Keanu Reeves Reads Chekhov

I know, I actually like Keanu Reeves. In the spirit of his latest movie, I recorded a new video of him reading from The Cherry Orchard. My voice is too high, so it doesn't exactly sound like him.

Look Around You Series Two Review

This isn’t from Look Around You. This is the show, Tomorrow’s World, upon which Look Around You, Series 2 is based off of. This time it aired in 2005. Peter Serafinowicz and Robert Popper were behind this series as well. I have talked about them in my last blog post, so read it.

The format of the series changed quite a bit. The series now took place in the 1980s, whereas in the first series, it took place late 70s early 80s-ish. The series no longer supposedly aired on as part of a cable in the classroom broadcast, but instead aired on the standard BBC. Instead of ten minute modules, we have half an hour episodes. We no longer have experiments, but instead, we have segments, such as “Inventor of the Week” and interviews. The narrator was forgone, and instead, we have four presenters. Jack Morgan, played by Robert Popper, reprising his character from the first series (the music episode), Peter Packard, played by Peter Serafinowicz, Pam Bachelor played by Oliva Colman, and Pealy Maghti played by Josie D’Arby.

But what hasn’t changed is the absurdism, the warped reality, the awkwardness, the humor, and the authenticity.

The authenticity is shown through the colors and camera filters, and the clothing and hairstyles. Pealy and Pam often wear stereotypical eighties outfits, that look hilarious, along with their big eighties hair.

To capitalize on the awkwardness level, we now have four presenters all interacting with not only one another and the audience back home, but other British comedic actors, such as Simon Pegg, Edger Wright, Sarah Alexander, and Nick Frost.

This time the series is focused on upcoming technology—well, what is seen as upcoming from the 1980s. According to the show, by the year 2010, people will live to be 400, reaching puberty when they’re eighty. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

As well, the show uses horrible technical errors. An example can be seen in this clip here:

The show still uses some of its elements from the previous series, such as a recurring motif in each episode, and the use of portmanteau. Like in the previous series, there are also unpronounceable words, probably the best example being the inventor of the hilariously stereotypical computer for women, whose last name is silent.

As well, this series has a subplot that reaches its climax in the series finale. Throughout each episode, there is an invention of the week, which showcases a bizarre invention that has to do with the theme of the episode, and the equally bizarre inventor (one of them was a horse). The first episode introduces us to Leonard Hatred, who invented Psilence, a spray you put on your ears to keep sound from getting in. Hatred is so beautifully portrayed by Mark Heap, who supposedly improvised the funny walk he does. Hatred, hmm… that last name should signify something.

All of the inventors appear in a “live” series finale, in which Prince Charles will choose the inventor of the year, and present them with a trophy. Prince Charles actually appears, and using amazing effects (I’m not joking) he joins them in their live studio in the ten minutes of the show. He’s beautifully edited in, and his dialogue is dubbed by Serafinowicz who does another dead-on impersonation.

While Jack and Pealy await the Prince outside the studio with a cheering crowd, Peter and Pam interview each of the inventors and give the audience a recap and demonstration of their invention. The cap of Hatred’s Psilence can falls off, his demonstration  is cut short, he starts having outbursts throughout the episode, culminating in him spraying a can of psilence in Prince Charles’s face, the program being delayed for a few minutes along with technical difficulties, the scary picture from the video above being shown, and a few minutes of “Birds of Britain,” and Jack ending up inside the winning invention: the sex change machine.

This series has a few more strengths than the earlier series with regards to actors. The hosts all show off their comedic abilities. They all maintain a level of awkwardness. Some hilarious moments for Robert Popper’s character include his character Jack Morgan’s newest song: Reggae Man.

A demonstration for a toilet sterilizer which ends with Jack splashing toilet water in his mouth. This deleted scene:

Note: In the original scene aired Jack loves his newly disfigured face. And finally, Jack emerging from the sex change machine in the series finale, once again giving proof that Robert Popper might be a castrati or a eunuch. The fact that Popper’s character was a chart topper for a while with “Little Mouse” and went back to presenting a second-rate science show is funny enough.

