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Jeff Dunham "250th Red, White, and Blue Birthday Special" with Dorey Nolan
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Dorey Nolan checks in to talk Jeff Dunham hilariousness
This is laughs per minute. We serve up hot takes on comedy legends and rising stars. Every episode features a different guest serving with Brian and Nick as armchair comedy critics. Lean back, lock in, or whatever you listeners do while we butcher callbacks to comedy heroes.
SPEAKER_03How are you doing, Nick? I'm doing great. I'm excited. Our guest today is my girlfriend, Dory Nolan. Woohoo! She is an amazing artist, an accomplished author, and an animal activist. We sometimes have to talk about feeding wild critters a little too much on that last one. But it uh it works well. I think we work well. And she's agreed to record with us. Dory, you want to tell us about the comedy comedian you selected and the comedy special we foisted upon you?
SPEAKER_07Yes, I will.
SPEAKER_03Welcome.
SPEAKER_07I chose, thank you. I chose Jeff Dunham. I actually fell in love with Peanut when back in the 1990s. I saw Jeff Dunham at the Louisville State, well, Louisville, Kentucky State Fair. And he had Peanut with him, and I just fell in love. I thought it was great. And I've always liked ventriloquist acts all the way back to the the old days when I was like a little one. And my great-grandmother and grandmother would watch um several of them on on TV. But with this one, I was not fast enough at choosing the one to watch, and you guys chose the 250th um United States birthday when that Jeff Dunham did. And it's okay. I mean, it's funny. Anytime you've got Jeff Dunham there with Walter and Peanut and Bubba J and Achmed, you're gonna you're gonna be laughing, but it it didn't have the new characters, which is Larry.
SPEAKER_03That's around who's not had the episode. Thanks thanks. Thanks, Dori. Normally I have to tell you to wrap it up, and instead this time to the chase immediately.
SPEAKER_05Like, I don't want to do this, I don't want to be here, and also, all right, fine, let's talk about it.
SPEAKER_03Well, as you know, we have our evaluation sheet that we're gonna walk through and go through. Sure. And I thank you for your participation in this, and I really enjoyed watching the the special with you. Um, you guys watched it together.
SPEAKER_07It's funny because I'd watch yeah, well, I'd watched most of it before, and then he goes, Why don't we watch it together? And I'm like, All right, come on down. So we watched it, and there was parts where I knew he was going to crack up on, and he did.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it was funny. You know him so well. Yeah, like what's um what's Jeff Denham's comedy style for those who don't know, although I don't know why they wouldn't know Jeff Denham and listen to our podcast, but just in case what did he put down in the well he's a ventriloquism act, and I don't consider them props, I consider them personalities, and even he does because he he mentioned in an interview with Howie Mandel that sometimes the the puppets they get going and he's like, What am I gonna say?
SPEAKER_07You know, because they've got their own personalities and they speak. Uh he's uh does character comedy storytelling every now and then he'll have some one-liners, you know. He's he's yeah, and he can do some improv, but it's usually scripted.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think what did you think, Brian?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I think I have a lot of the same ones, but I I I find it interesting that uh, you know, people that are ventriloquists, they get to sample from any style that they want because they it's not them. They're playing, you know, they're playing a character, you know, and they're they're building these uh personalities. And um, and so I just thought that was I just always think it's really cool. It's sometimes it doesn't freak me out in a bad way, but um, ventriloquism is funny because it's a person having a conversation with themselves on stage, basically, and which is so funny because your brain has to work in a certain way to do that, and so you know it's interesting to me. But yeah, I had um some one-liners, some observational, um, obviously ventriloquism. Um I didn't see a lot of uh I mean, like I th there's potentially some improv. I think I think most of it, like you said, is scripted improv or improv, it's something that's supposed to come off as being improv improvised, um, and stuff like that. Um and that's about all I had. Nick?
SPEAKER_07Unless a guest throws something in there and then it becomes improv.
SPEAKER_05So yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_07Which sometimes they do.
SPEAKER_03I checked all those same boxes. I didn't think about storytelling and one-liners, and I don't disagree, or and I agree, but he he leans into that a little bit. Um what about the subject matter? Brian, what uh what boxes did you tick for subject matter?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I had um political. He he leaned in quite a bit to political.
SPEAKER_03That was the theme of the special, right?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, 250.
SPEAKER_03Um let's hope that was political.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. A little social commentary, I think. Um a little bit of pop culture. I mean, made some references to a couple of people. Um, I have dark humor also. Um, I mean, anytime anybody's making an Abraham Lincoln assassination joke, um, that's that's pretty dark.
SPEAKER_07That's the one I knew that he would laugh on. Is it was her idea to go to theater.
SPEAKER_05The theater.
SPEAKER_07And what man is gonna say, oh honey, let's go to the theater.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, I knew he would laugh on that one.
SPEAKER_05But yeah, that that gave me the dark, and I think also um I didn't check it, but now I'm thinking about it. Like, I think almost all ventriloquists have to have some level of absurdism, like a little bit, just because the the personalities um that they're creating are you know meant to you know meant to be like out there, you know what I mean? So Bubba J. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think that because of Bubba J and because Peanut did a bunch of accents, you know, yeah, where you know white white guy Jeff Dunham got to lean into some uh I don't know if it's privilege or soft racism or something, but I don't know if that counts as our ethnic or cultural checkbox when he made uh and that's where I was disappointed in this one, is because Pina when he he didn't do a Hispanic, yeah, um and which is where Jose jalapeno on a steak would have popped up.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_07So I was a little disappointed there.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Well he I mean it's only a 40 minute special, right? So like there's only so much time to uh switch between puppets. Yeah. Um so Dori, let's let's get into our scoring. Content quality. What would you what did you score this special out of 10?
