Last Comic Standing Blog

Well, this is it, the final two. It's close — Jon and Lavell both had good sets. Now let's see what America, Canada, the U.K. and Australia think. The international comics were great, but its an American finale.

Sorry, Gerry Dee, you had a great run. What's up, Canada? You guys couldn't get enough votes for the hometown guy. I love Canada but I bet Gerry went up against preseason hockey or something.
OK, whose idea was it to make the best of the worst a top eight countdown. Countdowns are top 10 and believe me, there were more than enough to fill 10 spots. I think the guy who won "the best of the worst" should have to give money back to the show. That was frightening. I remember that and why did I have to watch it again? I would have voted for combat dancing but each was disturbing in its own way.

Kathleen Madigan, hilarious as always. Rednecks and chemistry is always going to be funny. I love her.

Greg Proops, great job. I loved the persuasive arguments and I'm voting for the woman or the black guy myself.

I love Gilbert Gottfried. I love the voice, the interviews and the jokes. The toothpick/Jew joke was great.
To those who have no idea what I'm talking about, you should have watched the show.

Jon reading silently with Bill Bellamy was funny. By the way, did you notice Bill was having trouble reading this week? What's up with that? Maybe the pressure is getting to him, too, or maybe he got tired of teasing us with the names of the finalists. I remember waiting to hear my name, time passes slow as they milk the drama.... We don't do drama well; we're comics.

I don't know who's going to win. Lavell has been great but Jon’s final set was great, too. I'm not voting or picking. I'm too busy begging for my job back next season!


The finale of NBC's Last Comic Standing airs Wednesday at 9 pm/ET.

Well, I guess the voters resolved my confusion about Amy. She's gone but had a great run, especially for only three-and-a-half years in. Good luck out there, Amy.

It was great to see Harland Williams. He cracks me up. Only Harland would wish the crowd a "Merry Christmas" in early September.

Josh Blue was funny, but I'd love to hear him do some other topics besides his handicap. He was funny teasing the comics about being back to defend his title.

The comics all seemed a little weak again this week. Gerry had a lot more setup than punch. The setup about women drinking and driving didn't pay off much. I guess if they name the comics moving on in the order of votes received, Gerry is in the lead. Let's see if he maintains it.

Lavell was funny as a crossing guard. I liked that bit. His set was up and down. He got a little blue and had to be bleeped — not good. Then again, he was doing the bit about an anal exam. It's been done to death by every male comic around 40. I heard so many jokes about it that I actually looked forward to my first probe just so I could get it out of the way. He picked it up with the diabetes/sugar bit. I think Lavell gets nervous and does some of his own jokes out of order, but he's so funny he makes it work. He closed big again.

Jon Reep brought the Southern flavor again. Jon is funny and friendly and looks like he's having a good time, but the material just isn't there. I'd have loved to see funnier Southern stereotypes than having shoes. Oh, by the way, he'll never change my tires or oil.

See you guys next week, and I can't wait for Kathleen's set next week!

NBC's Last Comic Standing airs Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET.

Well, call me surprised! Ralph Harris gone, I didn't expect that. I don't think "the drunken Uncle" was his best set, but I didn't think it was the worst. I guess my read on the voters is a bit off. Sorry to see you go, Ralph, and congrats to the four who moved on.

Gerry Dee was solid again this week. I liked the trips back home, too. Wow, Gerry had a baby and he stayed in L.A. to do the show. He'd better win — that's more devotion than most athletes. Then again, maybe he wanted to sleep in without listening to a baby cry.

Lavell was great. I loved his callback to Gerry's set. Just imagining Lavell in a little Cub Scout outfit is worth a vote in my book: "Excuse me Mr. Grizzly bear..." "Yes, little fat black boy?" Hilarious.

Amy, Amy, Amy. I'm torn on Amy's stuff. I think the play on words she does is kind of cute but I don't see it as strong material. She did look good in a bikini and in tight jeans. She even made reference to the people who like her for being an attractive young woman. It kind of bugs me. I say vote on funny, and leave the bikinis for America's Next Top Model. But bikinis are hard to argue with. She'd be great on a sitcom. Then again, I'm not casting sitcoms so I could be wrong about that, too. I can't even make up my mind here on the blog. Next week let's see Lavell in a bikini. I'd pay to see that. Then again, I'm a sick man.

Jon Reep — his stuff is just silly and I like his set this week. Nice to actually see Hickory and hey, they do talk funny. Of course, anyone who saw Miss South Carolina answering questions in that beauty pageant (check YouTube) knows the school system Jon was in, so congrats, man, just for speaking English.