Peter Serafinowicz is funny, period. It’s hard to find a specific example. A good example would be the Leonard Hatred clip I showed above, where he interrupts Jack's monologue by screaming since he can't hear. He also does the announcements and voiceovers on the show.

He kind of plays the straight man in kind of the leader of the presenters. But the way he reads some of the ridiculous lines such as “a bee sting to the anus” in a straight tone is just hilarious. (Just so you know, Clive Pounds was brought back alive at the end of the episode).

Olivia Colman’s funniest moment had to be when she played Pam from the future, at age 90, in the food episode when it was Pam’s birthday. She wore old age make-up and had a robotic, laser eye. As well, in the health episode, the scene with her driving the car while sleeping at the end of the episode was funny as well.

Josie D’arby’s character represented the token black character that TV shows would try to include in the 70s and 80s onward—at least that what’s I think. Also, Josie’s interpretation of Pealy is hilarious, so she obviously is great on the show regardless. She has this perky, yet at the same time awkward energy that is hilarious, along with her enthusiasm and smiling towards the camera, making her look like the only presenter who might be happy to be there.

The guests are funny as well. An example would be Synthesizer Patel, a man who loves Synthesizers so much that he changed his name to Synthesizer. (another man changed his first name to “Computer” because he loved computers so much) Synthesizer Patel is plain funny. He then reappears in the series finale and guess what? All of his synthesizers but one are stolen!

All and all, it was a hilarious series.

Look Around You First Series Review

Robert's the one holding the test tube, Peter's the one with the clipboard

I previous listed this British Comedy Series as an anti-comedy. Keep in mind anti-comedy is comedy without being presented as comedy. Look Around You's First series (series in britspeak=season in americanese) is a sharp, absurd satire of old 1970s and early 1980s educational films that were shown in British schools for either educational purpose, or on rainy days during recess. However, even in America we have the same kind of educational filmstrips as well, so it is just as relatable.

The show was created and written by Peter Serafinowicz and Robert Popper. They also play the guys in lab coats conducting experiments throughout the season.

Serafinowicz is a wellknown comedic writer and actor. He is an amazing impersonator, and most of the comedy on his 2007 TV series, the Peter Serafinowicz show is based on it, as well as some great original characters. He can be seen in American television on Running Wilde and was in Couples Retreat. A little-known fact is that he voiced Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode One. He can be seen in a number of Simon Pegg films. He voiced Darth Chef on South Park as well. His Paul McCartney impersonation is infamous and spot-on, winning him the role of Paul in Disney's remake of Yellow Submarine (this is the only reason I'm going to see it, other than being a Beatles fan).

Popper is more known for his writing, editing, and music, but can act just as well as Serafinowicz. Popper is known for his alter-ego, Robin Cooper. As Cooper, he wrote the Timewaster Letters, sending a large number of associations and hobby groups asking for absurd, bizarre stuff. As Cooper, he also releases "Timewaster Phone Calls" on his youtube channel Vanillapod. He will call venues, TV shows, and radio shows, reporting ridiculous things (he reported PM Gordon Brown throwing a tangerine at a lamination machine to a radio call-in show, resulting in "Tangerinegate"). Popper made a series of prank phone calls with Tim Heidecker from Tim and Eric, and as well as working with Trey Parker and Matt Stone for their most recent season of South Park.

In order to have the series have some authenticity, Nigel Lambert, a seasoned narrator narrates the first series.

Here are two examples:






The first series (season) aired in 2002. Nine episodes were produced. Each episode was ten minutes long, in the spirit of the actual source material. Like I said, the source material were educational videos shown to the creators in schools. The specific source was the ITV Schools (the English version of Cable in the Classroom) Experiment Series

Here is a typical episode or module.


