May 20th, 2012
Improv comedy? Sketch comedy? You can’t swing a rubber chicken without hitting one of these shows at Fringe the last few years. But straightforward, story-free, tip-your-waitress stand-up routines? While they’re a common breed in the nightclubs, you don’t see many Fringe shows going that route these days.
If there’s a theme to this double-header comedy show, it’s hardship: “Long Island” Mary Tischbein gets the broader laughs with her New York drawl and a biting sense of self-deprecation, drawing heavily from her experiences as a caregiver for her cantankerous and oh-so-Catholic mother. Suzanne Willett goes for a drier crowd with extended bits about internet passwords and nightmare interviews. I am trying very hard not to call her a female Richard Lewis, and I’m sure she’d have a comeback if I did. Both these ladies are seasoned on the comedy club circuit.
But does it translate to a theater stage? I found myself wishing for more than a comedy club set from these two, perhaps a little interplay between them (or more with the audience). Still, if you’re looking for an undemanding laugh, this is a lean 45 minutes of comedy – the chuckles are bound to find you. And if you needed the extra incentive, hardship isn’t their only focus: Partial proceeds from the show go to Eagles’ Nest Elementary School in Metro West.
45 minutes, Blue Venue, $10, Orlando Fringe Festival official page.
Showtimes
- Friday 18 May; at 8:30pm in the Blue
- Saturday 19 May; at 10:00pm in the Blue
- Sunday 20 May; at 6:00pm in the Blue
- Monday 21 May; at 5:30pm in the Blue
- Thursday 24 May; at 5:30pm in the Blue
- Friday 25 May; at 10:15pm in the Blue
- Saturday 26 May; at 2:30pm in the Blue
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May 20th, 2012
Dave’s and Angela‘s passion for comedy and their business prowess built Laughs Comedy Spot into a fixture on the eastside and the highest rated Comedy Club in the Seattle area. Laughs has welcomed many of the biggest names in comedy and hosted many notable events over those 5 years. Laughs Comedy Spot was the first comedy club on the west coast to headline Comedian Hannibal Buress, who on Sunday May 6, 2012 was voted by the Comedy Central’s Comedy Awards as the “Best Club Comic”. Laughs Comedy Spot was the first club on Adam Carolla’s comedy club tour in May of 2010. Laughs Comedy Spot was also the first club in the Northwest to headline comedian Whitney Cummings. Whitney is currently the co-producer of CBS’s “Two Broke Girls” and the star and writer of “Whitney” on NBC.
Kirkland, WA (PRWEB) May 20, 2012
Dave and Angela Dennison decided they needed to pursue their comedic dream and went on to open their own club, Laughs Comedy Spot, on June 6, 2007 and have never looked back since. The newly remodeled, 220-seat theatre is conveniently located off of I-405 exit 20 in Kirkland in the great neighborhood of Totem Lake. Located at 12099 124th Ave NE, Laughs host shows 5 nights a week and is open to patrons 18 years of age and older.
Laughs developed a reputation as the friendly club and the comedian’s favorite in the Northwest. Laughs has stayed one step ahead of the competition through their uncanny ability to find the best acts in comedy, often before the world takes notice, and bring them to Seattle. Laughs attention to customer service has landed them 4 ½ stars on Yelp making it one of the top rated comedy clubs in the country.
Dave’s and Angela’s passion for comedy and their business prowess built Laughs Comedy Spot into a fixture on the eastside and the highest rated Comedy Club in the Seattle area. Laughs has welcomed many of the biggest names in comedy and hosted many notable events over those 5 years. Laughs Comedy Spot was the first comedy club on the west coast to headline Comedian Hannibal Buress, which on Sunday May 6, 2012 was voted by the Comedy Central’s Comedy Awards as the “Best Club Comic”. Laughs Comedy Spot was the first club on Adam Carolla’s comedy club tour in May of 2010. Laughs Comedy Spot was also the first club in the Northwest to headline comedian Whitney Cummings. Whitney is currently the co-producer of CBS’s “Two Broke Girls” and the star and writer of “Whitney” on NBC.
