"Let me explain something to you about the Mac man. I love who I am. I love what I have become. And most of all, I have nothing but respect for those who have followed me. I don't do things for dollars and cents. I owe my craft to my fans and those who have followed me all of these years. See. It's not what you do, it's how you do it. It's not what you say, it's how you say it. I'm a comedian. People know me as Bernie Mac."

That quote opens the documentary, "I Ain't Scared of You: A Tribute to Bernie Mac," which premieres tonight on Comedy Central.

Mac died at the age of 50 in 2008 of complications from pneumonia, the first of too many comedians to leave us while still in their prime. His wife (and high-school sweetheart), Rhonda McCullough, and daughter Je'niece conduct interviews with stars such as Samuel L. Jackson, Carl Reiner and several other big-name comedians and celebrities. Other Ocean's movie colleagues Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and director Steven Soderbergh offer up plenty of compliments about Mac, as do his "Original Kings of Comedy" tour mates Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley, plus Anthony Anderson, Bill Bellamy, Cameron Diaz, Tom Arnold, Chris Rock, Zoe Saldana, Angela Bassett, Mike Epps, and somehow, there's also narration from the late Bernie Mac himself.

You'll see rare footage that dates back to his start in 1977 and includes Mac hosting a Tuesday night show in Chicago before he was famous that saw Shaquille O'Neal in the front row.

The documentary tribute's title, of course, comes from Mac's big break on HBO's Def Comedy Jam, in which he told the audience, "I ain't scared of you motherfuckers." You'll find out why he said that and more watching this film.

If you didn't already appreciate Mac's contributions to stand-up, TV and film, you certainly will after watching this loving, sincere tribute to a loving, sincere comedian.

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"I Ain't Scared of You: A Tribute to Bernie Mac" debuts on COMEDY CENTRAL Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. If you miss it then, it'll replay at 1:15 a.m. Eastern/Pacific on Sunday, Feb. 26.

Because it's almost always for feminine hygiene products, showing us a woman onstage with a microphone making jokes about whatever problem the product is designed to solve. This new campaign kicked off by Kotex this week, "Stand Up For Real," features comedian Andree Vermeulen (a frequent performer with the UCB Theatres).

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Do you think TV commercials that portray female stand-up comedians help shape how the mainstream masses feel about women in comedy? Or is this all a bunch of hogwash? And who would wash anything with hogs? Aren't hogs covered in mud? I know, I know. I've just gone off-topic. Back on topic.

Stand-up comedy portrayals in TV ads. Like 'em? Love 'em? Loathe 'em? Let me know your take on it.

But who will be featured in the inaugural season for 2012? Meet the dirty dozen:

• Joe Mande
• Rory Scovel
• Jesse Popp
• David O'Doherty
• Michael Palascak
• Garfunkel & Oates (Kate Micucci & Riki Lindhome)
• Neal Brennan
• Na'im Lynn
• Brendon Walsh
• Nick Vatterott
• Maronzio Vance
• Theo Von

Shows will tape in pairs (per usual custom) at The Royale in Boston from Feb. 28 through March 1, 2012.

If you're in Boston, or want to be in Boston, for The Half Hour tapings for Comedy Central, put in your ticket requests.

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The benefit's lineup includes comedy and music from the likes of Aziz Ansari, Fred Armisen, Matt Berry, Russell Brand, Hannibal Buress, Stephen Colbert, Coldplay, David Cross, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Aubrey Plaza, Maya Rudolph, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Silverman, Paul Rudd, John Oliver, Chris O'Dowd, Peter Serafinowicz, David Walliams, Noel Fielding, Micky Flanagan, Jack Whitehall,  Jon Stewart, Reggie Watts, Kristen Wiig, and Mumford & Sons.

Tickets, available via Ticketmaster, run from $68 to $535.

Gaffigan acknowledged that the recent example and success of Louis CK served as inspiration for him to make this move.

Here is the full letter Gaffigan wrote to fans:

Dear Internet Friends,

Inspired by the brilliant Louis CK, I have decided to debut my all-new hour stand-up special on my website, Jimgaffigan.com.

Beginning sometime in April, “Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe” will be available exclusively for download for only $5. A dollar from each download will go directly to The Bob Woodruff Foundation; a charity dedicated to serving injured Veterans and their families.

I am confident that the low price of my new comedy special and the fact that 20% of each $5 download will be donated to this very noble cause will prevent people from stealing it. Maybe I’m being naïve, but I trust you guys. Besides who would want the karma of stealing money from wounded Veterans? Come on you guys. How dare you even think about it?