What makes the series funny?

Comedy is within the truth. The truth is comedy. We've all had to watch these educational videos back in school. The part the immediately made me crack up was the fact that the narrator repeatedly told you to write answers down in your copybook. You get to watch a movie, but wait, it's an educational movie, but it's still a movie--but then you have to take notes. That makes it just as tedious as a regular boring science class. Didn't you hate that? And didn't you hate that you couldn't find the answers to some of the questions within the film? Well, the stuff the audience are expected to write down while watching "Look Around You" is even worse than that.

As well, both Popper and Serafinowicz will commonly play with words, using portmanteaux, and often words that are physically impossible to pronounce, such as cDonald's theorem.

Also, in this world, what is logical is illogical. As we can see, illogical and impossible things happen during experiments, almost to hilarious extents, such as the giant scissors appearing in the sky. As well, some of the experiments are unethical, such as the lab assistant injesting sulphane, and then being shot.

The authenticity makes it funny as well. The random notes played on a synthesizer were composed by Serafinowicz, often improvised. The filter makes it 70s-ish and dated as well, and the clothes and hairstyles worn make it look dated too. This contributes the the anti-comedy genre as well. The authenticity makes it look realistic.

The look on the "scientists'" faces are hilarious as well,  as if they don't want to be there.

Finally, the repetitive motifs in each episode make it funny. In the sulfur episode, the scientist repetively violently disposes of the items in the experiment, to the point of him using a gun. In the iron episode, whenever iron is put on a table, the camera shakes and there is a loud noise.

This series is easy to watch, as each module is ten minutes long. However, it leaves the audience wanting more. As well, depending on the audience, some people might not get it and think it is an actual science series, and be kind of pissed. However, this is not unique to this specific series, as any series that attempts an alternative or anti-comedy format risks this.

I find this series hillarious, and many other people do--Matt Groening, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Tim and Eric, and many more.

I suggest watching it.

In a few days, I will cover the second series, which is somewhat different than the first series.

So remember to look around you. I leave you with probably the best song in the world that originated from this series:

Miley Cyrus Hosting SNL? And Worst SNL Hosts

On Saturday, March 5, 2011, I am going to do something I have never done before. I am going to purposely miss an episode of Saturday Night Live. Why you ask. Because after a strong season, Lorne Michaels has decided to appeal to a younger crowd, many of which SNL is past their bedtime. Yes, Miley Cyrus is hosting Saturday Night Live. As I was watching the most recent episode, hosted beautifully by Russell Brand, Don Pardo announced that Miley Cyrus would be hosting on March 5. I then dramatically held my arms out and asked “WHY?” Yes, I’m biased, I don’t like most of the stars Disney has crapped out in the past ten years, but, as a guilty pleasure, I enjoy watching it. However, I extremely doubt Miley Cyrus has the chops to host SNL, and she will likely bring it down from its strong season.

If you don’t know who Miley Cyrus is, she is the meal ticket—I mean daughter of one-hit wonder Billy Ray Cyrus. Miley is infamous for starring in Disney’s messed up version of the 1980s animated series Jem, Hannah Montana. Miley is responsible for ushering in Disney’s non-progressive, purity, subliminally conservative and Christian values, and wearing a bad wig. She is also infamous for her off set controversy including dating a 25 year old man while she was still underage, being photographed naked by decorated and talented photographer Annie Leibovitz amidst controversy, and then shifting the blame to Ann herself, reported diva behavior, an infamous racist photograph, performing on a stripper pole at the Teen Choice Awards, and most recently, smoking salvia and immediately experiencing a placebo effect in which she started talking like a gerbil. Most recently, her father has regretted his decision of allowing Miley to go Hollywood, and regrets his permissive parenting style, claiming the whole Hannah Montana experience ruined his family.