SPEAKER_07Uh his writing is usually on mark, and so I always did a n I did a nine. Gotcha.
SPEAKER_03What about you, Brian? What did you do?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I had uh a little bit less. I had an eight there. Um, but yeah, very very strong writing. Uh obviously written very well for the type of delivery that he's gonna be giving, you know. Um I don't know how he keeps it all straight. It's a little crazy. Yeah, you know, yeah.
SPEAKER_03That is impressive. I I put a seven out of ten. Um largely because by his own admission there were some bad jokes. Like I thought they were good, but like if he didn't believe in his own jokes, it's hard for me to give him like a really high score, you know, if he's gonna um I think that was part of it. Yeah. Yeah. I get that. That's why it's a seven out of ten and not like a five or a six.
SPEAKER_07Self uh, what is it? Self-deprecation is often quite comical sometimes. And I think that's what he was aiming for with that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03That's probably true. Uh performance and delivery out of ten, Brian.
SPEAKER_05I had a seven um in the engaging and confident. Obviously, he's been performing for gosh, 30 plus years. Uh, probably even more than that. But uh, I mean, in the actual limelight for that long, where people have known of him, he's been famous. And I think he's one of the uh honestly, like I think he's one of the more wealthy stand-up comedians just because I think he's just built he's got an ex YPS to be. Yeah, yeah. Well, and I think he had I think he had a show in Vegas at some point and things like that. So, like, you know, that they just you just get paid if they're if you're a resident in Vegas, you know, you know you used to live in Vegas, so you know.
SPEAKER_07I did, I did. You don't get paid to live there. You did if you did, I would still be living still be there.
SPEAKER_05Right. But yeah, I think that lends it lends to um you know him being uh, you know, have a great stage presence, great delivery, and just you know, being a completely confident and not nervous on stage. So yeah.
SPEAKER_03What what say you, Dory?
SPEAKER_07Nine and a half. I'm biased because well, he has excellent timing. I mean, you listen to Walter and Ochmed, and Ahmed knows when the audience is gonna be ready to say, I will cue you, you know. And so he's like, not yet, you know, just wait. His timing is so spot on. And well, this is gonna come up in another one, so I'm not gonna mention it now, but I'll mention it when it comes up about um how he's taken it to a different level.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, got me intrigued. Um I have I'll put eight out of ten, engaging and confident. I think um I didn't I don't know that I told you this story. Jeff Dunham was the first comedian I ever saw live.
SPEAKER_01Really? No.
SPEAKER_03For my 18th birthday, dad took me out to Teapac to see Jeff Dunham. I always loved Ventriloquism as a huge fan of Alf and Muppets.
SPEAKER_06Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yes, published. I don't I never wanted to do it, but I always like to consider it.
SPEAKER_07Oh, see, I've wanted to do it. I still want to do it.
SPEAKER_03Really?
SPEAKER_07I would get so many people in trouble. His crotch talked?
SPEAKER_03Oh my god. Oh man, if these if that crotch could talk, okay. Number four, or no, number three, sorry. Number three, audience engagement. How are we doing with audience engagement? Dori, what for for Jeff Dunham's special, what did you rate the audience engagement out of five?
SPEAKER_07Uh, I put a four and a half because they did do quite a bit. And but the again, this wasn't one of my favorite uh episode uh yeah, shows that he's had, but they did engage. They did engage. There was a lot of that.
SPEAKER_03Sure, right?
SPEAKER_07I never give anybody a full five on that, yeah, even in Toastmasters, because you never have anybody's 100% pretend attention.
SPEAKER_03So right, right for those listening online, Dory just mentioned Toastmasters. So get out your bingo card, it's usually in the bottom right corner.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, we didn't even have to do it this time. That's pretty crazy. Usually the guest doesn't mention it, you know.
SPEAKER_03But anyway. Well, yeah. I failed to mention that she's a Toastmaster in the introduction. That's usually something we say.
SPEAKER_05You're talking about all the lovey dovey stuff, you know. So yeah.
SPEAKER_03You can't make an A alliteration out of Toastmasters.
SPEAKER_05Oh god.
SPEAKER_03She's an accomplished author and an amazing artist.
SPEAKER_07So on my business card, it says author, artist, creative guide, yeah, and public speaker.
SPEAKER_05Amazing artist, awesome girlfriend, annoying Toastmaster.
SPEAKER_07No, very annoying. It's contest time, so you know I'm gonna be annoying to some people anyway. Right. Which reminds me, Brian.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, exactly. By anyway, now that I've got you here, um anyway, I gave a 3.5 out of that, just shy of the four. Um, I thought very strong audience engagement. Um, audience was invested. Uh, although when when they cut to some of the uh clips of the crowd, there were a couple people that I saw that were just sort of like sort of like not, I don't know, they they had a strange look on their face, sort of like what are we?
SPEAKER_07There was one guy in the audience, he had his arms crossed, and I'm like, his wife drug him to that.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, seriously. She's like, No, we're gonna go see the puppets, it's gonna be great. And he's like, whatever, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he's walker. Yeah, I was gonna say, Walter, their family, whatever.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, there was one guy I saw yawn. Yeah, there's one guy I saw yawn.
SPEAKER_05So, anyways, yes, still strong engagement though. Um, I think I think he's you know like relatively universal, and anybody can get a laugh out out, or anybody can laugh at any of the stuff he's doing. So, yeah, that's where I'm at.
