Norm Macdonald Returns to Television!

apparently he was jay leno in the late shift. wow. he must be funny if he can play jay leno.

I think we want to feel like there's something unique and spontaneous about a stand-up performance, and the comics comply. Bits beginning with "On the way over here..." probably did not take place recently, if they actually happened to the comic at all -- but we think to ourselves, "He just came up with that!" I'm sure stand-ups also have standard comments about audiences they make with EVERY crowd but are delivered in such a way as to seem spontaneous and specific.

I've been hosting this variety show for the last couple of months, and invited back a stand-up comic to test out some new material; in his second appearance, he slipped in some old material that, the second time around, didn't work at all. For instance, his reaction of mock-outrage at one point seemed affected -- and it's because I was aware of it now as an "act."

as for the talk shows, those are SOOOO not-spontaneous. the host is usually just feeding lines to their guests. it's entertainment. the real chitchat happens during the commercials.

But in what context? I think what threw you is that you thought that Norm had cast aside his "stage persona" when talking to you off-stage. But suppose he wants to keep it on the entire time he's in the club; no matter where he goes in the club, his role is the performer. Same with on TV talk shows. In other words, it may not be a matter of genuine vs. non-genuine as much as whether you're Norm McDonald or "Norm McDonald."

I hate this show. I will not watch it next week. I feel betrayed. Especially since the last show he had in development (for CBS), which DIDN'T EVEN GET TO PILOT stage was an Odd Couple ripoff where he would have been paired with JON LOVITZ. NOW that would have been impossible to fuck up.
I even like Norm Macdonald's movies, which are very shitty. But I hate A MINUTE WITH STAN HOOPER.

but in defense of hooper, i was flipping back and forth between that and tv carnage volume two and nothing beats that Three's Company / scat montage. nothing.

Fuckin' Norm. I think he's the funniest guy, but sheesh, his "legit" stuff sucks.

dude needs more work. also, can't say this is surprising -
"However, on the January 2, 2008 episode of The O'Reilly Factor, Macdonald stated that he is "very pro-life, but against the death penalty". He also revealed that he supports John McCain for president in the 2008 US Presidential Election"

i was just thinking of him today cuz one of the episodes of fairly odd parents where he plays a genie was on . he should do more cartoon work. he plays norm the genie, of course.

Norm Macdonald returns to returning to television!!

Watched his new "Sports Show" last night. A little bit hit and miss, but 100% Norm. I think it'll warm up, he seems to enjoy himself.

This sketch he did with Blake Griffin was probably the highlight of the show and it's fucking hysterical imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIyybvoyY1U

woot! Let's hope this show lasts longer than that Murray brothers golf show from a few years back (which was also awesome!)

I <3 Norm, he's like Mike Nelson, in that he keeps his politics out of his humour (although I don't think he's as conservative as ol' MJN).

I don't give a shit about sports at all but I laughed! Love Norm.

Norm himself has drawn parallels between his compulsions as a gambling addict who doubles-down when possibly losing their bankroll, and his compulsions to double-down on a bad/awkward bit if he's losing the audience.

Norm is nothing like Hicks, idk if he's ever said anything about him directly but I know he really hated that particular style of comedy. the big difference between him and other lionized comedians is that instead of wanting to be the smartest guy in the room Norm wanted to come off as the dumbest, which is why he can land jokes like "You know who Germany wanted to go to war with?? The WORLD"

but yeah I think Neil Hamburger is a much better analogue to what the thread bump is about; when Norm "bombs" you can still see and hear parts of the audience laughing, when Neil does it the audience is actively hostile, and he antagonizes them right back, which makes the whole experience really funny if you're in the know

Norm is exactly like Hicks in that that a certain subset of the internet sees him as a libertarian/right wing free-speech hero and gravitate towards his edgiest material

well by that measure the next Bill Hicks is clearly Dave Chappelle, a dude whose entire act now is just "let me tell it like it is" and then complaining that people get upset by his comedy

whenever Norm gets asked a question about politics he generally responsed with amusment that anyone would care what he thinks, because he openly admitted he doesn't really follow it. he probably has said some things about free speech and I know he defended Shane Gillis when he got fired from SNL but if you watch his stuff it's seriously like 0% of his act

I'm not saying anything about his comedy, I'm just saying what his legacy is becoming among reddit people

Norm is exactly like Hicks in that that a certain subset of the internet sees him as a libertarian/right wing free-speech hero and gravitate towards his edgiest material

― sean paul akerman (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, 21 August 2023 15:33 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

this isn't really what being like someone is

what is that even a response to?

― budo jeru, Saturday, August 19, 2023 9:21 AM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

what his legacy is becoming among reddit people

you can just not care

It was a response to a comment on that DJ Crazy Times video

oh

way off the mark imo.

Norms “comedians are not philosophers” take needs more airtime. Big fan of his controversial opinion that comedians should tell jokes

Although I think norm did break his own rules in his post-humous Netflix special. That one did not rub me the right way.

Norm seems less alt-right-free-speech adjacent in his comedy, and more dirtbag-left-let’s-make-fun-of-the-ludicrousness-blinders-the-liberal-media-have-on-without-being-a-redneck-per-se. That, mixed with enjoying shocking people is the totality of his edge (which yeah, I guess “shocking people” is a bit of an alt-right signifier these days).

His appearance on “the view” sums this all up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3PP_SWHUQQ

Norm seems less alt-right-free-speech adjacent in his comedy, and more dirtbag-left-let’s-make-fun-of-the-ludicrousness-blinders-the-liberal-media-have-on-without-being-a-redneck-per-se.

I love Norm and I know that "dirtbag left" is probably shorthand here, but it's worth saying that Norm MacDonald was not in any way shape or form of "the left"

hes not much of a political thinker at all so I kinda wonder if he became that way because of the particular era of SNL he was on

I guess it feels like everyone is misunderstanding Whiney here, he's talking about how the work of a comedian is interpreted and how/where it "lives on." Sure, one could just ignore it, that's totally a valid choice.

But I'd guess most people would agree that, on some level, it can be interesting to talk about how someone's body of work is received.

well not amongst the biggest dipshits in the YouTube comment section

I guess it feels like everyone is misunderstanding Whiney here

read that again and possibly consider whether "everyone" misunderstanding something is not actually a signifier of whether the point is well made or possibly just wrong altogether

My point is pretty unassailable if you’ve spent five minutes on the aforementioned subreddits and YouTube comment sections

So that’s why it didn’t make sense

Anyway, thank you intheblanks

not saying you're wrong whiney im saying its a weird angle to insist on, its a small angle but insofar as it goes sure revisionism from youtube comments is a wild beast and whence it takes us none living can say

im not sure anybody misunderstood the point but it isnt afaict the discussion ppl were having?