5 Responses

1. John says:

   April 3, 2008 at 6:25 am

   Having been on LCS and advanced to the semifinals (The Season Four Equivalent of this Vegas round) but did not move on, I have to say a couple things. It IS possible to advance on this show without being based in L.A. or N.Y., etc. Nikki Glaser was an MC/Open Miker in Kansas City when she got advanced from Chicago. She did not have an appointment. Gerry Dee is a Canadian. He did very well last year. But yes, there is a tendency to pick seasoned comedians (or at least, there was until this season)Why is this bad? This show is structured in such a way as to require you to do multiple original five minute sets. Jon Reep said he burned through 40 minutes of material getting to win it. If you don’t have at LEAST four years in comedy, with actual professional experience of a significant amouont of sets, you are simply not equipped to do this under the pressure of a national TV audience. Unlike singing or dancing, it is not possible to develop the skills necessary to compete at that level in standup without an audience present. There is no homework in comedy. No “joking in the shower.” You have to be out there doing it. Guess what, do it at a successful level for five years, you get noticed. Do it for seven, and are any good at it, there’s a good chance you now live in NY or LA or have an agent or manager. Is this true for every good comic at this skill and experience level? No. Josh Blue and Chris Porter were TV unknowns and features who lived in Denver and KC. One WON and one in THIRD. No LA. No NY.I am not defending this show becuase I think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. It isn’t. I wouldn’t run it this way. I rarely watch it. But I think to compare the process of finding people good at COMEDY to the process of of finding people good at SINGING or DANCING is comparing apples and oranges. You cannot aquire the skills to be a standup comedian ready for national TV spotlight with no one in the world noticing.That said, I was a 6 year road comic feature when I got picked for Star Search. Who knows if I would have made it through under the LCS system. Perhaps not. Perhaps it is unfair. But I think that “OH MY GOD, THEY’RE ALL PROS!” is a little out of place a complaint for the nature of this competition.That being said, the list for this season looks bizarre to me. I honestly don;t know what they are going for. I have heard of precisely three people on this list. And of those, only two have TV credits in North America, and only two, to my knowledge, are club headliners. This is not to say that there aren’t some great comics that I’ve never heard of, just that previous lists have been over half populated by well known industry names. I am curious to see how this plays out.

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2. Abbi Crutchfield says:

   April 3, 2008 at 6:55 pm

   Wow, great analysis John! You have spoken to a lot of what I wondered about the show.The producers may have sent interns onto the web to Google LCS and infiltrate chat forums. Chances are they have read about Shecky’s coverage and want to address some of the complaints of seasons past, which could explain the advancement of some unknowns. And to explain everything else they keep getting wrong, picture an old man in a business suit reclining on a jet. The last time he laughed was with his golf buddies over whose Spanish is worse. When he lands he will listen to the pitch for 2009’s season.Does anyone remember what they first thought when they heard this show was coming out? I assumed it would be a grab-bag selection of people I have already seen on television who would endear themselves to me not by telling jokes on stage but by goofing off for the camera crew in a house. More early Real World and less American Idol. No one ever cared where they got the cast for the first Real World seasons.

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3. Brian McKim & Traci Skene says:

   April 3, 2008 at 10:23 pm

   Liza wrote:<>The show should be called “Last American Comic Standing who is based out of L.A. or New York whose agent guaranteed them an audition time with the producers and could have had a great run on Saved By The Bell.”<>To which we reply:No, it’s called <>Last Comic Standing.<> And it’s an American network television show in the 21st Century. So, it’s go nothing to do with fairness or who is the most talented or representation according to which country produced a certain amount of talent.We won’t be watching for the entertainment value. We’ll be watching and then analyzing how the American public will perceive standup comedy from what they see on the screen. And we’ll be trying to determine just what the producers (and networks in general) think about standup comedy.Liza then writes:<>Quick predictions:1. Most of the international acts will be out of the running early on. (just like last year).<>Do not count out Mr. Foot or Mr. Tavare. American audiences love British comedians. (See last season’s Matt Kirshen) And Mr. Tavare has plenty of television experience, so it’s possible he understands the medium.A side note: It <>was<> Tavare that was the winner of International Star Search. But it was <>Wings<> that he appeared in, not <>Cheers<> or <>Frazier<>.Mr. Cullen has appeared on numerous television shows here and in Canada, so he knows what a television camera is and what it does.Liza also predicts:<>2. Worst rated season to date though the P.R. will claim the opposite.<>To which we reply:It will probably do very well, as it has been announced as a returning series for summer ’09. NBC has an interest in it doing very well, so they’ll give it a good slot and they’ll promote it heavily. (Sure, the networks have an interest in seeing all their shows do well, but they don’t always treat shows as well as they should. If LCS tanks, it will not be because the network abandoned it.Liza also predicts:<>3. I and many others like me who enjoy comedy will not be watching.<>To which we reply:You and many others do not have to watch for the show to be a hit. Many people who enjoy comedy will watch it and, it is hoped, they will still enjoy comedy after it’s over.Liza makes one final prediction:<>4. An American act will win and then go on to disappear back into obscurity never doing anything significant in their career again.<>This demonstrates a rather warped understanding of just what constitutes “obscurity,” and “significant.”Liza wraps up with:<>This is unfortunate for the one or two good acts that are on the show each year and don’t get the recognition they deserve because of the stigma attached to this reality fiasco.<>Getting on network television represents, in almost every instance, a golden opportunity– for “good” acts as well as un-good. What they do with that exposure depends on what they’re capable of and also on who they surround themselves with afterward (representation, management, etc.) and a clear understanding of what it is they want to do with that exposure.Finally: No one “deserves” recognition.

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4. John says:

   April 4, 2008 at 5:58 am

   Liza’s complaints seem to be about two seperate things. One is that the show doesn’t really reward unknown comics. The second is that the show sucks anyway, and doesn’t command a big audience and doesn’t produce stars.The implicit argument is that the former would lead to the latter.I doubt that.Also, if the show is pointless anyway, why should “comics who are serious about their careers” be warned not to attmept to win?I am not sure who had an appointment or not my year, but I can assure you that Nikki Glaser stood in line with her fellow Kansas City comics the day she got through in Chicago. Ditto Kristin Key. I don’t know about any others, but I don’t think it’s a blanket “no” on the line.My whole point is that the odds of people in the line having what it takes to advance all the way to the end is unlikely, for reasons I state in my above post.And finally, sitcoms and game shows are usually given to comics far more established than those who have never been seen by anyone before.Ellen had many more years under her belt than Josh Blue has so far had to develop his career. Give them a break.LCS is not a perfect show. To be honest, I don’t think it’s a good show. I am rarely entertained by it, and only watch when my friends are on. But it has to be doing something right, as it is the highest rated venue for standup comedy on television in the world. Of course it doesn’t really crown the funniest people. Of course it is cast as a reality show. Of course it is only concerned with the comics’ success insofar as they are currently on the show. Of course it is still up to the comic to chart their own career once they have won. And those things are fair to criticize them for.But I think it is unfair to judge the show for either it’s 1) unwillingness to promote relative comedic rookies to a position where they will have to have 40 minutes of tried and true standup comedy on national TV (Liza’s first complaint)or 2) The failure of its stars to become national media superstars, of which, in comedy, there are a very small number, by Liza’s criteria. Bodden, Blue, et al. have not been filling venues for 25k, but they are doing very well by the scale of most standup’s live earnings.

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5. Snow says:

   April 11, 2008 at 11:42 am

   Jim Tavaré is known to be Prince Charles favourite comedian, not sure about Tony Blair…

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