22 reviews
Take note, Chevy Chase - this is how you accept a proper roasting!
Although I have not personally seen the entire program, I have heard from numerous sources that the "N.Y. Friars Roast of Chevy Chase" broadcast on Comedy Central a few years ago was such a disaster that even Comedy Central acknowledged its failure and vowed never to air it on television again. So far they have apparently kept to their promise. Part of the reason the show was so horrendous was apparently due to the fact that the roast's subject, Mr. Chase, did not approve of the jokes targeting his career. He was also upset that none of his old "friends" from his "SNL" days had shown up (except for one or two no-names who never found a career outside of the program) - the same "friends" of Chevy that later voted him as the least-liked cast member in the history of "SNL." Now, I hold nothing against Chevy Chase. He's pretty funny (well, was, anyway) in those '80s comedy like "Vacation" and "Caddyshack." But from what I've seen of the program he really didn't understand the concept at all.
William Shatner, on the other hand, takes the extreme criticism in stride. He's a good sport all through this roast - some of the jokes are truly brutal, ranging from verbal jabs at his alleged hairpiece to his singing career and of course his infamous acting chops. Shatner's good humor surrounding the entire ordeal elevates this program - because I'm sure I would have felt less content to laugh along with all the jokes if Shatner had thrown a Chevy Chase and been a jerk about it.
This isn't quite as good as last year's Pamela Anderson roast, I must say. Overall the jokes are tamer (excluding some crude references to a gay "Star Trek" castmember and his private activities, so to speak) - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I felt as though a lot of the dirtier stuff had been cut out. This doesn't bother me as much as the fact that the cuts were made fairly obvious. No doubt Comedy Central will feature some type of "Uncut" DVD in the future with bonus material "too raunchy for television."
Plus, I absolutely HATED the fact that they cut numerous roasters' speeches short. I understand there were time constraints, but the first one who should have been axed was Farrah Fawcett, whose speech was absolutely horrid. Apparently trying to make fun of her notorious Letterman appearance from a few years back, it quickly dissolved into another case of a joke falling victim to its own subject - she was wasted out of her mind! She completely messed up her jokes, kept turning away from the microphone (making it hard to hear what she was saying), and just generally ruined the vibe of the entire thing. The audience members (including Carrie Fisher, who gets stabbed with jokes a few times linked to her weight gain) were straining to laugh.
Instead, I would have FAR preferred to see comedy genius Fred Willard's speech. They decided to cut it short and give us probably less than a minute or so of what he actually said when the show was recorded last week. Willard is such a fine, dry comedian - chances are his jokes just weren't understood by the editors of this show, who are obviously in favor of the more obvious, deliberately crude material.
Basically the whole thing about the gay Star Trek member was funny the first few dozen times, but it's akin to Pam Anderson's boob jokes from last year getting old - enough is enough. Not that I'm complaining, but Andy Dick and Kevin Pollak were also cut short (I could go without hearing Dick's entire routine, I admit) - and the editing is more choppy than last year's roast, resulting in noticeable skips - as if the editors selected the "best" of each roaster and spliced it together.
But these flaws aside, the show WAS very funny. I laughed my head off when Ben Stiller appeared in a pre-recorded roast to Shatner. Unexpected and hilarious, Stiller's was one of my favorite segments of the entire program! Jason Alexander was a surprisingly good host, although he seemed a bit hesitative and unsure at times. Overall I think I preferred Kimmel's more cynical presentation from last year's, but again, it's a minor complaint.
Overall if you're a fan of these roasts you'll love this. There are some great moments such as the Shatner music flashbacks - including video pieces from his infamous "Rocket Man" performance from years ago. Shatner takes it all in stride and comes across as a really nice, likable guy - even after all is said and done he gets up and delivers a tongue-in-cheek roast to himself.
This may not be quite as unexpected, irreverent or downright hilarious as the Pamela Anderson roast, but just barely. My only complaints, as I mentioned above, were the editing choices, really - apart from that, it was another job well done on Comedy Central's behalf! As an aside, I'd really love to see "The Roast of David Hasselhoff" next year. NO ONE deserves a roast as much as this guy does. So I'll have my fingers crossed for the next year, I suppose.
