Category: Stand-Up Comics (Page 3 of 11)

A Quick Chat with Joan Rivers

August 26, 2009 /

There’s little question that one of the most lively panels during the early days of the TCA tour was the one dedicated to Joan Rivers’ new TV Land series, “How’d You Get So Rich?” Or, if you read my coverage of the panel, you may be more familiar with it as “How’d You Get So Fucking Rich?” But, y’know, that’s Joan for you. You can learn just about anything you need to know about the concept of the series by checking out the link to my panel coverage that I just offered up (though I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there’s a new episode of the series airing tonight at 10 PM EST / PST), but after she held court before the crowd of critics, a few of us actually had a chance to speak to her one on one for a few minutes each.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that, were it a contest to see who got the best pull quotes out of Joan, Joel Keller of TV Squad – who preceded me in speaking with her – would have taken the victory (she hadn’t been aware that David Tutera was scheduled to have his own TCA panel, but when he brought it up, she let fly with her thoughts on him in her usual forthright manner), but I still managed to get a couple of good lines from Ms. Rivers about “Z Rock,” “The Celebrity Apprentice,” and “Rabbit Test,” and the closing moments of our conversation will live in my memory forever.

Bullz-Eye: It’s a pleasure to meet you.

Joan Rivers: And it’s a pleasure to…well, we’ll see.

BE: (Laughs) I’ve got only got a couple of minutes, but I’ll do my best.

JR: Ask whatever you want.

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Actresses, Celebrities, External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Interviews, Movie Comedies, Movies, News, Reality TV, Stand-Up Comics, TCA Blog 2009, TCA Press Tour, TV

The Cos honored with Mark Twain Prize

August 20, 2009 /

Since 1998, The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor has honored our nation’s comedians who have made a significant impact in the comedy industry. Using the term “industry” my sound like a bit of a downer, but ever since the vaudeville era, America has always adored their comedians and given them a platform to express their talents. In chronological order, the recipients have included Richard Pryor, Carl Reiner, Jonathan Winters, Whoopie Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Lily Tomlin, Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, Neil Simon, Billy Crystal, and Geroge Carlin.

Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Phylicia Rashad, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Willie Nelson, and a host of others will honor the 72 year-old comedian on October 26th. PBS will then air the special on November 4th.

Although Bill Cosby has acted on tad nutty in public appearances over the past couple years, he is undoubtedly one of the funniest people I’ve ever witnessed. I watched The Bill Cosby Show growing up and later got his albums …Is a Very Funny Fellow, I Started Out as a Child, Why Is There Air?, and Wonderfulness. His comedy primarily consisted of storytelling as opposed to using one-liners. It was always clean and silly, but it often contained a strong moral message he hoped Americans would take to heart. His influence is easily apparent in comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Billy Crystal who can be observant and hilarious without being dirty.

Humor, News, Stand-Up Comics, Video

Black on “Big Bang”

August 13, 2009 /

CBS has let slip…and by “let slip,” I mean that they’ve released a formal press release…that comedian Lewis Black will be appearing on the second episode of the new season of “The Big Bang Theory.”

Black will guest star as Professor Crawley, a brilliant professor of entomology – he even has a dung beetle named after him – who works at Caltech with the guys. Unfortunately, Crawley’s life is falling apart: his department’s being shut down because of budget cutbacks, his wife left him for someone who studies birds, and he’s moving in with his daughter in Oxnard…not Oxnard on the beach, but Oxnard by the onion fields. None of these things, however, prove nearly as aggravating as Sheldon, who keeps pestering him to settle a bet with Wolowitz about a cricket.

The third season of “The Big Bang Theory” premieres Monday, Sept. 21, at 9:30 PM, so Black’s episode should – at least in theory – air on the 28th.