Laughs has focused on helping young comics develop their talent. Laughs has a vibrant Open Mic on Tuesdays which is always worth a visit, and no cover too! Laughs Comedy Spot also welcomes local and national comedians for paid feature work. Rising stars such as Jesse Case, Andy Haynes and Fahim Anwar are three comics from the area that were regular performers at Laughs Comedy Spot and were choose for the prestigious Montreal “Just for Laughs” comedy festival in July 2010. Each year 100’s of young comic compete for a chance to showcase at the industry attended “New Faces”. 2010 marked the year for Seattle’s talent to shine. Both Dave and Angela traveled to Montreal to attend the festival and cheer on the club’s regular performers.
In 1991 Dave became recognized in comedy with fellow comic Keith Stubbs. They toured the Midwest, and opened two comedy clubs in Utah. Laffs in Ogden and Wise Guys in Salt Lake City are both still very successful with a third club opening in August 2012. In 1995, Dave was invited to compete in Seattle’s International Comedy Competition. On Sept. 29th 2002, Angela got her start when she stepped on to an open mic stage at the Pegasus Pizza in Kirkland. Dave and Angela came across each other through their comedy, fell in love, and have been together ever since. They both still frequent the stage at Laughs. Angela has earned recognition as one of the top women in business in the Seattle area and has been featured in 425 magazine.
This year, Laughs Comedy Spot will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary with Comedian Matt Braunger, featuring Jesse Case the 8th and 9th of June at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Show tickets are priced at $20.
Headliner Matt Braunger was raised in Portland, Oregon. An actor since childhood, Matt studied theatre in New York and improvisation in Chicago under such luminaries as Susan Messing and Del Close. Matt was recently a series regular on MADtv. His television credits also include The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, The Late Show with David Letterman, United States of Tara, Pushing Daisies, Carpoolers, Acceptable TV, and Live At Gotham.
Along with touring comedy clubs across the country, Matt has performed at a variety of prestigious comedy festivals including the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal 2007 & 2009 and Chicago in 2009, The TBS Comedy Festival Las Vegas 2007 & 2008, South By Southwest 2008 & 2009 and won the 2008 “Best Of The Fest” at the inaugural Rooftop Comedy Festival in Aspen. In 2009, he was named to Variety’s Top 10 Comics to Watch and Comedy Central’s Hot 9 in ’09 list. His debut comedy album, Soak Up The Night, was released by Comedy Central Records and named to the iTunes REWIND Top 20 Albums of 2009. He also recorded his half hour Comedy Central Presents special that aired in April of 2010.
Matt is currently a regular performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and Improv Comedy Club in Los Angeles.
Contact:
Dave Dennison
Tel. 425/823-6306
Email: dave(at)laughscomedy(dot)com
Angela Schroeder
425-823-6306
Email Information
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May 18th, 2012
Wilson Dixon discusses his show at the New Zealand International
Comedy Festival this year.
So tell us what your show is called this year?
Wilson Dixon Greatest Hits
Why?
The show is a selection of my greatest hits. Sure, they
might not be hits in the traditional sense, but they have all been
played on the local radio station in Cripple Creek Colorado – WKRT
Rocky Mountain Radio, “for all your up and down country hits as you
travel up and down through the Rockies.”
Can you give us a few hints as to what broadly your
festival show is about?
Broadly it’s music. Less broadly it’s country music, and
even less broadly, it’s country music written and sung by
me.
How much time have you spent crafting the show over the
past 12 months since the end of the last festival?
Not a single second of my time over the last 12 months
has gone into the show. The songs were all written between 12 and
144 months ago
The comedy festival is turning 20 this year what were you
doing 20 years ago?
Setting fire to my neighbors water tank. It was a
birthday prank that me and my brother Jethro were involved in. To
this day I’m amazed we managed to burn it down. It was wood, but it
was also full of water at the time.
The Comedy festival is all about the camaraderie too -
is there anyone you’re looking forward to seeing over here either
socially or on stage?
