Good News!

Okay, so it's been a while since I posted, but it's only because I'm supposed to be devoting all my (medium) insight about comedy to my thesis. But some news re: comedy central-

Michael Ian Black, Demetri Martin, and Lewis Black are all getting their own shows on Comedy Central. The one I'm most looking forward to is Demetri Martin's, which is being produced by Jon Stewart. Martin has been a fixture of The Daily Show since 2005, and his Trendspotting segments always seem very popular with the audience. The show will premiere in late 2008, which seems very far away, considering I will be a grown-up at that point (i.e. not a college student).

I remember being very nervous about Stephen Colbert having his own show, wondering whether he'd be able to sustain the character four nights a week, but he pulled it off tremendously and now has a lovely Vanity Fair article written about him. I recommend the article immensely, as it actually gives you a perspective into what he might be like as a real person. And also, what he was like in previous incarnations (which apparently include a bearded poet).

A Demetri martin-related anecdote: This one time, I got interviewed for something called facebook diaries, which might be porn... unclear. The hot blonde interviewer asked me what I thought was sexy and I said comedians. So she said what comedians do you like, and I said (among others) Demetri Martin, which she kind of scoffed at. I asked her why she made a face and she said "Oh, um, he's my ex-boyfriend... I mean, a friend of mine." Unfortunately, she was also in charge of distributing the prizes for interviews, which means I got a t-shirt instead of the grand prize, a digital camera.

Belated Review: UCB at SummerStage

I had a really great time at this free outdoor show, despite the fact that it was disgustingly wet. Which was fine at first because I had a "waterproof" blanket to sit on. Less fine when I discovered the blanket was not actually waterproof and when Slovin & Allen described in great detail just how gross sitting on wet astroturf was. We were sitting in the front row, though, which was amazing-- so close to the action.

The show was hosted by The Daily Show's Rob Riggle and SNL's Horatio Sanz, who got progressively sillier (read: drunker) as the show progressed. Their repartee and MC-ing was really the best part of the show. I think this is partly because theirs was some of the only real improv done during the show. As one of my friends pointed out to me, the show seemed to suffer a bit from trying too hard to incorporate music into each segment and not doing what the UCB does best: long-form improv. Also, they should have saved way more time for the "headliner": Demetri Martin, who seemed extremely rushed by the time he got onstage.

Some of the highlights of the show were Sanz and Riggle singing a Simon & Garfunkel-inspired ditty and Reggie Watts' incredibly original vocal work. I've seen Watts on video, but never live before, and seeing him live is SO COOL. He is talented in an extremely hard-to-describe way, and I could watch him for hours. Rebecca Drysdale's how-to-improv rap was pretty cool too, but maybe a bit too in-joke-y. Aside from her line, "I get more pussy than Flight of the Conchords," she didn't seem to get that many laughs. Not sure of the demographics of the crowd, but perhaps there weren't a whole lot of UCBT regulars, or else not a lot of improv students. Unclear...

For more pictures, check out The Apiary. In the sixth photo down, you can see a couple of my friends in the background and in the ninth, if you look very carefully, you can see me!

emmy noms and the frat pack

Austin 360 has one of the better breakdowns of the Frat Pack that I've seen, managing to fit movies and actors into three distinct categories: "The Boys Will be Boys Goof-Offs," "The Realists with Heart," and "The Arty Parodists" with Paul Rudd as the golden boy who manages to work well with any of the three. I enjoy this far better than a previous article I read in which they tried to play Judd Apatow's crew off as "the new Frat pack." What's odd about all this categorizing is that Will Ferrell has stated very clearly that he hates the term "Frat Pack" and doesn't want anyone thinking that there's a clique or team of key players who aren't giving new talent their chance to shine. Easy enough for him to say.

Meanwhile, Emmy nods are out today. Some commentary:
Outstanding Comedy Series
I do not understand the appeal of Ugly Betty, but thank God for 30 Rock getting nominated. The Office and Entourage are both top contenders, but neither has had a particularly outstanding season.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
I'm pulling for Ricky Gervais, who paved the way for Steve Carell to make you feel so awkward you don't know how to laugh.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Tina Fey, as Liz Lemon, gives smart and sassy working women a role model and savior.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Rainn Wilson, all the way. Dwight Schrute is a god among nerds.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
I'm very excited that Jenna Fischer got a nomination for her sidelong glances and wistful demeanor, but I know a lot of people are pulling for Vanessa Williams.