I know I am taking a risk here. People I respect have advised me to take the safer, more traditional route with the premiere of the special. However, I am incredibly motivated by the courage of Louie to offer his fans direct access for a low price. Buyers of my special can be assured that their money will go directly to feeding and raising my four children instead of a giant corporation. I will self-produce a high quality special with all new material that will be incredibly easy to download and then you will own it. Forever. For $5. Roughly the price of five packs of Ramen Noodles. And believe me my special is going to be much better than five packs of disgusting Ramen Noodles. Gross.

Not going with a big corporation means I won't have any advertising. There will be no bells and whistles or billboards but maybe you can help. If you like the special, tell your friends to download it too. That’s the best kind of advertising anyway.

I must admit that I have not felt this excited and nervous since I first tried stand up over 100 years ago. It’s humbling to take a risk that you are not sure will work. You don't know if a joke will bomb unless you try it.

If no one buys the special or if lots of people steal it then I suppose I will lose a lot of money and have egg on my face. But then again I have four kids so I am always losing money and usually have egg or some kind of food on my face so it might just feel normal.

Let me know what you think.

Your Best Friend,

Jim

@JimGaffigan
Facebook.com/JimGaffigan
Jimgaffigan.tumblr.com

If for some unknown reason, you don't already own a copy of Hilarious, then you can purchase it now via iTunes:

Meanwhile, Trey Parker and Matt Stone inched tantalizingly close to EGOT status as their Broadway smash hit musical, The Book of Mormon, also took home Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. Parker and Stone previously won several Tony Awards for their musical, have taken home multiple Emmy Awards for their Comedy Central animated series, South Park, and earned an Oscar nomination for their original song in the South Park movie.

Parker and his cohorts attended the Grammys, and while you didn't see their category during the live broadcast on Sunday, they did take part in the pre-taped portion and gave a speech.

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And you can buy The Book of Mormon soundtrack via iTunes:

Oh, and Betty White beat out Tina Fey in the Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Story Telling) category for If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't).

Another week, another cold open featuring more work for Jason Sudeikis. So many Romney cold opens, but I don't think it's as much about making fun of the Republicans as it is a sign that the President Obama cold opens rarely work. Not that that's Fred Armisen's fault. Portlandia's brilliant. Armisen's funny. Anyhow, the joke tonight was on Newt Gingrich. And how poorly he fared in the week's primaries and caucuses. Weirdly, Sudeikis doesn't sound like Romney but nobody calls him on it, while everyone gives Armisen a hard time for not nailing his Obama impersonation. Also, the barking dog? On live TV? I presume there's someone offstage instructing the dog to bark. But this party trick opens the show?!? Hmmm. Suspicious start.

Zooey Deschanel sings. But she's not the musical guest? Hmmm. Did she at least sing during the show? During the monologue in her first apperance even? Check. Check. Discount double-check. Hello giggles. And she wore a dress with hearts on it for Valentine's Day. Aw. Plus a ukulele. Quirky element attained within her first minute onstage. Are long bangs in season? I'm not up on hair trends. But I do realize that they were trying to address the whole "adorkable" thing head-on right away. Now what?

Fake ad before the first ad, pokes fun at Clint Eastwood's Chrysler ad, with Bill Hader as Eastwood, because people made a big fuss about that Super Bowl ad being political. Odd how the Gran Torino line has become the go-to instead of the old Dirty Harry line.

Taran Killam plays Piers Morgan. Topic: The Super Bowl halftime show, and M.I.A.'s middle-finger display (portrayed by Nasim Pedrad). Her defense: The dog that murdered a cat in a Doritos ad. The comedy, however, comes mainly from the appearance of LMFAO (played by J-Suds and Armisen) for their comments on it, saying you don't need to act all crazy on TV (which is exactly what LMFAO does) to earn attention. Deschanel shows up as a Midwestern housewife from Ohio for her opinions so she can say, "Ya sure, you betcha!" That's also a Ballard thing! "h-e-double-hockeysticks." Wow. Audience really dug the "decency strap." Kristen Wiig plays Madonna. Oh, and Andy Samberg appears as the weirdo who bounced on the wire, although in this case, he's bouncing off of his balls? Too easy.

After an ad for The Artist, it's the return of Les Jeunes de Paris, Taran Killam's largely silent sketch set in France with kids who dance. So it is really that much of a stretch or surprise to get The Artist's star, Jean Dujardin, to make a cameo? Oui oui, mais non. Especially when they go noir et blanc on us. Not exactly LOL, although you can tell how much fun they had on that thar dance floor. Really came through onscreen.

Fake ad #2 returns to Eastwood. High pants! Another poke at Gingrich. Oh, wait, this isn't for Chrysler?

Next week is Maya Rudolph and who? What now? Are they just making up bands now? I'm old. Or they really are just making up bands. That is entirely plausible.

