the comic's comic

Jim Gaffigan's "never aired British television segment"

Jim Gaffigan would like you to see this. British television, whomever they are, think otherwise. I'm not even sure British television exists after watching this clip, but I certainly know that Jim Gaffigan exists, because I've seen him and talked to him and maybe even touched him. But don't quote me on that. Instead, just watch this interview about his upcoming summer "Sexy Tour" with Comedy Central.

Jim Gaffigan's Sexy Tour

Fans of Jim Gaffigan already knew he has a tour planned this summer and fall that culminates in December with a one-hour Comedy Central taping in Austin. So...what's new? A logo, for one. It's Comedy Central Live Starring Jim Gaffigan: The Sexy Tour. Tickets officially go onsale March 28.

And if you're looking specifically for tickets to his Nov. 28-29 shows at Town Hall in New York City, you have a limited window of opportunity (until 10 a.m. Thursday) for a special pre-sale. Click here to buy early tickets for Nov. 28. Click here for Nov. 29.

The tour kicks off Aug. 15 in Miami.

After the jump, Gaffigan interviews himself about how he named his 2008 tour.

Comedy Central's Stand-Up Showdown (2008 results!)

Comedy Central's annual "Stand-Up Showdown" airs today, rebroadcasting the top 20 stand-up specials as voted online by fans over the past month. It's airing now!

The full schedule/countdown...which began at 11:30 a.m. today...(with applicable taping season)

20) Loni Love (season 11)

19) Doug Benson (season 8)

18) Chelsea Handler (season 11)

17) Steve Byrne (season 10)

16) Maria Bamford (season 11)*

15) Rich Vos (season 7)*

14) Dane Cook (season 3)

13) Stephen Lynch (season 12)**

12) Mike Birbiglia (season 10)*

11) Demetri Martin (season 8)

10) Mitch Hedberg (season 1)

9) Jim Gaffigan (season 3)

8) Pablo Francisco (season 4)

7) Kyle Cease (season 10)

6) Mitch Fatel (season 11)

5) Lewis Black (season 6)*

4) Frank Caliendo (season 8)

3) Lisa Landry (season 11)

2) Josh Sneed (season 11)

1) Jeff Dunham (his Spark of Insanity hourlong special)

* These comedians have multiple half-hour CCPs. Rich Vos has one upcoming this season.

** Stephen Lynch is the only one from this current crop of CCPs to make the list. Which, of course, is unfair to the many comedians this season who also taped with Lynch but haven't gotten on the air yet. Then again, this whole "showdown" is essentially just a test to see which comedian wants to mobilize his or her fans to vote early and often for them to get an extra TV airing. Really, that's it. No big cash prize. No trophy. But it certainly got us paying attention to Comedy Central on a Sunday in January, right? Of course, if I were one of the comedians who made the top 20, I'd probably still feel pretty good about it (while also looking at the other comedians who got listed ahead of me and behind me and wondering where I stood, which is why you have to realize and remind yourself that this isn't a "showdown" at all).

WGA Strike Watch: Comedians on Letterman

Short notice tonight, but wanted to let you know of comedians appearing this week on Late Show with David Letterman, the only WGA-approved late-night show of choice.

Tonight: Frank Caliendo shows his impersonations and explains his TBS show. Tuesday: Don Rickles plugs the DVD release of his documentary. Friday: Jim Gaffigan will likely mention bacon!

Conan and Leno aren't putting their guest appearances online so as to avoid picket-crossing hassles, but I'll keep my eyes peeled. Saw Elon Gold on Leno the other night. Christopher Titus, too. Conan, meanwhile, has really been upfront about mentioning the plight of the striking writers and about killing time. I saw him devote a full 10 minutes to a hilarious pre-taped segment interview with one of his producers. Then again, past episodes of Conan can be viewed on the NBC site online. Which is at the heart of the WGA negotiations. Also will be keeping you updated on goings-on with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, so don't you worry.

