John Mulaney, Jim Gaffigan, Bert Kreischer, Marc Maron and the comedy specials NOT on the Best of 2023 list

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:12.320
Kalaroga Shark Media. Hello, I'm
Hunny Mack with your daily comedy news.

2
00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:15.839
If you miss the last couple days, have been doing the top twenty three

3
00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:21.359
comedy specials of twenty twenty three today
or the specials that did not make the

4
00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:24.719
list. So why do such an
episode, John, if these aren't your

5
00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:28.559
favorites. There are some huge,
huge names on here, and I just

6
00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:33.280
wanted to talk through why they didn't
make my list, in no particular order

7
00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:37.719
other than kind of sort of when
they came out. Jim Gaffigan's Dark Pale

8
00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:40.840
on Amazon. Now, if you
listened earlier in the week, I have

9
00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:45.600
Jim as the most influential comedian right
now. Jim's at the top of the

10
00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:49.840
pack, touring with Seinfeld, working
mostly clean, got a movie career,

11
00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:54.359
going, always gets great press,
has respect of other comedians, and yet

12
00:00:54.439 --> 00:00:58.640
I felt like Dark Pale just missed. It's perfectly fine Jim Gaffigan, but

13
00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:02.679
I think Jim has better in him. It's by no means a bad special.

14
00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:06.599
Don't get me wrong, It's a
totally fine special. It just didn't

15
00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:10.040
have that extra gear that some of
Jim's other work has. I know he

16
00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:12.719
tried to work a little dirker this
time, and I just found it just

17
00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:17.280
wasn't grabbing me, and I punched
out of it halfway through. Next up

18
00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:22.000
is Joe Lists enough for everybody on
YouTube, Very very very very funny.

19
00:01:22.519 --> 00:01:26.200
Really enjoyed it. But here's the
thing. I gotta draw the line somewhere.

20
00:01:26.519 --> 00:01:32.200
The word special gets thrown around a
lot. And if you were Ricky

21
00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:37.200
Gervais playing at the two, that's
a special. If you are Chris Rock

22
00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:42.400
and you're finally responding to slap,
yeah, that's a special. If your

23
00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:45.319
Joe List and you set up a
couple of tripods and you do a really

24
00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:49.079
really funny thing that happens to be
an hour long, that's an hour or

25
00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:53.079
that is a set. I don't
know if it's a special. So that's

26
00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:57.040
why I couldn't put it on the
list. It just didn't feel like it

27
00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:00.400
was in the same class as those
other things. Funny, yeah, should

28
00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:04.040
you watch it, Yes, But
a special I don't know. And there's

29
00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:07.040
a lot of those. Part of
the challenge of making this end of the

30
00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:10.400
year list was I saw somebody mentioned
there were seven hundred things released this year

31
00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:14.960
that are ostensibly specials. You know, at some point it's too much,

32
00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:16.919
or you're gonna watch two of these
a day. I can't next up.

33
00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:21.680
I know this guy a little bit. We cross paths at a previous gig.

34
00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:24.039
Jared Freed, cool guy, like
his podcast work a lot. His

35
00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:29.879
hour is called thirty seven in single. That one on Netflix really great way

36
00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:32.280
to spend an hour. I just
cut my list off of twenty three and

37
00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:36.439
that wasn't in the top twenty three. But nothing wrong with it. Amy

38
00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:42.439
Schumer Emergency Contact on Netflix. A
few people wrote that her acts seemed a

39
00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:46.759
little bit tired. I don't disagree. That's a double negative. You just

40
00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:50.599
used Johnny Mack. Yes, just
never felt like that one kicked into gear.

41
00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:53.680
Here's a huge special that appeared at
the top of a lot of people's

42
00:02:53.719 --> 00:03:00.120
lists. John Mullaney's Baby Jay John
Mulaney's addressing of the various issues he had,

43
00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:04.960
including his rehab, that surprised a
lot of us. Like a few

44
00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:07.719
things I'll mention on the list.
It's fine. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

45
00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:13.000
The place where I struggled was when
I was watching it. It's hard

46
00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:16.319
to pin down this feeling. I
didn't believe some of the tellings of the

47
00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:22.360
stories now I get what comedy is, and I get Hassan minhaj Gait,

48
00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:28.039
and I understand that comedy is often
taking a story based on reality and exaggerating

49
00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:30.360
it. But as I was watching
it, I just I was like,

50
00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:35.599
I don't believe this version of this
story, John. Whereas if I compare

51
00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:38.680
that with Gary Golman, I'm sure
Gary was doing the exact same thing,

52
00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:42.280
taking things based in reality and exaggerating
them. But Gary sold it in a

53
00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:45.840
way that I didn't feel like Malini
did. If you're throwing stuff at your

54
00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:49.080
phone right now, going this host
as an idiot, I get it,

55
00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:53.680
just didn't feel that special. Lewis
Black's Tragically, I need you Lewis Black

56
00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:57.000
doing Lewis Black things. If you
like Lewis Black doing Lewis Black things,

57
00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:00.280
there you go again. Not everything
can be on the best of list.

