Favorite comedians or comedy specials?

[CurtWild]

As of now, Bill Burr is my favorite. His last special was amazing.

 

[chicago]

I'm a pretty tough customer, but I love all the celebrity roasts, both current and the old Dean Martin ones.

I Love Lucy and Sanford & Son make me laugh like no one's business.

Lately, though, that show Impractical Jokers is some of the funniest shit on TV right now, in my humble opinion 🙂

 

[CurtWild]

For whatever reason, I've never really liked the roasts. I do like some of the comedians on them though. Like that Jeselnik dude. He's pretty brutal.

 

[chicago]

The Flava Flav roast was hilarious. "You look like what Magic Johnson SHOULD look like. Like a skeleton wrapped in electrical tape." lmfao

 

[Tickle Fiend]

I love the Comedy Central roasts and I can't get enough of Impractical Jokers. I've loved Richard Pryor since listening to his standup CD's and recently watched a roast that featured him from the 70s. It just made me love him even more.

 

[teamtickleguy]

Hmm I'm possibly a tough one to please when it comes to comedy - especially stand-up/live comedy and especially when I'm watching stand-up/live comedy on television

I always get this sense that the comedian is not as funny as everyone watching seems to think - I sit and cringe as the camera cuts to people in the audience slapping their legs in raucous hysterics and throwing themselves around in the chair red-faced and clapping - I sometimes think the audience is slightly duped into finding something funnier than it actually is, either by way of their participation in the excitement and atmosphere of actually being there live, or by the actual delivery of the jokes (the delivery can often be funnier than the joke itself and can carry the joke way beyond the punchline, but can equally become quite predictable and exhausting if not varied).

I also find that the base of the jokes and the dialogue style of delivery to the audience often replicates the sort of conversations you might have with a group of friends when sat around telling funny stories about past experiences, day to day troubles and the characters you encounter along the way - with friends the joke can be funnier because there's a personal element involved, personal memories etc and everyone bounces off each other with funny comments.....but it can also be less funny, because that comic delivery is not necessarily there.

From what I've seen, I like Katherine Ryan, Rich Hall, Frank Skinner and Dara O Briain. I don't like Frankie Boyle, Harry Hill or Russell Howard


I have not idea what a roast is, but it seems to be a series of comedy specials with different comedians? Probably rather like the Saturday Night at the Apollo that's popular in the UK

Anyway, don't call me grumpy just yet...I do love some comedy 🙂 I'll to try lump some examples into genres, I'm not sure how many of these shows will be know outside of UK, but here are some:

I like real life candid/hidden camera comedy - like the Impractical Jokers others have mentioned..
I like un-scripted, quick-witted, creative and often topical comedy - for example comedy quiz shows like 'Have I Got News For You'
I like sketch shows (which can be very hit and miss, but when they are good they are very good) eg some of the Harry Enfield stuff.
I like farcical situation/character comedy - eg Dad's Army, Vicar of Dibley, InBetweeners
I like situation comedy where there's also a story, so sad and thought provoking things actually happen as well - eg One Foot in the Grave, Gavin & Stacey


And I don't mind going to see a comedy play or musical at the theatre, although productions can often be very unforgiving if the performers/script are not top notch.

Cheers
TTG

 

[TMF Jeff]

My two favorite stand-ups are Norm McDonald and Gilbert Gottfried. I guess I like it when they're a little ironically detached, and part of the joke is that they know it's stupid to be standing in front of people telling jokes.

 

[General Zod]

Don Rickles for old school.

There is a comedian named Mike Armstrong I really like. He is a former cop from somewhere in Kentucky. The morning radio show,The Bob and Tom Show gave him a huge boost.

 

[bigdamnheroes]

You should check out Dylan Moran. He's a great Irish comedian who's been around awhile but doesn't seem to have as big a fan base here as his comedy warrants. Bill Burr is definitely at the top of my list though, like you said.

 

[arachnid95]

I'm a pretty mixed bag myself when it comes to comedians I like. Gabriel Iglesias, Jeff Dunham, the late Robin Williams, Jim Jeffries (not for everyone!), Emo Williams, Dara O'Briain, George Carlin (on occasion; he's good, but I have to be in the mood for him), Rowan Atkinson, Ron White...

 

[hoseman2248]

Caught a David spade special from 1998 on YouTube. Only standup I could find of him and it is excellent. I listen to it while doing overtime at my job.

 

[Ticklefan42]

John Mullaney just released a pretty good special.

 

[Angel_2]

I enjoy Jeff Dunham, Gilbert Gottfried, and Pete Davidson

 

[giggleBrat]

Gilbert's a phenom cuz he gives zero f*cks whether if he's offensive and is clueless about it. Lol!!! The best part is he does ridiculous impersonations of people who have no relevance... Georgie Jessel, Groucho Marx (post-stroke... Lol!!!)... etc. I love it!!!

 

[wolfman40]

All time, Dave Allen, fantastic observational stuff.

For London lairyness, a bit of Micky Flanagan

 

[Sodahead]

Louis CK and his show "Louie are great. I am also a big fan of Larry David and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and of course "Seinfeld."

 

[porcelaindoll2]

I love Craig Ferguson. His Just Being Honest special is on Hulu and it was hilarious(Yes I am thinking that phrase in his voice.). I personally feel he has gotten way funnier since leaving the late late show in CBS.

 

[Snuzzlebumble]

Mitch Hedberg is by far my favorite. I just love that style of comedy and think he has the best comedic timing I have seen in a comedian.

 

[Oddjob0226]

His last album wasn't that great, but Emo Phillips (the guy behind the Fockers/Ben Stiller movie series) has been bringing the funnyweird since the 1980s.

 

[CD216]

I find the lack of Christopher Titus in this thread disturbing. He's always been a favorite of mine, and really excels at finding humor in dark places. Bill Burr, Craig Ferguson, and John Mullaney are also pretty damn funny.

Say what you will about the content of the show itself but @midnight on Comedy Central has really helped me find more stand ups that are solid, a la Moshe Kashur and Nikki Glazer.

 

[Tickle Fiend]

I've started listening to Patton Oswalt over the last year or so. Not a fan of Star Wars but his joke about meeting George Lucas was great.

 

[TMF Jeff]

I've started listening to Patton Oswalt over the last year or so. Not a fan of Star Wars but his joke about meeting George Lucas was great.

I just looked that up, that's really funny. "Oh, do you like Angelina Jolie? Well good news, here's Jon Voight's ballsack!"

 

[coldneck]

Eddie Murphy "RAW" set the bar for mainstream OTT Durty.

The master was George Carlin.
Can't believe he's not been mentioned.

 

[xionking]

Anything Eddie Izzard, he's a genius. His 'Dressed to Kill' and 'Glorious' stand up comedy specials are a step above anything I've ever seen. He could damn near be the funniest human being on the planet.

George Carlin has been incredibly inspirational for me and from a very young age really played a role in shaping me into the person I am today. It is only really now as an adult that I truly appreciate his insightful observations on life.

Larry David - 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' is just brilliant. There's too much awesomeness about that show that I care to write about, but needless to say, it's compulsory television viewing.

 

[Jim Maloney]

Impractical Jokers, Movie, Atlanta Hawks job interviews, LMFBO