SPEAKER_03I did a four out of five as well. Um although part of it, I like I I usually I prefer not to know what to put for this one. Because the camera, in my opinion, shouldn't be cutting to the audience.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_03You know, that's like my own little pet peeve or my own preference. So getting cutting to the audience in their reactions, yes, it helps me know how engaged the audience is, but I would prefer to be immersed and have my own experience.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um diversity of material. Did the comedian cover a range of topics? I put four with a big old question mark. Like I wasn't sure. I wanted to do another watch to sort of watch for that specifically, but um I just leaned on and stuck with four. What did you say, Dory?
SPEAKER_07I put five because even though it was technically a political, you know, because it was 250 years, he managed to get in so many little different things, like the different accents and how women are the ones who are controlling the things, not the men, you know, and the buck buck buck and and Bubba J with his little uh where'd you find high school? Well, I just walked around and found it. Yeah, there were so many things that he yeah, I knew you'd laugh at that one too. Well, yeah, and I he was able to get so much in there, even though it was technically geared towards one thing. He still was able to you know blend it all. Yeah, and what what was your score?
SPEAKER_05I've g I I gave a four out of five on that. I think uh I think definitely I agree with Dory in that he uh again this format lends itself to you know having multiple personalities. I don't say not him having multiple personalities, but I mean sort of he does expressing, you know, expressing multiple personalities, you know, having having all of these different personalities in which to do that. I've it lends itself to having a wide variety of topics, like Peanuts not going to talk about the same thing that Ahmed is versus you know Bubba J, you know, and uh yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so that's a different special.
SPEAKER_05No, I know. I but I got the reference though. I got the reference.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, me too.
SPEAKER_05So so yeah, four, so four out of five on the diversity of material.
SPEAKER_03Cool. All right, we're moving right along. Uh, impact and memorability. Was this a performance that sticks with you? We'll go with Brian first.
SPEAKER_05I gave it a five out of ten, and and I didn't, that doesn't, it's not a negative to him. It's just it's sort of what we actually we were just talking about is because he's used the same puppets for 20, 30 years, you know, and there he's introduced some new characters, but those classics come back, and um it like it feels like I wouldn't be able to remember like tomorrow I might remember, but like all of that just got lumped into a memory for me of all the times that I've seen Peanut and all the times that I've seen Bubba J and all the times that I've seen Walter, you know. And so I I don't know that I'd be able to pick out like this as a specific memorable moment, you know what I mean? Um, but again, I'm that's me just comparing. I mean, it's almost like he's a uh victim of his own circumstance. Like basically he's been doing it for so long, and he's basically has been relatively ubiqu ubiquitous. So um it makes it you know, it makes it feel like you don't it's not memorable, but all of it's memorable, if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_07So right, right, yeah. What about you, Dory? Uh I was going back and forth between eight and nine because like you said, Brian, all of his stuff is memorable, so it still gets into the memorable set, you know. And for me, uh Walter, this whole set with Walter, that will stick. Buck, buck, buck, yes, you know, that that will stick and literally enough costume, yeah. Yeah, in the costume, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and that was that was actually it's I think a standout moment that the uh when he just they kept on going back and forth with like the little one-liners about his stuff, like you know, you look like a patriotic parking ticket, and you like a you know, all those things. Abraham Lincoln's like you know, dumb brother or whatever, I forget what exactly he said.
SPEAKER_07So you know, put on this clown suit, you know. Yeah, um, yeah. So like Walter will stand out, and Peanut. There's several things that he does in every single show for the most part. The making fun of Jeff's name, Jeff Dunham, you know, Jeff Baba, and the over your head.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_07But uh it's still funny, yeah. It's still funny. I I it doesn't matter which show I see it in, it's still funny. And Bubba J's the the where'd you find your high school? How'd you find high school? That was the funniest part for me because I'm like, how many kids would go? I just walked over to it, you know? Yeah, so yeah, so it there was memorable parts, yeah. It was a good set, and of course, Achmed, we all love Ahmed, so right.
SPEAKER_03I should give it a five out of ten. Um I don't know that I have much more to say about it than that that hasn't already been said, and that's okay. Uh here's a topic near and dear to my heart, though I don't have as much written down. Oh I do have some though. Uh use of callbacks out of five. Did the comedian effectively use callbacks? And yeah, I say this just about every episode, but uh effective use doesn't mean generous use or you know, minimal use, it's effective use. Is it sprinkled to taste appropriately? So um Dory, what was your assessment of Jeff Dunham's use of callbacks?
SPEAKER_07Uh I gave him a four and a half. Because when he he didn't have a lot, but when he did have them, they hit the mark.
SPEAKER_02Nice.
SPEAKER_05Ryan. I gave him a three and a half, um, sort of for the same reasons. Uh that he he used some. I was I kept on waiting for some, and maybe you guys caught some. So if you can, if you if you did, then let me know. But I kept on waiting for callbacks between different characters, and I didn't catch a lot of those. I got callbacks within one character, callback to that one portion, but I didn't, I was like hoping that like Peanut would do a callback to like Bubba J or something, or like Peanut would do a callback to Walter or something like that, you know, and I didn't get that. But anyway, when he used them though, the ones that I caught, I felt like they were well, well used, effective, um, three and a half. He's not a huge callback comedian, but um, but they were effectively used.
SPEAKER_07Well, I kind of think too that when you know Ahmed is talking and you hear Walter from the crate make a comment, that to me is almost like a callback. It's it's not a direct callback, but it's close.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's a good point.
SPEAKER_07And with this one, this show there weren't that many.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's not a man. Yeah, there weren't that many callbacks. Remember that character, yeah.