58
00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:06.159
Hannah Gatsby's Something Special. You may
recall Hannah Gatsby's Nenette was considered by some

59
00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:12.759
who have reinvented comedy. I actually
liked Douglas Her Other Special better than Nanette.

60
00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:15.120
Like Douglas a lot. This one, I don't know. The whole

61
00:04:15.160 --> 00:04:18.920
thing felt kind of tired to me. Next up, not on the list.

62
00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:24.759
Mark Maren's from Bleak to Dark.
You'll find that on Max. I've

63
00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:28.759
been struggling with this one. I've
really been into Maren, especially in the

64
00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:30.399
back half of the year, and
I feel like maybe I should go back

65
00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:33.560
and watch this one. But when
I originally watched it, it just wasn't

66
00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:36.680
grabbing me. And I was so
excited for it because I like Maren's comedy

67
00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:40.720
a lot, and I've loved his
last few specials, But this one,

68
00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:44.199
I don't know. Maybe it was
the subject matter. I saw on some

69
00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:46.879
people's list they had Marin at number
one. If you're throwing things at your

70
00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:48.560
phone right now again saying this host
is an idiot, I get it.

71
00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:55.120
Andrew Santino's Cheeseburger came out on Netflix
early in the year. What's the line.

72
00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:57.879
If you can't say something nice,
don't say something at all. Bert

73
00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:03.040
Krascher's special came out in March,
Razzle Dazzle on Netflix. Like the beginning,

74
00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:05.839
I didn't love the middle, I
didn't like the end. I did

75
00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:10.399
love the machine though, go watch
the Machine movie. But this not Bert

76
00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:14.120
Kreischer's best work, and what was
a really strong year for Bird. Kreischer

77
00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:18.120
but not that one. Continuing a
look at the specials that did not make

78
00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:24.000
Johnny Max list, Greg Warrens the
salesman that was on YouTube. I saw

79
00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:28.920
that on some folks top ten lists. I actually have in my notes here,

80
00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:33.560
hated Hardy Craig. One of the
things that bothered me is I'd been

81
00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:39.519
working in audio for thirty years.
I don't know it sounded to me.

82
00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:43.360
Don't want to accuse anybody of anything. I'm sure this did not happen,

83
00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:47.360
but my brain was wondering, did
they add in some extra laughs into the

84
00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:51.199
crowd. My brain was like,
hmm, this sounds like they sweet in

85
00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:55.319
the audience. I'm sure Greg didn't
do that. So I don't want to

86
00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:58.639
suggest that at all. I'm just
telling you what my brain that started hearing,

87
00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:01.480
and I punched out on that one, Kevin Hart's Reality Check, that

88
00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:06.079
one on Peacock, that's Kevin Hart
doing Kevin Hart. And like, I

89
00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:09.759
get it, he made more money
touring than anybody. And I'm just an

90
00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:14.319
idiot recording a podcast in the basement, So who am I to say that

91
00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:16.160
that's not a great special. But
it's not a great special. It's Kevin

92
00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:21.399
Hart doing Kevin Hart. Louinel's town
business as part of the Chappelle's Home Team

93
00:06:21.480 --> 00:06:25.519
brand. I lasted about two minutes
with that one. Not for me,

94
00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:30.480
BET's stelling on Netflix. I've seen
that way up on a lot of people's

95
00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:34.759
lists. Same note, the crowd
laughter, same thing I said about Greg

96
00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:39.839
Warren. I kind of was feeling
here. I don't know is that a

97
00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:43.399
thing that actually goes on? But
Bet Stealing Special did not grab me.

98
00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:48.480
This next one. I think the
material deserved a lot better than the final

99
00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:53.439
result. That is, Joe Perra
is slow and steady. If you're not

100
00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:58.720
familiar with Joe, he works very
slow and very steady, a very low

101
00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:04.120
energy, slow paced delivery, and
he's hilarious. And as I watched this

102
00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:09.839
special, I was like, the
material's great. The problem is the crowd

103
00:07:09.879 --> 00:07:12.439
gets out in front of him,
so before he can actually get to the

104
00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:16.800
punchline, the crowd is laughing in
anticipation. Mitch Hedberg ran into this late

105
00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:21.319
in his career. His wife Lynn
Shawcroft told me that Mitch was actually struggling

106
00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:26.000
with needing to speed up his act
because of the same thing that the crowd

107
00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:29.959
was getting out in front And I
felt like Joe Parra recorded in front of

108
00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:34.079
a Joe Parah crowd, and the
material may have worked better had he filmed

109
00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:36.959
it in front of people who weren't
familiar with his act. If that makes

110
00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:41.759
any sense. Zarna garg One at
a billion you'll find that on Amazon Prime.

