It's weird because I've watched a couple of his stand-up specials, and while I find them enjoyable enough, I don't think there is really anything exceptional or memorable happening. He's funny, but not laugh out loud funny, to me.

Same goes for the stand-up sections in Louis as well. Couple out loud laughs, but his real genius is in the rest of it. The larger commentary. The scene work. But maybe the show will be a gateway to helping me appreciate his stand-up more. I certainly hope so.

I think the issue for me in the beginning was that everyone told me that because I love Carlin, I would love CK. And I just don't think their humor is comparable. They are two totally different comics. I wish I hadn't had the comparison built in the first time I watched Shameless.

yeah, i love louis ck and don't like carlin much. they're observational on sometimes similar issue areas, and i guess both of them are sort of 'edgy'/un-PC, but I don't find them very similar.

This is a much better sell. My dipshit friends has said that to me, and I probably would have gone into Louis CK with a better attitude, and I'd probably like his stuff more! Asshole totally fucked me over.

I'm with you dk. I really don't care for Carlin but love Louie. I find Louie's stand up hit or miss though. His first HBO special was what really hooked me. When I saw him tour shortly after that I thought it was funny, but not quite as good as I was thinking he would have been. This will be my 2nd time seeing him so I'm excited to see how it is. Regardless, I think he is the funniest man alive.

I also love, LOVE Carlin, and Ive come to love Louie CK just as much. I think they are comparable as comedians but their styles are not comparable, if that makes sense.

Carlin was so much more than a joke teller, he was a master of cadence and language and things that were mildly humorous Carlin found a way to make them absurdly funny just in the way he actually said them or presented them. That interview thing he did with John Stewart where he explains his method and how he creates his material is all anyone needs to watch to understand that mans brilliance.

CK is in the same vein, at least to me, in the artistry of his comedy. It really comes off as an artistic performance when I see Louies stand ups. and Im trying to put it into word but I cant, its just a very different level of presentation and timing and the WAY he says things...as opposed to like Jim Norton, whos ridiculously funny on stage but I personally dont see him as an artist as much as a joke teller. does any of that make sense?

what a dick!


I find him much more on the hit side than miss, but I think in part it might be his presentation that makes would-be misses into hits. And I guess an occasional okay bit is always better surrounded by really funny stuff.

Yeah, that makes total sense. And I think I basically agree.

I 100% agree with what you said about Carlin. That's stop on. It's his use of language and cadence, his manipulation of words and his observations; his ability to turn things on their head, that I really love.

Louis CK is funny, clearly. But I haven't seen him be a wordsmith yet. Which is fine. I was just expecting that kind of thing from him based on descriptions I'd heard. I also appreciate Carlin's macro take on things. Louis is so micro, so inward, that at times, he gets too self-deprecating for my tastes. But Louis is really great at observational humor. And I think he runs rings around folks like Seinfeld, who made observational humor what it is today.

I do think the brilliance of Louis CK grows the more you hear him outside the actual stand up. At time he WANTS to be "normal," and you can hear him fighting not to be so "dirty comic guy." You can hear that he kinda of loathes, but also embraces the deviant sides of his personality. His acceptance of that, while maintaining the awareness of it's lack of social acceptance really gets me. And that he isn't afraid to be sweet, and when he is, it feels very genuine.

He is able to rip something, while still making it obvious that he really loves it. To a level I don't think I've seen otherwise. I don't think I have ever felt more connected with a moment of stand up than on the episode a couple weeks ago when he was talking about his daughters jokes. It was just so perfect. It wasn't laugh out loud hilarious, but it was funny in a way that sticks with you.

The last 2 weeks of Louis have been absolutely perfect. The kids joke thing, and the awkward new friend at the bar scene.

Amazing stuff.

That one hit home with me too, along with the little bit of standup and the end. I'm straight single guy in my 30s. This summer in particular it seems I've had several friends move away or get married/have babies and it's not as easy to meet new ones as it used to be. First time hanging out one-on-one with a new guy friend; yeah, I could relate.

I'm still trying to figure out Louie's stand-up routine--a way of saying right now I'm not crazy about it. But Louie would almost certainly be my pick for A television series you wish you were a cast member of. I love the pacing and trajectory. It feels decidedly unplotted, but not in the hammy way that Seinfeld could sometimes be. And it has so much space and derives its comedic potential from the tension in that space, which makes it surprisingly exciting. Kind of like his daughters' jokes. Anyways, great show.

When that girl walked by and said: "Can I have a strawberry?" as she reached down and ate it, then walked away... then Louie says: "No, you can't"

"but I already ate it"

"I know. You just ate a strawberry that you couldn't have."

and the confused look on her face...

the part that killed me was when he and that dude were tossing the football around in the ocean. football is the most masculine sport in america, and every hetero man in america would genuinely enjoy tossing a pigskin around with pretty much any dude up for it, but take your shirt off and do it in water, and it's the gayest activity next to sucking dick i can think of.

A group of high school or college kids not really but two middle aged guys out by themselves? Yeah, on the gay list.

best show on tv right now, any genre

Its so brutally painful to watch sometimes, especially the dates, but its definitely the best comedy on TV. I'm amazed he has such full control over it.

i bailed after the pilot. i mean, you're telling me the woman he dated in the first episode had the resources and time to acquire a helicopter on which to escape mid-date? c'mon.

thats cute.

yah wtf, thats all part of the charm.

he was just late to the party in another thread and misunderstanding the point i was foolishly trying to make.

i diarrheaed in the tub.