standup

I think I've mentioned here before that I'm a big fan of Demetri Martin. Some people don't seem to like him for some reason (not sure why, he's funny and doesn't have any annoying qualities). It's probably just a knee-jerk reaction, to appear hip to dislike someone who has suddenly become hip. But I have no scientific data to back up this claim.

Martin talks to The Onion about how he got started in comedy, what it was like to be an intern on The Daily Show and then an on-air correspondent, how hard standup can be, and how comedy has changed since he started (since he started? What, seven or eight years ago?)

He also updates fans on the status of not one but two pilots he wrote for NBC. Hint: the news is not good. Or maybe it's very good, depending on what you want to see from Martin. He has a new CD out, These Are Jokes, and will film a special for Comedy Central.

If you missed Michael Richards' appearance on Letterman's show last night after his racist tirade at a comedy club in West Hollywood, CBS' Late Show Web site has the video, which you can see here.

Setting aside Richards' racial slurs aside for a moment, watching the video of his onstage meltdown made me think of the kind of heated exchanges people get into where one becomes so enraged they reach deep into their reserves for the ultimate atomic bomb of an insult, the one word or phrase they can say that will completely flatten the person who is attacking them, and in Richard's case his racist comments . During his appearance on Letterman's show, Richards acknowledged that he lost his temper, and it seems fairly obvious to me that whatever self-censoring mechanism he had was overrode by his need to take down the people who were heckling him.

We told you earlier about Michael Richards' racial outburst at a comedy club over the weekend, and it was unfortunate timing, since Jerry Seinfeld was going to be on Letterman tonight and the 7th season DVD set was coming out tomorrow. But now comes word that Richards will actually appear on the show during Seinfeld's segment, via satellite, to explain his side of the story.

Defamer has the details, including a report from someone who was at the taping of the show, which airs on CBS at 11:35.

I guess you could say that it's a spoiler, since you read what Richards is going to say, but I'm sure it's still worth watching.

If I were to pick 10 of my favorite TV people of all-time, my list would include people like Rod Serling, Dick Van Dyke and Carl Reiner, everyone behind The Simpsons, and, of course, American Idol judge Paula Abdul.

OK, I'm kidding about that last one.

But also on that list would be veteran comic Bob Newhart. Not only did he star in two great classic sitcoms (The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart), and a third underrated one (George & Leo), he's also a brilliant standup comic. He even had the #1 album and won a Grammy, beating out people like Frank Sinatra. He's funny, has a unique style, and just seems like a helluva decent guy.

That was quite an impressive lineup of comics on Comedy Central last night, eh? The Night of Too Many Stars was a benefit for autism charities that attracted the likes of Jon Stewart (who hosted), Steve Carell, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, Jerry Seinfeld, Borat, Will Ferrell, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, and many others.

CCInsider (that's the Comedy Central site for video and other content) has some great clips of the event, including Cross and Odenkirk's banter about American Idol-type shows, Triumph singing about people like Star Jones and Kathie Lee Gifford, Ricky Gervais' routine about not doing enough for charity, and Jimmy Fallon impersonating Bee Gee Barry Gibb during the auction part of the show.

OK, so I'm not really sure what's up with Fallon's Gibb impersonation. Does Gibb really dance and do karate moves like that?

[via Best Week Ever]