In tribute, here’s a clip of Mr. Black talking religion with Bob Schieffer, followed by my favorite moment in “Big Bang” history:

Actors, External Entertainment, External TV, News, Stand-Up Comics, TV, TV Comedies

TCA Tour, Day 2: “The Jeff Dunham Show”

July 31, 2009 /

I can still remember the complete wave of confusion that washed over me a year or two ago when a friend of mine asked me if I’d seen Jeff Dunham’s DVDs, “Arguing with Myself” and “Spark of Insanity.” Not because *I* didn’t know who the guy was, but because I couldn’t quite work out how the friend who was asking me knew about him. As far as I knew, he was just this comedian with a purple puppet named Peanut, a guy who’d been working the stand-up circuit for years. To this day, I have no idea exactly what changed and when he suddenly became so huge that my daughter’s sitter was enough of a fan to have his DVDs, but, hey, more power to him.

After the success of his most recent special, “A Very Special Christmas,” which earned more than 6.6 million viewers and was Comedy Central’s most watched telecast ever, it’s no surprise that the network decided to transition Dunham into a weekly series, and since he’s become a household name, why not go with the most obvious title?

Welcome, then, to “The Jeff Dunham Show.”

Give the guy credit: he knows the path he’s taken to get here, he’s thrilled that he’s made it, and he’s not afraid to mock how long it took.

“As I drove here today,” Dunham began, “I realized I was going past the comedy club here in Pasadena called The Ice House, and it was there at The Ice House in 1990 that I did my ninth audition for ‘The Tonight Show’ and was booked to do ‘The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson’ for the first of four times. And if I had known standing there in that parking lot in 1990 that I would be here at this time doing this for Comedy Central, I would have thought, ‘You know what? That just took too fucking long.'”

Of course, Dunham immediately broke out one of his little friends, and who better to present to a bunch of grumpy TV critics than Walter? I try desperately not to offer up actual transcripts of the panels, but given the necessary back-and-forth with a ventriloquist’s act, I’m guessing I’ll be allowed some leeway here…

Walter: Who the hell is the group?
Jeff Dunham: We talked about that earlier today, you know who it is.
Walter: No, I kind of forgot.
Jeff Dunham: Okay, I wrote it down for you.
Walter: Oh, good. Okay. Let’s see, the TV Critics Association Cable Press Tour. That’s it?
Jeff Dunham: That’s it.
Walter: I think our career has peaked. You know, I was thinking to myself just the other day, we’ve had specials on Comedy Central, we’ve opened for the President, but we’ve never done a show for the TV freakin critics. Are you being paid for this gig cash? It is none of that barter crap, is it? We’re not going to get like a year’s subscription to TV Guide for God sake, are we? This is just sad. Let me get this straight: so their job is to get up in the morning, turn on the TV, stuff their pie holes, and then trash the new shows.
Jeff Dunham: I guess.
Walter: This is genius. I want this job. “What’s your dad’s job?” “He tells the world that your dad’s show sucks.” Fantastic.

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External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, News, Stand-Up Comics, TCA Blog 2009, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Comedies

Russell Brand in New York City

June 10, 2009 /

There are hundreds of genuinely funny people that positively suck at stand-up comedy, which is why the DVD for “Russell Brand Live in New York” sat unopened on this writer’s desk for a couple weeks. Mind you, I found Brand quite funny in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” and he pretty much stole “Bedtime Stories” from Adam Sandler. But is he stand-up funny? As it turns out, yes, he is. His approach is extremely British, in both language and timing, but his routine, which originally aired on Comedy Central in March, is wisely focused on all things America, beginning with his disastrous stint as the host of the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards (the opening monologue from the VMAs is included in the bonus features). He even shares the death threats he received afterwards, one of which declares that his monologue proves that he’s a Muslim-loving terrorist (“Bit of a leap,” Brand replies). One of the funniest bits in his routine is relegated to the bonus features, where he has some fun with an overly excited admirer, but soon loses his patience when she won’t keep her mouth shut. A genuinely amusing routine overall, but a quick note to Comedy Central: lose the grainy hand-held camera shots. They’re annoying.

Click to buy “Russell Brand Live in New York”

External TV, Stand-Up Comics, TV Comedies, TV DVD Quicktakes, TV DVDs

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