Comics Unleashed – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

We occasionally watch re-runs of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, and as with most shows, especially comedy, there are good parts and bad parts.

For those who don’t know this show, the format is that the host, Byron Allen, introduces four comedians and they talk about various issues – a sort of chat shows for comedians.

So, for what it’s worth, here is my take on what’s good about this show, and what’s not so good.

The Good:

1. You occasionally get some really funny people on the show (e.g. John Roy, Katt Williams, Ralphie May, Sheryl Underwood, to name just a few), some of whom (e.g. John Roy) surprisingly never seem to have had their own Comedy Central special.
2. With certain groups of comics, you get a real chemistry going, and instead of the comics just regurgitating parts of their regular stand-up act, they interact with each other and ad lib. (Note that this happens most frequently with the shows Byron Allen refers to as “Hot Chocolate”, which are those where all four comedians are black.)

The Bad:

1. Byron Allen almost always introduces the show by saying something like “we have some very funny people for you tonight”. Isn’t that the whole point of the show – I mean, who the hell would watch a show full of unfunny comedians?
2. There are (too) many occasions when he very obviously feeds his guests lines that serve no other purpose than to get them to present a small segment of their regular show.
3. Amazingly, there are some shows where one or more of his guests hardly get to say a thing. In one show, in fact, one of the comedians never even opened his mouth, which is just plain rude on the part of the host.
4. There are way too many adverts, even by US TV standards – maybe every seven minutes!

The Ugly:

1. Byron Allen’s “jokes” that he inflicts on the audience before introducing the four comedians are really, really bad (and dated too).

Well, there you have it, and given that I appear to have listed more bad points than good, you’re probably wondering why I still watch it.

The truth is, there are some shows that are so weak that we end up watching another immediately afterwards (we have tons Tivo’ed) to see if we can “end on a high note”.

But in the end, it’s all a matter of balance – does the good material outweigh the bad material, not only in terms of quantity but quality too?

And for us, it does, which isn’t to say we don’t “speed-vision” through some of the more boring segments.

Tags: Byron Allen, Comics Unleashed, Katt Williams, Sheryl Underwood, Comedy Central, John Roy


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Offensive Halloween Costumes

While having a rare random browse around the web yesterday, I came across a site called Offensive Halloween Costumes, and while I didn’t really find the costumes offensive, it did get me to thinking about who the hell would choose to wear such stuff.

But let me back up a bit.

You see, I’m the sort of person who doesn’t even like wearing a party hat at a Christmas lunch, for example. (And I came in for a lot of stick from my former work colleagues for being the only person in the room not wearing their stupid paper hat!)

And if I think back to my childhood (which is getting harder and harder, the more distant that gets), I don’t think I enjoyed wearing them then either.

So, here’s my point: I wouldn’t be seen dead wearing any of the more traditional Halloween costumes (e.g. Batman, Dracula, Darth Vader), and I really can’t get my head around why anybody would willingly wander the streets at Halloween dressed in some weird costume.

But I accept I’m probably not normal in that respect (in many respects, actually).

Having said that, however, if you take a look at the site I found (the URL is http://OffensiveHalloweenCostumes.org/), you’ll find costumes that defy explanation.

For example who would want to be seen in public (or even in private by friends of family) wearing a costume that resembles a penis, a vagina, a tampon, a turd, or a condom?

The only costume I saw that I thought was both clever and funny, without being too ridiculous, was called Double Occupancy, but other than that, I think I’d have to be so drunk before I wore one of those costumes that I’d be too drunk to put it on in the first place.

Anyway, if you’re not easily offended and fancy a quick laugh, check it out – but don’t say I didn’t warn you!

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The Gipsy Kings

One of my favourite recent finds in the world of music is a group that has actually been around since 1987 or so: the Gipsy Kings.

Yes, as is often the case, I’m way behind the times when it comes to music, but the fact that their music is still available shows just how popular this group is.

