Comedy ethics

[The_Rorschach]

"I'm also a fan of full commitment to character."

You know, I loved Bernie Mac in The Kings of Comedy, but I never found his show all that funny. If thats what you meant by character comedy, I agree. If you're refering more to like Fire Marshal Bill, all I can say is


And Sspad, damnit, the Asshole song has nothing on the Irish Drinking Song! It was the last track, with the chorus "We drink and we sing and we drink and we die and we drink some more"

[El Blanco]

How did Hicks steal from Carlin? "Government bad, religion bad" and add a bunch of cursing. Of course, Carlin had a lot more depth than Hicks.

I'm not saying that Carlin was the first to do it, but who is Hicks to accuse Leary of ripping him off?

It's easy to get the crowd to identify with you when you can just get them to sing along with the "Asshole" song.

Ya, and? He is an entertainer. He wrote a good song that gets shows jumping. He also gets people to identify with him through his stories of his upbringing. That makes him good at his job.

[sspadowsky]

Limp Bizkit gets people jumping, too. Doesn't mean they're good.

Hicks did have a "government bad, religion bad" kind of thing going on, but he did it in a very creative and original way. Which is what a good comedian does.

Oh, and Hicks isn't originally the one who accused Leary of ripping him off. I'd have to look that one up.
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UHWH

[Protoclown]

Listen to Bill Hicks and Dennis Leary talking about cigarettes. Their bits sound VERY similar in some places. I'm not saying that Leary ripped Hicks off, as they were talking about the same topic (the Jim Fix part is VERY similar), but plenty of other people see it that way.

I like them both, Leary has proven to be talented and have plenty of original material even if he DID "steal" certain portions of his bits from Bill Hicks.

[El Blanco]

How many other comedians joke about smokes and drugs?

Limp Bizkit gets people jumping, too. Doesn't mean they're good.

Not all their songs do. I'll admit they suck, but if they put on good concerts that stir up the crowd, isn't that what they are supposed to do?

Hicks did have a "government bad, religion bad" kind of thing going on, but he did it in a very creative and original way.

If the George Carlin way is your idea of original, sure.

but he did it in a very creative and original way. Which is what a good comedian does.

No, a comedian makes the audience laugh. I have seen guys try "creative and original" material and suck badly. Originality does help, but it still has to be funny.

[mburbank]

I'm pretty sure comedy is subjective.

I mean, unless you're talking about Galagher outside of the context of killing him and defiling the corpse.

[AChimp]

I like Leary as an actor, but as a comedian, he doesn't compare to Hicks at all.

You have to admit that the Asshole Song is damn hilarious. At least, it is the first time you hear it.

[Protoclown]

When I was a kid I used to like Gallagher








i'm sorry

[Skulhedface]

I still like Gallagher

as far as prop comics go, he's everything Carrot Top wishes he could be :/

besides, Gallagher did have more than props...watch it again sometime

But Carlin is still my all time favorite comic.

[kellychaos]

What about those comedians out there that seem to have a following but whom you find unfunny. To me, Robin Williams is in that category. He's manic and he makes me nervous. No matter what accent he's attempting, it comes off Indian. His references are, at best, dated. He always forces his latest schtick on whatever talk show he happens to be on. I remember watching Leno, Conan, and some other show in one week. Williams must have had something going at the time but, my point is, he forced the same lame ass bit, word for word, into each show. It wasn't even funny the first time. The only time the spastic act kind of worked for me was when he was the voice of the "Genie" in "Aladdin"


P.S. Yet, at the same time, some of his performances in dramatic roles such as "the Dead Poet's Society" and "Good Will Hunting" were actually pretty good. Hmmm ... go figure. :/

[sspadowsky]

El Blanco, we'll just agree to disagree about how wrong you are.

Max, I've read enough of your stuff to know that you hate Gallagher with a white-hot passion, but I'm curious to hear your reasoning. I, like Protoclown, used to like him. I have since seen the error of my ways. But I think you do a good job of explaining comedy, so that's why I ask why you hate the guy.
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YAMAHA XJ900

[Protoclown]

I'LL BET IT'S BECAUSE HE'S A FAGET

[Miss Modular]

I can't speak for Max, but since when was the continuous smashing of Watermelons funny?

[El Blanco]

I think we can all agree on the greatest comic of all time:


Ellen















psych, its Pryor

[Miss Modular]

Ellen can be funny. Granted, she's no George Carlin, but she can still crack a joke or two, especially now since she's split with "Celestia".

[mburbank]

I'd have to actually go back and watch any of his non prop stuff to recall it enough to comment on it, but here's what I hate about his prop stuff.

No damn joke.

I saw him do a thing with a giant couch, and all the jokes boiled down to:
"LOOK AT THAT COUCH! IT'S BIG! IT'S BIGGER THAN IT OUT TO BE! IF I FIND STUFF BETWEEN THE CUSHIONS OR UNDER THAT YOU MIGHT FINDIN OR UNDER A COUCH, THEY'LL BIG BIG TO! WOAH! LOOK AT THIS QUARTER! IT'S BIGGER THAN A REGULAR QUARTER WOULD BE IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO THE COUCH!"

The peak of this 'look at this thing' schtick? He had a doll of a fat woman on a long pole hat he waved over the audience. It was rigged to drop little doll poops out it's ass, while Gallagher yelled

"LOOK OUT! I'VE GOT A FAT BITCH ON A STICK! SHE'LL POOP ON YOU! SHE'LL POOP ON YOU!"

Now admiytedly, that sounds funny. And it could have been done by a comedian who was either committed to the insanity of the moment (say Andy Kaufman) or invested in what was going on with audience expectations at that moment (like David Cross) but I honestly felt nothing happening beyond.

"I'VE GOT A FAT BITCH ON A STICK! SHE'LL POOP ON YOU! SHE'LL POOP ON YOU!"

He thought the prop was funny. He has always thought getting stuff on his audience is funny. He used the prop. I find him to be canned outrageousness, all surface, no content.

'LOOK, I'M OUTRAGEOUS! YOU CAN TELL BECUASE OF THE OUTRAGEOUS THING I'M DOING RIGHT NOW!'

[Anonymous]

I think the show Strangers With Candy is a perfect example of how you can make funny jokes about anything

[mburbank]

"Retardation: a Celebration. Narrated by Wilford Brimley"

[VinceZeb]

Strangers With Candy was great.

The Upright Citizens Brigade was pefect. Especially the virtual reality Matrix episode and THUNDERBALL.

Mother fucking Thunderball ruled. I wuld have to spend years typing about how much it ruled.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

Originally Posted by VinceZeb

Mother fucking Thunderball ruled. I wuld have to spend years typing about how much it ruled.

Please do......

[kellychaos]

As far as sketch comedy goes: "Kids In The Hall" anyone?

[The_Rorschach]

[mburbank]

Kids in the hall was great. And Vince. How does a total tool like you even begin to appreciatte strangers with Candy. You're practically a friggin character on the show you're so two dimensional.

[Anonymous]

my thoughts exactly max

[VinceZeb]

I'm suprised you could appreciate any of those shows. Especially since SWC didn't have a good market share since it was pared against the late 90's wrestling boom. I mean, for a covetous Jew such as yourself, the poor ad revenue must have made you want to buy some comfort food bagels!


Sorry, but Vince isn't a tool. Maybe if you would stop trying to swindle the IRS out of it's deserved tax dollars maybe you would see that I am not just a right-wing zealot. But I guess the only people that can truly "understand" humor are netgeeks and museum workers, huh Max?