George Carlin: It's Bad For Ya

[WhistlePig]

Has anyone caught his new special on HBO? I Tivo'd it and watched it tonite and think it's hilarious! His last special was funny but a little depressing. He's just as negative in this one but seems to be burning much brighter. I had several out-loud laughs and I'm usually one that just smiles a little even when I find something really funny.

[DiabloSammich]

Huge fan of Carlin, I will be checking this out.

[TheMojoPin]

He's definitely funnier than he's been in years.

[extracheese]

funny???? Like a root canal.
He is way way past his prime. In his latest show..he simply takes his old material and
rewords it.
Do we really need to hear an 81 yr old ( he is difficult to look at) tell us yet again...that god, thje magic man in the sky doesnt exist? (laughter) That he has better things to do that watch what we are doing? (more laughter)

Go watch some Mitch Hedberg on youtube. THATS FUNNY!

[KnoxHarrington]

funny???? Like a root canal.
He is way way past his prime. In his latest show..he simply takes his old material and
rewords it.
Do we really need to hear an 81 yr old ( he is difficult to look at) tell us yet again...that god, thje magic man in the sky doesnt exist? (laughter) That he has better things to do that watch what we are doing? (more laughter)

Go watch some Mitch Hedberg on youtube. THATS FUNNY!

I tend to agree to this extent: his humor has crossed that line into simple misanthropy. Bill Hicks was just as brutal -- maybe more so -- attacking idiots of various types, but even at his darkest, there was always this sense with Hicks that he still believed that humanity had a chance. A slight one, maybe, but a chance nontheless. I don't get that feeling with latter-day Carlin. To him, this world is just utterly fucked. It's a feeling I got with late Vonnegut, really. Why bother if the world is that fucked? And it's just so despairing that it's hard to go along with if you don't totally agree. You start to think of ways that he's wrong, that the world can't suck as much as he says it does. And that feeling is not conducive to appreciating comedy.

[PanterA]

I saw this and laughed my ass off. Carlin in a genious!

[ToddEVF]

Go watch some Mitch Hedberg on youtube. THATS FUNNY!

maybe to you, but some do not find the late Mitch Hedberg's material too funny. Don't get me wrong, like everything, I'm not one to say "he's funny" or "he sucks". With Hedberg, for example, all the material you can find is going to be dated.

Carlin has been considered one of the greatest comedians of all times. And hey, a lot of people enjoy his stand up. I have not gotten a chance to see the newest special yet, but eventually i'll get to it. Maybe he is past his prime? Maybe he does think we are all fucked?

but comedy is definitely one of those love 'em or hate 'em entertainment fields. Either you really like the comedian or you don't. everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

[fezident]

There are probably 5 consecutive Carlin specials (starting with AT CARNEGIE) that are simply brilliant.
He found a voice. One that was different from the stoner "hippy dippy" stuff. It was observational and energetic. And it wasn't the typical "here's the difference between guys and girls..." stuff that every OTHER comedian was doing.

About 8 years ago, he found yet another voice. This one was a bit more angry. The humor was a little less obvious. Okay... maybe a LOT less obvious.

But, as a true Carlin follower, I gotta say: I'm reeeally happy that he's always evolving. He doesn't make the same record over and over. He doesn't rely on his greatest hits. And, perhaps most importantly, he doesn't have a "gimmick". No probs. No impressions. No multimedia. Just MATERIAL. His books are proof of that.


The tours and specials, yeah, they can't all be winners. Some specials are better than others but, he's at least attempting to bring high quality stuff to his fans. It never feels like he's copping out.

And that's why he's a fucking legend.

[Jujubees2]

Saw it, loved it and and let me just say that I am HAPPY to be an American!

[Bulldogcakes]

There are probably 5 consecutive Carlin specials (starting with AT CARNEGIE) that are simply brilliant.
He found a voice. One that was different from the stoner "hippy dippy" stuff. It was observational and energetic. And it wasn't the typical "here's the difference between guys and girls..." stuff that every OTHER comedian was doing.

About 8 years ago, he found yet another voice. This one was a bit more angry. The humor was a little less obvious. Okay... maybe a LOT less obvious.

But, as a true Carlin follower, I gotta say: I'm reeeally happy that he's always evolving. He doesn't make the same record over and over. He doesn't rely on his greatest hits. And, perhaps most importantly, he doesn't have a "gimmick". No probs. No impressions. No multimedia. Just MATERIAL. His books are proof of that.


The tours and specials, yeah, they can't all be winners. Some specials are better than others but, he's at least attempting to bring high quality stuff to his fans. It never feels like he's copping out.

And that's why he's a fucking legend.

As Jon Stewart put it "Among comedians there is the 'Holy Trinity' of comics, who have influenced just about everyone else working today. Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, and George Carlin"

BTW-He didn't really 'find a voice' with his Carnegie show, that was just one of the first to be televised by HBO. Check out his Class Clown and Occupation Foole albums. 30 years old and while some of it is dated, most of it is still hilariously funny. Clips are on his website (http://www.georgecarlin.com/)

[fezident]

I had the earlier records. Class Clown and Foole were great. No doubt. But... he was still on drugs back in those days. With Carnegie, he was recently sober and he seemed very focused. His delivery was much faster and the material was more palatable.

[Snacks]

watched it last night. it was funny. the best part was the 20 minutes or so. that shit made me laugh hard.

[GvacNoMore]

I want to check it out. I saw Carlin's last special and he looked and sounded old, frail, and weak and I found it depressing. Hopefully he's regained some vitality for this latest one.

[Snacks]

I want to check it out. I saw Carlin's last special and he looked and sounded old, frail, and weak and I found it depressing. Hopefully he's regained some vitality for this latest one.

he is older and frailer but it is better then his last hbo special. the last one he ranted a little too much without enough jokes mixed in.

[DiabloSammich]

I had the earlier records. Class Clown and Foole were great. No doubt. But... he was still on drugs back in those days. With Carnegie, he was recently sober and he seemed very focused. His delivery was much faster and the material was more palatable.



Agreed, I was first exposed to Carlin with the Carnegie album, so I searched out his earlier stuff, and found it to be almost a different comedian. I still found it funny, don't get me wrong, but had a much more"we'll get there when we get there" feel to it.

[fezident]

I want to check it out. I saw Carlin's last special and he looked and sounded old, frail, and weak and I found it depressing. Hopefully he's regained some vitality for this latest one.

I remember reading that even HE was not happy with that HBO special. (the one before this one).
It had something to do with the side effects from the various medications he was taking. He said that he "wasn't himself" and that it affected his timing and his appearance, which somewhat affected his confidence. I'll try to find the link but... you get the idea.

[IrishAlkey]

I just watched it.

It was much more remeniscent of his specials from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s than his last few specials where he was uber poetic and didn't focus on jokes/punchlines.

I loved it.

[cougarjake13]

i no longer have hbo

anywhere online i can watch