Miley’s tenure at Disney is officially over. This means she is trying to be a grown-up and shed her Disney image. While this has worked beautifully for Shia LeBeouf, Hillary Duff, and most recently Zack Efron (who beautifully hosted SNL in 2009). However, Cyrus is choosing the blatantly easier route, attempting to act like a grown-up, and trying to get parts that, no offence, are a little bit out of her league.

Miley’s performance on Hannah Montana as a fictionalized version of herself is average, with some attempts to be funny. Some working, others not. But can she do this live, after a grueling work and rehearsal week, in a performance lasting an hour and a half?

Her appearance is not without controversy, and this will lead probably to a tension-filled and awkward night. As well, this will coincide with increasingly strong performance of new featured performer Vanessa Bayer, who is becoming known for her spot-on impersonation of Cyrus. This appearance is too soon, and it is usually better for it to go on for another season before Cyrus’s appearance.

The performance will likely go either one of these ways.

1. Miley is surprisingly good.

2. Miley is reported acting like a diva behind the scenes (a la Lindsay Lohan)

3. Miley attempts to preach to the audience about her own beliefs, causing an extremely wholesome show.

4. The show will rely on the talents of the castmembers, instead of Miley.

5. There will be a large number of musical sketches in which Miley will sing.

6. Miley will ruin SNL’s momentum.

Now, I might be surprised, but I am not taking any chances. SNL is a big kids’ show, not for the Disney crowd. I can’t watch an attempt at trying to appeal for a younger audience, and as well a performance for a star famous for being on a second-rated kids’ show, and who is poorly attempting to shed her Disney image.

I started watching SNL in 2003, and in the spirit of bracing myself for Cyrus’s hosting SNL, I am reminded of the other horrible hosts I have endured. Who knows? Miley may surprise me—but I’m not taking any chances.

Worst snl hosts from 2003 onwards.

2003 was when I started watching SNL.

Donald Trump-okay, we get it, the apprentice is popular, but you have no stage presence and play yourself in almost every sketch. SNL was riding on Apprentice fever. As well, Trump mainly played himself, which is usually a sign of a less than versatile host.

Paris Hilton-Her appearance in the 2003 season was great. She appeared in the Al Sharpton episode during Update, after the sex tape scandal when Jimmy Fallon asked her if he could get into the “Paris Hilton”. That was funny, but hosting a whole show, for someone who has had little stage experience, nor talent, that’s a pretty hard task. Some have pulled it off, but Paris hasn’t. The sketches were mainly derived off of Paris’s looks and status, and Hilton’s wooden performance didn’t help those weak sketches at all.

Lindsay Lohan-This wasn’t her performance during the 2003-2004 season. That was hilarious. This is her burn-out performance during the 2004-2005 season, and the 2005-2006 season. By the last time she hosted, she had a smoker’s voice, and really wasn’t there. What’s funny, is that she didn’t get the irony about her during her last two hosting gigs. During her last hosting gig, there was behind the scenes drama as Lohan was repeatedly late for rehearsals. This evidently rubbed off into the performance of the actual show.

LeBron James-this became a trend in bad season premiere guests. He hosted the 2007 season premire, and his performance was wooden.

Michael Phelps-Bad season premire host, round 2. You should start your season up with a bang, not a host who couldn’t read his lines with emotion. Once again, wooden performance.

The Jonas Brothers-Okay, they weren’t hosting the 2009 Valentine’s day episode with Alec Baldwin, but they were the musical guests. And they took this as a chance to get on their soapbox, and talk about their whole wholesome lifestyle. SNL is a big kids’ show, Jo-Bros, and the only people who are allowed to be preachy are when politicians come on during elections, which is a great PR stunt. Last time I checked, you were a wannabe rock band. Also no one upstages one of SNLs go-to hosts unless you are an extremely successful musician, like Paul McCartney in the early 90s, or a special guest. And if they were going to do a sketch, it would have been better to do it later into the show, as the first post-monologue sketch usually cements the host’s performance for the evening, and introduces them into the sketches.