They come from southern France, not far from the Spanish border, and their music, and their voices, are distinctive, but perhaps hard to classify – the nearest I can come up with is flamenco, but it’s more than that.

I first came across them when watching The Heist (a pretty good movie starring Pierce Brosnan and Tom Skerritt), where their version of the famous song My Way is played (except they call it Mi Manera, and, at the expense of upsetting Frank Sinatra fans, I actually prefer it to his version).

Anyway, well worth checking out!

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Bored To Death – Or Not

A few posts ago, I wrote about a new TV series “Bored To Death“, where the initial episode very nearly did bore me to death.

Having continued watching this strange series, I am happy to say that it has actually become very enjoyable and entertaining after all (with an episode called “The Case Of The Beautiful Blackmailer” being the highlight so far).

The show follows one main character, Jonathan, who is a pot-smoking, wine-drinking author whose girlfriend has left him (precisely because he smokes too much pot and drinks too much wine) and who decides to become an unofficial private detective.

You can perhaps see, from this, why I was at first not that enamoured of the show.

Jonathan has two main side-kicks – Ray, a cartoonist, and George, the somewhat eccentric owner of a magazine.

However, to call George, played by Ted Danson, a side-kick is a shade unfair because to me, he is what provides the spark that has ignited this series. (It should be noted too that Ted Danson plays a very different character to Arthur Frobisher, the role he had in another great series, “Damages“.)

So, I have no problem in revising my earlier views on “Bored To Death“, which I sincerely hope will continue to at least a second series.

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Entourage Premiere (Season 6)

I started watching Entourage almost by accident, probably some time during the middle of Season 4, and I was immediately captivated by it.

The series essentially revolves around an actor, Vincent Chase (played by Adrian Grenier) who’s got one good movie behind him, and his entourage, which consists of his brother, Johnny “Drama” Chase (played by Kevin Dillon), who is also an actor, his manager, Eric Murphy (played by Kevin Connolly), and a hanger-on, Turtle (played by Jerry Ferrara), all of whom grew up together on the East Coast before moving cross-country to LA.

Completing the main cast is his agent, Ari Gold (played by Jeremy Piven), and his assistant, Lloyd (played by Rex Lee).

There are others, of course, but that covers the main characters.

So, what makes it entertaining?

Well, for me, the character of Ari Gold has some of the best lines on TV today, and Jeremy Piven plays the role to perfection.

The interaction between the brusque and often rude professionalism of Ari Gold and the amateurish behaviour of Vince’s friends is also a constant source of both strife and comedy.

Ari’s treatment of his assistant , Lloyd (who is the token gay in this series), is also priceless, although it looks as though this working relationship may be changing in Season 6.

Eric, Vince’s manager and best friend, doesn’t seem to do much to earn his living, and it’s not exactly clear where his money comes from.

One thing is for sure, however, and that is that he’s somewhat out of his depth, and if it weren’t for his enthusiasm and determination, he’d probably be out on his ear.

Johnny, Vince’s brother, is, as his nickname suggests, a real drama queen, and sort of epitomises the stereotyped Hollywood “luvvie”, who I’m sure exists.

Turtle is an odd character – no real job (other than driving Vince around), no apparent skills, and yet he’s one of the better characters, to my mind.

The character that seems more out of place than any other is, IMHO, Vince himself.

While he’s apparently made a big name for himself in a movie called Aquaman, you rarely get to see him doing any acting, and when he does, it fails to convince me.

The lifestyle of Vince and his friends seems vacuous and far from driven, and to me, it highlights the role of luck and being in the right place in the world of entertainment – many so-called stars lack anything special, but they happen to appear in a high-grossing movie, and suddenly they seem to be able to command millions, for no real reason at all.

Anyway, rant over.

If it weren’t for Ari Gold’s character, I would probably skip Entourage, but he more than makes up for any deficiencies in this great show, which I highly recommend you check out.

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