The Joke's on the Audience

The end of the first season of Last Comic Standing was stunning. The winner, Dat Phan, just was not funny — certainly not as funny as many of the other comics. So, I can't say I'm surprised that Drew Carey, who was one of the pro judges for this season, has had cause to blow the whistle:

After comparing notes, the judges realized that their favorite contestant, who had also gotten a standing ovation from the audience, wasn't among the finalists. Meanwhile, a contestant who had, according to Carey, flopped during the competition, moved into the final round.

"Brett [Butler] walked out and Anthony [Clark] ripped his mike off in disgust," Carey told Variety. "No one could believe it. As far as I knew, we'd be judges to see who would go into the house. Turns out we're not." The Hollywood Reporter quoted Carey saying the talent contest "was crooked and dishonest."

"It was like somebody at NBC cast the show ahead of the event in Vegas. And they had 1,100 in the audience [for the semifinals competition] who saw how blatantly it was cast. If this happened on Survivor or any other reality TV show, it would be a major scandal."

Carey told the Los Angeles Times that an openly gay comic named Ant was apparently chosen because his sexual orientation made him a better fit than Carey's preferred wisecracker, Dan Naturman.

According to Carey, when he protested, the network pointed out that "a brief disclaimer, which runs among the end credits of the show, leaves the final decision on all matters, including voting and casting, up to producers." Personally, I'm not inclined to believe the network's statement:

Now that the 10 participants have been selected, the program will begin. As was the case last season, during the show, the comic elimination decisions will now be made by audiences who watch the comics perform, without any input from NBC, NBC Studios or anyone else associated with the program.

I don't think I'll be watching this season — not the least because the show's producers obviously have very little respect for their viewers, apparently counting on their memories' being short. This is from the "Weekly Recap" of the first episode last season:

ANT, an outspoken gay comic from New Hampshire, stirred the first controversy of the evening. Joe Rogan told him that he was using old jokes and that in fact one of his jokes was actually from a movie. Mo'Nique defended ANT, saying that the comic had technique and timing regardless. This started a ruckus that ended with Buddy Hackett yelling obscenities across the table at Joe!

I wonder how many other comics are getting a second shot. Last time around, ANT was moderately funny, but I remember thinking it odd how much off-stage camera time he was getting. I also remember thinking his material was a bit limited in scope, and I wasn't alone:

ANT exuded his trademark energy while performing mostly gay jokes. Afterwards, John Witherspoon advised ANT to broaden his routine to not just focus on the gay stuff.

Welcome to the "Quiz Show" of comedy. It's one thing to taint casting decisions; it's another to do so and lie that it's reality TV. Then again, what could be more real than the mainstream media lying?

ADDENDUM:
You know, it seems to me that every time I read about Drew Carey, he gives me cause to think, "No wonder I like this guy!":

"I thought the whole thing stunk, and I'm mad they had my name associated with it," he said. "I've got a certain amount of integrity in this business and I'm not going to be compromised. You can't use me and my reputation. Do it with someone else's reputation."

Posted by Justin Katz at March 11, 2004 11:17 AM
Culture