Megan Fox: One of my friends, who is a huge Megan Fox fan is going to kill me for this. In the 2009 season opener, Megan Fox surprised many, despite her sultry looks and sex appeal, she couldn’t generate any comedic appeal, although most of the sketches she was in capitalized on her sexiness.

January Jones- You’re on an Emmy Award winning TV show, yet your performance reminded me of those speakable items on old macs, where you would type stuff in and it would say it. Once again, the sketches revolved around January’s looks, and really had no substance. But, like Fox, she didn’t truly get in the spirit and satire of those sketches.

The people are mostly on this list for a wooden performance, and relying too much on the cast, and not being in the true SNL spirit.

So brace yourself for a hit or miss episode of SNL this Saturday. Me? Well, it is Unofficial. 

My Stand-up 1

This I performed during the spring of my Freshman year at my dorm's coffee house. Me and two other people were the only stand-up comedians, I was the only female one. Coffee House is plagued with poets, generic angsty, faux-activist, wannabe poetry--oh, and a few good musicians, so we were the shining light in between poems discussing how bad the world is and depressing stuff.

I was taking a lot of classes at night during this time (yes, theatre majors have labs too) and I didn't want to memorize a whole new act. So I decided to write "poetry." Stereotypical poems that were friggin hillarious and parodied every other "poet". I signed up as a poet, I wore a scarf, and I kept a straight face. I spoke in my "empowered woman" voice. People thought I was doing poetry at the beginning, then they started listening to the poems. And they realized I was actually doing comedy and satirizing all of this free verse poets that would dominate coffee house.

Towards the end, they were cracking up. This was my best stand-up act of that year. And this was my first foray into anti-comedy.

Now, if you have read my post about modern comedy genres, you would know that this is anti-comedy that is a thinly veiled satire of politically correct beat free verse poets. Other than that, the poems were just funny.

This proves that anti-comedy can work, and can be used to convey different forms of comedy underneath it, satire being the most affective way, without blatantly telling people its a satire. Remember, anti-comedy is comedy without presenting itself as comedy. Did you enjoy it? What worked or didn't work? Leave comments!

SNL 2-5-2011 Review

Tonight was a great episode. We saw the returns of not only Dana Carvey, but Mike Myers and Jon Lovitz in cameos. Mike Myers appeared in the opening sketch, in which they did, what else, but Wayne's World. Wayne and Garth listed their Oscar predictions, and still couldn't get over the fact that a movie called "Winter's Bone" came out, and handled it in true Wayne and Garth fashion.

In the opening monologue, Dana Carvey sang about how his cast was the greatest cast ever, and Jon Lovitz made his appearance, joining in a duet.

We saw the return of several of Dana's characters, including Garth, the Church Lady, Mickey Rooney, and Regis Philbin. I would have loved to see his Paul McCartney impersonation though.

We also saw great performances from featured cast member, Paul Brittain, when he played James Franco during weekend update, lampooning on the fact that Franco does a lot of stuff (a lot of movies, General Hospital, hosting the Oscars, directing, etc). And he proceeded to to the next joke on update. Then, minutes later, Seth Meyers asked, "James, what are you doing?" Then cut to James Franco holding up cue cards. "I'm doing cue cards now!" Man, James Franco is busy.

Abby Elliot gave a great performance as Chloe Kardashian, and Anna Faris. As well, we saw a great performance from Jay Pharoah as Eddie Murphy (spot-on!) and Bobby Moynihan as Snooki. Bobby's Snooki always makes me laugh. However, I do think that Lorne Michaels is relying a lot on Kristin Wigg, and needs to put more attention on the new featured castmembers, as well as the newly promoted castmembers (Abby Elliot and Bobby Moynihan). All in all, great show. Russell Brand is hosting next week. I called my mom while in between commercials, my mom is a huge Dana Carvey fan, and I had to explain who Russell Brand is. Chris Brown is the musical guest--what the hell?

