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The Shark Deck. I’m Johnny Mack with your Daily Comedy News. I’ve thought it’d take a look at the av Club’s thirty greatest stand up comedy Specials of all time. If you are a relatively new listener. When I do these article episodes, I don’t look at them in advance.
I like to just react to them as I see them. And I’ve had this in my folder of things to get to and it’s been good for comedy news. There’s been plenty of stuff, but I figured, with the holiday weekend, let me work this one in. All right. It’s the thirty greatest stand up comedy Specials of all time from the Avy Club.
They write from Richard Pryor and Robin Williams to Mitch Hedberg and Hannah Gatsby. We’re putting a spotlight on some of the best stand ups ever. It’s a slide show. Because it’s nineteen ninety four. I don’t know, but okay, let’s click.
They have ranked these in chronological order, which is good because that way we don’t have to argue about which is the best one. The first one up they have from nineteen seventy five and Evening with Robert Klein. If I’ve seen that, I saw it on HBO eight billion years ago. I can’t say I remember it. Next up from nineteen seventy eight, Steve Martin’s a wild and crazy guy.
It’s very easy to forget just how popular Steve Martin was and how revolutionary his comedy seemed at the time. You go back now, like I remember, as a kid, we thought King Tut was the greatest, most hilarious thing we’ve ever seen. And you know, you go back now and it’s born in Babylonia, moved to Arizona. King Tut hilarious. But back in the day, Yeah, Steve Martin, will I’m crazy guy?
Love it good? Pick Richard Pryor live in concert, nineteen seventy nine. In nineteen seventy nine, I’m ten years old. So even though I’m somewhat expert in comedy, I do get confused as to which prior special is which. Next up, Eddie Murphy, Delirious from nineteen eighty three.
Yes, if you’re my age, you quoted this thing and probably at one point in your life could do almost the entire special off the top of your head. Have some things not age so well? Yes? Are there some things that you wouldn’t do today. Yes, are there some words you wouldn’t use today?
Yes? Did we all love it back in nineteen eight three? Yes? Did we realize Eddie Murphy was just doing a cover act of Richard Pryor, including the red plastic jacket thing. No, we didn’t because we were kids, But Eddie Murphy delirious.
We loved it. Nineteen eighty five’s Stephen Wright Stephen Wright Special. You forget how different Stephen Wright was. A unique voice. You hadn’t seen that type of presentation before, that slow, deadband delivery, and it just tickled your brain in a way that nobody had before.
Another great pick here by the Avy Club. Robin Williams an Evening at the Met nineteen eighty six. Robin another one of those comedians. When he first came along, you saw that different level of energy and it was just like Wow. I’m not sure if you go back now and look at Robin’s comedy you’re like, oh, that’s so amazing, But at the time, yeah, absolutely.
Another great pick. Paul A pound Stones, Cats, Cops and Stuff from nineteen ninety. I remember Paula kind of having a moment there for a while and then disappearing but interesting. Avy Club Rights, Cats, Cops and Stuff remains a seminal work from it’s era and in the wider cannon of stand up as an art form. Poundstone’s ability to command an audience new personal stories and witty sides a stellar But it’s her gift to pivot instantly to crowd working back again that makes her a legend.
Okay, I mean, I won’t fight you on it, but I’m not like yeah, the Paul of Poundstone Special. Next up, George Carlin Jamin in New York, nineteen ninety two. Much like prior, it’s hard for me to off the top of my head remember which Carlin’s special is. Which. Obviously we’re going to pick Carlin specials here.
I won’t be surprised if there’s more than one on here. Let’s see. On this one Jamin in New York, Carlin does an extended riff on the distrust of public drinking water. This one establishes perhaps the birth of the latter day Carlin we come to know and love. Earlier specials were a bridge between the counterculture Carlin of the sixties and seventies and the hilarious dooms Layers of the nineties and two thousands.