I thought Bill's set was pretty edgy but I don't fully agree. Michael Vick isn't a black/white thing; it's a bad-guy thing. Vick screwed up so bad even the Raiders don't want him. That's as low as you can go.


NBC's Last Comic Standing airs Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET.

Show opened at the Wilshire Theater, which looked great. Bill Bellamy looked great in his suit, but then gave us Clinton jokes. I can’t wait to see Bill and give him hell for that. C’mon, man, Clinton jokes? With Bush in the White House? There’s no easier target than Bush. We comics are really going to have to work once he’s gone.

The show is down to the final five and I can’t think of any way to blog other than to review, so here goes.

Lavelle is confident as hell. He talks like a winner, which I never did, but hey, I can’t argue with success and he’s been killing so far. But this set felt a little flat to me. He seemed to be thinking rather than just being funny. I thought the jokes about slavery and the working friend Juan were kind of weak. But I liked the joke about getting paid overtime when the office psycho holds you hostage, and the closer about looking like a talking traffic barrel was good. So I think he’ll stay.

John Reep opened great with cell-phone jokes. I think we are all annoyed by those cell-phone talkers and laugh at the Bluetooth-headset people. I always wonder what they are going to do if aliens come down and ask who they are talking to. He then went into a long beer bit that felt kind of flat. Good luck, John; if you survive with that set I hope you step it up next time. I think you're on thin ice.

Ralph was next. He had the weirdest intro I ever heard: "Here’s a brother who really loves his mama." Huh? Ralph came out with a touching thank you to the audience, but I didn’t get that. I mean, it took him a whole minute just to get to his jokes. You only get five minutes, so save the thanks for the interviews. Once he did get started, he rolled as usual. Ralph does love the family jokes. He committed a lot of time to acting out his uncle. It seemed a little long, but it worked. I think Ralph will survive. He also looked the best — great suit. He looks professional and like a star. Hey, I hope my commenting on clothes doesn’t make me gay. I’d hate to step on ANT’s toes. I just like comics who respect the TV stage and dress for it.

OK, Amy, you can't come out saying it's twice as hard for women comics and then do an eating-disorder bit followed by a boyfriend bit. That’s the stereotypical stuff that gives women comics a bad rep. Amy is the least experienced and I think it showed. The side comment to ANT didn’t work as he wasn’t there. I also think she repeated a bit from her New York tryout. I like you, Amy, but I think this may have been it for you.

Gerry Dee rocked it. He came out and started right in with jokes, no time wasted, no stammering. It was a great set. Yes, the material was simple stuff — dinner plates and gravy boats — but it was hilarious. I think he saved this show. Gerry’s been trying for years to get here and I’d say he plans to stay. Great job, Gerry.

Side note: It was great to see John Heffron in the crowd, the man who beat me in Season 2. OK, Season 5, step up: Season 2 is in the house.

NBC's Last Comic Standing airs Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET.

Man, I could feel Ralph exhale through the screen. That was a tough one. Kudos to Doug and especially Matt; he went really far for a rookie from England, and he seemed to enjoy the run. I still think Matt is hilarious and wish he had made it.

I wonder if Doug is really that smug about losing. If he is, good for him. I would be disappointed, but he handled it well. I wonder if he can make fun of himself on Best Week Ever.

That was a challenge. Making hot women laugh is the toughest thing possible, especially when they just don't get the jokes. I haven't seen that blank a stare since a George Bush question-and-answer session. It was amazing: just joke, stare, joke, stare. This is why comics should always carry something shiny. I will give it up to Amy, she got 'em. She even made the nun laugh. Of course it took the nun a while to get the Jesus joke. How does a nun not get a Jesus joke right away? Mel Silverback gets banana material.

Ralph was hilarious, just stammering with the hottie. Of course that is true genius. He knew his lady would be watching, and if he spent 60 seconds in there laughing with one of those models... well, you can't explain that. No woman would understand. "Baby, I was trying to win us 250 grand." "No, you were trying to get rich to take her home! You don't love me. You were cheating on TV!" Now you have immunity on TV and death in real life.

Transvestite, I got nothing. Who's the scout who found her/him? Someone just didn't like comics and said, "Let's give them no chance at all." That was worse than Season 2 when they gave us a room full of little kids.

The clown, well, I don't know. I have one clown joke, but it isn't at all appropriate. Doug tried that approach with the nun. God bless him for committing to it. (God will talk to him about that later, I'm sure.)