Craig Cambell. Even though he is Canadian, we always like
to met up at festivals lie this. He’s the only other person at the
festival that can talk meaningfully about bears for any length of
time.
What’s the comedy scene like at the moment – who do you
rate and why?
I’m not sure about the comedy scene. The country music scene on the
other hand …
We think comedy, we think Heckling so, best tip for dealing
with the hecklers? And has a heckler ever bested you?
Country music heckling often involves projectiles, so my
tip is to wear protective glasses and a strengthened stetson. One
time a burning couch was thrown onto the stage but I still managed
to finish the song
When we say New Zealand International Comedy Festival to
you, what’s the first thing you think of?
A comedy festival in NZ with an international flavor. Is
this a trick question?
How would you persuade people to come and see your
show?
I’d tell them they could win a spot prize of a pony ride
.
Entertainment News Video
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May 18th, 2012
FAIRBANKS – Breaking into the comedy business is tough. Living in a small and remote town like Fairbanks, with its limited number of venues, doesn’t make it any easier, according to comedian Ryan Hughes.
“For awhile, I was trying to drive down to Anchorage to do shows, but a six-hour drive for 10 minutes of stage time wasn’t really worth it,” he said.
Hughes and other local comedians may be getting a break, though. The Boatel Sleazy Waterfront Bar is featuring Comedy Bumpkins, a showcase of local comedians on Sunday night. It’s a show that organizer Natalie Neubauer hopes will become a regular feature.
“There’s a lot of people interested in doing comedy, but there’s not a lot of places to do it,” she said.
Neubauer divides her time between Fairbanks and Los Angeles, where she frequented the comedy circuit. “I’m up here a lot of the time now and I just wanted to give local comics a place to work out their material and practice.”
The sets will be short, with each comedian having three to five minutes in the spotlight.
“I run a tight ship,” she said.
She is featuring mostly comedians who are just starting out, as well as some who have a few years under their belt, such as Hughes.
Hughes said he’s always been a class clown and that he got his start seven years ago at the annual Funny Fest organized by Fairbanks comedians and radio personalities Glenner Anderson and Jerry Evans. His adult-oriented comedy touches on current events and politics, and he likes to make fun of local radio and TV ads.
Hughes has opened a few comedy shows for Glenner and Jerry and performed at places like The Marlin, but otherwise he has had little luck getting his material heard.
“It’s kind of a tough town to do comedy,” he said, adding that he hopes the Boatel becomes a regular venue.
Other comedians expected to perform Sunday include Shannon Luster, Levi Ben-Israel, spoken word and National Poetry Slam performer Michael Shaeffer and Amy James.
Contact staff writer Julie Stricker at 459-7532.
IF YOU GO
What: Comedy Bumpkins
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: Boatel Sleazy Waterfront Bar, 3368 Riverside Drive
Cost: No cover charge; 21 and older only
Info: 479-6537
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May 16th, 2012
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Who knew a hilarious response to “What would you do for a Klondike® bar?” could result in Twitter fame. Klondike®, the makers of Klondike® bars, sandwiches and Choco Taco, has launched the Klondike® Comedy Showcase, a Twitter joke competition hosted by stand-up comedian and Twitter phenom Rob Delaney to recognize and reward today’s top comedic talent on Twitter.
To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/if-comedy-is-your-flavor-and-variety-is-your-spice-of-life-rob-delaney-and-klondike-have-everything-you-need-this-summer-151470285.html
Starting today, people can follow @Klondikebar to participate in the brand’s weekly joke contest. The Klondike® Comedy Showcase encourages Twitter users to demonstrate their originality, wit and sense of humor for a chance to win shout-outs from Rob Delaney (to his more than 410,000 Twitter followers) and prizes, including a VIP trip to the New York Comedy Festival in November.
“I’ll be the first to admit that I have a unique, oftentimes downright weird sense of humor, so it was refreshing to be approached by a brand that wants to be involved in the comedic subculture of Twitter,” Rob Delaney said. “I’m extremely passionate about two things – food and comedy – and Klondike brings both of these worlds together in a fun and entertaining way with the Klondike Comedy Showcase.”
