I know getting annoyed by a reality television is stupid and juvenile, but let me just say that Lost Comic Standing is complete bullshit. The show is ostensibly a talent competition to find the funniest stand-up comic (an art form that some people actually respect), yet the results of the last two episodes made it pretty clear that the producers were more interested in casting a reality show than actually rewarding the funniest performers with a huge career boost.

Of course, this isn’t the first time the producers fixed the show. At this point in the last full season of the show, celebrity “judges” Drew Carey and Brett Butler stormed off the set when they realized that one-joke hack Ant was getting a spot on the show instead of the much more deserving Dan Naturman. At the time the producers concocted a lame excuse about the choice being made based on multiple performances and that the celebrity judges’ votes were being considered alongside other factors, blah, blah, blah. I guess this year they just found “judges” that didn’t mind being puppets.

I wouldn’t be so annoyed by all of this if two of my favorite comedians hasn’t been screwed by the whole scam. I’ve been seeing Doug Benson and Jackie Kashian perform for years, yet when it came down to picking the winners, they were brushed aside by a bunch of half-funny “personalities” who were chosen because they fit a demographic niche. Don’t get me wrong, there are some funny people who made it, but it’s sad to see such brilliant performers have their big break given to a bunch of comics whose only material is about how they’re fat, horny, old, short, pregnant, etc… Ugghhhh….we get it.

Should I even bother pointing out that when producers were fixing televised competitions in the fifties, there were congressional hearings? Granted, that’s overkill to say the least, but it’s amazing what you can get away with when you hide some fine print in the closing credits. At least shows like American Idol have a few shreds of integrity.