Maria Bamford: Acting Out

Some comedians don’t translate so well to online sketches, while others, such as Maria Bamford, seem made for the medium. Bamford’s Super Deluxe show allows her to bring her many voices to vivid life. It might take a couple of viewings to get used to her style. Or, if you’re …

Seven hours of Dane Cook!?

Dane Cook rang in 2008 by performing an alleged record-setting seven — count ’em, 7! — seven hours of stand-up comedy on New Year’s Day at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. As Cook himself wrote on his site: "I never sat down or left the stage. The show started with …

Chris Rock, still hard at work

My first trip to the Comedy Cellar in 2008 turned out to be a good one, as Chris Rock walked in from the frigid night all bundled up in a parka and hat, ready to get back onstage and work out some material. Rock had just performed at Madison Square …

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Live at Gotham still auditioning

Some comedians already may have received word that they’ve gotten spots in the upcoming third season of Comedy Central’s Live At Gotham, but others still have to pass muster of the cable network’s scouts. Take tonight, for instance, in which stand-ups Nick Cobb, Rich Francese, Dena Blizzard, Luke Cunningham, Sean …

Early ratings tip toward Leno, Conan

Early major market ratings reports from Nielsen, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter, show more people still turned to Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien — without striking writers — than to David Letterman and Craig Ferguson, who returned with a new contract with the WGA. Story here. As I wrote …

The returns of Letterman, Conan, Leno

Hillary Clinton presented the cold open for David Letterman. Mike Huckabee provided plenty of time-killing filler for Jay Leno. Does that mean that the difference between Letterman and Leno really boils down to Democrat vs. Republican? It’s not that simple, although watching last night’s shows, you couldn’t help but think …

Letterman or Leno: Who will you watch tonight?

Late-night TV will definitely be worth watching tonight as David Letterman and Craig Ferguson return with their writers, while Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien return without theirs. Letterman has Robin Williams and Lupe Fiasco on tonight’s scheduled program. Jay Leno’s schedule includes Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, but his (Leno’s) …

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New year, new toy, oh boy! Take Two!!

Let’s try this again. This time, we caught up with Australian comedian James Smith, about to take the stage at the Comedy Cellar. Only Smith no longer had the long locks we’d come to know him by. What’s up with that? Smith responds. The lighting is better. Don’t know what …

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New year, new toy, oh boy!

Is this considered vlogging, podcasting, or something altogether different? At any rate, this is my first experiment with my new camera, in which Timmy Williams from The Whitest Kids U’ Know talks about how he also got the same camera in his Christmas stocking. Note how the lack of lighting …

Chris Rock plays MSG tonight

It’s New Year’s Eve, and Chris Rock will perform tonight at Madison Square Garden. As the New York Times goes out of its way to mention, Rock’s routine doesn’t just magically appear. He actually works on his jokes. More than once. No, really! He does. For me, the money quote …