William Shatner, on the other hand, takes the extreme criticism in stride. He's a good sport all through this roast - some of the jokes are truly brutal, ranging from verbal jabs at his alleged hairpiece to his singing career and of course his infamous acting chops. Shatner's good humor surrounding the entire ordeal elevates this program - because I'm sure I would have felt less content to laugh along with all the jokes if Shatner had thrown a Chevy Chase and been a jerk about it.
This isn't quite as good as last year's Pamela Anderson roast, I must say. Overall the jokes are tamer (excluding some crude references to a gay "Star Trek" castmember and his private activities, so to speak) - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I felt as though a lot of the dirtier stuff had been cut out. This doesn't bother me as much as the fact that the cuts were made fairly obvious. No doubt Comedy Central will feature some type of "Uncut" DVD in the future with bonus material "too raunchy for television."
Plus, I absolutely HATED the fact that they cut numerous roasters' speeches short. I understand there were time constraints, but the first one who should have been axed was Farrah Fawcett, whose speech was absolutely horrid. Apparently trying to make fun of her notorious Letterman appearance from a few years back, it quickly dissolved into another case of a joke falling victim to its own subject - she was wasted out of her mind! She completely messed up her jokes, kept turning away from the microphone (making it hard to hear what she was saying), and just generally ruined the vibe of the entire thing. The audience members (including Carrie Fisher, who gets stabbed with jokes a few times linked to her weight gain) were straining to laugh.
Instead, I would have FAR preferred to see comedy genius Fred Willard's speech. They decided to cut it short and give us probably less than a minute or so of what he actually said when the show was recorded last week. Willard is such a fine, dry comedian - chances are his jokes just weren't understood by the editors of this show, who are obviously in favor of the more obvious, deliberately crude material.
Basically the whole thing about the gay Star Trek member was funny the first few dozen times, but it's akin to Pam Anderson's boob jokes from last year getting old - enough is enough. Not that I'm complaining, but Andy Dick and Kevin Pollak were also cut short (I could go without hearing Dick's entire routine, I admit) - and the editing is more choppy than last year's roast, resulting in noticeable skips - as if the editors selected the "best" of each roaster and spliced it together.
But these flaws aside, the show WAS very funny. I laughed my head off when Ben Stiller appeared in a pre-recorded roast to Shatner. Unexpected and hilarious, Stiller's was one of my favorite segments of the entire program! Jason Alexander was a surprisingly good host, although he seemed a bit hesitative and unsure at times. Overall I think I preferred Kimmel's more cynical presentation from last year's, but again, it's a minor complaint.
Overall if you're a fan of these roasts you'll love this. There are some great moments such as the Shatner music flashbacks - including video pieces from his infamous "Rocket Man" performance from years ago. Shatner takes it all in stride and comes across as a really nice, likable guy - even after all is said and done he gets up and delivers a tongue-in-cheek roast to himself.
This may not be quite as unexpected, irreverent or downright hilarious as the Pamela Anderson roast, but just barely. My only complaints, as I mentioned above, were the editing choices, really - apart from that, it was another job well done on Comedy Central's behalf! As an aside, I'd really love to see "The Roast of David Hasselhoff" next year. NO ONE deserves a roast as much as this guy does. So I'll have my fingers crossed for the next year, I suppose.
- MovieAddict2016
- Aug 19, 2006
- Permalink
Cut-ups and cut up
- karmaDhyana
- Aug 31, 2006
- Permalink
Okay, but not too good. A bit of a let down.
- SourGreenapple42
- Dec 27, 2006
- Permalink
Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner
- jboothmillard
- Apr 15, 2010
- Permalink
Comedy Roasts - clever or cruel?
- angiecobrin
- Apr 22, 2014
- Permalink
Funny, But Not As Much Variety As Needed
It is William Shatner's turn to step in to the celebrity hot seat for the latest installment of The Comedy Central Roast...
I love Shatner, and his career is the stuff of legends. I enjoyed his roast, but sadly, it just does not seem to hold up strongly for the full time frame... Betty White was great to see, but even the normally funny Patton Oswalt did not have his heart in this.
And the jokes were repetitive. A career of 50 years, and we have to keep going over the same "Star Trek" humor and references to "Rocket Man"? He was so much more than that. Where were the gremlins on the wing? Lastly, Jason Alexander is a terrible host. I am so glad that Seth MacFarlane seems to have taken over the job on a semi-permanent basis.