To enter the Klondike® Comedy Showcase, simply follow @Klondikebar on Twitter to be linked to the contest leaderboard, and sign in by linking your Twitter account. From there, watch Rob’s videos and respond to the weekly joke topics/challenges using the #KCS hashtag in your tweet submission.
Weekly winners will be announced at the end of each week for ten weeks, starting May 15. Top entries will be featured on the contest leaderboard. As host of the competition, Rob Delaney will provide random video commentary and weekly winner shout-outs to his Twitter followers. The ten weekly winners will then go head-to-head in a final tweet “joke-off” to determine the grand-prize winner. Jokes will be judged on the online community’s votes, entertainment value, relation to the joke topic and overall Klondike® brand approval.
“Klondike is all about celebrating variety and originality – in ice cream and comedy,” Mike Hurley, senior brand building manager for Klondike®, said. “We partnered with Rob Delaney to create the Klondike Comedy Showcase to recognize up-and-coming comedians who are sharing hilarious, original one-liners and tokens of observational humor in the Twitterverse.”
In addition to the Klondike® Comedy Showcase, Klondike® is launching several new product varieties this summer. Following the successful launch of the Original Choco Taco multipack last year, Klondike® is introducing two new Choco Taco multipack varieties:
- Klondike® Choco Taco Chocolate features chocolate light ice cream* in a sugar taco with dark chocolate flavored coating and crispy rice.
- Klondike® Choco Taco Peanut Butter features peanut butter flavored light ice cream* with a peanut buttery swirl in a sugar taco with milk chocolate flavored coating.
Expanding on its popular line of ice cream sandwiches, Klondike® is also introducing the Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich, which features artificially flavored chocolate light ice cream* between two chocolate wafers. Other Klondike® sandwich flavors include Vanilla, OREO®, Mrs. Fields® Chocolate Chip and What the Fudge? Brownie.
Klondike® currently has 11 unique stickless bar varieties, including: The Original, HEATH®, Krunch™, REESE’S®, Dark Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip, OREO®, Double Chocolate, Caramel Pretzel, Rocky Road and Neapolitan.
For more product information, please visit www.Klondikebar.com.
*Not a light food
Contest Abbreviated Rules
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. The Klondike® Comedy Showcase is sponsored by Conopco, Inc., d/b/a Unilever. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., 18 & older. Begins 10:00 a.m. ET on May 15, 2012, and ends 11:59 p.m. ET on July 23, 2012. For Official Rules, visit @Klondikebar on Twitter.com.
About Klondike®
The original Klondike® bar was handmade in the early 1900s by dipping square slices of ice cream into pans of rich, delicious milk chocolate. Until the 1970s, the Klondike® bar was sold only in Pennsylvania and Ohio. In 1978, distribution expanded into Florida, followed by New York and New England. Today, millions of Americans have come to love the Klondike® bar’s delicious variety of frozen novelty products with the distinctive silver wrapper, square shape and famous chocolaty coating. The “What would you do for a Klondike bar?” advertising slogan has become an American icon and commonly referenced in pop culture. Klondike® bars remain top selling novelties in the ice cream category. For more information on Klondike® products and store locators, visit www.Klondikebar.com.
About Unilever North America
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong operations in more than 100 countries and sales in 180. With products that are used over two billion times a day around the world, we work to create a better future every day and help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. In the United States and Canada the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry’s, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, fds, Good Humor, Hellmann’s, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond’s, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Ragu, Simple, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemme, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever employs more than 13,000 people across North America – generating over $9 billion in sales in 2011. For more information, visit www.unileverusa.com or www.unilever.ca.
For more information or images, please contact:
Zachary Crantz
GolinHarris
708-772-1180
zcrantz@golinharris.com
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May 16th, 2012
Every year I review some of the shows in the International Comedy Festival. I’ve been doing this for a while – and I’ll also review any of the international comedians that tour New Zealand during the year, separate from the festival. I’ve been lucky to see some of the big names of comedy – heroes that I grew up listening to such as Ben Elton and Billy Connolly and more recently Black Books buddies Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey.
