Posted by Sean L. McCarthy | Oct 7, 2008 | Uncategorized |
The second presidential debate pits Sen. Barack Obama against Sen. John McCain in a town hall setting, but I’m just writing that as an excuse to feature this new video by character-based comedian James Adomian, who gets very profane in his impersonation of McCain in "Apocalypse John," recorded at the Midnight Show at the UCB Theatre in Los Angeles. The horror, the...
Read MorePosted by Sean L. McCarthy | Oct 7, 2008 | Uncategorized |
Just a few quick thoughts on the debut episode of HBO’s Down & Dirty with Jim Norton, which premiered over the weekend and airs again late tonight. In the theater, you could barely hear Lemmy from Motorhead, and not a lick of his theme song, but everything comes through a-OK on TV, including some fun banter between Norton and Lemmy. Also, making this episode his debut is quite a statement, whether Norton intended it that way or not, as he booked both Jim Florentine, a comic Norton introduced as getting him his first gig in 1990 (which makes it odd that it’s now Norton giving Florentine a break), as well as Artie Lange, who as they used to say in the biz, works for a competing morning radio program. Lange’s stand-up, which hadn’t impressed me as much as his personal health deteriorated, sounded different on TV. His jokes about drug use sounded more like a plea for help from the audience. I know he since went into rehab, and hope he’s doing better. The other two performers on the debut episode were relative youngsters Anthony Jeselnik and Whitney Cummings. They both did well, as they usually do. As I wrote after watching two of the other episode tapings, it really does come across as a white, suburban, rock version of Def Comedy Jam. Not that that’s a bad thing....
Read MorePosted by Sean L. McCarthy | Oct 7, 2008 | Saturday Night Live |
So you know that Saturday Night Live is going live in primetime for the next few Thursdays (Oct. 9, Oct. 16, Oct. 23) before Election Day (also Monday, Nov. 3, aka Election Eve). But you’re wondering, can you get a ticket? Well, maybe. Stand-by tickets will be handed out, just as they do for SNL. Sort of. Here’s the drill, cut-and-pasted from my email inbox to your viewing screen! TICKETS FOR WEEKEND UPDATE THURSDAYS Tickets to all Saturday Night Live Thursday Weekend Update shows have been passed out through the August email lottery system. Stand-by tickets are available and distributed at 8am on the 49th st. side of 30 Rockefeller Plaza on the mornings of the tapings (October 9th, 16th and 23rd). You may choose a stand-by ticket for either the 6:45pm dress rehearsal or the 9:30pm live taping. Aside from minimal, necessary breaks, all stand-by line members must remain in line at all times. Stand-by tickets are limited to one per person and are issued on a first-come, first-served basis. NBC staff reserves the right to revoke or not issue any ticket to anyone in line if proper procedures are not followed. Please arrive no later than 6:00pm for the dress rehearsal or 8:45pm for the live show. A stand-by ticket does not guarantee admission and no one under the age of 16 will be admitted. More info...
Read MorePosted by Sean L. McCarthy | Oct 7, 2008 | Uncategorized |
The final three episodes of web series, Penelope: Princess of Pets, finally went online at Super Deluxe this morning. Will Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal fulfill their mission and save the world? Probably, but probably not before more wacky misadventures ensue. It’s not safe for work, but then again, would you expect it to be? We’re trying to save the… Watch episode 7, "The Job," then episode 8, "Underwater," and the comedic conclusion,...
Read MorePosted by Sean L. McCarthy | Oct 7, 2008 | Uncategorized |
On today’s edition of The Today Show on the NBC television network, co-anchor Ann Curry showed us all what it’d look like if she tried stand-up comedy. Or, well, she teased Actually, as readers of this site know, Curry performed on a Monday in July in Carolines to a packed crowd that included me — you can read my review of Ann Curry’s debut as a stand-up comedian, but maybe watch this video first. We see Curry taking a comedy class, hanging out with Gilbert Gottfried, Susie Essman, Richard Belzer and Judah Friedlander for advice, acting as a barker in Times Square, and everything leading up to her actual performance. That comes...
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