But Jamin in New York is the pure brilliant birth of Carlin Is comedy’s resident leftist prophet, the guy who watched The Heat Death of the Universe with a grin on his face. Next up, this one surprises me. Nineteen ninety five, Janine Garffalo’s HBO comedy Half Hour. Not sure I remember that one, and I always really like Janine was thrilled when she was on Larry Sanders. The Avy Club Rights.
Garffalo gave us her take on everything from TV commercials to bands that are too loud to wonderfully understated impressions, delivering the definitive gen X stand up in the process, the definitive gen X stand up set. I gotta push back on that. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t think it’s that. Nineteen ninety six Chris Rocks Bring the Pain Absolutely great special. The Avy Club reminds us the special is best remembered now for a bit involving the N word, which Chris Rock later retired.
Another illustration of how things change and things that worked back in the day don’t necessarily work so well now. But Chris Rock Bring the Pain from nineteen ninety six. Good pick. Nineteen ninety eight Jerry Seinfeld’s I’m telling You for the Last Time. I mostly know this one from playing all the individual clips on Series XM Radio when I used to program that.
I know this material pretty well. Jokes about the supermarket to Halloween candy. That was Jerry retiring a bunch of material in nineteen ninety eight, peaked j R. Yeah, great pick. Next up, Susie Eddie Iszard’s Dressed to Kill from nineteen ninety nine.
I know Iszard’s not everybody’s piece of cake. I like their material a lot. Oh one of my all time favorites from nineteen ninety nine. Is it really that old? No Way?
Comedy Central presents Mitch Hedberg is nineteen ninety nine. This is the one with an escalator. Can’t break it, can only become stairs. I can’t believe that’s nineteen ninety nine. I thought that was a little later, but I guess not.
Mitch passed away in two thousand five. Yeah, all right, here’s a pick that’s out there a little bit. David Cross is the Pride is Back from nineteen ninety nine. I like Cross a lot. Davy Club Rights Patton Oswalt might have become the household names to emerge from the alt comedy scene of the nineties, but David Cross is still the era’s unapologetic, inventive standard bearer.
With the Pride is Back, David Cross brought all these skewed perspectives of the mister show rats who was One Men act a reminder of Cross’s neck for squeezing everything out of truly transgressive premises two thousand The original Kings of Comedy. Sure, that’s a huge one. Bernie mac Cedric, The Entertainer Deal, Hughley, and Steve Harvey yep. Avy Club calls it a game changer. I agree, with little help from director Spike Lee, it showed the massive impact of black comedy to the world on a grand, instantly funny scale.
It’s one of those moments it feels like it will never be replicated again, which is a big part of what makes it special. Continuing, the Avy clubs thirty Best stand up Specials of all Time. Next up the year two thousand and they have Margaret Shows. I’m the one that I want. I’m not sure I agree here they write Margaret Show is certainly not the first out gay woman to make an impact in the stand up comedy world.
But with I’m the One that I Want in two thousand she proves she might just be the most fearless two thousand and five. Sarah Silverman’s Jesus Is Magic two thousand five might have been around peak Sarah Silverman’s She’s the eight Girl there for a while. Is it one of the thirty best of all time? I’m not sure? Not sure about this next one either.
Zach Alafanakis is Live at the Purple Onion from two thousand and six, a comedian who could do Stephen Wright’s deadpan and Robin Williams explosive commitment with the equal power, writes the Avy Club Live at the Purple Onion is a I meant, a showcase of his ability to ride out even the most questionable bits and ring laughs out of unexpected places. All Right, we’re on a run here of me not agreeing. Wanda Psykes s’ma Be Me from two thousand and nine. Davy Club rights I’m Gonna be Me feels at One’s vulnerable and razor shop like she’s been waiting her entire life to tell these jokes. Patrise O’Neil’s Elephant in the Room.
I’ve said this before. I never enjoyed a moment I ever spent with Patrise O’Neill. He had this way of just coming at everybody. I think he thought it was funny. He would just I don’t know whatever you’re doing right now.