SPEAKER_07Right. And but in other in some of his other shows, he's had a lot of callbacks, especially this Christmas one during that time. I think that was a really he had quite a few. I know, I know.
SPEAKER_03I also I forget which guest it was that introduced this concept to me inadvertently, but callbacks can be like not just within the set or within the special, but callbacks to like previous specials and shows and sets. So like the Jeff Fafaw and the Silence I Kill You, those are callbacks to like almost um fan service, right? Yeah, fan service is like super callback.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_03Um so like both of them.
SPEAKER_05Well that's how you know that you're real that's how you know you're really famous because if you can call back to your previous sets, you know, yeah, yeah, you've developed a character.
SPEAKER_03So you've you've been a victim of your own success, as you said. Right, exactly. I don't get to make new jokes, I just get to re restate the old ones.
SPEAKER_05Well, and they like you, and actually, Dory, you already said it. Like the the cool thing you get to do when that happens is you get to build the anticipation, like the like I kill you, you know. It's like everyone is like wait for waiting, you know. And it's like they want them to say it, and it's like, you know, and they're all waiting. That play that up.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, and this one didn't didn't Ahmed say wait for it, like three times, you know.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, two or three, yeah.
SPEAKER_07Yeah. Because you could see the audience was wanting to go, I give you and you know, wait for it, you know. Not yet.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. I uh I had him at it at three for callbacks, but I'm I'm bumping it up to four. I really enjoyed our dialogue on the matter. All right, style quality. So calling back to the comedic style we had down. We all agree on ventriloquism, and uh I guess I guess we all agreed on character comedy, but then there was some variance on storytelling, one-liners, and observation. Um so I put seven out of ten, um, and that was fairly low, I realized, but uh it was partly because I saw his mouth move, so as a ventriloquist, seeing his mouth move, like I've used him being I I don't know, like maybe maybe I've the mystery has waned my experience of ventriloquism, and so now I'm like I can step out of it and look at the ventriloquist and watch them more than the dummy. Um but yeah, I just uh y'all didn't see my my response, my visual response to Dory there. Um but yeah, like I I just noticed, and so I think with me being pulled out of it like that, that's a mark, at least one or two points of a ding for me.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03By my arbitrary standard of you know jaging his ventrology wisdom style. Um what uh what did you have down, Dory? Anti-dummy.
SPEAKER_07I have a 10 because he is he is one that has mastered this. I mean, look at his characters, you know. You've got Bubba J, you've got uh I one of my least favorite characters is Sweet Daddy D and Diane, and then he's got Baby Seamus, and he's got URL. He's got all of these, and anytime anybody mentions peanut and they're not talking about the food, you know who they're talking about. There's one peanut. And he has taken ventriloquism, and this is what I was gonna say earlier. He has taken the art of ventriloquism to a different level. There have been so many more ventriloquists that have popped up on shows like America's Got Talent and things to that effect since he has become so popular. Yeah, so he has taken and he is he's mastered it and he's got other people uh just wanting to, you know, to succeed in it as well.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Well, what's you score, Brian?
SPEAKER_05I gave him a nine out of ten. Um I think he definitely has mastered what he's doing. Um, I think there's uh the great thing about I said the well, maybe the great and the bad thing about ventral, of course, is you know, you there aren't that many that are really publicly famous. So you can sort of like in your mind go through them and be like, okay, I know of a few that are younger ones, some like you said, the America's got talent ones that came through, and then um, you know, there's like like you said, you were talking about like the Muppets and all that stuff, and that's even though that's not really ventriloquism, you know, sort of um the similar kind of thing.
SPEAKER_07Puppetry.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah, puppetry.
SPEAKER_07But uh, that was puppetry.
SPEAKER_05But the idea is um, you know, he's a standout, obviously. Uh I you have to have so many talents for it because you have to be able to do the talent, like do the ventriloquism, right? Not move your lips, or at least effectively like look like you're not moving your lips. And then also write and you develop the you know, develop the characters, do all the things. So like it's it's much more than I think many stand-up comedians do. Um, it's just sort of, you know, you know, do playing the drums, doing one thing with one hand and another thing with another hand and this with your foot and stuff like that. So um because even that, like I don't I would love to know. I'd I'd love always love to like I've never obviously never done this, but like every time I see a comedian or ventriloquist, I'm always like because they have so much so much articulation in like they have their eyebrows, like like uh the eyebrows can move and the eyes can move and the mouth can move and like certain things. Like, I don't know if you notice or not, but it's a really subtle thing. But like when Walter was doing the bak bak bok buck bakak, so at the end of every single one, his head would pop up, like his head, his neck would like stretch a little bit, and yeah, yeah, just like a little like but you know, like right at the end, like which made it that much more funny. It was a real subtle thing because it only went up like maybe uh three-quarters of an inch or something. But every time he did it consistently, and um, but what the thing I was trying to say is I would love to know what the controls are inside there to control the things because that's there gotta be some dexterity and some other things, and you have to do you have to time it with when you're the person is talking, with when the to make the joke work, and like Bubba J's eye, you know, when he would like just do the one eye. It's got the one eye cross, yeah. Start to look at him, you know, he would like make some kind of like sexual innuendo joke or something, and Bubba J's like eye just goes just like slowly, you know.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that was the callback I didn't highlight.
SPEAKER_05Oh was the uh beaver hat?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the beaver hat and cock fighting is yeah, he's like did it did it fit, or what do you say?
SPEAKER_05Did I forget his name's Steve? Did he fit in or something or something like that?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, for the beaver hat Ben Franklin wearing a beaver hat was did it fit?