Finally, has this "Outstanding original music and lyrics" category always existed? Here are the nominees:
Family Guy • Peter's Two Dads • Fox
MADtv • 1209 • Fox • Girl Group Co.
Saturday Night Live • Host: Justin Timberlake - Song title: ÒDick In A BoxÓ Scrubs • My Musical: Song Title: ÒEveryting Comes Down to PooÓ
Scrubs • My Musical - Song Title: ÒGuy LoveÓ
Ridonkulous. I really hope that each of these is performed at the Emmys by their original performers. It would rock my world.

Sweet 'n' sketchy

I tried to write something witty and insightful about this article, but the Onion AV Club does a pretty good job of explaining themselves. At the very least, they're snarky, which if I've learned anything from reading blogs 24-7 for the last six years, is extremely important. So if you want a way to waste an hour, check out their list of the 9 "TV Sketch comedy bits that should have inspired recurring characters." The list is phenomenal and inspired a great deal of nostalgia within my loins... (loins?), but the premise seems a bit wanting. Because there's nothing like having a character show up in just a slight variation of their previous situation to turn a well thought-out skit into way overdone. Even a sketch that runs on a little too long can leave a bad taste in my mouth. So yeah, these sketches are phenom, but maybe once was enough.

What's New in the World of Mainstream People Writing About Alterna-Comedy

The Comedy Central Insider has an oh-so-snarky and to-the-point breakdown of Esquire's infuriating list of up-and-coming comedians, those they say are just destined to ride in on the coattails of Dane Cook. Anyways, I don't have much more to add to CC Insider, since they did a pretty good job of explaining exactly why the article makes comedy fans want to vom, so just go there and check it out.

And in other news of people who shouldn't be writing about comedy, number ten on The New York Post's Hot List is their (medium) excitement over the movie "The Ten."

While "Evan Almighty" looks about as laugh-out-loud funny as a Biblically themed movie can possibly get, "The Ten" might give it a run for its funny money, judging by the flick's newly posted trailer. It sure helps that Adam Brody, Paul Rudd, Winona Ryder, Rob Corddry and Jessica Alba star in it.


Really? Evan Almighty looks laugh-out-loud funny? You could have fooled me. And The Ten might give it a run for its money??? Please. The Ten does not need your help, NY Post. Go back to photoshopping pictures of Paris Hilton onto stills from World War II.

Okay, so maybe not as bad as the latter, but still... The Ten will conquer all!

anticipation. and some thoughts.

I have been waiting for The Ten to come out since word first came of the team behind Wet Hot American Summer casting such hotties as Adam Brody, Jessica Alba, Winona Ryder, and too-hot-to-be-as-funny-as-he-is fratpack movie mainstay Paul Rudd. And finally, after months with a teaser that highlighted its star-packed ensemble, but told us little about the film itself, the real trailer arrived on YouTube. Honestly, they could have thrown the words up on the screen for two minutes and fifteen seconds and I'd still be excited, but the trailer does look good and now it's just a matter of waiting until August 3rd. A mere 53 days.

And if you just can't wait until then to see (or at least read about) your favorite members of the State, IFC has a great article describing each cast member's best sketch and what they've been up to since the show wrapped in 1995.


Also, I finally got around to seeing Knocked Up, which is, in fact, all everyone's been saying it is-- charming, hilarious, realistic, heartfelt, and wicked awesome. And its box office success should really motivate those in the industry to strive for greatness, not churn out the same formulaic movies. Case in point, the previews that preceded Knocked Up included The Game Plan, The Heartbreak Kid, and License to Wed, all of which honestly look kind of terrible. It confuses me, especially, when the same cast, writing team, etc. behind a fabulous comedy will get together and create something that seems to be created by a machine. But what makes me happy is that extremely talented comedy writers and actors who were getting cancellations out the wazoo in the '90s have become extremely successful now: Judd Apatow, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, all the people from the State. Are network executives and studio heads taking more chances now? And if everything's really getting better, then shouldn't Arrested Development still be on?

nytimes = wicked formal

This is what I've been trying to explain to my sociology professor and thesis advisor... Or I guess not specifically this, but something along these lines. The hardest thing about sociology is that just when you think you've devised a topic and are ready to start a year's worth of research on it, someone writes a trend piece on it which requires a far shorter period of research, less statistics, only 2-3 examples, but then again, such is social science...

