Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn

I never liked Colin Quinn, neither on SNL nor in any of his other roles. However, I do very much enjoy 'Tough Crowd'. I think the appealing force of the show was the real comedians and their real exchanges, and the sense of real friends coming together to discuss and ridicule the issues of the day. Real friends, not the hackneyed cardboard cutouts you find on the show 'Friends'. If a fictional sitcom analogy has to be made, then it is more along the lines of 'Cheers'.

I believe this show has little in common with 'Politically Incorrect', although many make the comparison. That program was primarily politically focused, not focused on comedy. 'Tough Crowd' on the other hand, was focused on comedy. Some have made claims about the show being a failed conservative mouth piece, or not a liberal showpiece like P.I., but I watch this type of television for comedy and entertainment, not political advocacy. I happen to believe in freedom, and not leftist socialism or rightist authoritarianism, and I supported neither Bush nor Kerry, but I enjoyed the show regardless, because I enjoyed it on its merits, and did not let political ideology permeate all aspects of my life and prejudice my enjoyment of the program.

When I first started watching this show, my impression was that it was getting off to a creaky start, the format was unwieldy, and Colin didn't seem to control it very well. I couldn't write it off, however, because I kept getting huge, healthy belly-laughs from it, and you've got to be grateful for that. Every evening I would look at the clock, think it's getting late and that I would not stay tuned, but always wound up doing so. I've built up a great affection for this show since then, and I'm glad to see that Comedy Central seems to be giving it a good chance to build a following. The post-"Daily Show" timeslot doesn't hurt, either.

It's not always easy to read whether an opinion expressed there is genuine or something said just for comedic effect, which to me is part of the fun. On the whole, and with some exceptions, the comedians on Colin's panel don't seem the sort of self-righteous windbags you'd see on a typical "Politically Correct with Bill Maher" show, a program to which this has been compared. Stupidity stated with conviction is usually just stupid, not funny. But even the most ill-informed of Colin's panelist can make me laugh while simultaneously p***ing me off, and there's always someone there to lob it right back at them to good effect.

Colin himself always appears to be incredibly ill at east, struggling with the prepared material on the show, and often seems to apologize in advance for the likelihood of some particular bit of comedy bombing. I'm not sure if there's any calculation in that, to get the crowd on his side, but I can't help liking Colin and rooting for him. If I'm being manipulated, so what? To quote John Belushi in "Animal House," it don't cost nothin'. Actually, I don't see any great need for including the troublesome prepared material in the so-called "third act," and would just as soon see the panel continue riffing on various topics during that time. I'd keep the various prepared closing rants each panelist delivers at the end, though, as they're often very funny and inventive, and give a good idea of the typical style of each comedian.

I really enjoy the vulgar camaraderie of these unruly comedic road warriors, and Colin's sometimes frustrated efforts to preside over them. To me, he's the perfect man for the job.

Finally we've got something to watch at 11:30. This is, usually, a very funny show. I say usually, because the success of the show is based greatly on who they have on the show every day. Because, quite frankly, Colin Quinn is not funny, and he's the only one on the show every night. He doesn't have anything funny to say, and when he does have a good comment, he messes up the delivery and stutters into his obligatory apology.

Anywho, when they have their best on the show (i.e. Greg Giraldo, Jim Norton, Nick DiPaulo, etc.) it's one of the funniest on TV. And when Jon Stewart was on, I almost p***ed myself I was laughing so hard. And the surprising part is, these guys actually have intelligent things to say. The only thing I think they should cut out is the "third act", where Colin takes over with some truly awful pre-written material that makes me cringe more than laugh. They should just let the comedians rip each other apart for an extra 7 minutes every episode.

This is a great Show. Colin Quinn to me was okay as an anchor of Weekend Update, but this showcases his talent in a great way.

Some people have already compared it to "Politically Incorrect" which by first looks it is sort of. A group of 4 that talk about the issues right? But keep looking and you will find that there are no Experts, No Politicians and authors telling America How it should be run. Just Comedians that talk about how issues effect them. Then they add in for some flavor and insult each other, but all in good fun, cause the group members are all friends to each other (And Quinn).

They normally Do 2 topics of debate, then Colin does what he calls the "3rd Act" which he does a bit of his act or something fun with the Headlining guest. The 4th act is a group activity in which they make up their own comments to a topic earlier in the show.

It Follows "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central Every Mon-Thurs night. Great for everyone (that is if you don't like being Politically Correct.)

It was hard living in Staten Island, New York after 911. It was so depressing for me and family and friends. We were burnt out because of it. If I did not watch comedy central - Colin Quinn, Nick DePaolo and the gang, I don't know where I would be. I was so sick after 911, and a little laugh at night with Colin was what I needed after watching Fox news all day. Please don't knock down comedy. It really helps depression and helps you live longer to laugh out loud. Surveys say if you watch comedy, your good cells destroy bad ones and you live longer and healthier. I guess a dose of comedy a day keeps the doctor away. No kidding. I wish the regulars from tough crowd would go on tour. I know a lot of people who would go see them. Just like Jeff Foxworthy and his crew tour. Also some people just don't get political comedy or have the common sense you need for it, and that is why they cannot connect to this show.