Last Thursday or Friday on the Comedy Channel, they showed an old standup "contest" from 1979 (in New York). The show seemed to showcase my second favorite person (behind Michael Richards), Jerry. The first thing I noticed was the clothes, very seventies. But the act was all "old" material, that I had never heard before.
Did anyone else see this? It also featured some other now big-name comics, but I can't remember.
Pete
I saw it and not only was it old material but also pretty bad. He talked about Disney World, bumper cars, G.I. Joe, animal hospitals, lobsters, magicains, shopping, deodorant socks and sock hangers. Out of all of these topics he had few good jokes. There were very few high spots to his routine back then. I wasn't impressed at all.
But his hair, vest and skin tight pants were to die for!!
Marie
In article [email] writes:
Am I the only person who didn't think JS was very funny before he started doing the show? With the exception of one joke ("My parents just moved down to Florida. They didn't want to move, but they're over 65, and it's the law.") the few times I had seen him do standup, I had thought he was pretty bad. Then I started watching the show, and not only was the show funny, but so were his monologues.
So has Jerry just gotten funnier, or did I miss all of his good performances. The latter is entirely possible. I don't think I saw that many of his routines. I just remember not having a very good opinion of him when the show first came out.
He was *somewhat* funny, but mainly the quality of _Seinfeld_ is not due to JS or JLD or JA or MR but in fact LD... Larry David. He is the head writer who is not only responsible for most of the best episodes ("The Contest") but who also conceived virtually the entire setting, the characters, their quirks, the time, the style of comedy... in short the whole megillah. Without any of the actors the show might still be good, but without David the show simply wouldn't exist. If you want to see what can happen to a decent standup in a sitcom, without a Larry David to support him, check out John Mendoza's show in the fall. If Japan doesn't get along with us in the economic summit, we could threaten to drop the Mendoza show on Hiroshima...
And do you see David on the cover of Rolling Stone? Oh, no, no....
Wes
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While I think that Wes is slightly over-lavish in his praise of Larry David, I agree that, in fact, writers make an extremely large, and usually unrecognized, contributions to the projects that they are attached to. As an example: many people have heard of (if they haven't seen) CITIZEN KANE and its director and star Orson Welles. But few recognize the contribution of Herman Mankiewicz who conceived the idea, convinced Welles to do it, and wrote the screenplay, which was the blueprint for the edifice that Welles and Co. constructed. A counter-example is SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. This show has always had good performers, but its writing quality has declined so far over the years that it is almost painful to watch.
You can have a great director, great performers, and a great idea, but without great writing you end something that is merely "good" if you are lucky and usually mediocre or worse.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I don't think so!!! The style of comedy is directly from Jerry's standup routines. Don't get me wrong I still think that Larry David is the reason that the show is such a hit, but he's been writing the show to the tune of Jerry's standup style.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Now that's being a little harsh. The show would still exist, but might not be as good or last as long as it has.
No, and you never will. Writers are all too essential for a good show, but not many will ever be glamorized like the "stars" of the show.
Marie
In article [email] (Wes Simo
Is it "megillah" or "magilla" (as in "Gorilla"). It matters. ObJS: It's good to see someone appreciating the writer. You're right. The characters and situations make the show. LD is primarily responsible for that (with a little bit of credit saved for JS).
--Tim.
In my opinion, you must have missed all the good performances. I saw him in St. Louis about five or so years ago, well before the show, and thought his hour-and-a-half act was very good. That's what got me interested in the show before it started. Some of the bits that he does now have been in his repertoire for years, probably even before the show.
It also has to do with individual taste. I enjoy "observational" humor, or whatever they call it, and like it delivered in a subtle way of a good story rather than having it resort to spastic actions, screaming, etc.
John
[email] (Greg Horowitz) writes:
What you said pretty much sums up the way I felt/feel about him and his show as well. Lukewarm before, love the show, now think his routine is pretty darn funny too.
In article , writes:
The Dictionary Shmictionary defines it as follows:
megillah. Also megile. Pronounced "muh-GILL-uh." From the Hebrew megillah, "scroll." 1. Noun: a long story. The Megillah is the biblical Book of Esther, which is quite long.
I've always used it like, "don't make a big megillah out of it." As in don't make a big deal out of it.
In [email] (Jan Penovich) writes:
I think that would be a big "gedillah" - some yiddishism my grandmother uses, not sure of the exact meaning. A more correct usage of the former would be "the whole megillah", as in the whole thing.
So what - I'm bored!
Moshe
I'm not sure that is a proper way to use megilla (if one can say there is ever a "proper" english usage for a hebrew/yiddish word!) I would think that megilla should always refer to a story or at least to something written. So megillah =/= big deal, unless you are saying don't make a saga out of some story you are telling.
Can anyone else crystallize my thoughts for me?
GH>Am I the only person who didn't think JS was very funny before he started
Same here. In fact, I hesitated tuning in to the show at first for that very reason. Also, to be honest, I'm still not that crazy about his monologues but they're okay as occasional interludes. I simply tolerate them because the show itself is so good.
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