111
00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:45.959
Zorna is a comedian in acendency.
The challenge here is I felt like

112
00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:49.439
Zarna had a strong eight minutes,
but the thing is an hour. Oh

113
00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:54.600
this next name I have, I'll
do that one last moving along. Stavros

114
00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:58.319
Halkias, fat Rascal. That one
on Netflix and it just didn't make the

115
00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:01.199
top twenty three. Perfectly fine,
or you should watch it. Mike Burbiglia,

116
00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:03.839
the Old Man in the Pool.
This one at the top of a

117
00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:07.079
lot of people's lists. I've talked
about this one on the podcast a few

118
00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:11.000
times. I think, if you
guys watch it, you're gonna love it.

119
00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:15.639
My challenge, and it's similar to
a note I've given before. He

120
00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:18.199
went into a bit about wrestling,
and I just didn't believe it. He

121
00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:22.399
didn't sell it, as I said
earlier in this episode. Do comedians take

122
00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:26.319
stories and embellish them? Of course
they do. I understand the craft,

123
00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:31.240
but there is something to selling it, and I just felt like, as

124
00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:33.279
Birbiglia told the story, the whole
thing was made up and it took me

125
00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:39.759
out of it. Leo Reich just
had literally who cares on HBO just didn't

126
00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:43.200
feel it at all. I made
it about eight ten minutes. Tina Hasham's

127
00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:46.919
Dark Little Whispers, that one on
Amazon Prime. I liked it. Filmed

128
00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:50.720
in a small room, although whoever
did the editing. She's telling jokes and

129
00:08:50.759 --> 00:08:54.480
you see some stone faced audience members
not laughing at all. You got to

130
00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:58.240
either tighten that shot or cut away
or do something. I was watching her

131
00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:01.120
work and I couldn't look. There
was this one guy in the front row.

132
00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:05.840
He's to the right of the stage
as you watch your television, so

133
00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:07.879
I guess on Dina's left shoulder,
and he's just sitting there stone faced.

134
00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:11.720
It's like, that's weird funny,
But I'll compare it to Joe List.

135
00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:16.000
It's funny. I'm not sure we
need to apply the word special here.

136
00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:18.399
It's a set or it's an hour, but it's not Chris Rock doing an

137
00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:22.879
hour live on Netflix, you know
what I mean. But Dina Hasham,

138
00:09:22.360 --> 00:09:24.879
you know nice enough, you should
enjoy it. I'll come back to the

139
00:09:24.919 --> 00:09:28.360
one I skipped. Some specials I
did not see include Roseanne Barr and Maria

140
00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:31.919
Bamford. One of the listeners to
the show, Richard through a note in

141
00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:37.799
the Facebook group Daily Comedy News podcast
group and was really raving about Maria Bamford

142
00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:41.360
and I just didn't see that one. And the one I skipped in some

143
00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:45.919
ways the biggest special of the year
because it blew a guy up, not

144
00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:50.200
in the good way, Matt Rife
Natural Selection. This came out November tenth,

145
00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:54.799
So for the first ten months of
the year, Matt Rife's narrative was,

146
00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:56.519
look at this guy, he's blowing
up. He sold so many tickets,

147
00:09:56.519 --> 00:10:00.360
he sold out a billion, million, kajillion shows. Everybody he loves

148
00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:01.559
him, go look, hey,
he's popular. Women, he's awesome.

149
00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:05.720
And then this special came out,
and then the backlash came hard. The

150
00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:11.240
backlash came for one of the jokes. Then Matt started to double down defending

151
00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:13.200
his joke and did not do well
at defending his joke, and that just

152
00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:18.159
brought more haters. Dusting off some
sins of the past. Now we're seeing

153
00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:20.759
headlines like Matt Rife wants you to
think he's edge of your thre and he

154
00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:26.080
actually is the rise and immediately he
potentially strategic downfall of Matt Rife. What's

155
00:10:26.120 --> 00:10:31.240
worse than Matt Rife's Netflix special sexist
joke. Matt Rife isn't funny. So

156
00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:35.879
I'm not sure where Matt Rife is
going into twenty twenty four. Maybe he

157
00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:39.519
was just a shooting star. Maybe
he's got enough TikTok fans and fans remaining,

158
00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:43.000
then he'll be fine. He had
a good year, he had a

159
00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:45.360
good ten months. Anyway, I'm
not sure his year ended well, and

160
00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:48.480
I'm not sure he cares if it
didn't end well. If you enjoy the

161
00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:50.639
show, tell a friend about it. They might like it too. If

162
00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:52.440
you want to support the show,
you can go to buy me a coffee.

163
00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:54.159
Dot com slash Daily Comedy News,
throw some money in the tip jower.

164
00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:58.159
Another thing he can do. Details
on this in the show notes,

165
00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:03.399
Grab the fan Mountain app and you
can throw some bucks in your Fountain account,

166
00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:07.759
and then as you listen to the
show, it'll stream some micropayments in

167
00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:11.080
my direction. That's called value for
value or podcasting two point zero. That's

168
00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:13.080
the thing you'll increasingly hear about on
other podcasts, but that's something you do

169
00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:16.279
if you want to check out the
Fountain app and again details in the show

170
00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:18.240
notes. All right, see you
tomorrow.