Oh, and Just Bieber appeared for some reason.. but he did do a funny parody of the movie "The Roomate" with Andy Sandberg, and was funny in the Church Lady sketch.

ISN'T THAT SPECIAL?

Dana Carvey Hosts SNL Tonight!

Dana Carvey is one of my favorite comedians. And tonight he is hosting Saturday Night Live. Usually, when a former castmember hosts, that means that the episode will be really strong and hilarious tonight. SNL has had a great season so far, and last weeks episode hosted by Jesse Eisenberg proves so.



Dana Carvey is an impersonator, stand-up comedian, and satirist.

He was born in 1955 in Minnesota.

He had small roles in several movies before being on SNL, including This is Spinal Tap. He joined SNL in 1986 and was credited for being one of the castmembers that got it out of its 80s slump.

Dana Carvey stayed on SNL until 1993. He hosted SNL several times in 1994, 1996, and 2000.

He went on to have a rocky movie career, starring as Garth in both Wayne's World movies. His last movie, Master of Disguise was a huge flop, however, he still had a strong performance.

He has had two HBO stand-up specials, one in 1995, and one in 2008. he also had his own show in 1996, the Dana Carvey show, which was in sketch format. Despite being well-responded, it didn't last long. The Dana Carvey show was credited with launching Rob Smigel's Ambiguously Gay Duo, and the careers of Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert.

His career lulled in the late 90s and early 2000s, not because of his quality of movies, but because of two reasons: one, he wanted to be with his kids when they grew up, and two, he suffered from Angina Pectoris, which was troubled even more when doctors operated on the wrong valve!

No that his kids are in their late teens, Dana's been making comeback, starting with his HBO special in 2008, his appearance on the MTV Movie awards that same year when Mike Myers hosted. He and Myers once again played Wayne and Garth in a sketch. Carvey did his infamous George HW Bush impersonation for a funny-or-die video, along with Fred Armisen playing Barack Obama, Will Ferrell playing George W Bush, Chevy Chase playing Gerald Ford, Jim Carey playing Ronald Regan, and Dan Akyroyd playing Jimmy Carter, and Maya Rudolph playing Michelle Obama.

Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell

SNL characters and impersonations

Dana Carvey's original characters include the Church Lady, weekend update commentator, the Grumpy Old Man, Garth Algar, from Wayne's World, and Hans from Hans and Franz. Another popular sketch is the "Chopping Brocolli" sketch.





Dana Carvey's infamous for his impersonations: George HW Bush, which won recognition from the real George Sr himself, Paul McCartney (one of my favorites), Johnny Carson, Mickey Rooney, Dan Rather, Jimmy Stewart, and Ross Perot, and many more. Probably the most epic moment showcasing these impersonations was during the 1992 Presidential election, in which Carvey portrayed both George HW Bush, and Ross Perot, during a debate with Clinton, using special effects.



As well, Dana Carvey plays guitar, piano, and drums, and uses them with his characters and his stand-up acts.

So look forward to a great episode tonight, at 11:30 Eastern.

Comedy Genres

The following is a list of modern comedy genres I will be discussing. Yes, even comedy has genres.

Stand-up: Whether it's in a club during amateur night, or on an HBO special, this is one of the most accessible forms of comedy. It consists of one person doing a comedic monologue about various topics. Some have specific specialities, others don't. As well, stand-up is abstract, and any other comedy sub-genre can be applied to it. But there is still the standard traditional stand-up comedy which is the best if you want to get laughs from a crowd.

Examples of Traditional Stand-up Comedy Practitioners:

George Carlin

Jerry Seinfeld

And many more.