The above is also an article from the NY Times, which always amuses me when they talk about the downtown comedy scene or the creators of College Humor and refer to everyone as Mr. ___. Which I guess is normal, but feels so formal (ooh rhymes). I'm glad that these groups are getting the recognition they deserve. Does our generation value comedy more than earlier ones when they were in their twenties? I guess the best evidence of this would be if these shows (human giant, whitest kids..., etc.) last longer or gain a more mainstream audience than their equivalent ten years ago (The Ben Stiller Show, dana carvey show, mr. show, etc.).

I used to hate swim time...

Adult Swim seems to be about experimentation. Which is why some of their shows are kind of hit-or-miss. While I've never been a huge fan of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, I have a few friends who live and breathe that random shit.

On May 13, their new line-up of shows premiered including "Fat Guy Stuck In Internet," based on the Channel 102 show Gemberling. And it includes an awesome line-up of UCB regulars including Curtis Gwinn, Jon Daly, Jackie Clarke, that guy from the Swarm, and, obvi, John Gemberling.

The first show I ever saw at UCB Theatre has stayed my favorite through the hundreds of shows I've seen since then. It was called Commedia dell High School and it was Gwinn, Gemberling, Jason Mantzoukas, Jessica St. Clair, and Tara Copeland improvising an '80s teen movie. It's kind of weird to me that I idolized these people, writing a fan e-mail to Mantzoukas and St. Clair after they gave out a hotmail address at one of the shows, waiting around outside the theater hoping to spot them... the first time I saw Gwinn and Gemberling at the training center conference room I almost peed my pants. It's weird b/c they were probably still just struggling actors at the time, working other jobs and without some kind of fanbase. And now five years later, I reguarly see almost all of them on TV. So now Gwinn & Gemberling have their own pilot and I'm super-psyched although due to my lack of cable in the dorm room, I have yet to watch the full thing. But considering Cartoon Network usually gives things more of a chance than other networks (cough cough comedy central), here's hoping it sticks around for a while. You can check out the pilot for all five of their new shows here.

when comedy meets music

In February, Filter published an interview that The Office's John Krasinski did with The Shins... and I got around to reading it now. I definitely see the correlation between them with their hipster indie sensibilities in the mainstream, and their dorky funny cuteness. And who but filter would have thought to put that together. Well, maybe lots of people, but who would have actually had the connections to get them both at a Los Angeles hotel to chat about school plays and firewater...

But what I really like about this article is the introduction, which explains the many ways in which the alternative comedy world and the indie music world intersect. Honestly, I just finished writing my final paper for Media on the alternative comedy world, so I really don't want to write that phrase again, but the paper also happened to be a thesis proposal, so it looks like I will. If you ever want to read 80-100 pages on alternative comedy, ask me about it next May.

that's what i call chemistry

Adam Brody, Conan O'Brien and Garry Shandling have THE MOST AWKWARD and yet AMAZING chemistry ever. they should have a show together. where they just sit around and everyone feels slightly uncomfortable and talks all at once and then is silent for a little while. wow.

showalter!

There's something very pure about Michael Showalter, probably only based on his characters in The Baxter and Wet Hot American Summer. Because in all of his real life interviews, he comes off as a lot darker, more cynical, less sweet. But who knows? Maybe that is a persona he has cultivated as well. Check out Cracked for an interview with Showalter, in which he talks about why he loves Brooklyn and what he plans to do next.

Live from New York... it's good again?

I haven't watched Saturday Night Live in a while. Like most fans of the long-running show, I've caught the "Digital Shorts" on YouTube, but mostly given up on the show, which seemed to be downwardly spiralling, never to be seen again. However, I did read about Lorne Michaels' attempt to bring the show back, by downsizing the cast (i.e. getting rid of Chris Parnell and Horatio Sanz) and generating buzz with lots of young newcomers. Honestly, this didn't seem like the smartest idea at the time, but now, it seems to be working. Because last night's episode (Rainn Wilson and The Arcade Fire) was honestly good. Surprisingly good. The choice of guests is a sign that SNL's audience is changing. Rather than focusing on the biggest possible stars, they chose buzzed-about current hipster icons, who would get teens talking on the Internet. Plus, Rainn Wilson is funny and talented, unlike when they get an athlete or politican to host and every skit basically bombs. Notice how the only mentions SNL has gotten in the last year have been about "Lazy Sunday" and "Dick in a Box," both starring Andy Samberg (aka "The New Jimmy Fallon" and another notch on Kirsten Dunst's bedpost). Last night, it was Kristen Wiig and Jason Sudeikis who really shone. Their Jim and Pam impersonations were SPOT ON, as was pretty much everything else they did.