My year in interviews

Before I get to recapping the year in comedy, circa 2007, let's look back at some of my more illuminating, insightful and interesting comedy interviews from the year.

My sit-down with Ricky Gervais has to take the top spot in my mind, because his strongly held opinions on sticking to your creative guns and not sacrificing your beliefs in your own sense of humor (and humour) are words that any creative artists -- whether they're comedians, musicians, writers or actors -- can live by.

A close second, then, has to have been my September face-to-face with Dane Cook. Arguably the biggest headliner in the country this year and last, in terms of tickets and CDs sold, Cook met me in a Manhattan hotel lounge as part of his promotional tour for Good Luck Chuck. But we barely talked about the movie, instead tackling every question you've probably wanted to hear Cook answer, and then some. He even brought up Louis CK!

Speaking of whom, Louis CK was just one of the many other bright lights of comedy I got to talk to at length in 2007 -- the others included Nick Swardson, Christian Finnegan, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Ian Black, Eddie Brill, Bob Saget, Artie Lange, Doug Benson, Damon Wayans, Charlie Murphy, Frank Caliendo and Tim Minchin. Of course, there were hundreds of other comedians I got to witness and talk to this past year, and hopefully, I'll get to tell you more about all of them in 2008.

Jim Gaffigan explains Pale Force

Jim Gaffigan debuted the second season of his cartoon superhero farce, Pale Force, on Monday night's Late Night with Conan O'Brien. For those of you who haven't caught on, Gaffigan helps out, introducing the concept each time he's on the show, saying how he and Conan "play superheroes who fight crime with our paleness and shoot lasers out of our nipples." And Conan always points out, as he did Monday, "I think I came across as weak and sniveling in some episodes -- wait, all episodes!" And each time, they show the first part of an episode, end with a cliffhanger and send viewers online to see what happens next.

Here is a sample clip from the first season:

Gaffigan and I talked earlier today about how this bizarre Emmy-nominated cartoon came to be.

"It's the idea of Paul Noth. He's a cartoonist for The New Yorker. It was his idea. He had come to a couple of tapings when I was on Conan and it just kind of, he came up with the idea and we pitched it to the Conan people and did a sample one."

Was it a hard sell?
"it's kind of rare for them to take an idea, let alone one that costs a bunch of money to produce, but they liked it, and it kind of snowballed. We got 20 episodes for the first season and 20 episodes for the second season."

So how much does it cost?
"Well, I don't know if I'm supposed to reveal that. We do it in a very cost-efficient way, compared to how they're doing King of the Hill, it's a lot cheaper. Paul does a boatload of the animation work. He directs the animation, he draws all the characerts, I do all the voices. Paul's brother, Patrick Noth does all the music. Jeannie, my wife, is in on every writers' meeting. It's a tiny self-contained group."

"Paul had done a small piece of animation that I have on my dvd, which was essentially me talking to the camera when I'm in my underwear. He had been fishing around looking for other things to do."

I know Conan claims to have nothing to do with it, but does he give you guys any input?
"We discuss what the panel is going to be, but it's self-contained. They approved the first script or two, but they're busy doing a daily show, and they know that we kind of know what we’re doing and we’re not going to cross the line and not come in with some horrible racist thing and we’re not going to go after one of their sponsors or anything...The formula is pretty much: Make fun of pale people, glorify me, and most importantly, humiliate Conan. That's kind of the nub of what it all is."

Was that supposed to be Carson Daly pushing NBC honcho Jeff Zucker around in a wheelchair in this week's episode?
"It is Carson, but it's not like a slam on Carson. Theres also the whole NBC element with Zucker being Old Man Potter in the wheelchair. We were trying to think of who would be the guy who'd be pushing the wheelchair. I'd done Carson's show tons of times, I thought it would be interesting choice."