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But then later when he's doing more US trivia, you know, kind of asking Bubba J if he knew this or that about American history, when he said like cock fighting is a thing, right? And that got him giggling again. Yes, yeah, and that and then Bubba J replies, Did did they wear beaver hats too?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, that was great. That was a good one.
SPEAKER_05Well, and then the whole thing about Steve and then Stevie and then little Steve and then Stevie Nicks. Yeah, Steven. I was just like, that was cracking me up. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_07Um usually does. So you guys, so I already did that.
SPEAKER_05So nine, so nine out of ten. Yeah. I think we I think we've I don't know where we did we finish that. Did you did you give your score on that, Nick?
SPEAKER_03I I did. Thanks for remembering it was a seven out of ten.
SPEAKER_05Okay, good.
SPEAKER_03Timing and pacing. How how ironic. Uh was the pacing effective for humor delivery? Yes. Five. Yes, five out of five from Dory. Any commentary?
SPEAKER_07Or well when you're when you're doing something like that, I mean, he's controlling the character. So, like with Peanut, because he has to use the stick to help with Peanut's hand. Yeah. Kind of like I do with this, yeah. And that takes timing. You have to know when to actually bring it up, and you've got to keep all that going along with the commentary that you're both doing, him and Peanut.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_07And like with uh Walter, with the, you know, the and the head going up, yeah. All of that has to be well timed. The practice that he puts into that has got to be um probably like a regular job, eight hours a day or more.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_07Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. I wonder if he actually like pulls pulls out the the the uh the puppets and when he's writing, if he like puts the puppet on and is like having, you know, basically conversing back and forth with the, you know what I mean? I would think he would be. Because it like probably well, I think it probably puts him in a mindset to have that, you know, because he even when he does like this, when it's like he has the the like him, like the the puppets like looking at him, he turns his head and like looks directly at him, you know. Like the mindset of getting into that and having a conversation, it's like if you were to, you know, mm pantomime a conversation with somebody that wasn't there, but um, but yeah, it's that's I think he mentioned in a early uh interview where they were yeah, when he was talking when he was a little kid, because he started this when he was really young, yeah, that he would record himself on like the the old cassette recorders, yep.
SPEAKER_07And so that he could he has the dialogue and he can just write it out from there or yeah, you know, go from there. Like he do with speeches, right?
SPEAKER_05Exactly. Uh, did I tell my I didn't say my score. No, you haven't, Brian. Sorry, four. I gave a four out of five. Strong, well-timed delivery. The thing that I the reason why I didn't give a five is because I noticed that, and I this may be just because it was a special and he was trying to, in essence, play the hits, you know, um, except for like you said, no jose. Um, but um no way jose. That's what I said. Anyway, Jose. Um I he didn't really have any segue between the things. He was just like, okay, it's your time to go. And he would say, but then he'd say, okay, next we're gonna bring out so it was sort of like there wasn't like a it wasn't like a comprehensive or cohesive kind of writing that segued through through that. So I thought even though that doesn't have to do with the timing of the jokes, it's just sort of a like, now we're gonna do this. Okay, now we're gonna not do that, and we're gonna do this next, you know, and which is okay. Like I think it I think he worked it the way he needed to, but um, but that's why I didn't give him five out of five.
SPEAKER_07So I think he said at the beginning that you know this was just kind of like a just thrown together. Oh, let's do this and we're gonna record with our iPhones, and yeah.
SPEAKER_05Well, and when he had peanut do like the the end of the space-time continuum or whatever, because like that was kind of cool. We're filming at the end of the giving thing, filming content, filming another person filming content, you know, stuff like that. And anyway.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's um that's gonna come up later. Uh I put four out of five on timing and pacing. And then the the ding, I think, is coming from and I I agree with the starts and the stops, Brian. What stood out to me was it felt like he was going a little fast.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Like the he didn't quite wait for the punchline to land or yeah, or the dialogue was a little fast, I think is between him and and the puppet. That's just neat. Uh physical comedy. How well do they use physical elements in their comedy out of five? Uh Brian, let's let's hear from you this time.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, this one was hard for me. So I don't know if I'm gonna be too low or too high, but like uh, you know, he's not a physical comedian. But then again, uh when I think about it, like part of it is physicality, like he as opposed to just a person who is standing up there with a microphone, right? And maybe they tell jokes. Um, his act would be completely different, obviously, without the second party that's uh uh there with him on stage.
SPEAKER_03So and he's gotta be body language for two people right times.
SPEAKER_05And so I originally I gave him a two, but I think I'm gonna boot and bump that up to a three. Um because I just don't think he's a physical comedian, but again, he's his art is like he's doing his art like um really, really well. And so um, so I'll do a three.
SPEAKER_03And that's for those listening at home, some physical elements well used.
SPEAKER_05Yes.
SPEAKER_03Okay, Dory.
SPEAKER_07Three and a half to four. I couldn't decide between three and a half or four because for what he does, he does use you know what he ha yeah, he uses what he has to use. So there you go. Yeah. And the bit with peanut going out into the audience, that was more physical than he's been in a long time that I've noticed.
SPEAKER_05So that part where he was go ahead, Brian. No, I was gonna say that part where he was like you know, he was like, I'm gonna float, and then he was like, Whoa, you know, like something like that. And then he's like, and then he's like, Oh, don't fall, don't fall. Oh, that'd be hilarious if you fell flat on your face. Right when he said, like, I thought that was hilarious. Peanut was like saying, like, that'd be so funny, you know.
SPEAKER_07Peanut is his own character.
SPEAKER_04I mean, yeah.
