the comic's comic

Comedy Central sets October 2010 premiere date for "Comics Anonymous" stand-up special

Up late at night on Oct. 9, 2010, and need a fix? Comedy Central will be your TV sponsor at 1 a.m., setting a time and date for the premiere of "Comics Anonymous."

Here's the network description: "The support groups may be anonymous, but their problems certainly aren’t. Tune in to “Comics Anonymous” for Jim Norton’s analysis of cheating and the dangers of S&M, Rich Vos’s desire for people to rank their favorite children, Robert Kelly’s food addiction and “fat worry” and Mike DeStefano’s convictions about transmitting AIDS by doorknob."

The special taped back in February, and DeStefano told me then that he was hoping to put together a tour this fall. Of course, that was before he went all the way to the final five on Last Comic Standing, and with it, a separate North American theater tour. So you may have to wait until 2011 for a Comics Anonymous tour. Don't worry, though. It'll be worth the wait.

Stand-Up 360 in cinemas this spring

Screenvision has produced a series of seven live stand-up comedy films from Broadway Comedy Club in NYC that will appear on movie screens nationwide beginning May 4. Here's the trailer:

OK. So host Caroline Rhea tells you to enjoy stand-up comedy "without the two-drink minimum" by watching stand-ups filmed in a club with a drink minimum. Paradox. But whatevs. We also see in this trailer that the first film installment features Erik Rivera, Wali Collins, Vanessa Hollingshead, Mike Vecchione, Modi, Roz G., Steve Rossi and Joe Larson, plus we saw glimpses of Ross Bennett, Esther Ku, Costaki Economopoulos, Godfrey and more. You can check out info on the Stand-Up 360 site. They have deals to screen in cinemas in 39 states. 

The full lineup and dates, after the jump!

Live at Gotham: With Rich Vos, Chelsea Peretti, Hari Kondabolu, Bob Biggerstaff, Mike DeStefano, Hugh Moore, Ryan Sickler

So, while in Montreal, I completely forgot to set my DVR to record last Friday's edition of Live at Gotham. Sorry! So I, like you, must make do with Internet videos. Here are two routines from Chelsea Peretti that she performed as part of the New Faces in Montreal at Just For Laughs. The other stand-ups from this episode (Bob Biggerstaff, Hari Kondabolu, Mike DeStefano, Hugh Moore and Ryan Sickler) get clips, too, after the jump. Enjoy!

Comic Strip Marathon: Post #44 T-minus 1 hour!

Almost there...almost there...stay on target...stay on target. We have put 49 hours of continuous stand-up comedy in the books here at Comic Strip Live, leaving one final hour to reach the finish and a potential Guinness World Record. Christian Finnegan has already performed, and the rest of this finale bill features Lisa Landry, Ted Alexandro, Rich Vos and Judah Friedlander. The house is packed and laughing heartily. Everyone is in high spirits, including many of the club staffers who have worked with little sleep, the host William Stephenson who's had barely a couple of naps, and, of course, myself. We shall not be denied this prize on this night.

Live at Gotham 2008 hosts

Less than one week before a new crop of comedians get to add a Comedy Central TV credit to their bios as Live At Gotham tapes next week at Gotham Comedy Club. I'll have more info on who's performing when later. For now, though, I can tell you who'll be your hosts for the evenings.

March 6: Jeff Dunham; Jim Norton
March 7: Ralphie May; Tommy Davidson
March 8: Kevin Hart; Rich Vos
March 9: D.L. Hughley; Daniel Tosh

Behind the CCPs: Bonnie McFarlane & Rich Vos

Though they taped their half-hour specials on different nights in August, Comedy Central just couldn't keep the married-with-child comedy sweethearts (if anything but sweet onstage) of Bonnie McFarlane and Rich Vos apart on the night after Valentine's Day. And so it is that their Comedy Central Presents will make two beasts with one back-to-back tonight. Who says Last Comic Standing has no soul? The NBC "reality" comedy competition did help play matchmaker for these two stand-ups, after all. Enough with the metaphors, already.

What you really want to know is this: Bonnie McFarlane was much funnier than I'd seen her in years past. While still capable of delivering punchline groaners to the audience, the new mother opened with plenty of funny baby jokes. And Rich Vos stood near me in the back of the theater, quietly trying to laugh and keep their baby happy in a stroller in the wings. I wrote down the term "soft-shell crab" in my notebook, and months later wonder why (maybe it's in the act?). Here's one thing that won't be in McFarlane's act: Comedy Central producers made her come back onstage after her set to redo one joke's line from, "Do you know what I find to be really queer?" to "really gay?" How many do-overs would they have forced out of Jane Fonda?

Anyhow. Interviews!

And now, a tease from Rich Vos:

Two more video snippets after the jump!

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).