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Last Comic Standing 2: Episode 1
Recap By C.C. McCandless
June 9, 2004
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Last summer's premiere of Last Comic Standing on NBC was a modest hit that attracted its share of fans and critics alike as it rewarded an NBC talent contract and a Comedy Central stand-up special to the eventual fans' choice, Dat Phan. With the premiere of season two on Tuesday night, NBC is raising the bar, as the two hour episode featured a whopping 40 semi-finalists culled from eight different audition locales. Several of the performers also possess much more experience than their season one predecessors-semi-finalists include a handful of recognizable stand-up veterans and one comedian who even (albeit briefly) had her own sitcom. NBC has made it clear that they are spending more time on the much-maligned selection process, which began in earnest on Tuesday night.
Tonight Show stand-up talent bookers Ross Mark and Bob Read return to handle the heavy burden of sifting through the thousands of wannabes that turned out for the open calls. They have a very comfortable vibe together, although I'm not sure if they seem like brothers or a gay couple. They began in Los Angeles, watching a broad variety of comedians good, bad, and ugly. Familiar faces included stand-up vets Pablo Francisco and Kathleen Madigan, who each advanced to the semi-final round of 40 in New York, as did season one applicant Ant, who makes Richard Simmons look butch in comparison. Others that moved on included a self-described "ghetto" comedian, and a bulldog-like "shtick" performer. It's not too early to say that L.A. alone generated plenty of potentially very annoying contestants. Those that didn't make the cut here included a "Vietnamese cowboy" and surfer/stoner Buck Star.
Next stop, San Francisco. Semi-finalists of note here included Will Durst, a friend of season one's Dave Mordal; and a young man born in Russia, who deadpanned a nice, biting Yakoff Smirnoff impression when Ross and Bob brought it up. Buck Star made the trip up the coast but again failed to receive even a callback. Dallas brought a couple more semi-finalists…and another failed attempt by Buck Star, who hasn't drawn even a chuckle from the judges in three tries.
New York City is clearly a hotbed of stand-up talent, as evidenced by the dozen or so comedians that advanced there, including Sue Costello, who had a "blink and you missed it" run on Fox (three episodes) in a self-titled sitcom in 1998. A husband and wife team both advanced, with the bookers, naturally, saving the announcement of the wife's name for last to raise the drama. The wedded pair seemed ecstatic at the idea of living in a house without their children for a change. Buck Star surfaced yet again, bombing as badly as he did at every other stop. "How do you feel about clam chowder?" the bookers asked, referring to their next stop, Boston. They also gave poor Buck $40 so he could buy himself lunch.
There wasn't much drama in The Hub, aside from gruff Frank Santorelli advancing. Buck Star showed yet again-are you sensing a trend yet?-and was awful. Again. On to Nashville for another pair of semi-finalists, then just one in Chicago, a guy in his 60s, before finishing up in Tampa. Buck Star popped up at each stop like a weed that wouldn't die. For his sheer tenacity, Ross and Bob gave him a callback at the final stop. Cue the sappy music and the slow-mo footage. Okay, we get it-dreams can come true…just not his. He didn't make the semis.
But 40 eager and often funny comedians did. The field will be cut in half en route to Las Vegas before finally being whittled down to ten comics, who will then move into a palatial estate in the Hollywood Hills where they will inevitably be at each other's throats, form backstabbing alliances, and constantly complain about how unfunny their housemates are. It's a little early for predictions, but if I had to make a call right now, I'd say that the very funny and sharp Pablo Francisco will be the Last Comic Standing. NBC is offering up another two hour episode on Wednesday evening.
C.C. McCandless is an independent filmmaker and freelance writer. He has a Bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
You can contact C.C. here: ccmcc33@msn.com
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