Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn

Colin Quinn attempts to make himself over as a conservative mouthpiece, but he really doesn't have the chops for it. The 'transformation' was required because as a comedian his chronically unfunny Boston meathead viewpoint held no potential. This show serves to confirm that comedy still eludes him and that that previous gig was just an attempt to hide his anger behind a sometimes smiling face. He reminds me of Brutus in the Popeye cartoons. As you watch him you can see that he has great difficulty getting his lips in sync with his brain. His primitive mind tires of every topic before he's even partially considered it, probably so he can resume thinking about beer. Like all inarticulate people, his exasperation grows as he nears the end of his reasoning ability and the limits of his communication skills. The result is a transparent reactive posture that won't get him mocked by his southie buddies. His anger is understandable; I'd be angry too if my ambition outpaced the sub-standard brain I'd been given.

A chimp could make more persuasive conservative arguments.

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.

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.

What a tragic waste when this show was cancelled. I could not agree more with reviewer "peddlerofbls." Colin has such a sharp mind, and had such self-confidence that he chose truly bright and funny people like Judy Gold, Patrice O'Neal, and Greg Giraldo, who did not toady to him by any means, but added their own super-acute two cents while commenting on issues of the day.

The fact that Comedy Central took him off and yet keeps such infantile rubbish as South Park and Dave Chappelle is so maddening. Sure, Colbert Report and Daily Show are pretty good in their own ways, but they are not the feast for real intellectuals that Colin Quinn's Tough Crowd was.

Comedy Central cannot begin to be taken as "cutting edge" when it sidelines truly edgy fare as Tough Crowd and panders to middle-of-the-roaders who kid themselves they are witty because they watch Jon Stewart smirk nightly.

The old saying "cream rises to the top" is completely false. In TV, including Comedy Central, "mediocrity rises to the top." Quelle dommage.

BRING BACK TOUGH CROWD, you cretins at C. C.!!!!

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.)