The other big difference about last night's show was the type of humor. They're going for random nowadays. They understand that teens want fast-paced ADD humor like Family Guy or any YouTube clip. No clip went on for forever. No clip had a stupid theme song at the beginning telling us exactly what to expect for the next 2.5 minutes. They used the cold-open and Weekend Update to do pop culture references and spoof current events, but the rest was pure sketch comedy. So yeh... whether they can keep this up is questionable. It seems like they're going on a hiatus, as are most good shows after February Sweeps. But I'm interested to see if they can keep up the good work.

Oh, to be a Groundling...

The Coming has commissioned Dorien Davies to share her experiences on what it's like to be in the advanced class at the Groundlings. The results are interesting in the first of a soon-to-be regular piece, and if anything, it illustrates how difficult it is to make it big in a group like the Groundlings, the LA version of Second City or UCB. One thing that strikes me is the fact that you can't just audition for these groups. You have to go through all the classes, so if you really want to be a part of the group, you have to shell out at least $1000 in up to four levels of classes (more at UCB, I think). Which makes sense, considering then everyone has the same level of training and comes from the same background. But at the same time are they missing out on any incoming talent by charging so much for their classes? I can't imagine a lot of struggling but talented comedians have a thousand dollars laying around they can place as an investment for a group they may not even make it to.

Skip 'n' Dale's

I don't usually post links to videos, but this one is chock-full of UCB members including Jon Daly in a thong and Project Improviser winner Marcy Jerreau. Check it out here .

Raising the bar

The Apiary is the best record of the NYC comedy scene on the Web. If you're interested in the industry, stand-up, improv, etc., it is a fabulous read for a disgustingly cold day like today. They have a great series with bartenders at the Upright Citizens' Brigade Theatre, who are also usually improvisers and comedians, so the interviews are always hilarious and give a cool sense of what it's like to be in with the cool guys, but still working for the weekend. You can read the latest installment here .

More Thursday NBC sweetness

According to TVSquad.com:

Andy Barker P.I., the half-hour comedy starring Andy Richter and produced by Conan O'Brien, will make its broadcast debut on Thursday, March 15th at 9:30 on NBC. That's 30 Rock's time slot, but they'll be back after a five week run of Andy. In addition to Andy Richter, the show stars Tony Hale - Buster of Arrested Development fame. Writer Jane Espenson, who announced the show's premiere date on her website, also revealed that Amy Sedaris will be stopping by for a guest stint.

Personally, I'd rather they replace My Name is Earl for a couple of weeks, but maybe the slightly later time will give the show a good lead-in or let them be a little more experimental. I'm kind of losing my patience with Scrubs lately too. Musical episodes (with the sole exception of buffy the vampire slayer) are sure jump-the-shark territory for me. But I was a big fan of the short-lived "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" and hopefully, they can have lots of delicious guest stars for the few months when the show is on.

stand-up round-up

Two AMAZING stand-up specials that I caught recently were Louis C.K.: Shameless and Demetri Martin: Person. Louis C.K. has written for Conan, SNL, and the talent cesspool that was the Dana Carvey Show. He's great in a relatable, but off-color way and is always funny when he's talking about his wife and kids, especially pointing out the asshole-ishness of 4-year-old daughter. I thought his short-lived HBO show, Lucky Louie, was really underrated: he took a huge risk in experimenting with an R-rated sitcom, a format which hasn't really been played around with yet.


Demetri Martin seems like he's often at the forefront of the alterna- comedy movement, which is not so alterna anymore, now that there's 100 spots on vh1 shows for them and infinite space on youtube. Martin used to do stand-up at UCBT, but has gotten some corporate sponsors to fund his Comedy Central special. It's well-deserved success since his irreverent sense of humor and quirky drawings are really hysterical. He's also got gorgeous hipster hair and ironic hipster T-shirts. Some of his bits remind me a little too much of Zach Galifanakis though. Tsk tsk.

Check out this College Humor interview with Paul Mecurio, stand-up comic and writer for The Daily Show. He's working on a show that will "be to Sports Center what The Daily Show was to the news." Doesn't sound that great to me, but maybe sportsfans will disagree.

when writers act...

