per cent. The closest result yet, said Mohr. And the show has lost what could ironically be called it’s “comic relief”. Is it us, or was Todd the only one who was exhibiting a sense of humor?

Kathleen Madigan is displaying a sense of humor, but much more subtly (and, probably, more often than the camera catches– Todd’s antics were much more telegenic, let’s face it).

What is with this crying thing? The episode started out with Heffron crying. (It’s nice to know that someone felt bad enough about Bonnie McFarlane‘s banishment, but weeping?) And then Ant is reduced to tears by an over-the-top Corey Holcomb! What gives?

And how did it get to that point in Ant vs. Holcomb? Comics rarely fight. We usually use this thing called “wit.” We don’t have the energy for confrontation. We save up for the stage. For the nitwit in the back row on second show Friday. We can’t bring ourselves to get worked up over another comic. After all, it’s us (we comics) against them (the audience). How did these two almost come to blows? Ant says that Corey is the most homophobic person he’s ever encountered. Now Corey thinks that Ant is racist. Puh-leeze! Can’t we just reduce this to a purely personal level: You don’t like him and he don’t like you. It’s got nothing to do with whatever groups you belong to! Can’t we all just not get along? Madigan summed up the whole thing nicely: “I didn’t sign up for The Real World– Whatever happened to comedians? And Holcomb should have let Ant go for using “the N-word.” We’re comics. We like to think that we can say the most vile, the most outrageous things around our compatriots.

And as long as we’re talking about groups vs. individuals, what is all this nonsense from Tammy about “I wanna prove that female comics don’t just do jokes about their boyfriends, etc., etc.” In her buildup to the battle vs. Todd, she spewed this nonsense and said she was going to shatter some stereotypes– something about people picking on her because they perceived her as weak because she was merely a female comic. Hello? Did anyone challenge Kathleen? No. We’ll be shocked if anyone looks into that lens in the photo booth and says, “I think I’m funnier than Kathleen Madigan.” What is Tammy talking about? What is this victim thing? She was singled out for challenge because, as she stated herself earlier in the episode, she was buddies with Ant. She had cast her lot with Ant. Once Ant gained immunity, she was the next logical target. Nothing to do with gender, or bitchiness or anything. Comics don’t think of other comics as black or female or gay… that’s how other people view us. Todd was ever more honest when he said he challenged Tammy because he, “followed this person once and he found her easy to follow.” No mention of gender, no mention of anything but relative power onstage. If any challengers consider race or gender, it’s because they are considering what the audience might think— their own personal feelings take a back seat.

Humiliation factor: 4, for making professional standup comics waste their time as tour guides. No offense to tour guides, but putting them through this is like having a thoroughbred racehorse do pony rides at a 6-year-old’s birthday bash. Exactly what did Ant demonstrate by being a good tour guide? He demonstrated that he would make a good tour guide. We’re sure the phone is ringing off the hook. Okay, he demonstrated that he was good at improv. But improv isn’t standup. And why isn’t he that funny in the house? Why doesn’t he yock it up in the house instead of being pissy all the time?

Mohr teased next week by saying that “two enemies go head-to-head.” It’s gotta be Corey vs. Ant. Stay tuned.