SPEAKER_03He's his own personality. The the traveling dialogue there. Yes, because he would he told the audience that he's gonna float and not to freak out, and then once he starts floating, he freaks out.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Um, I put I put three out of five mostly because I didn't know how to read it for all the reasons you all mentioned. Um, he's not expressly a physical comedian, but then there's physical elements. So similarly, I have you know some physical elements well used.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um to give him a four, I'd be saying strong physical performance. And I just didn't quite feel right. You know.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Alright. Number 11. Well, not actually 11. I forget that we skipped. We gotta remember.
SPEAKER_05I need to change my screen.
SPEAKER_03Yep, number 10 is relatability out of 10. Uh, did the material resonate with a broad audience? I put seven out of ten. Um maybe I could have gone higher, but like it it felt maybe the the culture in today's day and age has made me too sensitive to this stuff, but uh I heard like a lot of white privilegy kind of perspective on stuff. But or and I put it higher than half because when it did cut to the audience, like I saw people of all skin colors and genders and everything laughing, you know. So it was like it is it is funny and it's therefore relatable. Um granted, anyway, those who are there are gonna be Jeff Demon fans. I'm sure he has haters, but anyway. That was that was my score. Uh Dory, what did you put out of 10 related?
SPEAKER_07Yeah, the one hater in the audience was the guy sitting with his arms crossed because his white drugs. I I give him between a nine and a ten, um, because it is engaging, even if there is like the you know, like you said, the like the white privilege. I mean he's playing to his audience.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. And he's in he's in Houston, Texas.
SPEAKER_07Yes, he was playing, definitely playing to his audience. And everybody that I've ever talked to, black, white, Asian, whatever, they love him because he's funny. Yeah, you know, and everybody related with their wives telling them to do stuff, both of you do too. And um, you know, with with Peanut making the the funny jokes, and especially you're I'm from Kentucky, so yeah, your Kentuckians really get in with Bubba J. So you know, it's it it I I feel that he's very relatable and he was very engaging.
SPEAKER_05Yes. Yes, absolutely. Um, so I gave him an eight out of ten, strong relatability. I don't think you get to be as famous as he is without being relatable. Uh, I think there's something in the show for everyone. Uh there was, I think um, the thing that I was gonna bring up too is uh it's interesting because you mentioned like uh people of all color skins in the audience and stuff like that. Um there's a there's a bit that um Gabriela Iglesias does about doing a show in the Middle East, right? Where he he said, like, yeah, I went over there to do a show, and all these people are like, so you went you went over there and um you know the bit sort of goes like he was uh you know, he's paid a ton of money. He's like, Yeah, I paid a ton of money. He's like, I so I went over and I did the show. And when I get over there, I'm going over, and the the guy who's driving the car for him is talking about comedians. He's like, Oh, you are the second best, you're the second favorite comedian in the Middle East. And he's like, Huh, okay, I'm the second favorite. He's like, Who's the first? He's like, Jeff Dunham, you know, and so like, and then the guy he does the voice and he goes, I give you that guy's so funny. That guy's so funny. Like, so like, so even he has like a bit about, and I don't know if that's true or not, but you know, I did see some some people that looked like Middle Eastern in the in the audience when they came to the city.
SPEAKER_07Oh, yeah, there were a couple that that had their the heads.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, right, exactly. And it's I think that's hilarious. I think that's like you know, it's just the thing we always talk about. Like, hey, laughter bring us all brings us all together. You know, we we're we're so much less far apart and different when we all sit together in a room and we just laugh, you know. Um, laugh at our differences, laugh at the what like our human nature, the same, everything like that. So, anyway, I thought that was good, but um, but yeah, eight out of ten in terms of relatability.
SPEAKER_03Nice. Okay, innovative techniques. Um let's hear from Dory first on that. Out of 10, did the comedian bring something new or unique?
SPEAKER_07Yes, he does. I mean, some of your first comedians, one was if I can even say the name right, Yurlickys of Athens. He was a fifth century BCE prophet. Now you wouldn't think they would do it back then, but they did. They didn't have the the characters, the dummies. He would use he would do belly. He would use belly talks.
unknownReally?
SPEAKER_07He would make people's bellies talk. Yes.
SPEAKER_01That's dumb.
SPEAKER_07Yes. And there were others that did that too, uh, ancient Greeks. It was, you know, all the way back to relegance, you know, they maybe they didn't have puppets, but they did belly speakers. And then one of my favorite was Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCartney. I remember seeing that's the one I was talking about that my great-grandmother and grandmother would watch. And, you know, you're talking about seeing his mouth move. They do. I mean, you're talking, it's not that easy to keep your mouth shut and talk. I'd like to see you try it.
SPEAKER_06No.
SPEAKER_07And succeed. That's not easy. And so Jeff Dunham does a great job because you rarely see his mouth move. Now you'll see his neck. You'll if you watch his neck, you can see his neck doing that. But he has taken and advanced this art to a new degree. I'm sure Edgar Bergen and even the the Greeks would be in awe of Jeff Dunham.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Sure. So what's your score?
SPEAKER_07It was a nine.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Easter Bryan.
SPEAKER_05I gave a seven out of ten. So on the lower end, a highly innovative. Um, I think, yeah, I think he is, uh, I think I agree with you. Actually, and I I'm gonna take that back. I'm gonna I'm gonna bump it up to an eight because Dory made me um do that. So anyway, um you know the women on your life are making you do things. So no, but I think I think he is, like I said, a f uh obviously one of the most famous front-running um people. I think uh, you know, I think it's great. I think, you know, I'll say like he's innovative with regard to because right now we're talking about innovative techniques with regard to comedy. Um, not necessarily innovative techniques with regard to um ventriloquism, you know, it's like, you know, because you can be a ventriloquist and not be a comedian, but he's putting all those things together. And so I think in terms of putting all those together, he that's very innovative because how many people are doing that? You know, it's there's a skill set there and all the other things. So I'm gonna give I'm gonna do rest at the eight, you know, eight out of ten there.