As with reviewing music sometimes you get to see shows that you really want to see – and you also have to watch some comedy that offends on the very basic level of not matching its description. It’s simply not funny.
I’ve seen Billy Connolly have, what I consider, an off-night. Or an average night. I’ve seen Terry Alderton do the same – but then I’ve been lucky to see Alderton firing on all cylinders too. The man is a virtuoso in the field; it’s a bit like taking in a John Coltrane saxophone solo. It’s engulfing. And even if it’s not for everyone you can imagine that everyone who saw it, hopefully, walks away with some understanding that what they saw and heard was close to superhuman; was so very different from just a saxophone solo, or in this case just a set of jokes.
This year’s comedy festival served up a few duds and some gems. I kissed a lot of frogs this year – barely got to see any princes. But maybe that’s just me. As with music reviewing, when it comes to performance, you can take on board the interest of the audience, but you are offering a response – your response – to the performance. As it’s always pointed out this is just one person’s opinion. Why are people so surprised if it does not mirror their own? And does that mean they then have to change their opinion? Of course not.
Reviewing comedy is a nice challenge – because I believe that most people have an idea of what is funny. And of course it’s often different from someone else’s idea. It would be a boring world if we all had the same sense of humour.
I’m not sure that it’s any harder – or easier – to review comedy to music. You go in with your knowledge of the subject, you go in interested – hopeful too that your evening is not about to be wasted – and you come out with a deadline: 350-400 words and sometimes just 10 minutes to jot it down.
So my approach is much the same.
But I figure that an audience might respond to a comedy review differently. Now this is not to belittle the art of comedy – there are enough average comedians doing that – but I figure that people feel more entitled to an opinion about comedy because they see it as simply someone talking. Anyone can do that, right? (And again, just to clarify, I’ve seen enough terrible comedians to know that there is no way just anyone can do it.)
Some of the best music has been made by people who aren’t, technically, amazing musicians. But to be good at comedy you have to know the craft. You can then unlearn the rules, subvert the craft, make it your own, as Terry Alderton is doing, as Andy Kaufman and Mitch Hedberg and Bill Hicks and many others have done. But you have to know the rules first. You have to do the time. You have to have something to say and some way of saying it. And you have to have your technique locked down. You cannot last 50 minutes, or double that in some cases, if you are not in control.
When I watch a stand-up comedian live I want to see (and hear) risks taken. I want edge. I want it to mean something. And it can be clever and still be a bit silly. That can happen. Sure.
But it’s not always the case.
The comedy festival is over for me – this year. I’ve seen all the shows I was meant to get to. I’ve filed my reviews.
First up was Stephen K. Amos - click here to read the review. I didn’t find him very funny. I also didn’t like his lazy attitude; trying out new jokes on an audience that would most probably laugh because it was a festival and because he was an international visitor. I know that new material has to be tested somewhere – that’s obvious – but don’t justify it by telling me in advance that your new jokes might fall flat. Let me decide that for myself. They did, by the way. Horribly, painfully flat.
I also saw Janey Godley – very good. But then I’ve seen her several times. I like that she is herself – in the sense that you believe it’s her, that you believe it’s her real voice, not some fake comedy voice that she puts on for an hour at a time (in both a writing and speaking sense). She’s also arrived at comedy almost by accident; her earliest shows were very dark, confessional stories – an autobiography that made a lot of people’s heads spin. Dark truths, uncomfortable truths. And from there she’s learnt comic timing, pacing, delivery – she was a bundle of nerves the first time I saw her perform. Now the audience can seem nervous as she ploughs in with humour that bites, that’s real. It comes from the heart almost as often as it comes from the head. But it’s always no holds barred. Grand.
My review for her show didn’t make it online, possibly because I had to do a split review and also write about local comedienne Jan Maree the same night. Straight from one show to the next, just a few doors down.
