Tag / Comedy Central

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Post Mortem – After Midnight

@fter Midnight, the revamped version of the old Comedy Central show @midnight which has spent two seasons following Stephen Colbert on CBS, will be wrapping up its run after host Taylor Tomlinson announced she would be leaving the program.  CBS had previously renewed the show for a third season but decided to pull the plug rather than try and start over with a new host.  There will be no replacement program, and CBS will return this timeslot to its affiliates.

Tomlinson, who has been touring with her latest stand-up show while hosting the show during this second season, will be returning to stand-up full time, saying in an Instagram post, “Though it was an extremely tough decision, I knew I had to return to my first passion and return to stand-up touring full-time.”

I was unaware of Tomlinson prior to the show, but, having been a fan of the previous incarnation, I was excited to see the show come back.  Over the past two years, I’ve become a fan and saw her standup live at the Chicago Theatre this past February.  I look forward to more good comedy in the years to come.

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Fifty Years Of Music – 2003

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 2003, the year I celebrated the completion of my 28th trip around the sun.  A mere 22 songs remain familiar to me today, with just 15 of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#98: Eminem – Superman
iTunes stats: 12 plays

Peaking at #15, it was the third single from his fourth studio album.

#89: Eminem – Sing for the Moment
iTunes stats: 12 plays

Sampling Aerosmith’s Dream On, it reached #14 on the Hot 100.

#79: Christina Aguilera – Fighter
iTunes stats: 13 plays

Inspired by November Rain by Guns N’ Roses, it topped out at #20.

#76: Chingy featuring Ludacris and Snoop Dogg – Holidae In
iTunes stats: 11 plays

The second single from the rapper’s debut album, it went to #3 on the Hot 100.

#73: Jewel – Intuition
iTunes stats: 0 plays

Starting a shift to a more pop sound, the lead single from her fifth studio album peaked at #20.

#70: Puddle of Mudd – She Hates Me
iTunes stats: 21 plays

Originally written in 1993, it became the fourth and final single released from the band’s debut album, reaching #13.

#59: No Doubt featuring Lady Saw – Underneath It All
iTunes stats: 12 plays

Spending two weeks at #3, the song remains their highest charting single.

#55: Jennifer Lopez – Jenny from the Block
iTunes stats: N/A

Topping out at #3, it was the lead single from the actress/singer’s third studio album.

#51: Ludacris featuring Shawnna – Stand Up
iTunes stats: 33 plays

Spending a single week atop the Hot 100 in December of 2003, it spent 28 total weeks on the chart.

#36: Missy Elliot – Work it
iTunes stats: 21 plays

The rapper’s most successful single, it spent ten weeks at #2.

#35: Dixie Chicks – Landslide
iTunes stats: N/A

A cover of the Fleetwood Mac song, it went to #7 on the Hot 100 before its run was cut short by singer Natalie Maines’ criticisms of President George W. Bush triggered a boycott.

#30: Justin Timberlake – Cry Me a River
iTunes stats: N/A

Inspired by his relationship with Britney Spears, it peaked at #3.

#28: Eminem – Lose Yourself
iTunes stats: 55 plays

Spending 16 weeks in the top ten, it spent twelve of those weeks at #1 to wrap up 2002 and start 2003.

#18: Avril Lavigne – I’m with You
iTunes stats: 11 plays

Reaching #4, the singer’s third single was inspired by her feelings of loneliness over being single.

#16: Christina Aguilera – Beautiful
iTunes stats: 18 plays

Written and produced by Linda Perry, the song became Aguilera’s longest-charting solo hit, spending 27 weeks on the Hot 100 topping out at #2.

#13: Nelly, P. Diddy, and Murphy Lee – Shake Ya Tailfeather
iTunes stats: N/A

Featured on the Bad Boys II soundtrack, it spent four weeks atop the Hot 100 in the fall of 2003.

#11: Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz featuring Ying Yang Twins – Get Low
iTunes stats: N/A

The debut single from Lil Jon and friends went to #2.

#10: Evanescence featuring Paul McCoy – Bring Me To Life
iTunes stats: 32 plays

The lead single from the group’s debut album, it topped the Modern Rock chard and reached #5 on the Hot 100.

#7: Chngy – Right Thurr
iTunes stats: 20 plays

The rapper’s debut single, it spent five non-consecutive weeks at #2.