SPEAKER_03Uh this is when I am notoriously pretty low score on. But even with this, I gave a six out of ten, which you know is high for me. And it has, I think, to do with the that uh end of the universe concept, you know, where he went out into the audience or went out to the camera, had a camera filming a camera, filming a camera, you know, content making content, content of content making content was was meta and a cool twist on Lewis Black's concept or comment at some point that the he referenced in the set about what is it? He he thinks he saw the end of the universe between the streets. Starbucks across the street from it. Yeah. Starbucks, yeah.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, I thought that was funny.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that was funny. Uh I'm a fan of Lewis Black. Yeah, he's my favorite Angry Man. Uh right. Cinematic quality. This is one where it's almost kind of a wild, not a wild card, but an almost an out of place but necessary assessment in any kind of comedy special. How well was the performance filmed and edited?
SPEAKER_05Here we go.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, Brian, you let's hear from you.
SPEAKER_05Uh whoever edited it um is is really so I had to throw it in for Nick immediately.
SPEAKER_03Listen to other episodes to know why that's funny. Please proceed, Brian.
SPEAKER_05So I I actually really liked the way that it looked, especially knowing that he really I think I like the fact that he did say, like, no, legitimately, we're really doing this on iPhones, you know. Um, he probably got paid by Apple or something, but um but the the but I thought that was cool. I thought the way that it was edited was cool. Um I don't think there was anything that was distracting in it. It had enough variety in it that it made it like visually pleasing. Uh I I agree with you, Nick, though. Like I don't like the flashing back to the audience. Um, I know it takes me out of it a little bit, but um, they didn't do it too much. They did some, but they did, but some is still a little bit too much sometimes, you know. Um, so I gave anyway four out of five.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Dory, out of five.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_07And because sometimes that's where some funny stuff happens, is when they're just panning the audience and you see somebody sitting there picking their nose and and not paying attention, and then they get called on. Yeah. Uh I'm undecided between a four and a five because I do think it, especially for it to have been with iPhone, whether you get paid by them or not, I mean, you gotta get paid by somebody. Um I I'm I think I'm gonna go with a five because they the the the way they cut to the audience and back, they didn't spend too long on the audience, which is good. Like I said, I do like to see the audience, but I don't want to see a lot of the audience.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_07You know, cut in, cut out, go back to because I don't want to miss what the performer is doing, especially when you got you know Walter and Peanut up there.
SPEAKER_03So I gave it a two out of five. Oh the the iPhones weren't all that great. Like there were definitely like blurry moments and things, and then you just don't like iPhone. Lots of audience cuts.
SPEAKER_05Apparently, you guys have a house house divided.
SPEAKER_03I I just don't think about it. You know, I don't think about Dory using an iPhone and and I would love to have an Apple computer. Uh but yeah, I I gave it two out of five. Some good, some bad, right? I think the uh again, I I'm kind of trying to have my cake in it too. I I said it was pretty innovative, but then I'm dinging him. I'm I'm raising him for having using iPhones as innovative, but then I'm also dinging him because the quality just wasn't as good, you know?
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um all right. Nearing we're getting into the home stretch here.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Last thing to score on is our namesake, laughs per minute. You don't literally have to count the number of laughs per minute. That's gonna take you out of it more than anything. However, we want to gauge how often we felt like laughs were happening. So, how frequently did the comedian generate laughs? Who wants to go first? Three, two, one, Brian.
SPEAKER_05I'll go first. Yeah, so I I gave um eight out of ten. So I thought he had pretty steady laughs throughout. Um his he he's a he's a real quick comedian in terms of like he does tell some stories, but really most of the things are like not necessarily one-liners, but they're like, you know, laugh and then pull back, laugh, pull back. So you hear the la the laughter, and then there's like quiet. Because I think sometimes also the audience wants to hear what the next thing he's gonna say, like what's the next thing, so they don't want to laugh over, so like the audience will calm down. So I still think though, like you know, again, eight seven and eight is steady laughs throughout, and I think that um that was that was what he had.
SPEAKER_03Cool. I put seven out of ten, so the same description, steady laughs throughout, it's just the low side with how much you were laughing.
SPEAKER_07You only give it a seven.
SPEAKER_03Uh you'll you'll hear later how things get adjusted. Just sit back, sit back. This this is my time right now. And I I say seven out of ten. I I think there were moments where I guess he pulled me out of it when like he would laugh at himself for how stupid the joke was, and I don't count his own laughs as laughs per minute, you know, and that's yeah. It didn't really bother me that much, and again, like I said, I'll there there'll be some adjustments later. So, Dory, what what was your score?
SPEAKER_07Uh nine nine because they were strong, and it's not that they were constant, because like you said, people want to hear what he's saying and they don't want to laugh over it, but yet when they did laugh, they were strong, hearty laughs. As the person that was sitting next to me on the couch watching this busted a gut laughing at quite a few. And when I first watched it, I laughed at those same spots, and I'm like, this is hilarious. Yeah, so I gave it a nine.
SPEAKER_03He did have a lot of puns, you know what, Dorian. Yes, he did, and you are you are a funny person. Eight and a half out of ten. You got me up to go a four and a half. Nice. Congratulations. You're welcome. Wait, what? I said, you're welcome. I wasn't thanking you, I was congratulating you. All right, Dory. What you only get one and a half. What was your favorite joke or bit in the special, Dory?