Here’s what I said about Jan Maree’s show:
Jan Maree spent close to an hour talking about how she needs to wax a lot. She used this as the catalyst for an excruciatingly unfunny set of reflections from a recent seven-week holiday where Maree attempted to find herself (not the reason for all the waxing). The punchline to a sequence describing a hangover seemed to be that she “vomited so much” she “needed to go number twos”. It’s a classless act. And then incongruously the show finishes with Jan Maree offering a waiata. She’s a real Kiwi, you see. So there was applause. It made no sense – but in keeping with what was presumably the theme of her show it was suitably humourless.
Some others who saw the show might have thought it brave or stirring or real. I thought it was a con.
 Terry Alderton was next – not as good as other times I’ve seen him but I’m convinced he’s a genius. I also liked how uncomfortable it got. I don’t like the idea that these festivals exist simply so someone can tell a joke at work the next day, replete with terrible timing, that they picked up (on) the night before.
I also saw David O’Doherty and liked him a lot. He’s easy to like. Again I’ve seen him before. And he manages, quite remarkably, to have absolutely nothing to say but still manages to make it funny and – most amazingly – worthwhile.
I didn’t much like Steve Wrigley; not my thing. I almost appreciate his enthusiasm. But, as with Jan Maree, he seems to be an example of the local mediocre comedians celebrated because they’ve found an in; because they persevere but they never seem to progress.
And I saw Rhys Darby. And I wrote an objective review. I’m often told that my reviews are not objective – and that they need to be! So I gave it a go. I described the action that was unfolding. I pointed out that it was met with approval. I reminded people why Darby was famous, why he was a drawcard.
A week after that review appeared a man approached me while I was scrolling through my phone for music, waiting for a bus.
He asked if I was Simon Sweetman. I had nowhere to go. At least until the bus arrived. So I said yes. He asked if he could ask me a question. I told him that he could. So he did. He said, “with your review of Rhys Darby…did you like the gig or not?” Before I could answer he continued, “because you see my wife reckons you didn’t like it at all and I reckon you did. We’ve been arguing about it.”
I told him that, as was probably almost always the case, his wife was probably right but that he could break the news to her how he pleased. He could put whatever spin on it he liked.
There was a moment of silence between us. Almost awkward. Who am I kidding, I didn’t know this person. He seemed perfectly nice, polite. But this moment was awkward.
So he chose to break the moment.
“Gee, that Ariel Pink gig was good…”
(He cannot be a regular reader.)
I told him that I had missed that show – in truth suggesting that I had missed it might not have quite been the right word.
Another moment. And then another. Awkward/slightly-awkward. More awkward. More silence. Hold it. Hold it.
And then finally he exhaled, “well, here’s my bus”. And he got on. And left.
Then I found the album I was looking for on my phone. And my bus arrived. I got on. And left. Leaving the comedy festival behind me too…
Did you go to any comedy festival gigs this year? Who did you see and what did you enjoy? Did you feel ripped off for seeing an especially bad show? Did you see any virtuoso performances? Do you think we need to go easy on the New Zealand comics and “give them a chance” or if it’s called an International Comedy Festival do they then deserve the same treatment as the international guests? Aren’t they competing on the same stage?
And finally – is Rhys Darby funny? I’ve see him perform. I watched people laughing. But that only confused the issue for me.
I’m of the opinion that comedians in New Zealand are more deluded, precious, paranoid and petty than any musician I’ve ever had to deal with. I get that it’s a hard gig; you’re up there in the spotlight. It’s all eyes and ears on just one person. But who chose that gig? Who wants the good press when it suits? Who dines out on the numerous comedy awards, grants and TV show funding allocations we seem to be handing over without (any) discernment?
Postscript: I was supposed to review Dai Henwood one year, but I was banned. I think it may have been because I wrote this. The timing seemed to match up anyway. And word obviously spread that year. There’s a comedian called Jamie Bowen. He also banned me from his show that same year. Thing is, I wasn’t going to see him. He wasn’t on my list. He was not in line for any review. But he was so sure that he would not be reviewed, not by me anyway. I’ve still not seen Bowen or Henwood live. So, am I missing anything? Are they two of New Zealand’s greatest comics? Or are they two of the worst?