Rant: Rants can be put into any stand-up act, and are often disguised as such. Rants are different than stand-up because they are monologue discussing the annoyance or dislike towards a relatable subject, whereas stand-up consists of more than that. Rants can be hard to do. You cannot come off as angry, because it is unsettling, and it will look to the audience like you're some angry, hate-spewing performer. Toss in some jokes, have charisma, and make it relatable, though, and you're golden. Rants can cover anything from politics to everyday subjects.

Behold, the ultimate ranter, Dennis Miller.

Satire: Satire is as old as the Greeks, who would often satirize current events into their comedies, creating smart, political humor--that is until the Spartans took over Athens. Satire has since been recovered and evolved into a more biting, yet entertaining genre of comedy. Satire can be in the form of whole plays and movies, allegories, books, parodies, and sketches. Satire is still a popular modern comedy form, and continues to evolve as new satirical comedians produce their work.

Notable Modern Satirists.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park

An big chunk of SNL

Surrealism and Absurdism: I like to put these both together, because the absurd can often be surreal and the surreal can often be absurd. This genre is an acquired taste, and, now I hate to sound like an elitist, this usually appeals to either intellectuals, non-linear thinkers, and people with open-minds. If a person who doesn't truly "get it" finds it funny, it's usually for a superficial reason. For example, if one watches "The Ministry of Silly Walks Sketch" and doesn't truly understand surrealist comedy, they would laugh because "that man is walking funny." There is not a punch-line, there is no shtick, there is no pattern. It is ambiguous, abstract, but freakin hilarious. It involves normal people or abnormal people in absurd, surreal situations, or a world in which the surrealist twist is the established norm, although since there is no pattern in surrealism, there can be many variations to it. Keep in mind, though, this cannot be confused with OMG RANDOM humor, that people might confuse it with (usually these people are kids, though, but some might have youtube accounts, and upload it, and other kids would find them hilarious and brutally chew out people who don't). Good surrealism has a kernel of truth in it, and is often thickly-veiled satire. One who sees the truth hidden within it truly understands surrealism.

Notable Surrealists/Absurdists:

Monty Python

Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim.

People who are NOT surrealist and absurdists, and aren't even funny.

Fred. Fred ain't funny.

Alternative Comedy-That person is doing stand-up, but he's not doing it in a conventional way, he's not making observations, there are no punchlines. Welcome to alternative comedy, that arrived in the during the British punk movement, with an anti-establishment attitude. It crossed to America in the 1990s in response to the often non-progressive attitude in many stand-up acts. It's hard to exactly describe it, but the only way I can is to say what it's not. It's not done in a conventional form. There are no punchlines. It's not observational. It's not neutral. It isn't following rules. It isn't just a guy and a microphone. Alternative comedy can also encompass character company. Sometimes, alt-com can uses stuff no usually used in a stand-up act, such as a piano, pictures, drawings, songs, people acting in the background.

The best example of alternative comedy that has made it to the mainstream, but still hasn't sold it's soul are:

Demitri Martin

Zach Galifianakis

The Mighty Boosh

Anti-Comedy: No, it isn't tragedy. This is a relatively new phrase. It's comedy without being presented in comedy--in a way, it's alternative comedy, but it's not referring to itself as comedy. It will confuse the audience, but it doesn't thrive on messing with their heads. Like regular comedy practitioners, they want people to laugh and enjoy themselves, but they want them audience to think as well. The anti-comics usually play it straight, and never break face. On TV-shows that fall into this genre, one might crack a joke, usually a bad one, to which no one would laugh, or there would be a fake or awkward laugh. TV shows that are anti-comedy, might confuse viewers to the point of thinking its an actual documentary, drama, etc, and are victim to low ratings, but the true anti-comedians are able to pull it off, and causing their audience to laugh. Anti-comedy usually requires character comedy to pull it off. I will be exploring anti-comedy a lot as it is my favorite genre.

Andy Kaufman, the founder of anti-comedy--whether he wanted to or not.

Best examples of anti-comedy:

God's Pottery

Look Around You

Even The Office