This is an old article from the LA Times about writers acting and vice versa, as per The Office. The actos who play Toby, Ryan, and Kelly were originally hired as writers, but have since gone on to become fairly memorable characters. I have a special place in my heart for BJ Novak, who when attending Harvard, did a show with BJ Avril, last year's winner of The Amazing Race. Who knew both of them would go on to Prime Time fame?

This article is also relevant in the wake of the success of Lonely Island boys Akiva, Jorma, and Andy Samberg. I wonder a bit about SNL's choice to cast Andy as a regular player and Akiva and Jorma as writers. Is it because Andy is that much more adorable than the other two or is he really the better comedy actor of the bunch? Or maybe he's the weaker writer...?

love her or hate her?

Sarah Silverman is the kind of girl/comedian who inspires strong feelings. Personally, I'm a big fan, if only because she's groundbreaking and gutsy. And, unlike Lisa Lampinelli, she's creative with her crassness, using it to form a character rather than as her entire schtick. It's kind of the difference between Steven Colbert riffing off of what was originally a character based on O'Reilly and a Bush-impersonator on Leno, doing the same old jokes. The tool is a means, not the end. Also, she's gorgeous.

If you are a fan, she has a show coming out on Comedy Central, in a similar form to Jesus is Magic, although it seems like with less stand-up. Check out clips of the show on Motherload. There's also an amazing interview with her as the cover story of the Village Voice this week.

Movies for the new year

The two movies I'm most looking forward to in 2007:

1. The Ten, obvi. It has pretty much anyone hot ever: Adam Brody, Jessica Alba, Amanda peet, Paul Rudd, Justin Theroux, Gretchen Mol, etc. Along with all of the regular State bunch. I have high hopes.

And now...

2. Smiley Face... So when I first read the description of this movie, it sounded stupid: Anna Faris eats pot brownies. But when I saw this line from MTV Movie News, it made me that much more expectant:
"With a cast that also includes Adam Brody, John Cho, Danny Masterson from "That '70s Show" and John Krasinski from "The Office," it's the flick most likely to become this year's "Napoleon Dynamite.""

Okay, so I'm basing my predictions almost entirely on cast, which can be good or bad. But still... exciting. Also, congrats to Abigail Breslin and Little Miss Sunshine for getting Oscar noms. It's difficult for comedies to get nominated, and the last time a comedy won may have been Annie Hall, so whoot for that.

New Improv Show on NBC!

According to TV Squad, six episodes have been ordered of a new Improv competition entitled "Thank God You're Here." The show sounds like it's mostly short-form improv, but it still sounds fairly impressive and could host a number of fantastic guests who got their start in improv. yay! It will be hosted and judged by Dave Foley (who I love) and David Alan Grier (who I hate). Dave Foley used to be such an adorable ball of ambiguously gay cuteness on Kids in the Hall and NewsRadio, but ever since he started wearing facial hair and doing Celebrity Poker on Bravo, he kind of creeps me out.

The show looks good, but it's still no Project Improviser though.

bienvenidos a miami

I wasn't a huge fan of Reno 911 when it first came out. I love the guys from the State, but I'm more partial to the ones who formed Stella than this contingent. I guess I had negative feelings towards Viva Variety, but that might have been because I was too young to get it when it was on. Nevertheless, at that age, I was watching Kids in the Hall and the Tracey Ullman Show already, so I'm not really sure why I didn't like it.

However, I've grown to like Reno 911 more and more since I stopped looking at it as a parody of Cops and started appreciating it more as sketch comedy within a story. Anyways, the trailer for the movie looks good. I think this may be the kind of show which translates better into a movie than Strangers with Candy or Kids in the Hall. We'll see.

Check out the trailer at Apple Trailers.

a very special episode of the office

According to tv squad , Joss Whedon is planning on directing an episode of The Office. This is incredible news.

Also, if you're jonesing for hilarity, I recommend this.

ben stiller: funny?

An interesting article/interview with Ben Stiller in Parade magazine.

I think I used to like Ben Stiller a lot more. The Ben Stiller show was really funny and I like him in seriocomic stuff like Flirting with Disaster. But since then, I honestly can't say I'm a huge fan anymore. He seems to have perfected two characters: unlucky everyman who has bad things happen to him (There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents, etc.) and the wacky incredibly shallow nutjob (Zoolander, Dodgeball, Heavyweights). Personally, I appreciate him more in the latter types of roles. I feel like other people are better in the former role and there's only so many times I can see him react to unfortunate situations.