He’d walk up to you and go, you’re really wearing that shirt, and it’s just like, dude, screw you. I just don’t want to I just don’t want to be near you. So I am definitely biased against Patrise. Didn’t enjoy my time with him. Davy Club Rights Elephant in the Room.
It’s truly something special at Leased just months before his death. It’s a brilliant set, full of moments when you can feel O’Neill pressing all of his audience’s buttons. Has been on sexual harassment is especially pointed example of this. I know all the comedians love him, especially the New York City like smoke a cigarette in front of a brick wall comedians, but top third, I don’t know a V club. Mike bur Bigley is my girlfriend’s boyfriend.
Boy, what is this like six seven in a row and all remind you I was at serious XM running comedy that was the ten years where I was like really in deep with comedy. I’m not agreeing with any of these bur bigs. Is nice, but I don’t know about this pick either. Maria Bamford The Special Special Special from twenty fourteen. Same thing, love Maria.
I’ve seen Maria alive, But is that one of the top thirty. I’m gonna have to make my own list. And I’m not going to just do that off the top of my head, because I’d really have to think about it. But the Headberg is going to be up there on my list. Kinnison is going to be up there on my list.
There’s no Kinnison on this list because we’re already up to twenty fourteen. That first Dice Special, whatever you think of Dice, that was amazing. I would have a couple of Carlin’s up there, and after research, a couple of priors up there, and after research, I imagine we’re going to get to some Chappelle’s here. No love for the blue collar guys yet so far? All right, next step Tignazaro’s Boyish Girl Interrupted from twenty sixteen.
I like the pick a lot that like peaked Tigg liked what she was doing there. Yeah, that’s a good pick. Patton Oswalt’s Annihilation twenty seventeen. Much like I’ve said about Carlin or prior, I have to remember which Patton Oswalt special is this one? This is the one following the death of his first wife, Michelle McNamara.
Oswalt went toe to toe and punch for punch with his grief. You know, I think there’s better Patton Oswalt’s specials than that one. But all right, I wouldn’t fight you in the alley way about picking that one, but I’d pick an earlier Patton Oswalt special. And if I’m gonna pick a Pat and I’m gonna put a Brian poseyin on my list as well, I’ll have to make a list for y’all. Hannah Gatsby’s Nanette.
I think Douglas is a better special. I get that everybody started praying at the Hannah Gatsby alter over Nanette. I think her next special, Douglas is better. On my list, I would pick Douglass over Nanette. But okay, I get it.
John Mulaney’s Kid gorgeous, good pick, by the way. No gafficking yet either, And we’re already up to twenty eighteen. Kid Gorgeous establishes John Mulaney as one of today’s top comedians. Sure as of doing this, and this is why I don’t them. Advanced things are popping into my mind.
No Dennis Leary on this list. Interesting. No Bill Hicks on this list interesting. Next up Bo Burnham’s Inside. I get that people like it.
I get that I’m old, I won’t fight in the alley and not my cup of tea wouldn’t make my top thirty, but I get it. Norm McDonald’s Nothing Special was really good, very funny. Recorded in the middle of the pandemic. Norm knows that he’s going to die, so he puts this material down. Yeah, kind of a cool special.
Gerard Carmichael’s Rathaniel Again, I know that all the critics think this was the greatest thing ever. I didn’t like it. That’s from twenty twenty two. Wow. And they have Mark Marin’s from Bleak to Dark from this year.
That’s not even on my best of this year? Wow? What did they write here? I’m shocked by this. Mark Marin has endeared himself to audiences through a blend of honesty and world weary wisdom, and it’s a blend that allowed him to go to some dark places over the years.
Da da Da da da. It’s quite possible no other major stand up alive could have pulled off a joke about considering a selfie with his partner’s dead body, and that alone makes this a towering comedic achievement. Huh. All right, that’s The AV Club’s top thirty comedy specials of all time. I don’t know no, Joan Rivers of have to make my own list.
That’s your comedy news for today. Follow the show for free on Apple, podcast, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your shows. See Tomorrow