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May 14th, 2012
Like the other networks, Fox is counting on comedy to anchor its fall lineup, including a full night of comedy on Tuesday.
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May 14th, 2012
Network moves ‘Glee’; orders three comedies, two dramas for new TV season
By Melissa Grego — Broadcasting & Cable, 5/14/2012 8:00:00 AM
Complete Coverage: Upfronts 2012
After a busted attempt at a four-show block of live-action
comedy on Tuesdays this midseason, Fox plans to take another swing at a quartet
this fall: The network is making a Tuesday block of this season’s freshman hit New
Girl, returning comedy Raising Hope and freshly-ordered series The
Mindy Project and Ben and Kate, according to the schedule Fox
announced Monday.
The network ordered three new comedies and two dramas for the 2012-13 TV
season. With the two Tuesday comedies and one of the new dramas slated to debut
this fall, one new comedy and one new drama will be held until midseason. Fox
plans to present its schedule at the Beacon Theatre in New York City Monday
afternoon during their annual programming presentation to the national
advertising community.
The new Tuesday lineup sees Glee moving from Tuesday at 8 to Thursday at
9, where it will follow The X Factor results show (and come midseason,
following the American Idol results show). X Factor will feature
two new judges, along with returning judges Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid.
In Glee’s place, Raising Hope will move up to lead off Tuesdays,
and Ben and Kate, described as an odd-ball sibling comedy from Dana Fox
(What Happens in Vegas), directed by Jake Kasdan (Bad Teacher)
and starring newcomer Dakota Johnson and Nat Faxon (Bad Teacher,
Oscar-winning co-screenwriter of The Descendants), is scheduled at 8:30.
New Girl stays at 9; it’s being paired with The Mindy Project,
starring the show’s creator Mindy Kaling (The Office) as an OB/GYN, at
9:30.
The new drama getting a fall launch is The Mob Doctor, exec produced by
Josh Berman (Bones, CSI) and Rob Wright (Crossing Jordan) and
starring Jordana Spiro (My Boys) as a brilliant surgeon caught in a web
between her promising career and family debt to Chicago’s Southside mob.
The new drama is set for Mondays at 9, with a lead-in from stalwart Bones on Mondays at 8.
The comedy Fox is hanging onto for midseason is The Goodwin Games, from How
I Met Your Mother exec producers Carter Bays, Craig Thomas and Chris
Harris. It stars Scott Foley (Grey’s Anatomy, Felicity), Becki Newton (Ugly
Betty) and Jake Lacy (Better With You) as estranged siblings who
return home after the loss of their father, whose fortune they will inherit if
they can adhere to their late dad’s wishes.
The midseason drama is The Following, created by Kevin Williamson (Dawson’s
Creek, Scream) and starring Kevin Bacon as an ex-FBI agent called out of
retirement to track a serial killer portrayed by James Purefoy (Rome).
Fox series returning in 2012-2013 include: American Dad (season eight), American
Idol (season 12), Bob’s Burgers (season three), Bones (season
eight), The Cleveland Show (season four), Cops (season 25), Family
Guy (season 10), Fringe (season five), Glee (season four), Hell’s
Kitchen (season 10), Kitchen Nightmares (season five), MasterChef
(season three), Mobbed (specials), New Girl (season two), Raising
Hope (season three), The Simpsons (season 24), So You Think You
Can Dance (season nine) and Touch (season two). American Country
Awards, New Year’s Eve Live and Teen
Choice 2012 will also return to the Fox schedule.