We're at The Daily Post in 1941 for some witty newspaper banter. J-Suds is the editor. Wiig is his Hepburn. Deschanel is the new girl. Ahem. She doesn't understand everyone else because of their fast-talking fast-talk. Oh, I get it. Kids today are dumb because they don't understand words. Time travel.

Fake ad #3. Eastwood is on after the Super Bowl now, comparing the Patriots loss to letting Mexico win and take our jobs. Higher pants! Trojans.

Did they really break into SNL for an NBC News Special Report about Whitney Houston dying, even though that was known hours earlier? Why, yes they did.

I don't know who or what Karmin was. She's cute, and by cute I mean nice bra without a shirt. Isn't there also a he? There he is behind some sort of musical thingamajig. She's rapping in the middle of the song for some reason. What is this? I'm not old. This is just. I'm going to look at her cleavage and block everything else out for now. This song is called "Broken Hearted." OK. Watched/listened again. It's kinda catchy.

Time for Weekend Update. Note to QC Tech: Graphic supers aren't fitting on the screen. Please fix.

Women's news in the news. To comment is Arianna Huffington, which was Michaela Watkins' big impersonation, but she's not on SNL anymore, so here is Nasim Pedrad. She's doing OK. Maybe better than OK. Some audience members got the joke about reading the NYT on HuffPo thanks to "copy-and-paste." Seth looked like he expected that JFK-Tupac joke to fare a lot better than it did.

Another segment of Get in the Cage with Nicolas Cage and...Nicolas Cage. Yep. He sat down next to Andy Samberg on the Update desk. Any time a comedian comes face-to-face on TV with the person he/she impersonates, it's fun to watch, just because. They explain it as cloning, as the real Nic Cage disses the fake one as an exaggerated psycho. Of course, these segments are just an easy way for NBC to attract a movie star to promote his/her upcoming movie. Ghost Rider sequel coming up!

Was there a Ghost Rider ad during the break? How cynical are you? (yes)

Huh. Back. To. Back. SNL returns from commercial to find Abby Elliott impersonating the host in fake talk show, "Bein' Quirky with Zooey Deschanel." Killam plays her sidekick, Michael Cera, and really is coming into own as the show's star of the future as in next year. Deschanel plays guest and BFF Mary-Kate Olsen. The audience applauds as if they believe it's really her. This audience. I tells ya. But what did Blossom think about this segment? Wiig is here, too, as Bjork. I could see this become a recurring sketch. How about you?

A fourth fake ad?!? It's for Verizon Wireless, and my show is still bigger than the screen. Hmmm. Retail salesman Hader explains the newest of new technology to customer Armisen. So confusing...

Something Southern is happening now. It's a crab party? I feel like this sketch is such a tease. Because it is.

Adding to it, at the end going into break, they showed a screencap of the now late Whitney Houston from her SNL appearance beside Molly Shannon.

Not an official digital short, but it's Andy Samberg with Deschanel and they're going to make technology hump. This is now a recurring feature. Does this childish premise work on a second viewing? I think Zooey's bangs grew too long between when she filmed this short and Saturday night. Anyhow.

Once again, Karmin. Now that I know who and what Karmin is, what am I supposed to do with this information?

Running out of time. So go back in time to 1860 England. How times were different then! Ah, the good ol' days. Wait. So this is all a cover for...oh. Socio-political comedy.

The live studio audience loved this show. The cast and host sure had fun putting on the show. Did you like it, too?

See you next week with Maya Rudolph and that fake band!

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Byrne told his Facebook friends:

"Hey everyone! I wanted to share some really incredible news. The sitcom I've been working on got the go ahead today! I hope you all get to tune in when it airs. I want to thank everyone for supporting my stand up career all these years. It's because of you and some really incredible friends that I get this wonderful opportunity! Thanks to you all!!!"

Stand-up comedian Owen Benjamin co-stars in the series as Byrne's best friend.

The premise finds Byrne (who co-wrote the pilot and grew up in Pittsburgh) as a NYC corporate attorney who returns to Pittsburgh and the bar his parents (played by Dan Lauria and Ok Cha) own just as they're preparing to sell it and retire. Hijinks inevitably ensue. And he decides to stay and take over the bar.

A quote from the TBS press release:

"Sullivan and Son is a smart, funny, workplace comedy from the distinct comedy voices of Steve Byrne and Rob Long," said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies. "The barstools at Sullivan's bar are filled with outrageous, unique characters, and Steve and Rob have created an outstanding in which they can shine. We are extremely proud of this show and look forward to spending many nights throwing one back with the regulars at Sullivan & Son."

Executive producers include showrunner Long, plus Peter Billingsley and Vince Vaughn, who featured Byrne on one of his Wild West Comedy Tours.