I love Shatner, and his career is the stuff of legends. I enjoyed his roast, but sadly, it just does not seem to hold up strongly for the full time frame... Betty White was great to see, but even the normally funny Patton Oswalt did not have his heart in this.
And the jokes were repetitive. A career of 50 years, and we have to keep going over the same "Star Trek" humor and references to "Rocket Man"? He was so much more than that. Where were the gremlins on the wing? Lastly, Jason Alexander is a terrible host. I am so glad that Seth MacFarlane seems to have taken over the job on a semi-permanent basis.
Hilarious.
This show is absolutely hilarious. It is nonstop laughter with arguably the greatest B actor in Hollywood history as the target for some of the most outrageously funny barbs ever uttered in a television show. What makes this show particularly amusing is that the guest roasters are spoofing an actor who is not one of the great performers but nevertheless has managed to become one of the most well-known stars in history which is an ongoing theme of this show. The one-liners come on fast and furious. Betty White is especially funny and George Takei is great. In fact this roast is spoof on the Hollywood roasts of the past except this one is a lot funnier and includes the kind of comments that makes the roasts of the past seem tame in comparison.
Who are these nobodies?
Putrid beyond belief. Avoid this at all costs, especially while eating. It will literally turn your stomach.
Greg Giraldo, I never heard of you before, and, after watching this travesty, I shall avoid ever watching anything with you in it for the rest of my life. I have never, ever seen such disgusting, mean, vulgar remarks masquerading as "humor." You should be ashamed of yourself.
And aside from his remark about Incubus in Esperanto, Jason Alexander wasn't much better -- not a funny remark to be found, just crude insults, mostly directed at other attendees. I remember the old Dean Martin roasts, and Jason Alexander, you are no Dean Martin.
Those old roasts had plenty of insults, but they were clever, and everyone knew they were meant in jest, mostly. The results were hilarious, and masterfully delivered. This Comedy Central updated version is not worthy of the name "roast." I'm sorry, but even Betty White's remarks were in bad taste.
As to the rest of these nobodies: Andy Dick, Clint Howard, Lisa Lampanelli, Artie Lange, Pierangeli Llinas, Craig J. Nevius and Debra 'Debbie' Clark, may you all roast in hell.
Surely, there was plenty of fodder for humor in William Shatner's long career, beginning with his appearances on The Twilight Zone, but it is obvious that none of these bozos ever saw Shatner's old work, and it is not obvious that they had even heard of him before that evening. If they had, they weren't intelligent to come up with anything witty and pertinent to say.
What astonishes me is this travesty actually had "writers," and they were willing to have their names listed in the credits! So, here they are: Michael Ferrucci, Mathew Harawitz, Joe Kelly, Aaron Matthew Lee, Michael Rowe, Chad Zumock. May you spend eternity in the TV Hall of Shame.
And then there is director Joel Gallen. After looking at your credits, I can see why I've never heard of you before. What truly amazes me is how many of your productions are dominated by votes of 9 or 10 stars! So, Joel, how much did it cost you per vote? You are so pathetic, it's pitiful, and out of pity I have changed my vote from 1 to 10.
If you liked this roast, you will love the "Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav," rated 7.3, featuring insults from Greg Giraldo, Snoop Dogg and Ron Jeremy.
Note to Comedy Central: Clever insults from Jimmy Stewart are funny, stupid, obscene insults from a-hole scum b-gs aren't. (Are we laughing, yet? Aren't mean-spirited comments hilarious? When do I get paid for being a "comedy" writer?)
As to the audience, if they had any sense of decency, they would have walked out. Heck, if I were Shatner, I would have walked out. But you can't do that when you agree to a roast. Shatner knew what was going on when he called the assemblage "nobodies." But, sadly, he resorted to crude obscenities, too.
So, don't bother with this, unless it is shown on broadcast television during primetime -- then it would be only about five minutes long.
Greg Giraldo, I never heard of you before, and, after watching this travesty, I shall avoid ever watching anything with you in it for the rest of my life. I have never, ever seen such disgusting, mean, vulgar remarks masquerading as "humor." You should be ashamed of yourself.
And aside from his remark about Incubus in Esperanto, Jason Alexander wasn't much better -- not a funny remark to be found, just crude insults, mostly directed at other attendees. I remember the old Dean Martin roasts, and Jason Alexander, you are no Dean Martin.
