Hi folks, and welcome to a somewhat perplexed edition of The Corner. I just finished watching the Comedy Central roast of William Shatner. It was mildly amusing, although I always thought that the point of these things was to get a bunch of entertainers who were friends of the guest of honor to come up and rip on them for a few minutes then get all mushy at the end. For this one only George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, and Betty White had actually worked with Shatner previously. There were a few laughs, but for the most part the humor was crude, vulgar, mean-spirited, and not particularly funny. And can someone explain why Andy Dick is still employed? Even Gilbert Godfried, whom I cannot stand, makes me laugh on rare occasions. Dick is just a less attractive, shorter version of Sandra Bernhard with a smaller penis, and an even smaller talent. And the one comedian who's bit I was looking most forward to, Kevin Pollak, wasn't even aired! I will say that seeing George Takei say "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on!" was worth the price of admission, but the lack of any true warmth at the end just made it feel pointless. And Shatner's closing monologue was stilted, forced, and had more of a 'I know you are, but what am I' feel to it rather than a polished riposte to the night's thrusts. And that, I now realize, sums up my disappointment. I was expecting a verbal fencing match, and what they gave me was a comedic Thunderdome, filled with cheap shots, and below the belt punchlines. Ah well, it's not the first time I was expecting sirloin, and was served cat food. C'est la guerre.
Marius
2 comments:
Hmmm... Cheap shots are what a roast is all about, my friend. Clever witticisms are appreciated, but don't really come up too often in these things. Never have. Take a look back on the history of the Friar's Club roasts... Don Rickles was their little darling at these things, and he made his ducats strictly by insulting folks....
I thought there were quite a few clever barbs, and that a good lot of the vulgarity was pretty clever too. Mean spririted? Maybe, but who better to poke at such subjects, but your friends?
I do agree, wholeheartedly, about Andy Dick, though, according to Hollywood gossip, he is rather well endowed. This is a fact I have no wish to verify....
I, too, was a bit disappointed that there were more Shatner-related folks on the panel, but, apparently, all of the assembled comedians were, indeed, Bill's friends.
Be concerned for Marius? Most likely not. Tampa seems luckier than most cities in her hurricane avoidance... Latest models have Ernie riding up the east coast.
Even turtles should escape the worst of it, hopefully.
Then again, 'canes are as unpredictable as a three-legged gator at a hockey game.... Makes no sense.....
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