Agreed. A very interesting selection. So how does Pale Force fit in with your stand-up and other comedy projects?
"What I love about doing Pale Force and doing animation. I never grew up thinking (raising to his comedic higher-pitched subconscious voice) 'I want to do my own animation show!' I love acting. But I love how in animation you can layer in so many jokes and commentary. It is something that you can go back and fix...You can change what somebody's holding. We try to be mindful of the fact, that we don't have the luxury of South Park where they can just redo something over and over if they like, because it is this skeleton crew."

New episodes debut once a week, but Gaffigan said he shows up on Conan about once a month to promote Pale Force.

As for how it fits in with his comedic style...
"My stand-up is very much an observational kind of silliness. Pale Force is great because it allows me to explore social commentary and snarkiness that I have in my everyday life. Some of the things that we in the country are embracing or getting obessesed by, I find hysterical."

This week's episode has a "Dancing With The Stars" scene, for example.
"We have an episode coming up that's about reality shows and these game show phemonena are out of control. It's a reality game of 'So You Think You’re Pale'...You can be a social satirist in some of this stuff. My stand-up persona is a guy who's obsessed with cake and bacon. I don't really aspire to do mean stuff, but if we can suddently have a commentary of -- things will come up -- whether it'll be Charlie Rose, or just the superficiality of society, it's kind of fun."

Do you put Pale Force out on your MySpace or multiple Facebook profiles to make sure people know what's going on?
"They were going to put all last season on iTunes, but NBC had some falling out with itunes, the monopoly there, I think they pushed back too hard. The awareness thing...there's probably some of them that occasionally sneak onto YouTube. The reason NBC wanted to do two seasons was to drive people to go to nbc.com, which kind of hampers the viral aspect of it. There's still a lot of people who don't know what Pale Force is. I'll do meet-and-greets after the show and if I see someone who's pale I'll bring it up, and I’ll be suprrised if they don't know about it."

If you think Jim Gaffigan is on MySpace and Facebook as much or maybe more often than you, you're probably right.

How often are you online during the day updating your profiles?
"During the day? It depends. If I'm putting some shows on sale, I might go on there and you know, do a bulletin blog thing. Or a note on Facebook. And then some of it is a distraction from writing, you know what I mean? I've got to write. But I have to see if anyone hit my honesty box. There's no sensible reason for me to spend as much time on there as I do, but it's all good."

Do you feel like you need to choose between MySpace and Facebook?
"I'm sure I should get rid of one of them. But I like to think I take care of both of them. It seems like Facebook is a little easier, and you feel less inclined to respond to someone sending you a pina colada...obviously you can reach a lot more people on MySpace...The thing that's so incredible about them both, if you're an indie band or a comedian, letting people know you're going to be in Philly (where he'll be on Saturday) is half the task...How do you let them know you’re coming? So MySpace and Facebook are perfect for that."

Gaffigan goes beyond the pale

Jim Gaffigan is one of the truly nicer and funnier guys I know. And I'm saying that even before typing in the part of the interview where he brings me down a peg or two. We talked recently while Gaffigan had a break from recording the upcoming TBS comedy, My Boys, which debuts around Thanksgiving. "It's a million miles away when I think about it. Thanksgiving!"

Last night on Conan, Gaffigan celebrated the unveiling of an all-new Pale Force cartoon and a new page on Conan's NBC online home for the series. "We've done three episodes of Pale Force and it'll be interesting to see how popular Pale Force could get, or if people will go…not interested! People will love something that makes fun of someone of Conan's status."

"I remember meeting you. You might identify with some of the pale thing. Because you're a pale guy. It's funny, because when I performed in Boston, and since the Pale Forces have started, there's been a lot of pale people coming to the show. It's the opposite of white pride. When you're really pale, you think, geez, I'm the only one who spent an hour putting on sunscreen."