Those old roasts had plenty of insults, but they were clever, and everyone knew they were meant in jest, mostly. The results were hilarious, and masterfully delivered. This Comedy Central updated version is not worthy of the name "roast." I'm sorry, but even Betty White's remarks were in bad taste.
As to the rest of these nobodies: Andy Dick, Clint Howard, Lisa Lampanelli, Artie Lange, Pierangeli Llinas, Craig J. Nevius and Debra 'Debbie' Clark, may you all roast in hell.
Surely, there was plenty of fodder for humor in William Shatner's long career, beginning with his appearances on The Twilight Zone, but it is obvious that none of these bozos ever saw Shatner's old work, and it is not obvious that they had even heard of him before that evening. If they had, they weren't intelligent to come up with anything witty and pertinent to say.
What astonishes me is this travesty actually had "writers," and they were willing to have their names listed in the credits! So, here they are: Michael Ferrucci, Mathew Harawitz, Joe Kelly, Aaron Matthew Lee, Michael Rowe, Chad Zumock. May you spend eternity in the TV Hall of Shame.
And then there is director Joel Gallen. After looking at your credits, I can see why I've never heard of you before. What truly amazes me is how many of your productions are dominated by votes of 9 or 10 stars! So, Joel, how much did it cost you per vote? You are so pathetic, it's pitiful, and out of pity I have changed my vote from 1 to 10.
If you liked this roast, you will love the "Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav," rated 7.3, featuring insults from Greg Giraldo, Snoop Dogg and Ron Jeremy.
Note to Comedy Central: Clever insults from Jimmy Stewart are funny, stupid, obscene insults from a-hole scum b-gs aren't. (Are we laughing, yet? Aren't mean-spirited comments hilarious? When do I get paid for being a "comedy" writer?)
As to the audience, if they had any sense of decency, they would have walked out. Heck, if I were Shatner, I would have walked out. But you can't do that when you agree to a roast. Shatner knew what was going on when he called the assemblage "nobodies." But, sadly, he resorted to crude obscenities, too.
So, don't bother with this, unless it is shown on broadcast television during primetime -- then it would be only about five minutes long.
Laughed so hard, I nearly busted my gut
My god, this was a gut-bustingly funny roast! Of the Comedy Central roasts that are available on Amazon Video, I think that this one is the best. While recently they have resorted to roasting people who perhaps haven't had enough of a career to warrant being celebrated this way (which is technically what this is supposed to be). Fortunately, Shatner is not a flavor-of-the-moment celebrity who happens to have done a bunch of stupid stuff with which to throw in his face. He earned his spot here. Everything is touched upon, from his unique acting style, singing career(?!), commercials, relationships with his fellow Star Trek cast members, etc. Yes, the humor was heavily scatological, but I've come to accept that as a fact of modern comedy, with these roasts in particular. On top of that, this has what is surely the best dais of all 15 Comedy Central roasts. If you're very selective about what you buy or watch (at least in terms of these comedy specials), the William Shatner roast is definitely one to get.
- brchthethird
- Sep 9, 2016
- Permalink
Rocket Man Out-Roast his Roasters
The Comedy Central Roast are usually just an opportunity to squeeze the lowest common denominator with the least amount of thought, and this proves no different. Firstly--the majority of the jokes just weren't funny. Of course, I've never been that impressed with any of the assembled comedians, anyway. And really, the roastee shouldn't be funnier than the roasters--and bless'em, the Shat-man truly was.
I do enjoy some vulgar humor but it is over-used here to a non-impressive effect. Poor Farah Fawcett was out of place and probably just selected for an opportunity to be the brunt for some easy jokes. Kevin Pollak was probably the best, but it was just a recycling of Shatner jokes we've all heard before. Artie Lange and Patton Oswalt also lent a little to the proceedings, but really not enough to salvage this work.
I did at least learn how to pronounce George Takei's last name.
I do enjoy some vulgar humor but it is over-used here to a non-impressive effect. Poor Farah Fawcett was out of place and probably just selected for an opportunity to be the brunt for some easy jokes. Kevin Pollak was probably the best, but it was just a recycling of Shatner jokes we've all heard before. Artie Lange and Patton Oswalt also lent a little to the proceedings, but really not enough to salvage this work.
I did at least learn how to pronounce George Takei's last name.
