Last Comic Standing 8, The Sketch Challenge, and a double-elimination

Let’s Get Going, America! Two of you must get going, too. Sorry about that.

There’s something about watching these TV comedy competitions dress up stand-ups and challenge them in different formats — particularly in this week’s sketch challenge on Last Comic Standing — that reminds me of Mitch Hedberg’s too-true bit about show business and how it often wants to know what else you can do. You’re a chef, sure. But can you farm?

Sure, it may seem like a fun idea to put silly wigs and costumes on our 10 stand-up comedians who made the finals, but it’s not so much fun when their ability to read cue cards can make or break their competition.

Unless you just go for full ham like Nikki Carr did, eating up the scenery and helping her team score immunity.

In some ways, season eight of Last Comic is in full ThrowBackThursday mode, what with the offbeat challenges and especially with the “I know I’m funnier than…” comedian vs. comedian voting to determine who’s up for elimination. Although this very first week threw that system for a loop. Half of the comedians were safe from being challenged, and two people were going home already? Why so soon?

All of which left Jimmy Shubert in head-to-head short stand-up set competitions at the Improv against Aida Rodriguez and Rod Man.

Sure looked as though Shubert’s bit killed, while the judges wished Rodriguez had done likewise, and everyone laughed at Rod Man’s set.

Here are the three performances. Who would you have chosen?

Shubert joked about getting dumped via text message, and what that must have felt like in bygone eras with different modes of communication.

Rodriguez joked about Googling yourself, and noted that dating a preacher’s son ain’t all that, either.

Rod Man joked about his stepdaddy, Frank, and how he’s too short to be fighting anybody with a glass eye.

In the end, Rod Man made the cut for the final eight.

While Shubert gets a slight reprieve from the Improv audience, who picked him to go into the “Comic Comeback” vote, where he faces this past week’s first Comeback vote-winner, Alingon Mitra.

Here’s the full episode if you want the full effect and see all 10 finalists squirm their way through sketches with the help of Cheryl Hines.

https://www.hulu.com/watch/654899

More highlights from me on this episode at Previously.TV.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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2 thoughts on “Last Comic Standing 8, The Sketch Challenge, and a double-elimination

  1. Rod Man? This guy sucks. He isn’t funny. The story of the fake eye was good awful. The judges obviously don’t know there head from there @##. I am so disappointed in them. Seriously. It has to be rigged.

  2. Rigged for sure, and for other obvious reasons… notice how they speedily mentioned something about immunity and thus rod man had to perform. even though DC and another guy whose name I forget at the moment had the same number of votes… and they were both from the losing team. you would think after having their butts handed to them after the whole season 2 scandal, they wouldn’t be sooooo effing BLATANT about CHEATING!!! What a classless show this has turned out to be.

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