"Last Comic Standing" (2003) TV series

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Directors:

Rob Fox
Kenny Hull

Writers:

Michael Agbabian (writer)
Walter Gause (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Genre:

Comedy | Reality-TV | Game-Show

Plot:

The comics from season one face off against the comics from season two.

Plot Keywords:

Stand Up Comedy | Reality Comedy

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jay Mohr	...	Himself / ... (36 episodes, 2003-2006)
Joe Rogan	...	Himself - Celebrity Talent Scout (35 episodes, 2003-2007)
Bill Bellamy	...	Himself - Host / ... (27 episodes, 2007-2008)

Also Known As:

"Last Comic Standing: The Search for the Funniest Person in America" (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

USA:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Alex Theatre - 216 N. Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California, USA

Company:

Giraffe Productions

Trivia:

Unless all four vote unanimously on a contestant, the "celebrity talent scouts"' votes do not actually count. A panel of four other judges, consisting of network executives and producers, also casts votes (unanimously) after consulting backstage. This means that if three celebrity panelists vote for one contestant but all four non-celebrity judges do not, that contestant will not make it through. This was brought to light when panelists Drew Carey and 'Brett Butler' objected to contestants not being voted through when they, along with panelist 'Anthony Clark', had voted for them.

Quotes:

Ralphie May: [about Sean Kent in the first elimination round] I'm still trying to decide if he's a punk-ass bitch, or a bitch-ass punk.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy (2009) (TV)

A perfectly designed reality show

When I first saw Last Comic Standing, I was very skeptical about the whole reality aspect of it (10 Comics, living in the same house) and thought that it was the wrong way to go. However, Jay Mohr has pulled this off. The show has challenges that test every aspect of a comic's job (and some aspects that try to show them as a regular person) such as trying to teach a child a joke or collecting money by doing standup in the busy Universal Studios Themepark. Also, their true personality is reflected at the segments when all of the comics are actually just relaxing in the house. The voting system is perfectly designed because you can vote for somebody but it doesn't mean they will be kicked off. A comic votes for who they think they are funnier then. After everyone has voted, the person with the most votes against them gets to pick one person who voted for them and go off head to head in a standup contest. They each do a routine in the contest, and a studio audiance votes for who they liked better. The person with the least votes from the audiance is then voted off. In short, this is a very well designed show that has great potential, assuming that other people enjoy it as much as I do.