England was funny. I like the U.K.'s dry, sarcastic wit. Now some people... well, let's be honest, all people wonder about Buddy and how he made the night round. Well, people, there are some things you don't see, and you didn't see Buddy come in and hand us his comedy manifesto. If you have a manifesto, I'm with you. Never piss off a psycho with a manifesto, that's my motto. Besides, he called ANT "Francis," which gave me and Kathleen something to laugh about the rest of the tour. Matt was probably my U.K. favorite; the little guy is funny.Minneapolis was the hardest city to pick from. All the comics were great. Well, maybe not all of them, but there were more great ones than we could advance. Next year I hope some of them have the money to fly to Australia, where the pickings are slim. I loved the way Doug Benson came back and parodied a high-energy Doug Benson. That kind of thing is a true comic move. Which brings up another topic: experienced comics. Many people are blogging, e-m...
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So now you've seen L.A. It's the first city we held auditions in and I think Kathleen, ANT and I were just figuring it out as we went. It was fun as we got the hang of it. Oh yeah, this is a blog, I'm supposed to give inside stuff.Iva La'Shawn was the first to fool us. She was funny during the day, then went totally blue that night. Sean Rouse was so dark and funny we had him doing jokes for us that we knew would never make TV. Dan, the guy with the rock and the stick... I thought he was bad until I saw some of the others. If I had known how weird some of those people were, I would have given him a second chance. I think we had some L.A. homeless people who saw a line and just figured there was food at the end of it.On to Australia, the land of not funny. Well, that's not true: Fiona is hilarious, Gina was funny and I loved the guy who drew the inside-out cat. There were more train wrecks down there than you can imagine. I'll tell you the best things about Australian comics: I got t...
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Well, we are in it now. New York, Montreal and San Antonio are done. I think the most controversial pick had to be Mel Silverback, half man/half gorilla. Some loved him, some hated him and everyone remembered him. Besides being funny, I picked him for the commitment to something that ridiculous. I loved him. We had some great and obviously some not-so-great [wannabe] performers. I only enjoy the not-so-great ones when they are truly a train wreck, and believe me we had plenty of those. The scary thing is that the guy who asked us to throw tomatoes at him wasn’t nearly the worst comic we saw in New York. One guy told us if we didn’t like him, we could leave. So we did. We walked out and he kept on talking. He may still be there telling bad jokes for all I know.People ask how we pick. Well, there are certain things we like. Funny helps, that’s big. Originality of topic or original take on a topic. We also look for acts that can sustain. There are some people who only ha...
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The Next Best Thing: Who is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator? by Danny Feld/ABC
On this Wedneday night:• The Next Best Thing (6.12 million total viewers) plunged more than two mil to place behind Deal and SYTYCD in the 8 pm hour. ABC lead-out American Inventor (6.27 mil) in turn sank 1.5 mil.• Hidden Palms (1.48 mil) was down a bleached blonde hair. Lead-out One Tree Hill wrapped its season with 2.5 mil, a 400K bump. Now, let's do the time warp!• SYTYCD averaged 8.88 mil over its two-hour run, a 1.3 mil drop from last Wednesday.• The season premiere of Last Comic Standing had 6.89 million watching.• Traveler (4.13 mil) waved goodbye to 24 percent of last week's audience.
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So here we go, the first episode of a new season of NBC's Last Comic Standing [Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET, starting June 13] is coming up. It's kind of fitting that the first episode will be set in New York, the land where dreams are made and broken.I guess I'd better reintroduce myself. I'm Alonzo Bodden, Season 2 runner-up, Season 3 winner and Season 5 talent scout.I've done it all on Last Comic Standing, except host. I wanted to host but they hired Bill Bellamy. After watching Bill, I see I have a lot to learn about hosting. He's great. He's bringing a whole new energy to the show, and he looks good in a suit.The other talent scouts are ANT and Kathleen Madigan. Kathleen is hilarious and she really knows comedy. When we did Seasons 2 and 3, she wasn't featured enough, the reason being that it wouldn't challenge her. We all knew how funny she is, but now you guys get to see it. I love Kathleen and all her voices, characters and whatever else goes on inside that little red head of hers....
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NBC's Last Comic Standing on June 13 uncorks its fifth season with a number of tweaks. Last year's zombie-like Anthony Clark has been replaced as host with Bill Bellamy, while LCS talent scouts Kathleen Madigan, Alonzo Bodden and Ant will scour the entire English-speaking world — not just the U.S. — to find the winner. Other adjustments include a $250,000 grand prize (up from the previous $50K pittance), viewers being able to vote during the head-to-head competitions, and the absence of 24-hour surveillance. Still, executive producer Peter Engel reserves the right to pop up now and again with a camera crew. "And whenever I [do]," he says, "you know it's not good." Too true: the last time he appeared on screen was a cameo in USA High. — Reporting by Raven Snook
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Whoever said the reality-TV craze was over obviously hasn't talked to the suits at NBC. This summer, the Peacock will be feathering its nest with three returning reality shows and yet another new one. First up is America's Got Talent, which kicks off on May 29 with incoming ringleader Jerry Springer (sans bodyguards... I assume). Next, the fifth cycle of Last Comic Standing premieres June 13, with Bill Bellamy as host. Frosh date-a-thon Age of Love, fronted by Mark Consuelos (aka Mr. Kelly Ripa), bows June 18. And last but not least, The Biggest Loser hits the treadmills in late summer, with Days of our Lives' minx Alison Sweeney presiding over the weighting game.
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NBC has picked up a fifth installment of Last Comic Standing, which will this time be hosted by Bill Bellamy and take the show on the road to London, Montreal and Sydney, as well as U.S. cities, in a quest to find the funniest person in the English-speaking world. The taxi driver I had yesterday? Dream. Shattered.
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Josh Blue is the Last Comic Standing.
The laughter finally died on Last Comic Standing when self-declared spastic stand-up Josh Blue was named the winner. Still, everyone involved with the show is smiling, as the fourth edition of NBC's comedic contest has earned solid ratings and has already been renewed for a fifth round, to air in the summer of 2007. Blue himself is elated (if still stunned) about his victory. (Even competitor Ty Barnett is fine with his runner-up status.) TVGuide.com called the competitive cutups to joke around about their respective runs.
First, Josh....
TVGuide.com: Let me begin by posing a question I'm sure no one else has had the guts to ask you. How's it feel to be the Last Comic Standing? Josh Blue: It's beyond words. It hasn't sunk in yet really.
TVGuide.com: Ty was con
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Question: I was just wondering if anyone happens to know if there's something wrong with Anthony Clark. He just doesn't seem to be himself on Last Comic Standing. His hands and voice are shaky.
Answer: You're not the only one who wrote in with this observation as the show ended its run. I haven't a clue if he wasn't feeling well this summer or something, but it seemed clear to me that he was peculiarly and particularly ill at ease in the role of host. He was painful to watch. But then, he made my skin crawl on Yes, Dear as well, so maybe I'm just not a fan ...
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