Did you have any idea that people would take to "Beyond the Pale" the way they have to specific bits like Hot Pockets? "On my Website, it's weird, you never know, you just try to do something funny, and I had no idea, with the Hot Pocket, how many us eat as poorly as me…People who come to my shows. There's the pale contingent. But there's also a number of people who were not pale but came in these Pale Force T-shirts." That's weird. "The weird thing is, there's always a certain number of pale people at my show. There's like the pale 15-year-old kid, the pale goth girl who's 23, the pale 40-year-old couple." So all the main pale demos, eh? "Yes, all the scientific pale demographics."

"When I get my photograph taken, I always have red eye. And a lot of people don't. If you've ever had red eye in a photograph, there's always a certain amount of humiliation when you look at a photo with your friends and you're the only one with red eyes — you look like you signed a contract with the devil."

Albinos must have it as rough as pale people, though, right? "That's got to be tough. I'm pale, but I have blue eyes. That's got to be real tough. In Pale Force, we fight crime with our paleness. We shoot lasers from our nipples." Um, OK. Go on? "When I was in high school and used to wrestle, I'd be in my singlet, and I'd be in great shape. The opponent would look at me and say, Oh s–-t, look at how pale that guy is!" Whether it's Pale Force or Hot Pockets or his manatee joke, Gaffigan said he has no control over which ones become more popular than others. "People who enjoy your stuff really latch onto certain ideas."

For My Boys, TBS shot a pilot and ordered 12 more episodes of the ensemble comedy. "The TBS promo thing is very funny and I always get nervous," he said. "The last thing you'd brag about is your ability to be funny. I've always…it's a crapshoot kind of thing. The fact that it's TBS' first scripted comedy and the fact taht they have such a success and track record (on TNT) with The Closer and Saved, these guys know what they're doing. It's just a completely different experience when you're putting a show on one of the classic networks, like CBS." Which Gaffigan did years ago. "It's why good shows tend to show up on cable networks. They give them a shot to find an audience."

Sierra Mist predicts the future?

One of the funnier Super Bowl commercials this year featured comedians Kathy Griffin and Jim Gaffigan as airport security workers, giving Michael Ian Black the wand treatment over his Sierra Mist bottle. How could they have known that seven months later, you couldn't get soda pop through airport security?

A little eerie, eh? So...is this funnier now that life imitates art? Or just eerie?

More with Jim Gaffigan

Had a nice long chat with comedian/actor Jim Gaffigan the other day. Our wide-ranging talk lasted more than an hour. Some of it appeared in print today. Much of it did not. And some topics were better left off the record, as they say. Regardless, check out Mr. Gaffigan this weekend at the Comedy Connection in Faneuil Hall Marketplace if you get the chance, and read up on these other gems from our talk below...

Comparing sitcom work to movies, ads and stand-up:
"I like dry comedy stuff. When you get a role in some comedy TV show, it ends up being sitcommy. Which is funny. But it's not like, it's more servicing a joke than a funny situation. When I was on Ed, that was a blast. But That 70s Show, I was just coming in, being the dumb guy, saying my dumb lines, and leaving. When you're doing a serious drama, it's a fun challenge, because there's a greater emphasis on the reality of it."

On the Comedy Central Stand-Up Showdown:
"You really go into stand-up so you can be elected to higher office. I've talked to other comedians. You can't really compare different styles of comedy. It's always flattering when someone says I'm like Brian Regan. I do think we're alike in that we're silly and we talk about mundane things and don't curse all the time...but how do you measure Lewis Black vs. Dane Cook? They're two different types of comedy....I think Dane Cook makes every other comic who's trying to sell a comedy CD that much easier. (Customers), they're not just buying Jack Johnson. They're buying Jack Johnson and Dane Cook, and that's opening doors for us. Dane, he's like a rock star, where I'm more like David Gray."

On being a father of two kids under the age of 2:
"It's like living with an orangutan. It's chaos. Those babies, I love them, but they're constantly going to the bathroom. It's hard work watching my wife do all that work. It's exhausting!"