- Frequency270
- Apr 24, 2010
- Permalink
Great Roast, Horrible Crowd.
I love this roast, and it could have been easily top 5. I've never seen it full, because Paramount+ cut a large portion of it out, but from what I've seen, it's a great roast. There's just one reason why it isn't Top 5, though. The crowd. Oh, the crowd. They were basically silent the whole time. If this roast had a crowd like the roast of Flavor Flav, it would have been easily top 5. I'm not doing a roaster-by-roaster review of this roast. I just want to talk about the crowd. Why was this crowd basically silent? This was one of the greatest roasts ever. And it's insane that the crowd at this roast was virtually silent, when the crowds at the roasts of Bob Saget and James Franco, both godawful roasts, were loud as hell. I love this roast, but the crowd was the worst.
- birthdaycakeconnoisseur
- Jun 29, 2022
- Permalink
I enjoyed it so much I bought the DVD
Reading the comments I have come to the conclusion that this was a polarizing presentation. I agree that it was occasionally too much, from time to time over the top and beyond the pale, but by and large and on the whole it was funny.
Among the funniest of all was the Shat himself. The older he's gotten, the funnier he's gotten and he is fully willing and able to share the joke. He even improves on the joke from time to time. The opening sequence with a phone call with dearly departed Leonard Nimoy set the tone, but Shatner's rebuttal at the end was the cherry on top of an enjoyable program. The only way I think it could've been improved would have been if Don Rickles had been there doing what he does best.
I haven't watched this in a few years, I think I'll have to dig it out and watch it again. Having seen some of Mr. Shatner's recent programs, especially "Better late than never" with Henry Winkler, George Foreman and Terry Bradshaw should breathe new life thanks to new insights.
Among the funniest of all was the Shat himself. The older he's gotten, the funnier he's gotten and he is fully willing and able to share the joke. He even improves on the joke from time to time. The opening sequence with a phone call with dearly departed Leonard Nimoy set the tone, but Shatner's rebuttal at the end was the cherry on top of an enjoyable program. The only way I think it could've been improved would have been if Don Rickles had been there doing what he does best.
I haven't watched this in a few years, I think I'll have to dig it out and watch it again. Having seen some of Mr. Shatner's recent programs, especially "Better late than never" with Henry Winkler, George Foreman and Terry Bradshaw should breathe new life thanks to new insights.
- pemigewasset68
- Jan 25, 2022
- Permalink
Boldly Going Where No Man Should Have Gone
There were some funny parts of this DVD, but the crudeness went a bit overboard. I thought it was a roast of Shatner, yet the roasters attacked each other and few comments were made about Shatner. Andy Dick was pitiful and made your skin crawl, Farrah looked to be high and brainless, and Artie Lange was a slob. A couple of the roasters were funny, but the constant oral sex jokes about George Takei went on for too long. This is something those who like insults would enjoy, but it is not something that someone used to the TRUE roasts, of the past, would like to sit down and watch. William Shatner's part was the funniest part of the entire DVD and you have to sit through a lot of garbage to get to Shatner's part.
What the...
This was totally lame as far as what a celebrity "Roast" should be. The only funny roaster was Betty White. Where did the producers come up with the roaster list I wonder? Has-Beens-R-Us? Most of the jokes were directed at George Takei. Who was supposed to be roasted here?? I agree to a previous commenter that the Dean Martin Roasts are far superior to the tripe being produced these days. The majority of the roasters had nothing to do with Star Trek and more than likely are not friends of Shatner to begin with. That was the premise of the Roasts of the '70s. Friends and show business associates of the Roastee are part of the gist of what is supposed to be a "Roast". From watching this Roast, I can see why Shatner's real friends and cast mates wanted nothing to do with what was supposed to go on. Producers of the Roast, please heed this and the other comments!
As though rotten could be spoiled!
15 minutes would suffice
I really wanted to enjoy this.
I love watching William Shatner.
The host opens up quite well but immediately descends into profanities.
Each 'comic' guest takes his or her turn to insult William Shatner, although one or two of them simply stand up and crack one-liners with no reference to 'Bill' whatsoever.
Maybe I expect too much, but when many of them get up clasping pieces of paper and proceed to read their lines.
I'm afraid if they aren't naturally funny then they shouldn't be there.
