"Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn" (2002) TV series 2002-2004

Director:

Scott Preston

Writers:

Bruce Cherry (writer)
Nick DiPaolo (writer)

Seasons:

1 | unknown

Release Date:

9 December 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Talk-Show

Tagline:

Comedians with issues.

Plot:

A nightly series in which Quinn and 4 featured comedians tackle social, political, and pop culture issues.

Plot Keywords:

Comedian | Race Relations | Racial Slur | Politics | Irish American

Cast

Amir Darvish	...	Rasheed / ... (2 episodes, 2003-2004)
Jim Florentine	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2003-2004)
Dean Alai	...	Best Case Scenario Guy (2 episodes, 2003)
Antonio D. Charity	...	Nigerian Man / ... (2 episodes, 2003)
Andres du Bouchet	...	Intellectual Actor / ... (2 episodes, 2004)

Runtime:

USA:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Trivia:

The show had a unique, two week, eight episode test run from 9- 19 December 2002 on Comedy Central. It was then picked up by the network in January 2003, and began its full 21 week run on 10 March 2003.

Quotes:

Jerry Seinfeld: What's the deal with parking at the Special Olympics? Is it just the two spaces?

Movie Connections:

Followed by The Greg Giraldo Show (2005) (TV)

Surprisingly addictive

When I first started watching this show, my impression was that it was getting off to a creaky start, the format was unwieldy, and Colin didn't seem to control it very well. I couldn't write it off, however, because I kept getting huge, healthy belly-laughs from it, and you've got to be grateful for that. Every evening I would look at the clock, think it's getting late and that I would not stay tuned, but always wound up doing so. I've built up a great affection for this show since then, and I'm glad to see that Comedy Central seems to be giving it a good chance to build a following. The post-"Daily Show" timeslot doesn't hurt, either.

It's not always easy to read whether an opinion expressed there is genuine or something said just for comedic effect, which to me is part of the fun. On the whole, and with some exceptions, the comedians on Colin's panel don't seem the sort of self-righteous windbags you'd see on a typical "Politically Correct with Bill Maher" show, a program to which this has been compared. Stupidity stated with conviction is usually just stupid, not funny. But even the most ill-informed of Colin's panelist can make me laugh while simultaneously p***ing me off, and there's always someone there to lob it right back at them to good effect.

Colin himself always appears to be incredibly ill at east, struggling with the prepared material on the show, and often seems to apologize in advance for the likelihood of some particular bit of comedy bombing. I'm not sure if there's any calculation in that, to get the crowd on his side, but I can't help liking Colin and rooting for him. If I'm being manipulated, so what? To quote John Belushi in "Animal House," it don't cost nothin'. Actually, I don't see any great need for including the troublesome prepared material in the so-called "third act," and would just as soon see the panel continue riffing on various topics during that time. I'd keep the various prepared closing rants each panelist delivers at the end, though, as they're often very funny and inventive, and give a good idea of the typical style of each comedian.

I really enjoy the vulgar camaraderie of these unruly comedic road warriors, and Colin's sometimes frustrated efforts to preside over them. To me, he's the perfect man for the job.