Last Comic Standing: No Mel Silverback Is Simply Tragic Episode 6 Recap by CC McCandless
July 26, 2007
Last week's semi-finals episode of Last Comic Standing featured some trademarked horrible choices by the show's producers. Would the winnowing of this weeks field from sixteen to five provide more of the same? Of course it would.
The format was exactly the same as last week-sixteen performances are crammed into a one hour show, thus necessitating so much editing that each comic can barely get in a couple of jokes. Thus, we're left relying on the crafty NBC cutting to let us know which comedians are "good." First up was Jon Reep, of Hickory, North Carolina, who seems destined to be an opening act on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour someday if he hasn't done so already. And I don't mean that as a compliment. The voice he elects to use on stage is so grating I can barely tolerate listening to him. I hated it. Next was Aussie Fiona O'Laughlin with bits about her Irish-Catholic family, including some great jokes about the joys of having an anorexic sister. Third up was goofy-faced Ryan Hamilton, who didn't really make much of an impression this time around.
Gerry Dee
Canada's Gerry Dee brought us back from the break with some humorous stuff about going to confession at church ("all right, father, why don't you go first"). Next was Thea Vidale, who was flat out horrible. Dwayne Perkins was next and he didn't hit one out of the park either. Another quick commercial interruption preceded fresh-faced Matt Kirshen of London, who had an amusing and self-deprecating set. He's not the most talented performer in the competition but as an underdog, dark horse candidate I'm kind of pulling for him to make the cut. Amy Schumer followed and she was okay. Sean Rouse seems very smart and funny but I don't think the audience really dug him. Then came big Lavell Crawford, doing several bits about his size. The audience loved him, apparently.
Greg Warren did a bit about his uncle listening to baseball on the radio and only caring about the score but it got old pretty quickly. Andi Smith was next and she was one of the only comics that was laugh-out-loud funny tonight, starting with her soul-sucking job as a website designer. Arj Barker opened with a great line at his own expense, observing "never get your hair cut at a Star Trek convention." Chuck Roy mocked his lack of video game skills, which then led to unfunny Jane Condon blathering on about having to try to avoid sex with her husband. Last and certainly not least was Mel Silverback. I'm sure he's a polarizing figure, but what can one expect from a half-Jewish, half-gorilla comedian. He killed. He was, without a doubt, one of the funniest comics of either semi-finals round. He's a lock.
But wait. I forgot what show we're dealing with here. When the five semi finalists were announced, there were no surprises…and by no surprises, I'm referring to the producers' insistence on casting certain types of people. Thus, Jon Reep gets in despite the fact that the majority of viewers just won't find him appealing at all. Gerry Dee is in, and I hope that he has the potential to improve as the season progresses. Lavell Crawford won the audience favorite award, and the editing sure made it look like the audience did love him. Young Matt Kirshen got a spot. Great. Amy Schumer got one as well, and I guess that's okay, but not at the expense of someone like Andi Smith, who should absolutely be in the final ten. Meanwhile, omitting Mel Silverback is simply tragic. This show has already set the precedent that they have no problem casting weird, hairy creatures…after all, who can forget Jay London? Sure, maybe the "gorilla in a tuxedo" shtick might have gotten old after a few weeks. But that ape was outright funny.
So we've got our field of ten. Handicapping the group, I'd call Doug Benson the early favorite, and by quite a wide margin. He's got the experience and I also think he'll come to this competition with a wealth of material. Next week the show truly begins, kicking off with the textbook Last Comic Standing heckling challenge. I'm just disappointed that we won't have a gorilla hurling insults at his fellow comics. You know he'd kill at that too.
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: cc.mccandless@gmail.com
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