On MySpace (we're MySpace friends):
"I am totally addicted to MySpace. If you want to waste 12 hours really quick...It's flattering. You get these messages from people, and then you can let people know you're going to be in Boston. And then they say, Hey, I'm friends with you on MySpace...When my special aired, I got literally 300 messages...MySpace is weird because there's (images of) a guy without a shirt on, and then there's a 13-year-old girl who's practically naked. Hey, I'm just trying promote my show!"
There also are lots of crazy MySpace profiles out there.
"They have the Matrix design going on and there are eight videos playing, and I just wanted to see if you were in Boston. They say, What kind of television are you? I'm a flat-screen TV. Or what girl would you be on Full House. You need to know that kind of thing before deciding to be a MySpace friend. That darned Internet has changed everything."

Jim Gaffigan on MySpace

On Saturday night, I discovered that Jim Gaffigan is as sincerely pleasant and gracious in person as he was on the phone. Hung out with him in the Comedy Connection's green room before he prepared to take the stage for his first of three sold-out shows Saturday in Boston. Met his childhood buddy, Rob, who now lives in Portland (Maine, not Ore.) and works as an anaethesiologist. Rob had some amusing tales of his own -- should he not tell them onstage, I might have to steal his one story as a bit! Just kidding. Sort of. Alrighty then. Back to Jim Gaffigan. If you haven't seen him perform, go. He'll be performing theaters later this winter/spring -- and in Seattle and Portland (Ore., not Maine), my old friend from Seattle comedy days Duane Goad will open the shows. Or buy Gaffigan's DVD, Beyond the Pale.

Jim Gaffigan on gaining respect

Millions of TV viewers have seen Jim Gaffigan this week. He appeared in a Super Bowl ad for Sierra Mist, while Comedy Central has aired his latest special, "Beyond the Pale," several times in the past couple of weeks. A full-length DVD hit stores in early February with 26 minutes not seen on Comedy Central and several hilarious bonus features, including a sketch involving "comedy coach Arty Hittle" explaining the secrets of breaking into stand-up. Which makes watching Gaffigan's first stand-up gig, from Jan. 27, 1991 (also on the DVD), even more illuminating.

"People say, 'Is that really your first time?' You could tell I was nervous, though, right?" he asked me.

Gaffigan felt out of his element at last month's Sundance Film Festival, where he appeared in "Stephanie Daley" with Tilda Swinton and Timothy Hutton. "I'd never been there before," he said. "It was an experience in itself. Everyone thought I was (Philip Seymour) Hoffman." We can see the slight resemblance. "This business is about getting too much respect or getting none. I think being confused for Phil Hoffman was getting both," Gaffigan told me. "I'm a married guy, anyway, so it's not like I was going to capitalize in a creepy way. So it was mostly awkward."

Also awkward: Trying to describe his role in M. Night Shyamalan's 2006 film, Lady in the Water, particularly because months later, the film opened without his part making it onscreen!

For most of his career, though, Gaffigan has bounced between movie roles, sitcoms (Ed, That 70s Show, Welcome to New York) and stand-up. "It's weird, some of the blurbs people have when they're announcing your shows," he said. "Being an actor and a comedian, someitmes people don't know I do the other thing. USA Today, the TV critic said...Jim Gaffigan has had bad luck in sitcoms and now he's trying his hand at stand-up. I've done Conan 16 times. Not like he should be watching Comedy Central like everyone else, but he is the TV critic. That's what you do. It's like a TV critic not knowing about Cheers."

Wonder if that critic has seen any of the Sierra Mist spots. "Those ads are fun, because we get a script and it's funny and then we do the script. But then Michael Ian Black and I get to play," he said.

Onstage, Gaffigan is even funnier, using both his inside and outside voices to comment on many things -- even if in "Beyond the Pale," most of those things tend to revolve around food. Even the McRib. "You know, there's an Internet campaign to save it," he said. "There should be an X-Files episode on the McRib. It's like a Cinnabon. You have like one a decade and that's good enough. Any time they can take a meat product and shape it like it has bones in it, it has got to be good!"