Last Comic Standing 2: Episode 8
Snoozin And Losin'
Recap By C.C. McCandless
July 14, 2004
Last Comic Standing began with most of the remaining housemates still celebrating Ant's departure. "I didn't want the drama if Ant came home," said John, as well as millions of Americans, judging by all the e-mails I've received since last week. "It was going to be eighty times worse than it was the night before." Corey was so excited that he engaged in a celebratory dance. Meanwhile, nobody wanted Ant's now vacant room, feeling that it might be haunted by his presence.
Then, explicably, the doorbell rang and it was…a dog. There was no explanation why Rusty arrived or how he got there, but he did enter happily and proceed to eat what looked like an entire leftover pizza in about thirty seconds, as Corey fed him one slice after another.
Jay handed the dog some food as well, although Rusty didn't look as enthusiastic about this. Maybe it was because of Jay. Rusty was probably thinking "hmm…this guy's hairier than me and probably a lot less hygienic."
The fortune teller card came next and delivered a very brief message: "Get ready for your toughest challenge yet." If this was last week's task, I would have thought it meant that they had to find a way to get Ant to shut up. But instead, as the short bus rode through some dicey parts of L.A., the comics speculated on what type of audience they might possibly be performing for. Gang members? Or, even worse, L.A. cops? "I've concluded that we're going to have to be hilarious while we sell crack," Kathleen decided. Finally, Jay Mohr filled everyone in on the fact that they would indeed be performing for a "notoriously difficult crowd." And there might have been some mystery, had NBC not shown the audience in every single commercial all week-a group of little kids. The comics were given access to a box of clown-like accoutrements to help tailor their acts to the children. John Heffron drew the short straw, or the short licorice stick in this case, and had to go first. But he quickly devised a smart strategy while donning a skunk-like outfit, as he simply brainwashed the kids and told them that, regardless of what the other people did, they should remember him and chant "Skunk, skunk!" after each subsequent performance.
And it almost worked. For the most part, the comics gave it their best shot. Jay London managed to bomb completely, literally getting booed off the stage by the kids. And it looked like Heffron's skunk gambit would work until the final performer went. Kathleen donned a leprechaun outfit, affected a nice Irish accent, and essentially had the kids run around and jump over a stick. The children then voted by placing a sticker on their favorite comedian and Kathleen edged out John, 6-5. Her prize was immunity as well as a nice dinner for her and two roommates. She picked Corey, as payback for the Aspen trip, and Gary, ostensibly because she felt bad about voting for him earlier. Dinner was pretty uneventful aside from seeing Corey act like a boorish pig, complete with rude belching and ordering about half a dozen entrees off the posh menu.
While those three were dining out, not much happened back at the Scooby Doo castle. Jay cooked a grilled cheese sandwich for Tammy. Tammy and John sat poolside, vaguely discussing strategy, and Tammy managed to get all worked up because people thus far had chosen to challenge the weaker comics. And these were the "highlights" of what happened. Honestly, it was so dull that I would have killed for another Todd Glass infomercial at this point.
Finally, it was challenge time and it ended in another tie, with Jay and Gary each receiving two votes, sending them to face each other. It would be the second straight trip for Gary, who ironed a fresh outfit and packed…or re-packed, in his case, while Jay wandered around outside and offered some soliloquy about listening for a coyote. Or looking for a lizard. Or some such thing. Really, who can make sense of this guy? "I'm almost rooting for him," Gary said of his competitor, who by all accounts is a very sweet guy.
But a sweet guy doesn't make a great comedian. Jay used his same mannerisms and many of the same jokes, although he was even more self-deprecating than before. "You'll never see me again," he told one lucky audience member after about 30 seconds. "Please like me," he implored. "I'm also available for children's parties," he noted, which was extremely ironic since he had bombed so badly with the kids earlier. But most annoyingly, he felt the need to begin to repeat a joke that fell flat, and he did this three times. I kept waiting for him to tap the microphone and ask "is this thing on?" The audience might have preferred it if it wasn't.
Gary's set was entirely different from last week and he seemed more comfortable. He discussed how great the birth control pill is, noting that of any available pill it is, simply "the pill." He also had funny bits about school gym class and roadside speed limit displays. He clearly didn't bust out his grade A material, but he didn't have to, as he slaughtered Jay, 89-11. Jay took the loss in stride and honestly looked happy to have gotten as far as he did. Meanwhile, Gary got genuinely choked up about sending Jay packing. Honestly, Gary Gulman is doing everything correctly right now. The ladies dig him, he's not obnoxious in the house, he has fresh material every time he takes the stage, and he's done nothing cutthroat to alienate the viewers. There may be funnier comics left in the house, but of those who have been in a challenge, nobody has played the game better.
Next week's previews tease a "twist" in which the booted comics return. Which begs the question-how many times can something be used on reality TV before it no longer qualifies as a twist? Honestly? Is this really a twist? Is it shocking? No, it's not. Now, if someone could explain how and why Tammy's voice changes when she goes on stage…well, that would be a shocking twist to me.
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
