Joy Unexpected | Marvel at the Dullness!

October 07, 2004

smooth move

What the hell is NBC thinking?

From Jay Mohr's website...

FROM JAY...
Last Comic Standing is cancelled!!! This is shocking news to me too. I woke up on Wednesday morning and recieved the news. NBC was not happy with the rating of the show and decided to pull the plug. Keep in mind there is only one episode left and on that episode we were going to ANNOUNCE THE WINNER! Amazing. Why would a network cancel a show with only one episode left? There is some back history that makes this more ridiculous. As Last Comic Standing 2 was wrapping up this summer, the network told us that they wanted a "hybrid version" of Last Comic to put on the fall schedule. They said that they simply didn't have enough shows for the fall slate and needed a quick fix. My partner Peter Engel as well as other producers like Barry Katz, Cori Fry, K.P. Anderson and my self thought that this was a bad idea. We argued that having a seperate version of Last Comic so soon after season 2 concluded would burn the audience out and damage the franchise. Well the network insisted we move forward and we came up with "LCS Battle of thge Best". Season 1 versus season 2 for a prize of 250 thosand bucks. (It seems like Fox hands out a million dollar prizes on its reality shows like its lunch). Last Comic Standing The Battle Of The Best hit the airwaves in the fall and guess what? The ratings were down. The ratings stayed pretty consistent all season with around eight million viewers but that didn't stop NBC from hitting the panic button. The biggest question I have is why would you wait until the final episode to pull the plug. I feel terrible for the comics. We had a great final four with Alonzo Bodden, Rich Vos, Dave Mordal (my favorite) and John Heffron. These four comics are not involved with network bussines or standards and practices but it is they who will suffer the most from this terrible decision by The Nation Broadcasting Company. I have to stop typing now because I have to go TiVo Father Of The Pride.
Jay

While I do think this third season pretty much sucked, Why pull the plug with ONE show left? ? THE ONE WHERE THEY ANNOUNCE THE WINNER?

What in the HELL? Seriously, that doesn't even make sense.

I read somewhere else that they will announce the winner in between episodes of Father of the Pride... ahhhhhhh.... That might explain it. Make the 8 million people who watch LCS tune into that stupid ass cartoon to find out who won?

Fuckers.

Posted by Y at October 7, 2004 10:14 AM

Comments

Ok, so I was REALLY, REALLY burned out on Jay London. BURNED OUT. I thought this round was a baaaaad idea. But it's so lame to pull it now. Wtf is wrong with them?

Posted by: Joelle at October 7, 2004 10:57 AM

that makes ZERO sense

Posted by: judy at October 7, 2004 11:56 AM

uh. wow. that's about the dumbest thing ever. way to go, NBC.

Posted by: girl at October 7, 2004 12:01 PM

dude. that's just fucked up. one show left? they can't find a spare hour to throw that on? sheesh.

and i hate hate HATE to admit this, but. that "stupid cartoon"? Father of the Pride? it's actually pretty damned funny.

Posted by: mikey at October 7, 2004 12:11 PM

and... Father of the Pride is sooooo. Much. Better. Muh, wha? Hed is baffled too.

Oh well, one more reason for me to go to the gym at night...

-H

Posted by: hed at October 7, 2004 12:22 PM

I believe that they pulled the plug before announcing the winner so that they wouldn't have to fork over the 250,000 dollars.

At least, that's how it looks to me and I know everything.

Posted by: melly at October 7, 2004 02:29 PM

melly's theory makes sense...i agree with melly wholeheartedly...how can i not? she's paid me to agree wholeheartedly...and i agreed to agree to be paid to agree wholeheartedly...

anyway, i agree with her, and that's that.

oh, and father of the ass is lame ass and someone needs to pull the plug on that show on that show's season finale...really, does anyone care how that show ends its season?

they should announce how it ends on an episode of desperate housewives or wifeswap of whatever asshatery show ABC runs...all t.v. is crap and about as interesting as a squished testicle nowadays anyway...heh.

Posted by: fran at October 7, 2004 05:30 PM

That is ass.

Posted by: Christina at October 7, 2004 05:53 PM

That totally sucks...and it just seems like such a shitty move to pull the plug right before the end of the show. As Jay said...it's not fair to the 4 guys who are right by the finishing line.

I do agree that S1 vs. S2 wasn't a great idea....but let it ride out man!

P.S. I agree with Joelle. I have had enough of Jay London. He is a one joke pony...and I personally want to see him taken out to pasture.

Posted by: Shelley at October 7, 2004 08:40 PM

I'm a big LCS fan... but I didn't like this battle thing. BUT! Dammit! I wanted to at least see the last one! Stupid NBC.

I really hope this doen't end LCS for good! I like the traditional living in the house, competing for immunity, and the voting box stuff!

stupid network.

Posted by: lex at October 8, 2004 11:06 AM

from the associated press:
NEW YORK - The last episode of "Last Comic Standing 3" will, in fact, stand. An NBC spokesman said Friday the season finale of the comedic reality show's third installment is now being shot and will air. When? Well, that's to be announced.

The punchline comes after host Jay Mohr posted a message on his blog Thursday stating the show had been canceled. Mention of the show, which had regularly aired Tuesdays, mysteriously disappeared from the network's schedule for next week, replaced by episodes of the animated comedy "Father of the Pride."

"I woke up on Wednesday morning and received the news," Mohr wrote. "NBC was not happy with the rating of the show and decided to pull the plug."

It's true the ratings have been no laughing matter. The last episode, which crowned the final four comics, ranked 74th, according to Nielsen Media Research.

During the third season, dubbed the "Battle of Best," comics from the show's first two seasons performed in an "American Idol"-like competition, forgoing the previous editions' "The Real World"-like aspect of living in a camera-laden house. Each week, viewers voted for their favorite performers. The bottom vote-getters � one from each season � were sent packing.

First season comics Dave Mordal and Rich Vos and the second season's John Heffron and Alonzo Bodden survived being voted off. During the finale, one of the men will be crowned "Last Comic Standing" and will win a $250,000 prize.

Posted by: angela at October 8, 2004 12:55 PM

NBC = Special kind of stupid. Shows how out-of-touch the execs are from what the public prefers. And Father of the Pride?? That just confirms my suspicion.

Posted by: Talia at October 11, 2004 09:29 AM