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Let's Clear Up Some "Angry Rumors"
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 have a couple of jokes or maybe five good minutes, and you need more than that to compete. That’s why you will see some headliners you have seen elsewhere. They have enough material. You go through jokes pretty fast on TV.
Now here's what doesn’t happen, contrary to angry rumors: The show is not rigged. Yes, we do know many of the comics. ANT, Kathleen [Madigan] and I are comics and we have worked with many of the people who tried out. There is no way around that, but we didn’t play favorites. Some of my good friends didn't make the cut. The producers and networks don’t tell us who to pick. They do have input, but I must admit even I was surprised by how much they left it up to us. They didn’t, for example, say we have to have two women or a black comic and an Asian, or tall or short or hot or any of that. They didn’t even insist we pick a left-handed relief pitcher, but if I saw one, I’d grab him because they are so valuable.
There are also a limited number of spots, so, yes, some good comics don’t get picked. That sucks, but it’s the way it is. We make mistakes. I said no to Jane Condon and she won "audience favorite."
Congrats to all the comics who moved on. Thanks to all who tried out, especially those who stood in the cold and snow in New York and Montreal. And thanks to the fans for watching!
NBC's Last Comic Standing airs Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET.
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Jun 19, 2007 12:18 PM
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Alonzo,
I'm with you on that audience favorite. They must have been drunk or asleep, because she was not funny to me.
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Jun 19, 2007 2:27 PM
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Can Mel Silverback really have that much material? Really? I am not sure how well he will be able to "sustain".
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Jun 20, 2007 2:07 PM
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I was wondering how Mel Silverback was going to live in the house. I wondered if he would stay in costume. I'm a little sad they aren't putting them up in the house. They did some funny things living together. This could be better though because 1) the people who only have a few jokes won't get boring and 2) maybe America won't vote for the Dat Phan of the year. I still think Dave was robbed of season 1 and I always will.
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Jun 20, 2007 2:16 PM
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well, this is off the subject I suppose by a margin, but as much as I love the concept of LCS (some days there is no bigger fan of stand-up than I!), I cannot stand that they do find so much talent out there, but the comics seem to end up being left high and dry. Where are the development deals I thought they won (am I wrong there or was that only for the first couple of seasons?) What exactly has happened to Dat Phan, or John Heffernon? And not just the winners, but so many of the runners up are phenomenal, and it seems none of them have been "discovered" and tapped into the big-time since then, other than Ralphie May (a deserving one) and Ant? Kathy was great, I liked her a lot, but also loved Dave, Rich, and some of the others. But the winners were winners for a reason, and where have they gone? So, that's my problem with this show. You might win some money, but then what?
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Jun 20, 2007 8:49 PM
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So I thought Texas would be funny. I remembered a few years ago there seemed to be lots of good auditions. I told my husband, "We'll hafta watch San Antonio!" Good Lord, those folks were painful to watch, and y'all had to go through hours of that mess! I hope they're paying you well!
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Jun 28, 2007 11:08 AM
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