Last Comic Standing 6, Episode 9: Give ‘Em Enough Props to Hang Themselves

Episode 8 of LCS had an overall rating of 5.05 million watching (a drop from the 5.26 of two weeks ago but about the same as last week). However, the show got a 2.5 and an 8 share in the 18-49 demos, which put them just behind So You Think You Can Dance and into the number two spot for the night. Not too shabby.

A reader this past week wanted to know why God’s Pottery got so much face-time on the program in Episode 8. Of course, the reader meant it in the sense of being irritated every time they showed up – while I thought their comments on-camera were the highlight of the episode – but it’s a good question. Of course, there are two reasons for this: One, shut up, and Two – oh, wait. That’s not the reasons.

Actually, the reasons are: One, in order for an episode of a reality show to build to a “dramatic climax,” the audience must feel invested in the people going up for the chop. Whether you hate or like them doesn’t matter, as long as you can remember who they are for the duration of the episode. Thus, the over-emphasis on certain contestants usually is a sure sign that someone is either going to be winning or losing by the end of the end credits. That’s why you had Papa CJ getting about three lines in the episode and God’s Pottery appearing … well … a lot.

The second reason for their many appearances is that they seemed to be one of the few who understood the idea that the on-camera interviews are to help narrate the show (like the moment where they explained to the audience what a hack was) and make with the funny. Way too often the other comics got serious in their interviews (Ramey in making observations about things going on, Iliza about her hurt feelings over being picked, etc.), and only a few came up with anything of interesting and funny to say. Only Sean Cullen and God’s Pottery got the point and went for gags in their interviews, and that’s why both got so much face-time in the episode.

One more comment about Episode 8: As some of the regulars may remember, I was on the fence about the showdown as to who was better – Esther or Iliza. Watching it again on the next day with my wife (who missed it the first time around), I’m still split. Both had good moments and bad in their sets and I noted the second time around that Esther had been edited in such a way that some of her material (including a good credit card joke) had been cut out. Iliza seemed to stumble a bit and did a couple of gags that were so observational they didn’t really stand up as jokes (ex. You bump into a table so hard that you spin around. Hmm. Yeah. And?), but was still okay in the end.

Many people wrote to say that they couldn’t believe I didn’t pick one over the other. The funny part about that? It was about an 80/20 split of people who thought Esther as much, much funnier than Iliza and why didn’t I see that? (Meanwhile, the We’ll Be the Judge of That! crew at Foxes On Idol unanimously picked Esther as the worst and Iliza as the best of the night.) I think that comes out of what occurred in the house – Iliza having a bit of a meltdown when Esther picked her for the showdown, while Esther kept her cool – more than what was happening on the stage at the showdown.

I tend to try to separate the two when watching the showdowns in an attempt to better understand why someone was picked that may not have come off well in the house (as, apparently, do the We’ll Be the Judge judges), but I could see why people wrote and reacted that way. It reminds me of a comment Louis Ramey said last week: “You can be funny, but there’s something about being likable.” At the time he seemed to be saying that Esther might win because she’s likable, but I now wonder if perhaps he was also saying how Iliza is setting herself up to fail with her negative actions being shown in the house.

Which brings us to Episode 9. Iliza is shown dropping her bag off at the house and saying that she plans to just keep it packed since it’s too much to unpack only to pack again. Oddly, there’s no ceremonial scene of the other comics welcoming her back as had been seen in previous years. That may have just been edited out for time; but that’s a reach – we’re in another two-hour episode that has only 58 minutes of material in it anyway, but we couldn’t see them greeting her if they did? Oh, well.

Iliza talks about how she crushed the competition, but considering it was Esther Ku and God’s Pottery she went up against, that’s kinda like saying how great you felt when you beat up the elderly in a steel-cage match – yeah, you won, but no one could say it was challenging. Elsewhere, Marcus lays it on a bit thick about Iliza’s act – to the point you’re wondering if he’s joking – and then the editors cut to her worst gag (yep, you guessed it, the table-bumping-twirl thing … y’know this is the fourth time I’ve seen it and it’s really not growing on me). You have to wonder if the producers really do not like Iliza at this point.

Paul Foot and Papa CJ are seen talking about Iliza in interviews. Paul wonders if she has already done her best material and is therefore vulnerable. Papa CJ, on the other hand, feels she just isn’t that good at it. But all of that is put aside as the comics hit the short-bus for a trip. They discuss ideas of what challenge they may be facing with a lot of the suggestions about water gimmicks. Why? We’ll never know, as it is not explained, but there does seem to be the suggestion that perhaps they got a clue in the house that told them something to do with water would be their next challenge.