Is It Alive, or Is It Dead, and Should I Touch It?

I was asked if live comedy is dead. Live comedy died? I was awaiting for the birth announcement. I need to keep updated more.

No, live comedy is alive. Like people debating whether the theater is dead, I note that people have been proclaiming its death since the theater's second season. I am positive somesaid said "Shakespeare, he's a fad. No one will remember him in six months", or at least "Doth Shakespeare make an impression? I think not."

To answer specifics, "Saturday Night Live" continues to be strong. Even when it makes mistakes, it makes memorable ones. I am always amused to see the Not Ready for Primetime Players funnier on SNL than once they hit prime time. Television's problem is they adhere to formulas, and then once the public becomes bored with the formula, someone breaks the formula, and then all shows start following this new formula until it gets boring again. SNL at least allows greater experimentation.

I have a "Tales of the New Depression" story. One of the staff mentioned they were busy with "Tying the Knot", and I forgot that was the name of a movie. So I sent my congratulations on the upcoming wedding. "Tales of the New Depression" did a great job jabbing at Bush and the Establishment. I understand they stopped running it as they feared the jabs could backfire from a viewing audience that might not understand their brand of humor. I hope they return after the elections, as there is still much out there deserving more jabs.

The standup comics in Hollywood were good. As I note in New York, there are lots of good comics out there, yet you can see that special something that the comics have when they make it on national television that the up and comings ones don't yet have. Generally, comics need to understand how to combine actually funny jokes with timing, voice inflexions, and facial expressions. Sally Mullins I saw has what it takes: she's funny, her timing is good, and she has the expressions going for her. I saw one comic who I think has the potential to make it, and I wish I wrote down his name. Hopefully I will get it so I may post it later. He was 17 and he almost has it all: his jokes were funny, his instinct for timing is good (especially at that age), and he even puts body motions into his comedy. I was also impressed that he could do his comedy with his parents watching (frankly, some parents would ground their child for a week for some of the things he said, so I presume they knew it was all for the comedy). The only thing he needs to work on is his facial expressions: he had a stone face. He either needs to work on that, or put his stone face into his act.

But then, what do I know. I'm the glad who predicted that guy Seinfeld needed to work on his act. What do I know? But then, I always thought his friend Larry David was hilarious, so I think I know something.