So congrats to the final five. Gerry, I think you skated in by challenging Lavelle, but hey, it worked. Ralph, you are an assassin, you eliminated four of the five who went home. John, you proved you were funny when you went medieval, but now you will have to bring it. Amy, you surprised me with how funny you are and now you're hanging with the big boys. Lavelle, I think you are still the heavyweight (no pun intended).

Man, this brings back memories. Good luck, final five, time to find out who America (and the world) likes.

NBC's Last Comic Standing airs Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET.

I liked the medieval times challenge. I think it was pretty creative, but I don't think I or anyone else needed to see Lavelle in tights. Only Bill Bellamy could make chain mail look good. What's up with that? He looked comfortable in that outfit. Makes you wonder what games he and his wife are playing....

Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Ralph or Gerry bomb like that. Good thing the king is not chopping heads off.

Doug, please stop yelling.

Matt's joke about the moat and security guard was probably the funniest of the night. Amy looked good in tights and was a funny wench, but I got to say Jon Reep did kill it. Maybe it's because there is still some medieval stuff going on down South.

The head-to-head was close, but I think Matt did win it. I loved his callback to Debra's joke; that was clever. I still think that little guy looks funny, and with those teeth... he can leave the show with a toothpaste deal. The turkey leg didn't stand a chance.

Sorry to see you go Deb. You're a funny chick.

NBC's Last Comic Standing airs Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET.

Well, now it's real: People have gone home. Congratulations Ralph, you survived. Actually Ralph didn't just survive, he destroyed. That one was easy to pick.

Watching that head-to-head brought back memories. The false confidence some display. I saw that in Dante. I think he was more nervous than he wanted to let on. It also looked like they were out to get him. I wonder what Dante did that pissed them off.

Gina looked good but she was outclassed. Ralph is a 20-year pro. I wouldn't challenge a 20-year pro.

By the way, it seemed a lot nicer choosing in the coliseum than in an old castle dungeon, like we did. I guess they found a budget.

The heckling challenge was great. Once again, Lavelle sends the "don't mess with me" message. It was funny how he and Debra fed off each other. (I know that's a cheap pun, but it's late and I'm tired.) I thought Matt's line to Amy asking if she's read anything for adults was a great one. Shut down the "Matt is a kid" heckle lines right away. I do have a question: Just how small is Matt? He seems smaller every episode. Doug was weird, which is what Doug does, but it was clever and he did shut Dante down. There were some other great lines. Calling Ralph a broke Bill Cosby, I liked that one. I like the heckle challenge because it's a test of comics doing what we do.

So here we go, down to eight. Funny thing is they are still being nice to each other even as they work on strategy.

I just challenged whom I thought I could beat. You want strategy; you'll have to talk to ANT.

One good thing about this week: No one was allowed to back down. I hate when someone challenges a person they know will only get one vote just so they don't have to perform. It's weak. So good to see Mel Silverback driving the bus. He's gonna make it. He's the most tenacious ape in comedy.

NBC's Last Comic Standing airs Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET.

Well, that's it, we're done. We have picked the 10. Now, I haven't been reading the NBC blogs or any other LCS blogs, so I don't know what people think of our choices. But I think we did pretty well. I'm also pretty sure some people have crucified us, but oh well.

It's always weird watching myself on TV. I don't know how many of you have experienced this, but it's kind of funny trying to remember what I was thinking during the moments they show me on air.

But enough about me, let's get back to the show. Lavell killed. I think he was sending a notice to everyone that he wanted to win this thing. I was disappointed that Mel Silverback didn't do well. I guess he must have run out of clean gorilla material. Now there's a sentence I never thought I would use in my lifetime.

Amy will represent the new comics on the show. She was surprisingly funny. Jon Reep made the cut. Do they have TV in Hickory? Do the hometown fans know? Matt Kirshen was funny and I like the little guy. I'd love to see a visual joke with him and Lavelle; of course, he could hide behind Lavell. Gerry Dee made it try, try, try again and now he's on. Good luck, man.

The hardest ones to leave behind for me were Dwayne Perkins and Fiona O'Laughlin. They were both great.

So now it's up to the comics. The producers will come up with sick, and sometimes humiliating, challenges, which the fans generally love. They will all fight for immunity when they utter that famous line, "I know I'm funnier than _____.”

This is where the fun really begins....

Well, it was pure stand-up last week. The pressure was on and the attitudes were different. You had Dante talking about winning for a puppy to Tommy Johnagin making babies cry just to warm up. I like the Tommy Johnagin method — no prisoners.