I'm no comedian BUT I bet I could get on a stage and knock out 5 or more 'Star Trekkie' or 'TJ Hooker' anecdotes without much bother, and without the need to swear every other word.
Many shots of the audience catch many of them frowning or simply shaking their heads in disbelief.
The 'gay' references were unbelievable; once they started they never stopped.
The whole programme deteriorated into what can only be described as school-boy humour. (Mind you most school boys would rise above this). I would describe most of the comments as infantile.
If you don't mind cringing along with a bunch of has-beens or wannabees's, then watch it. Otherwise, give it a wide berth, I felt embarrassed for them.
Many of the other reviews make fun of the Chevy Chase 'roasting' because he apparently didn't play ball, and didn't 'get' the humour.
Maybe he did 'get' the humour and realised that maybe his career hadn't deteriorated to such a point that he had to put himself up for ridicule.
The bit that really lingers about this crass production is the constant references to gay activity. It was unnecessary and simply served to highlighted the guests own short-comings.
It's the first time I've heard of the guest Andy Dick or Cox. whatever, but what an absolute loser he portrayed himself to be.
Really .I mean really...give this a miss. Cheap shots, cheap and crude humour. Expect more.
I love watching William Shatner.
The host opens up quite well but immediately descends into profanities.
Each 'comic' guest takes his or her turn to insult William Shatner, although one or two of them simply stand up and crack one-liners with no reference to 'Bill' whatsoever.
Maybe I expect too much, but when many of them get up clasping pieces of paper and proceed to read their lines.
I'm afraid if they aren't naturally funny then they shouldn't be there.
I'm no comedian BUT I bet I could get on a stage and knock out 5 or more 'Star Trekkie' or 'TJ Hooker' anecdotes without much bother, and without the need to swear every other word.
Many shots of the audience catch many of them frowning or simply shaking their heads in disbelief.
The 'gay' references were unbelievable; once they started they never stopped.
The whole programme deteriorated into what can only be described as school-boy humour. (Mind you most school boys would rise above this). I would describe most of the comments as infantile.
If you don't mind cringing along with a bunch of has-beens or wannabees's, then watch it. Otherwise, give it a wide berth, I felt embarrassed for them.
Many of the other reviews make fun of the Chevy Chase 'roasting' because he apparently didn't play ball, and didn't 'get' the humour.
Maybe he did 'get' the humour and realised that maybe his career hadn't deteriorated to such a point that he had to put himself up for ridicule.
The bit that really lingers about this crass production is the constant references to gay activity. It was unnecessary and simply served to highlighted the guests own short-comings.
It's the first time I've heard of the guest Andy Dick or Cox. whatever, but what an absolute loser he portrayed himself to be.
Really .I mean really...give this a miss. Cheap shots, cheap and crude humour. Expect more.
- jodyvulture
- Mar 28, 2007
- Permalink
Nimoy and Locklear were smart not to show.
I'm not easily offended or disgusted but this was a travesty
I am a fan of TV shows and films such as South Park that are considered offensive and disgusting but this 'Roast' was just an excuse for swearing, vulgar sex jokes (if you can call them jokes) and smut.
I watched this with high hopes, I am a huge William Shatner fan and for me this was just a kick in the teeth, there was absolutely no need for it, a roast is supposed to be funny, it's supposed to be friends of the roasted poking fun at them and there career not saying things such as "i caught the bouquet at Bill's wedding, I hope to catch the cock ring at sulu's' that was aimed at George Takei and was probably the tamest of the Roast (I don't want to put the worse ones on here). Sure there were the odd funny moments but way to few and far between. Waste of time if you ask me. Watch this only if your comedy preferences are of vulgar toilet humor that to me only a young immature teen would find at all funny.
I watched this with high hopes, I am a huge William Shatner fan and for me this was just a kick in the teeth, there was absolutely no need for it, a roast is supposed to be funny, it's supposed to be friends of the roasted poking fun at them and there career not saying things such as "i caught the bouquet at Bill's wedding, I hope to catch the cock ring at sulu's' that was aimed at George Takei and was probably the tamest of the Roast (I don't want to put the worse ones on here). Sure there were the odd funny moments but way to few and far between. Waste of time if you ask me. Watch this only if your comedy preferences are of vulgar toilet humor that to me only a young immature teen would find at all funny.
