You see, HBO was a haven for bright, young comedians. Some of my favorite specials have ranged from Robert Townsend providing both sketch comedy and stand-up to seeing Whoopi on stage doing her characters to Sinbad being his G-rated self to George Carlin being George Carlin... there have been many highlights, and lately, many lowlights. Def Comedy Jam started out as one of the bright lights...
Hosted by Martin Lawrence, it was a raw, edgey spot for Black comedians to really let loose and not worry about having to restrict or censor themselves on national TV. Loads of stars (D.L. Hughley, Bernie Mac, Cedric The Entertainer, Sommore, Adele Givens, Dave Chappelle, Chris Tucker, Joe Torry, Bill Bellamy, the list goes on) got their first national exposure on that very show. The thing is, with the vulgar nature of some of the C-list comedians, the show began to morph into a caricature of itself, where most of the later episodes were stale mimicry of tired jokes. It was no suprise when it got canceled in the late 90's. Yet, for some reason, HBO felt the need to bring this shit back...
Hosted by "DayDay" Mike Epps, who himself is great at impersonations but kind of juvenile with his original jokes, it does not stray too far from the original setup. The episode they have on there features Tony Rock (Chris' brother), Sommore and some gray suit wearing ass nigga named Capone. Tony Rock tried to be everyone but himself... he dressed like any random hip-hop comedian, told jokes like any random hip-hop comedian, but tried to bridge the gap by adding some political shit in there (immigrants, gay rights, etc), but instead of playing the smart role and injecting real issue into it, he diverted to tacos and dicks, which brought laughs from the audiene, but made his routine weak. Sommore was her usual golddigger self, playing that role to a "T", but the outfit she had on (odd green top sans bra) made me wish they could blur out her saggy chest. I got love for her, she is a Trenton native, but the look just took my mind off the jokes. Capone was a yelling ass suit wearing ass nigga, but his jokes about sex were actually true... it was the delivery that got me. Everything had to be yelled and mean mugged instead of being as suave as his on stage persona (Shaq hat included) would have set him to be. Mike Epps told some remedial jokes, which was normal, and kind of ran out on stage to intro each comedian like a 4 year old running to tell Mom & 'em that John-John was down the street getting into something. Odd all around --- maybe Russell knows what he's doing, but this episode does not really stand up to even the worst shit sandwiches that were lapped up in the original runs' day.
Now on to Dane Cook, who's Tourgasm was the first of his multi-project deal with HBO. The first of (possibly) many specials for HBO, Vicious Circle, premiered last night, and it was a mix of yelling and tangents. New ways to say things and saying the same old shit over again. Dane's kind of comedy is appealing for a few different reasons: he appeals to a very large white college kid crowd, I guess for his stories of one night stands and drunken escapades. He talks about everyday shit, and makes you realize that "hey, I've done that too!", which can be kind of neat, at times. I personally like the way he enunciates and pronounces words, it always keeps you guessing... even if it can be overkill. He does tend to go off the deep end with never-ending jokes, beating the shit out of you with joke fi joke fi joke fi joke, to the point where I think he seriously forgets where he started off. It's comedy for the MTV generation, even to the quick ass cuts and no-attention-span feel of some of his pieces. His storytelling is phenomenal, the way he can pick up on the most minute detail and focus your attention on that piece. That can sometimes outweigh the bad. I think my favorite parts of his Retaliation CD were those bits, the 10-15 minute stories he would tell. I did NOT appreciate him ending his set with fucking DJ Diddles, while funny as shit the first time you hear it, is (at least) a year old... and it's on your fucking CD! I mean, the fans out there already know this bit inside and out. Why subject them to that old material again? I was pissed at Tourgasm for the same thing... I don't think I heard more than one instance where Dane told new jokes. Get with it; this is not TV, this is HBO. The people will scrutinize (and tire) of your old material. Was it that hard to fill the 1hr 45min time slot? And don't think I didn't catch that "black people at the movies" remark you made,doggy... I didn't think you rolled that way, but your true colors have been shown.
In any case, maybe HBO Comedy is going to get better... Katt Williams, aka "Money Mike" and neph from Wild'n Out, has a new special airing this month. Roseanne Barr has one, too, but who gives a shit. We'll see...
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