#4: Beyonce featuring Jay-Z – Crazy in Love
iTunes stats: N/A

The lead single from Beyonce’s solo debut, it spent eight weeks at #1.

#2: R. Kelly – Ignition
iTunes stats: N/A

Parodied by Dave Chappelle on his Comedy Central show, it spent five weeks at #2.

#1: 50 Cent – In da Club
iTunes stats: 12 plays

The lead single from his debut album, it spent nine weeks atop the Hot 100.

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Travelling The 50 States – California

Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we start today with the 31st state to be added to the Union: California.

State: California
Joined the Union: 1850
Visits: 11

With eleven visits between 1998 and 2019, the Golden State is the state I have visited the most, outside of those I have lived in and/or attended college.

My first visit was in 1998 to attend Comic Con International in San Diego.  I went early, spending the entire week and enjoying some pre-Con time checking out the sights, including the San Diego Zoo.

I returned the following year for Labor Day weekend, but this time up to the San Francisco Bay area, to visit my old friend Scott, who had moved out there after graduating to work at AMD.  What I remember from that trip is my first Giants/Phillies tilt at the former Candlestick Park, my first trip to the toilet that at the time was called Network Associates Coliseum, and a car trip over the Golden Gate Bridge.

I returned to San Diego for Comic Con in 2000 and 2003.  I don’t remember much of the 2000 trip, but the 2003 trip included my one visit to the former Jack Murphy Stadium to see the Padres face the Diamondbacks.  At the Con, I managed to see many of the stars (or, at least, bit players) from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Smallville, and Tru Calling.

With the Cubs coming off their first division title since 1989 and a new stadium opening in San Diego, my friend Pete and I planned a trip for the Cubs mid-May road trip.  We attended all three games at PETCO Park, which the Cubs swept, while also taking in the local sights and the ambience of the Elephant and Castle bar in our hotel. Continue reading →

by jim

Post Mortem – Another Period

After 3 seasons, Comedy Central pulled the plug on Another Period, the mock mashup of Downton Abbey and Keeping Up With The Kardashians created by comics Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome.  I think I fell off some point during season two, so I’m not sure how it ended, but I’d certainly like to go back at some point and catch up.

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Midseason Review – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1Continuing our look back at my thoughts on the new fall season, with the offerings that I found myself interested in for Tuesdays.

7:00

The Flash – Barry returns from the speed force a changed man for the fourth season of the show.

The supporting cast has been pared down a bit, leading to easier-to-follow subplots.

8:00

Black-ish – For its fourth season, the show moves out from Modern Family‘s shadow and gets to lead off its own hour.

With Yara Shahidi moving on to Grown-ish and a new baby to take her place, the show has a slightly different tone, but still brings the funny more often than not.

This Is Us – The one breakout hit from last season returns to emotionally manipulate us once again.

The emotional manipulation continues, but the show seems to overestimate the audience’s attachment to the mystery of how Jess Mariano died.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow – With time shattered at the end of last season, the team has to put things right.

Somehow, I missed recording the second episode of the season, and it isn’t streaming anywhere at the moment, so I’ve only watched the season premier and the crossover episode.

8:30

The Mayor – A rapper runs for mayor to gain publicity for his mixtape and accidentally wins.  With Yvette Nicole Brown on board, I’ll give it a shot.

This was a fun little show, but has already been pulled from the schedule and isn’t likely to ever return.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Season 5 starts with Jake and Rosa in prison, framed for crimes they didn’t commit.

More of the same from the gang at the Nine-Nine.

9:00

Kevin (Probably) Saves The World – Jason Ritter returns to television in this show about a layabout who learns its up to him to save the world.

I caught up on the show over my Christmas vacation and, while not challenging in any way, it is somewhat enjoyable.

Now let’s look at the new shows premiering in the spring on Tuesdays:

Black Lightning – The latest foray in to the DC universe from the CW brings one of the few black heroes to television.

Another Period – The Comedy Central show about the Kardashians of the early 20th century returns for its 3rd season.

Roseanne – 21 years after its final episode, the former #1 hit returns as the latest revival.  Who knows if it will be any good, but it is certainly worth a look.