Showing My Age
The Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner is a long series of unfunny comedians who are more interested in seeing if they can drive anyone off stage than in actually saying or doing anything that can be remotely construed as funny.
Now, a Roast is not meant to be polite. A roast can and should run the gamut from rough to appalling. But watching Andy Dick trying to gross out everyone by running his tongue over anyone who would hold still for it is not funny. Watching Farrah Fawcett try to get through her canned jokes without breaking up is not funny. As for Lisa Lamparelli, her best line was noting that her career was dead, but she could still get a gig on Comedy Central doing roasts. Indeed she can, so long as there is no requirement that she be funny. Nor do any of these 'comedy' bits have anything to do with William Shatner.
There is much about William Shatner's career that could have served a roast well: Shatner's egotism, his spreading waistline, his propensity for overacting. Yet no one was terribly interested in the subject of William Shatner. Largely, the 'comedians' were interested in themselves and the apparent belief that all transgressive behavior is funny. Most of the barbs consisted of "You're fat and have no talent, William Shatner, now I'm going to vomit on the stage, and I love you, Bill."
The one good routine starts the show, with a rcorded 'telephone conversation' between Shatner and Leonard Nimony, in which Shatner urges Nimoy to show up, saying it will be fun, and Nimoy saying 'Don't do it.' My hope that, after an amusing start, something good would turn up some time in the proceedings was never justified for more than fifteen seconds. Nimoy's routine, alas was correct.
Shatner stayed for the entire show. Don't you.
Now, a Roast is not meant to be polite. A roast can and should run the gamut from rough to appalling. But watching Andy Dick trying to gross out everyone by running his tongue over anyone who would hold still for it is not funny. Watching Farrah Fawcett try to get through her canned jokes without breaking up is not funny. As for Lisa Lamparelli, her best line was noting that her career was dead, but she could still get a gig on Comedy Central doing roasts. Indeed she can, so long as there is no requirement that she be funny. Nor do any of these 'comedy' bits have anything to do with William Shatner.
There is much about William Shatner's career that could have served a roast well: Shatner's egotism, his spreading waistline, his propensity for overacting. Yet no one was terribly interested in the subject of William Shatner. Largely, the 'comedians' were interested in themselves and the apparent belief that all transgressive behavior is funny. Most of the barbs consisted of "You're fat and have no talent, William Shatner, now I'm going to vomit on the stage, and I love you, Bill."
The one good routine starts the show, with a rcorded 'telephone conversation' between Shatner and Leonard Nimony, in which Shatner urges Nimoy to show up, saying it will be fun, and Nimoy saying 'Don't do it.' My hope that, after an amusing start, something good would turn up some time in the proceedings was never justified for more than fifteen seconds. Nimoy's routine, alas was correct.
Shatner stayed for the entire show. Don't you.
Vile and vulgar beyond belief
I'm a huge Star Trek fan and a fan of Bill Shatner in particular. I think it's really impressive what he's done to re-inject life back into his career, winning Emmy awards for his performance in Boston Legal. Plus I love his self-effacing sense of humor. So when I heard there was going to be a "roast" in his honor, I eagerly looked forward to it.
Man oh man was I disappointed. Actually disgusted would be a better word to describe this travesty of a show.
It started out quite funny, with a phone conversation between Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, who tried to talk Bill out of appearing on the show because "they roast PIGS". The exchange was lively and fun, and as it turned out Nimoy was right (unintentionally) and Shatner's description of the show as bringing together comics that no one has ever heard of and "ex-hotties" was woefully accurate...
The show was, in a word: vile.
Among the "roasters" were Nichelle Nichols, Betty White (???), Farrah Fawcett and George Takei. It was hosted by Jason Alexander. There were also a number of comedians including Fred Willard, Kevin Pollock (who does the best Captain Kirk impression on the planet), and Andy Dick (who I loathe). Beyond that there were a bunch of no-names and it was a mystery to me why they were there, except that maybe Comedy Central wants to boost their careers.
The short version is that I felt like I was sitting through some sort of sex education/anatomy class at it's most vulgar. I'd have to say 8 out of 10 jokes had something to do with genitalia or sex (mostly homosexual) and there was plenty of dialogue that had to be bleeped out. Much of the humor was based on George Takei's recent "outing" of himself as gay, and it was done in excruciating sexual detail.
