Modified On June 21, 2004
From USA Today, Monday, June 21, 2004, in a feature entitled, “Reality Check,” which purports to be a compendium of “Highlights and lowlights from last week’s reality series,” comes the following commentary on Last Comic Standing:
(Under the heading of “Worst Behavior”):Nothing completely outrageous yet (by reality-TV standards), but Philly comic Todd Glass is the Puck of this outfit– willing to act like a child to get more screen time.
(Under the heading of “Snarkiest comment”):DC Benny, when he gets the news that Todd Glass is his roommate: “Great. Will there be sedatives in the room?”
(Under the heading of “What were they thinking?”):Bonnie MacFarlane, bleeped often amid an unremarkable routine about breast implants, gets chosen for the finals. It doesn’t matter how good she wasn’t-she’ll provide conflict at the house.
(Under the heading of “Best decision”):Producers invite semifinalist Jim Wiggins to the Vegas finals at the last minute to fill a vacancy. He delivers a great set, despite having no prep time. (Too bad he doesn’t make the finals.)
USAToday lists Jayme Deerwester, Bethany Deitemeyer, Korina Lopez, Whitney Matheson, Alison Maxwell as the “contributors” to this piece. They all seem to be handicapped when it comes to identifying irony. Todd’s Puck act is a parody of how one is supposed to act in order to get face time on a reality show. The fact that it is working (and working quite well!) is the supreme irony here. None of the Contributors seem to grasp this.
Do they really think DC Benny was actually, honestly being “snarky” when he made his comment? Hell, no. He’s just like any other professional comic– he hates sharing a room with anybody!
Bonnie was bleeped exactly once by our count. We have one thing to say about their Bonnie McFarlane commentary: Meeeeoow!
Jim Wiggins had no prep time? Trust us: Jim Wiggins has had 25 years of prep time! And a nice 2-1/2 hour plane ride from Topeka to Vegas. Trust us– he was more than prepared.
Oh, great. Now we’re going to be compelled to purchase USAToday every Monday. (Fortunately I didn’t have to buy this one… It was lying on the table at the post office and I grabbed the entertainment section just to have something to read while I waited in line to mail off a press kit… For more on that, read the posting below, “Can’t sing, can’t act, can dance a little”)