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Book 20 (of 52) – The Daily Show: An Oral History

The Daily Show (The Book): An Oral History – Chris Smith

On December 17, 1998, Craig Kilbon signed off from The Daily Show for the last time.  The following January, a new host, looking to bounce back after a failed late night talk show earlier in his career, took over.  16 years later, Jon Stewart said goodbye, changing the face of the show, and late night television, forever.  For this history of Stewart’s time with the show, Chris Smith interviews Stewart, the correspondents, writers, producers, and guests that turned a late night spoof in to an Emmy-award winning juggernaut that is the longest running program in Comedy Central’s history.

The history of the show covers all of the big news stories of the 21st century, from the disputed presidential election in 2000, to the 9/11 attacks, to the election of Barack Obama in 2008 and the rise of Donald Trump as a serious(?) candidate in 2015.  Smith gets stories from all of the contributors over the years, minus, of course, Kilborn.

I was a fan of the show when it first premiered with Kilborn.  When Stewart took over, I was just out of college and had lost track of the show, but eventually came back to it for the last few years.  The spirit of the show lives on, with John Oliver and Samantha Bee doing similar shows on a weekly basis and, of course, Trevor Noah continuing the flagship.

 

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Post Mortem – The Meltdown With Jonah And Kumail

What do you get when you host a comedy show in the back room of a comic book store and then put it on TV?  You get The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, which aired for 3 seasons on Comedy Central before coming to an end last November.  Hosted by Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani, the show was a victim of its own success, as both hosts have seen their profile rise considerably since the show started in 2014.  Jonah recently starred in the re-booted MST3K, while Kumail has been part of the Silicon Valley cast since the beginning and has just starred in his first feature film.

While I’ll miss the show, and the up and coming comedians it featured, I know that Jonah and Kumail will continue to be entertaining for years to come.

by jim

A Group Of Oddballs

oddball_lineupSunday night of the Toronto trip had been scheduled for dinner at the CN Tower, but then I got a message saying, “Hey, I jut got an email about this comedy festival on Sunday.  We should totally do this.”  I’d first heard of the Oddball Comedy Festival last year when Chris Hardwick was one of the performers.  I looked at this year’s lineup and got right on board.

The tickets claimed the show started at 5, which was kind of true.  The second stage had performers starting that early.  As you can tell from the picture above, the main stage didn’t kick off until 7:10.  To make matters worse, they weren’t letting people in to the pavilion, so you couldn’t even find your seat, leaving the 16,000 person strong crowd to battle for the limited shade on an unusually warm afternoon.

Once things got going, though, the show did not disappoint.  Other than the first 2 comics, Mark Normand and Katherine Ryan, I was familiar with all of the performers, so I had at least an idea of what to expect.  Sadly, the same could not be said for my travel companion Hayley, who, despite coming up with the idea of attending, had heard of Amy Schumer, but had never seen her in anything.  Normand and Ryan put on entertaining sets, followed by Michael Che, the current Weekend Update anchor on SNL.  His was a brand of humor that did not play well with the British contingent of my travelling party, but I found him to be quite good.

Following a theme, the next performer was Che’s cast-mate Jay Pharoah.  Jay struggles sometimes on SNL because he is a stand-up rather than a sketch guy, so it was good to see him shine in a more natural environment for him.  He was followed by Jim Norton, who I always find fascinating despite his long time association with Opie and Anthony, who I do not enjoy.

After a brief intermission, we entered what I am calling the Comedy Central part of the show.  Anthony Jeselnik, Nick Kroll, and Amy Schumer all have, or recently wrapped up, shows on the cable outlet.  If I had to pick a set that I liked the least, I would go with Jeselnik’s.  His brand of comedy doesn’t really mesh with my sensibilities, although he was a big hit with the English.  Schumer, after her big movie hit over the summer, was the obvious draw for many in attendance.  After her set, as Aziz Ansari took the stage as the headliner, the crowd starting filing out.  Granted, some of the crowd had been there for 5 hours at that point, but still… you can’t wait another half hour?

Anyway, I had a blast and, again, lament the fact that I never see live comedy in my home town.  I’ll certainly keep an eye out for the festival next year and, if the lineup is half as impressive, I’m definitely down for another go around.

by jim

Post Mortem – Garfunkel And Oates

g&oBack in March, IFC announced that they would not be moving forward with a second season of Garfunkel and Oates, based on the musical comedy duo of the same name consisting of Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci.  This is a great loss, as I am a big fan of them as well as the show.

Lindhome has already moved on, co-creating and co-starring in Another Period for Comedy Central, which debuted late last month. Meanwhile, the duo continue to record music and will hopefully have a new album available soon.