We judges, I mean scouts, never got so little airtime. There was a portion when we would talk to the comics and ask them questions. Tom Arnold asked about everything from lesbians to which women comics should hit on after the show. I don't think Tom quite understood the NBC prime-time thing. We definitely wouldn't have picked him to move on.

Back to the show. Does Debra Digiovanni remind anyone else of John Candy?

It was fun to watch the difference between the comics based on how long they have been doing it. We had Spencer from England, three years in, with lots of enthusiasm and not much material. Then we had Dwayne Kennedy, a 20-year vet who had the act down but didn't seem like his future was riding on it. I actually think they had to wake Dwayne up for the show.

In between, we had the solid pros like Doug Benson and Ralph Harris. I love Ralph's grandfather bit.

I'm writing this from the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal. The fest was a blast and I was only attacked by one manager for "fixing the show" and making sure his client didn't make it. "Don't you know my guy is a headliner?" When judging a show it helps to be 6-foot-3 and 235 lbs. I think it discourages idiots. I wonder how Kathleen handles them.

On to the next five...

NBC's Last Comic Standing airs Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET.

Well, we are done. We have traveled the world and found 32 comics for the semis. Now it gets interesting. We'll find out who can handle the pressure. No more train wrecks or rookies, so you better bring the funny because everyone is good.

Now I'll tell you why there is more pressure. At the regional auditions, the number picked depended on how many tried out and how many were funny. Every comic now knows there are only 10 spots left.

I don't think anyone is going to blow away the crowd. I think it's going to be a dogfight. Hmmm, I wonder if Michael Vick will show up.

I do know some comics may overthink it. Try a different strategy. My advice is, "Go for it." Do your funniest. There would be nothing worse than spending the summer at home watching the show, telling your friends how funny you would have been. "Man, I would have won if I did my flying-dog bit...." Yeah, right. How long are your friends going to listen to that? Don't save anything, go for it every round.

Congrats to everyone who tried out and to everyone who's still in it. Let the semifinals begin!


NBC's Last Comic Standing airs Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET.

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-mailing and generally complaining to anyone who will listen about comics they have seen before on TV or elsewhere. Yes, we have pros. Pros are funny, and we like funny. The show isn't just about "new" comics, it's for comics. An open-mic rookie TV show would be funny for about eight minutes. Guys like Doug or Bob Zany have paid dues and may be known in the comedy world but deserve a shot at prime time. If they bring the funny, we give them the shot. Kathleen writes about it in her MySpace blog — check it out.

Let's face it, the guys on Top Chef or Hell's Kitchen have probably cooked before, and I'm thinking the fighters that were on The Contender may have been in a scrap or two before lining up to take a beating. Most of those on The Apprentice have probably been to college. We certainly aren't going to ask the comics to do that. Now, there are some common errors, rumors and mistakes out there. Raven Snook, who blogs about Last Comic Standing here at TVGuide.com and was nice enough to compliment my arms and tattoos, wrote that the pros get a pass to the night round. Not true. Many of them do have scheduled auditions rather than wait in line, but they have earned that. Hey, if the new guy on your job was treated the same as you, you'd be upset.

Back to Minneapolis. Great comics, and I was at Acme this past weekend doing my own shows. I had a great weekend, and thanks, Minneapolis, for being so funny and for supporting comedy. I guess being inside all winter leads to some pretty good jokes

P.S. Keep Kevin Garnett.

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 to pet a dingo and feed a kangaroo.

I went postal on one guy, whom you didn't see, named Balsac (they seemed to like costumes and funny names). I actually called him an insult to the art of comedy. Now that's pretty serious considering how many bad comics we saw.

We may get better comics from Down Under next year if Kathleen can understand what the hell they are saying — or if I don't.

NBC's Last Comic Standing airs Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET.

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.

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.

ANT... what can be said about ANT that hasn't already been written? Did you know he's gay? Apparently that's the scoop. Seriously, ANT is ANT: over-the-top, loud, emotional, dramatic and funny. Love him or hate him, but you will get plenty of him.

We have other changes this season. We went international, traveling to Australia, Canada, the U.K.... That was fun, and stand-up is definitely different overseas, some being funnier, some... not so much. I went Simon on a guy in Australia, you'll see.

There is no house this season. No house, no castle, no boat. That's right, NBC isn't paying rent. Head-to-head every week, and America votes.

Finally, the prize money is up to $250,000. That's the amount I got when I won Season 3. Of course, no one knew I won Season 3 except the IRS... funny how they were watching.

Well, that's it, so let's get started. Tune in June 13 (my birthday) and start laughing and second-guessing me!