Lots Of Standing Comics

i might have mentioned this in past posts, and i know i have talked about it on the podcast, but i have had enough of the singing and dancing competition/reality shows. once American Idol hit big we got a whole slew of them over the last years and they don't really interest me much.

personally i like the ones that showcase something more interesting and different and my two favorites have got to be American Inventor and Last Comic Standing which premiered last week with a two-hour show.

i love stand-up comedy and to do it well takes true talent. you can be funny, but it doesn't mean you can be a good stand-up comedian, and some of the people we saw audition were neither, but overall there was some very funny stuff and this season looks to be good. i also love the fact that they are going all over the world and that Canada had its share of good ones.

i didn't write down all the names, but i did feel that overall the judges did a good job. there were maybe 3 or 4 throughout the night that didn't make it to the next round that i felt really should have, but for the most part they did get it right. also, i'm sure they had the producers telling them a few people they wanted to make it based on them being a good story and able to get an audience to sympathise and such - - remember back a few seasons when drew carrey got really pissed because someone he thought should have made it didn't because the producers wanted someone else?

the judges/talent scouts are good, especially kathleen madigan and alonzo bolden (ant can be funny but i never really found his stand-up that good), and bill bellamy is a good host, although i also liked anthony clarke and jay mohr. look, the format is standard, they aren't breaking any new ground, but i love stand-up comedy and i get lots of laughs watching the show so it works for me.

i was excited that Last Comic Standing was coming back and so far so funny.

grade: B+

Is It Actually The Next Best Thing

so folks, it looks like summer reality/contest show time is upon us. On The Lot premiered last week and we have season 2 of America's Got Talent and American Inventor arriving shortly. and don't forget Last Comic Standing is coming back and the new show Age Of Love starting soon. then there is the show that premiered last night on abc, The Next Best Thing: Who Is The Greatest Celebrity Impersonator? yes, it is one of the longest frickin' titles ever, but it is also a good show... so far.

that's right, i quite enjoyed it last night. sure, the best part of all these contest shows is the thousands-of-people-audition part where you see the good and the really bad (those first few weeks of every American Idol season are the only ones i actually make an effort to watch).

however, with The Next Best Thing, i actually enjoyed seeing the good ones as much, if not more, then the bad ones. the best part of the bad ones were the funny quips made by the celebrity judges: lisa ann walter, jeffrey ross (who does funny stand-up) and elon gold (who is actually very funny also, especially if all you recognize him from is that awful pam anderson show Stacked).

last night were the l.a. auditions and there were some great ones, like that guy who did sam kinison, al pacino and one other one. he was great. the lucille ball chick was really good also and the robin willimas and george bush that they let through were alright but not great. personally i thought the martha stewart women was scary good, but they sent her home.

so, while this is based on just the first episode, and i may have to amend my grade as the show goes longer and i see how it develops past the auditions, i have to say that i enjoyed it. it was different, funny, i liked the judges and i am going to tune in next episode.

grade: B

Randy's Jacket And Other Idol Thoughts

okay, i wasn't planning on writing about American Idol tonight, but i just turned it on and caught blake's 'you give love a bad name' (i think simon and randy were right about him being a little flat with the singing, but that beat boxin' was hot).

anyway, that's not why i am posting here. did you see randy's jacket? that thing is not good.

before i go: jordin is finishing up her 'fighter' song, and i have to say in my best simon cowell impression 'that was just ok for me'.

they are both going to have to do better...

i'm back: okay so jordin's second performance was great. that's what I expect from a finalist.

i'm back again: how bad were the other thousands of entries that that piece of mediocre junk won the songwriting competition?

Watching American Idol Right Now

- that 'crazy little thing called love' video that the idols did was another corny/cheezy thing that reminded me of the early seasons when they used to do one of those every couple weeks it seemed.

- that 'staying alive' video with all the celebrities was actually really fun.

- josh grobin's number with the african childrens choir was great and the one with kelly clarkson and jeff beck was beautiful.

- the Simpson's bit was hysterical. lisa as paula abdul, marge as randy jackson and homer as simon were so funny. bart's dunkleman quip at the end was great also.

- annie lennox - yet another great performance: man, seeing all these great performances really puts the idols in their place as far as how much work they have to do.

- no one goes home, that was the big frickin' surprise? what a lame surprise. hey, i'm all for keeping everyone around on a night of charity and giving, but to hype it up with the intensity that they did was just lame.

Simon Cowell Is A Big Baby

simon can dish it out but he can't take it. he can be mean, sorry i mean 'be honest'(imagine a british accent and chest rubbing) all day long with the contestants, but the minute seacrest needles him a little or questions him a bit (often legitimately) he gets so defensive, bitchy and pouty :( - there he is doing it right now as i type this.

i don't dislike the guy. i think he is often right about what he says to the singers (sanjya did suck this week with the bonnie raitt song), but he (and the other judges) have at this point become way too interested in themselves and their fame rather then the idols. they are becoming caricatures of themselves.

Pop Dynasty: 3 Jacksons Help Look For The Next Jackson 5?

if you were tossing and turning at night, worried about what was happening with tito, jermaine and latoya jackson then tonight you can finally get some rest.

cbs as announced plans to team up with three non-janet-or-micheal jackson siblings to bring us a new singing talent show called Pop Dynasty. like American Idol the show will focus on finding singing talent, but unlike the 'Idol', Pop Dynasty will be looking for a family of stars like the jackson 5, hanson, the carpenters, etc... you get the idea.

according to variety, jermaine is a principle partner in the project and will also be a judge along with his brother and sister.

although many have tried to replicate the success of American Idol, none of the other singing competitions have really gone anywhere - do you remember the 2 or 3 episodes of The One, or how about the new Star Search? however, i will watch and you know you will too, at least for the first few episodes.

i do have a question though?
with all these three judge shows we know the break down

1) the 'paula abdul': kinder and gentler and attempts to lessen the pain with positive comments about at least one thing(usually how the person looks)

2) the 'simmon cowell': blunt and honest, but also a bit of a jerk and more interested in his own image and witty comments then the actual person he is talking to.

3) the 'randy jackson': kind of inbetween the 'paula' and the 'simon' sometimes mean and sometimes nice depending on the day.

my question is who do we think will play those roles between latoya, tito and jermaine?

here is my guess.

1) latoya will be the 'paula', not because she is the female, but because i saw her on Armed And Famous and she looked just as out of it as paula does

2) jermaine is going to be the 'randy'

3) and tito will put all that anger built up from years and years of tito jokes to good use and be the 'simon'.

P.S. what about marlon and jackie?

Who was she and why was she crying?

so, i was watching American Idol last night and there was that girl crying throughout basically the whole show. at first i thought that she was a relative of one of the contestants, but apparently not. she was just a girl who really likes the show and the singers and was so happy and excited to be there that she was crying.