I'd also say that 90% of the "roasting" was directed at the co-roasters with a minor 10% directed at the guest of honor, Bill Shatner. It almost seemed like an afterthought. I didn't tune in to see a bunch of unknown comics insulting each other with private jokes! Also depressing was seeing the likes of Nichelle Nicholes and the venerable Betty White stooping to gross sexual humor in this venue. I was taken aback that they would stoop to that level to be what, considered "cool"? To be honest I couldn't even finish watching it.
When I tuned in I had images in my head of roasts from way back when with the likes of Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Foster Brooks, etc. poking fun at some celebrity friend. Back then it was funny and had an edge to it, but they did it with some sense of class. Believe it or not, it is possible to roast someone and be funny without resorting to describing a prostate massage or other things I won't repeat here.
As far as I'm concerned the humor reminded me of what you might overhear around a bunch of 14 year old boys. It's much more difficult but funnier when you get a laugh without resorting to vulgarity, in my opinion. I mean some of it made the audience (and myself) cringe more than laugh. Much of it was obviously done more for shock value than actual laughs.
What I found especially interesting was that the LEAST amount of time was given to the guests who were the least vulgar. If you blinked you would have missed Kevin Pollock's very funny bit that was inserted almost as filler.
Man oh man was I disappointed. Actually disgusted would be a better word to describe this travesty of a show.
It started out quite funny, with a phone conversation between Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, who tried to talk Bill out of appearing on the show because "they roast PIGS". The exchange was lively and fun, and as it turned out Nimoy was right (unintentionally) and Shatner's description of the show as bringing together comics that no one has ever heard of and "ex-hotties" was woefully accurate...
The show was, in a word: vile.
Among the "roasters" were Nichelle Nichols, Betty White (???), Farrah Fawcett and George Takei. It was hosted by Jason Alexander. There were also a number of comedians including Fred Willard, Kevin Pollock (who does the best Captain Kirk impression on the planet), and Andy Dick (who I loathe). Beyond that there were a bunch of no-names and it was a mystery to me why they were there, except that maybe Comedy Central wants to boost their careers.
The short version is that I felt like I was sitting through some sort of sex education/anatomy class at it's most vulgar. I'd have to say 8 out of 10 jokes had something to do with genitalia or sex (mostly homosexual) and there was plenty of dialogue that had to be bleeped out. Much of the humor was based on George Takei's recent "outing" of himself as gay, and it was done in excruciating sexual detail.
I'd also say that 90% of the "roasting" was directed at the co-roasters with a minor 10% directed at the guest of honor, Bill Shatner. It almost seemed like an afterthought. I didn't tune in to see a bunch of unknown comics insulting each other with private jokes! Also depressing was seeing the likes of Nichelle Nicholes and the venerable Betty White stooping to gross sexual humor in this venue. I was taken aback that they would stoop to that level to be what, considered "cool"? To be honest I couldn't even finish watching it.
When I tuned in I had images in my head of roasts from way back when with the likes of Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Foster Brooks, etc. poking fun at some celebrity friend. Back then it was funny and had an edge to it, but they did it with some sense of class. Believe it or not, it is possible to roast someone and be funny without resorting to describing a prostate massage or other things I won't repeat here.
As far as I'm concerned the humor reminded me of what you might overhear around a bunch of 14 year old boys. It's much more difficult but funnier when you get a laugh without resorting to vulgarity, in my opinion. I mean some of it made the audience (and myself) cringe more than laugh. Much of it was obviously done more for shock value than actual laughs.
What I found especially interesting was that the LEAST amount of time was given to the guests who were the least vulgar. If you blinked you would have missed Kevin Pollock's very funny bit that was inserted almost as filler.
i'll never understand....
Why is this funny?
Why would anyone sit on stage and subject themselves to this?
Why would artie lange call a woman a "c***"?
How long can these people sit up there with these plastic grins pretending this is funny?
It was excruciating. Unbearable.
And this is coming from someone who likes these folks generally. It's just not funny.
Why would anyone sit on stage and subject themselves to this?
Why would artie lange call a woman a "c***"?
How long can these people sit up there with these plastic grins pretending this is funny?
It was excruciating. Unbearable.
And this is coming from someone who likes these folks generally. It's just not funny.
What the hell is this?
- positiveray
- Jan 23, 2020
- Permalink