SPEAKER_07My favorite joke. Oh, it's it's it is really hard to pick one because uh I think I'm gonna have to go with Walter. And um the his cockadoodle-doo and yeah, and the whole part of you know, the women, you know, the theater bit, that cracked me up because when you think about it, and if you think, okay, would Abraham Lincoln really have said, honey, let's go to the theater? Right. You know, no, I can see his wife going, I want to go to the theater. You know, everybody else is going, this is the only thing we've got to do, let's go to the theater, you know. So, yeah, I I I love Peanut and Achmed, but I have to admit, I think Walter got me.
SPEAKER_03Gotcha. What about you, Brian? What was your favorite joker bit in the special?
SPEAKER_05I liked the so when Peanut was doing, and I only got, and you'll have to help me like see. So like the the he kept, he did like I think three in a row, but it was like the you know, the once you go lavender, you'll want me like a scavenger, you know, like and then he had something like he had to stop him, he's like, No, no, no, no, no. And he's like, wait, what rhymes with whatever? And he's like, Dinkle, or something like that. Periwinkle, yeah. Once you go periwinkle, and he's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, you know? And he's like, wait, what rhymes are periwinkle? He's like, Dinkle, you know? Like it means nothing, but no, it's just it doesn't mean anything, but it's just yeah, he's like, touch it. So I thought I thought that was really funny. It cracked me up. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Mine was it it like I I just never I didn't see this coming at all, and it was hilarious to me the connection when Walter was complaining and commenting about the American Revolution and you know the guerrilla warfare tactics we used, and yeah, you know, the the red coats, all my commentary. But then Walter says, Um, can you imagine what it was like for the Indians who were there watching? Like, that's when they started their gambling. And he's like, And he said, like, which which one of you went to bet on red? Which one of you went to bed on black?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and that was the first casino.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that was the first casino. Like, it just totally left field, right? Like, man, that was clever and racially charged, and yeah, right.
SPEAKER_07You you did laugh really hard on that one, and then the other one that you got the really hard laugh on was Bubba J and the cock fighting.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03But that wasn't my favorite. I think I think because the just the the way that how much lateral thinking went into connecting the American Revolution to Indians learning to gamble. Uh yeah. Yeah, that that's what stuck with me. All right. What was what was the most retellable joke? And I'll I'll start here. Bubba J talking about him trying to look up the Statue of Liberty skirt, Jeff Dunham asking him what did he find, and he said, Bookies.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And yeah. Oh, did we lose Dory?
SPEAKER_06Oh no, we're back.
SPEAKER_03No, I'm here. Cool. Uh and you know, he and even he kind of admitted that that might be a somewhat of an inside joke, but ha, inside joke. Ooh. Anyway, so that that's my most retellable. I think I I kind of did it some justice just then.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03What about let's give Dory some time to ramp up, no pressure. Brian.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. So mine was I really liked the uh the bit. I bet I guess I hadn't seen the bit before, but Bubba J's bit where he get the he does it and the thing he has the soft music and all that stuff. The drinking and thinking. Drinking and thinking, yeah. Where and like my favorite one was like, how come when we go to a garage sale, we can't actually buy a garage?
SPEAKER_03No one has ever in the history of garage sales bought a garage.
SPEAKER_05I don't know why it's so dumb, but it's so hilarious, you know. I feel like I've heard that kind of joke before, like, yeah, you know anyway, but anyway, that one was that was that I would say I'd say I might steal that and then give credit afterwards. Like, I might say, how come when we you know, just to crack someone up, you know, and then say, Oh, I stole that from Jeff Dunham. But anyway, that's mine.
SPEAKER_07I I don't have one favorite, like the ones that retellables. I again, I don't have a favorite retellable because the one about the you know, looking up the Statue of Liberty and there being a Buckies there. Or and I thought that, you know, when you go to a garage sale, how come you can't buy a garage? Yeah, and then again, I go back to Walter with, you know, it was probably his wife's idea to go to the theater. Yeah, yes, it's not really a joke, but yet I can see I can make that comment. Yeah, I can see making that comment somewhere. Right. There and Achmed, of course, the wait for it. Yes, wait for it, and it's not even the IQ you, it's the wait for it.
SPEAKER_03Yes, yeah, all right, final scores, Brian. What was yours?
SPEAKER_05So I had by calculation 74, but I'm gonna give an extra point for each one of the characters for four more points. So it's 78.
SPEAKER_03Nice, Dori. What was your final score?
SPEAKER_07I added mine up, and then now I'm gonna wipe that out and just give him a 95.
SPEAKER_03Well, give me what was the total though?
SPEAKER_07It was like 93, you know. Okay. So I'm just uh bumping it up a couple, so just rounding up to 95.
SPEAKER_03Mine, mine added up after the one and a half bonus point. You can just need a supply. I had him at 96.5. But I'm giving 15 bonus points because I'm such a long time. That's an 84.
SPEAKER_04Nice.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Alright.
SPEAKER_02Excellent.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and congratulations, y'all. We we did it again. Our conversation about the special went longer than the special. Than the special.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_03It was only 40 minutes, and we're right at an hour.
SPEAKER_05Thank you for being here, Dory. And sorry that we didn't sorry, sorry we didn't watch the one that you wanted, but you know.
SPEAKER_07That's okay. You guys will pay next time. I'll come back. I'll be pet. I'll come up with you.
SPEAKER_05Alright. Well, until next time, this is Laps for Minute, and we are out. See ya.
SPEAKER_07Bye.
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