Last Comic Standing 3, Episode 6: Red Button Never Got a Roast

A quick note in relations to last week's observation in the column that there was no longer any ticket information on-line for an October 19th finale of LCS3. As it turns out, we were correct in suggesting that the show was going to end a week earlier than planned, with the finale on October 12. A fat-farm reality show will be taking the place of LCS on October 19. And the one thing it won't gain is ratings, no doubt.

But seriously, folks, we're here to take a look at Episode Six of LCS3, where instead of the normal stand-up elimination round, the comics competing will be part of a roast for Jay Mohr. Before that happens, however, all twelve remaining comics are on stage in their typical places, with LCS1 on stage-left and LCS2 on stage-right. The three comics of each team who competed in Episode Five stand in front of the three competing this week and Ralphie can be seen dancing a little as the show begins.

Jay comes out to explain that the show will feature a roast this week and that there will be two special guests, Jeffrey Ross and Triumph the Insult Dog. He then announces the $50,000 winner of last week's show, with is once again LCS2. It's now officially to the point of "yeah, whatever" when it comes to LCS2 winning the group votes.

Jay points out that two comics from the three in each team that competed the previous week will be leaving at the end of the show. Those comics then leave the stage. Jay introduces the teams for this week's show, which are Geoff Brown, Tess Drake, and Rich Vos for LCS1, and Alonzo Bodden, Garry Gulman, and Todd Glass for LCS2. He also states that only one comic from each team of three will advance to the final round.

With the rules out of the way, Jay introduces Jeffrey Ross, who will be the master of ceremonies at the roast. Meanwhile, Triumph can be seen in the back studying his notes for the show that night.

Coming back from a commercial and the stage has been set to make the show look as much like the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast as possible (they really needed a huge round painting of Jay in the background to complete the look, however). Jeffrey Ross starts off with a few jokes and let me say this right now - roast jokes don't look very funny when you're writing them down on paper for a review. Just take my word for it that he's a good host of the proceedings.

The first comic to be introduced by Ross is Triumph, who manages to break up Tess - even though she was trying hard not to laugh - while Ralphie just stares down from the balcony he, Dat, and Dave sit in above the stage. Triumph finally turns his might on Jay and gets off some of the best insults of the night, including one about Jay being so versatile at all the jobs he has, who knows what he'll suck at next?

See, you really have to be there to get the full humor of this material. You'll see what I mean as we go along here.

Triumph finishes by recommending his newly released DVD to the audience.

Dale: It took me a long time to warm up to Triumph, but he finally won me over with his DVD. Oh, I've never played it, but it makes for a good drink coaster. Seriously, good stuff from the puppet, and one of the better ones of the night, but that's his gig, so it goes nearly without saying.

Mike: Oh, yeah. Triumph gets off some of the best lines of the night, but then, that's his specialty. His dig at Vos' "rat face" almost made me choke on my dinner.

After Ross throws all of Triumph's used cigars into the audience, he introduces Geoff Brown from LCS1 to speak. After he is done, Ross thanks him for the "lecture."

Dale: Oh, look, someone erected a statue to Geoff Brown during the roast tonight. No, wait - that's just Geoff Brown doing his set.

Geoff honestly had some good material, but he got locked into staring straight ahead into the camera, which allowed him no flow to the material by interacting at all with the people seated around him. I'm afraid that's going to cost him this week.

Mike: Yeah, Geoff did not impress in the least. He had no energy and it came through. He was the least funny of everyone tonight.

Alonzo Bodden follows Geoff. His material is straight-forward roast material.

Dale: Alonzo was good. He was solid in his material. He was funny. He's a warm, lovable human being. He could probably kick my ass easily. So everything he did was prefect. No way could I insult his set. Uh-uh. No way.

Is he gone yet?

Seriously, Alonzo had a great little set of perfect roast material. Maybe not quite up to the level of what I was hoping to hear from him, but I have no complaints.

Mike: I disagree - I thought his set was the best of the night. He showed without a doubt that he deserved his Friar's Club membership.