the comic's comic

New sitcom reviews, Fall TV 2008: Gary Unmarried

We're knee deep in November sweeps for the TV industry, so a good time to resume The Comic's Comic's ongoing series of new sitcom reviews from the fall 2008 season. Next up: Gary Unmarried.

Sitcom: Gary Unmarried (CBS) 8:30 p.m. ET/PT Wednesdays
Premise: Show originally titled Project Gary centers on Gary Brooks (Jay Mohr), newly divorced painting contractor, and his ex-wife, Allison (Paula Marshall) as they deal with moving on after 15 years of marriage and two kids they share: an awkward 14-year-old son and a politically old beyond her years 11-year-old daughter. Allison already has gotten engaged to the couple's marriage counselor (Ed Begley Jr.)? And Gary jumps into bed with one of his customers (Jaime King).

Early impression: Meh. Is this supposed to be an oafish alpha male version of The New Adventures of Old Christine (the show which precedes Gary on CBS Wednesdays)? With younger kids.

Can you judge a show by its pilot: Not if you want to keep watching because you'll probably be in disbelief. How is Allison's engagement to the couple's marriage counselor OK even to laugh about? Also, don't get too attached with the family daughter, because she got recast after the pilot.

Comedy pedigree: Mohr proved there is life after Last Comic Standing, didn't he, moving to guest-star roles in primetime to a recurring role on CBS in Ghost Whisperer (somewhere, Jamie Kennedy was taking notes). Begley Jr. plays so smart he's dumb. There's also another comedian in the cast with Al Madrigal playing Mohr's painting buddy. And James Burrows (Cheers, Will & Grace) is on board as executive producer and director.

The verdict?

Reporter belatedly discovers "reality" of Last Comic Standing

A columnist at the Minneapolis Star Tribune weighed in today on the reality behind "reality" TV show Last Comic Standing, which begins its sixth season on May 22. That's right. The sixth season. A little late for a journalist to get around to figuring out what's really going on with the show. Especially since we already knew from the very beginning that NBC casts this as a TV show, and not as a search for the funniest stand-up comedian. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The funniest comedians don't need Last Comic Standing, because they already have enough exposure and certainly don't want to have to compete against each other (though that still would make for a very intriguing show), so this is more aptly thought of as the Search For The Next Comedian We Can Turn Into A Household Name, Or At Least Make Some Money From Them. Producers always have the first and last say on who made the cut each season. And all of those thousands of wannabes who stood in lines for hours each winter would see that the only times their linemates made the TV show were to be made fun of -- for all of the comedians with agents and managers bypassed the open call lines for timed auditions. This is and always has been the case.

We can start at the very beginning, in summer 2003, with host Jay Mohr and that first season's runner-up, Ralphie May. Anyone who had seen Mohr in a comedy club the previous year or on TV had also likely seen May, because the "contestant" toured with Mohr as his opening act and worked with him on his short-lived Mohr Sports on ESPN in 2002. Mohr's other opening act, K.P. Anderson, and his traveling friend, Walter Gause, also served as writers and producers on both Mohr Sports and the initial Mohr-hosted seasons of LCS. Which may put Dat Phan's surprise win into a different context for you. Or not.

Either way, Barry Katz has managed Mohr and several of the LCS contestants over the years, all while running the show. So there's that to keep in mind.

In the second season, when comedians and the industry realized that the show was enough of a hit to actually mean something for their careers, many more turned out to compete. And the small print that tells "astute viewers" of the power of the producers actually made it into the televised footage when celebrity judges Drew Carey and Brett Butler complained when their picks (including Dan Naturman) didn't make it into the LCS finalist house.

The third season, albeit bungled in the end by behind-the-scenes politics at NBC that sidetracked the finale, simultaneously revealed a great perk of prime-time TV, as the comedians began touring clubs across the country during the season in groups of three or more, and producers realized they could package tours for LCS comics. This practice continued in the fall and winter after season four, and then season five saw the final five LCS comedians get a national club and theater tour.

So we all should know the drill by now. Any professional comedian knows to weigh the potential cons (getting yelled at by a celebrity judge or edited to look like a villain) against the much bigger potential benefits (getting promoted from a club feature or showcase comedian to a national headliner, along with the elevated profile and merchandise sales and TV/film opportunities that come to anyone with prolonged exposure on prime-time network television) of trying out for Last Comic Standing. And that's why, each season, if you look closely during each city's callback audition performance shows, you'll be surprised at the veteran headlining talent that appears among the faces waiting for their names to be called from the stage.

But from the beginning to now, it's never simply been about finding the funniest comedian around. It's been about making a TV show that people want to watch and talk about the next morning (and now blog about). And that's just the reality of it.