FOX 2012-2013 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET)
MONDAY
8-9:00 PM Bones
9:00-10:00 PM THE MOB
DOCTOR
TUESDAY
8:00-8:30 PM Raising
Hope
8:30-9:00 PM BEN AND
KATE
9:00-9:30 PM New Girl
9:30-10:00 PM THE MINDY
PROJECT
WEDNESDAY
8:00-10:00 PM The X
Factor (fall) / American Idol
(midseason)
THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM The X
Factor Results (fall) / American Idol Results (midseason)
9:00-10:00 PM Glee
FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM Touch
9:00-10:00 PM Fringe
(fall)
SATURDAY
7:00-10:30 PM Fox Sports
Saturday (fall)
SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 PM NFL Game
(fall) / Animation Domination (encores)
7:30-8:00 PM The OT
(fall) / The Cleveland Show
8:00-8:30 PM The
Simpsons
8:30-9:00 PM Bob’s
Burgers
9:00-9:30 PM Family
Guy
9:30-10:00 PM American
Dad
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May 12th, 2012
Perth Comedy Festival
Jimmy James Eaton
The Velvet Lounge, Mt Lawley
If Jimmy James Eaton ever decided to become a serious actor, he’d likely do well. He has some stage presence and inhabits a range of characters with intensity. He also has a knack for voices. If you happen to be the comic, his friend or a member of his family, you might want to put those words in your back pocket and stop reading now.
What is baffling is why One Small Sketch for Man is part of the Perth International Comedy Festival when it so fails to conform to the traditional notion of comedy, namely making people laugh. The show’s marketing describes Eaton as a “comedy alchemist”, which given alchemists never managed to turn lead into gold, now strikes me as some sort of clever, coded Freemason warning.
But I took the comp tickets and there’s a small square of blank newsprint waiting for this review, so let’s press on.
The show was a series of sketches, starting with an extended bit of mime, which everyone loves. Eaton made some beeping sounds and appeared to pick up a space rock (or something) and then got hungry, made a sad face and drove off in his imaginary space car. Some might say this seven-minute sequence was enough, but he revisited the scene halfway through the show. I know it was halfway, because I was checking my watch.
There was more mime, this time involving a sneezing window cleaner, and a scene with a mutant travel agent. I finished my beer and Eaton licked some imaginary rain and pretended to ride a donkey. I thought about my day tomorrow and remembered I needed to iron a shirt.
On the plus side, the show ended 15 minutes earlier than expected.
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May 12th, 2012
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Scrubs” alumnus Sarah Chalke and “Everybody Loves Raymond” veteran Brad Garrett are coming to ABC.
The network has picked up the single-camera comedy “How to Live With Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life,” starring Chalke and Garrett.
The network is also going forward with the one-hour dramas “666 Park Avenue” and “Last Resort.”
“How to Live With Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life,” from 20th Century Fox and Imagine Television, stars Chalke as Polly, a recently divorced single mom who moves in with her eccentric parents, played by Garrett and Elizabeth Perkins (“Weeds”). Claudia Lonow (“Friends With Benefits”) wrote the pilot and is executive-producing, along with Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Francie Calfo.
“666 Park Avenue,” from Warner Bros. Television and Alloy Entertainment, is based on the Gabriella Pierce book. The series revolves around a young couple who manages one of the most historic apartment buildings in New York City – which happens to be the spot of supernatural occurrences that complicate and endanger the lives of the building’s occupants.
Dave Annable, Vanessa Williams, Terry O’Quinn and Mercedes Masohn are among the stars of the series.
“Last Resort,” meanwhile, revolves around the renegade crew of a nuclear submarine who go on the lam after being given a sketchy order to deploy their weapons. The crew then declare themselves the world’s smallest sovereign nation with nuclear capability.
The series, from “The Shield’s” Shawn Ryan, stars Andre Braugher as the crew’s captain and comes from Sony Pictures Television.
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte)
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You and I differ on this a little, Simon. I kinda think the only measurement of a stand-up comedy show is whether it was entertaining. I’m not convinced that you can really analyse a stand-up comedy act – sure, you can question whether a comic has anything important to say (like Bill Hicks), but at the end of the day I feel like the point is simply to entertain, even in the face of trying to make a point. If a comedian waffles about nothing in particular, if they repeat a slew of tired old jokes, if they don’t have good timing, if they simply aren’t funny – that all affects (negatively) how entertaining they are.
Thoughts?