Saturday Six – Comedy Specials / Albums

Welcome to the Saturday Six, where each week I let you get to know me a bit better with the help of a list. Any idiot can do a Top 5 list, which is why I kicked it up a notch to a Top 6. This week’s topic: Comedy Specials/Albums

I was never really into Joan Rivers. I guess I’m just too young. I vaguely remember her failed show on Fox, but I certainly was never allowed up late enough to see her in her prime on Carson. I’d see her in her most recent special, or her guest spot on Louie, or Fashion Police after I forget to change the channel when The Soup was over, and always found her funny. But to me, she was always the lady that worked with Miss Piggy at the perfume counter in The Muppets Take Manhattan.

So while she may be gone now, it made me reflect on the other people I find funny. I like to think I’m at least a little bit humorous. So this week, I run down the albums or specials that influenced my own sense of humor the most and that I find the most funny.

1. Louis C.K. – Hilarious – Louie is probably the most gifted comedy mind out there today. All his specials are great, but I think this has to be the best, or it’s at least the most accessible spot to jump on to his comedy. Pretty much the only difference between me and Louie is he’s 12 years older. Whenever I complain about something, I tend to slip into the “Fat Eighth Grader” voice

 

2. Patton Oswalt – My Weakness is Strong – I love all his albums, but this one gets the pick for the “Sky Cake” bit, which is one of the best analyses behind religion I’ve ever heard. If more people thought about religion like that, maybe we could all get along better.

 

3. Dana Gould – Funhouse – If you read this site, you probably have similar sensibilities to myself, and are probably at least aware of my other choices. Put this pick is more eccentric. While Gould was in the Comedians of Comedy special, he’s mostly been a writer behind the scenes. This special was years before he started writing on The Simpsons. It’s long out of print and cd only, so it’s hard to find, but any time I hear his Sassy Cat Story, I can’t stop laughing. But his bit on Lazy Advertising and the Moon is a classic as well.

 

4. Jim Gaffigan – Beyond The Pale – Hot Pockets! – I too generally only eat Hot Pockets when I’m sick, because it makes me feel better like “I thought I was sick, but it could be so much worse.”

 

5. Eddie Izzard – Dressed to Kill – When I was in college, this special was absolutely huge. Any time someone would mention it to someone and they said they hadn’t heard it, everyone would stop what they were doing and watch it. This meant I saw it roughly 4 times a week for an entire semester. I still quote it regularly to this day. “What do you mean my only choice is ‘Or Death?'”

 

6. George Carlin – You Are All Diseased – As I teenager, I couldn’t help but love the “7 Dirty Words” bit. I mean, how could you not?. My friend who turned me on to Carlin actually had the extended list of like 230+ “mostly dirty” words memorized. Carlin was great for always speaking his mind, and all his specials are great. This one gets the nod because it was the first one I saw when it came out, not years later on video. While the airport security bit was 100% true at the time, it seems a little awkward looking back at it now post 9/11.

 

JohnScott is the proud owner of a life size replica Captain Kirk Chair. He is a hoarder of Comic Books, Transformers, and Star Trek action figures. He attended Space Camp as an adult. He has taken vacations to the closing of the Star Trek Experience and the final night Shuttle launch. He has been known to yell at his television when the kids can't put together the damn statue in the Shrine of the Silver Monkey. When not writing for InsufficientScotty, he is a Software Engineer for a major healthcare communications company. You can Email or follow on Twitter @NotEnoughScotty or Facebook