Career Suicide is Chris Gethard’s stand-up/one man show/when it’s a comedian I don’t know what the difference is/thing brought to HBO, kinda similar to Neal Brennan’s 3 Mics, in that it’s stand-up about mental health issues. But while I related to a lot of 3 Mics and it had a lot of laughs, Gethard’s problems are more severe (paranoia, alcoholism, I don’t think he ever used the word “bipolar” but he described manic episodes), and it’s generally more earnest, with jokes fewer and farther between. It’s probably unfair to compare the two so directly, because this was perfectly fine, but I can’t help think I would have enjoyed it more had I not seen the one I prefer first.

John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show is the stupid title of a series where the British comedian hosts a bunch of stand-ups he likes. The first season revealed that he has tastes very similar to my own (Brian Posehn, Maria Bamford, Marc Maron, Mary-Lyn Rajskub, Nick Kroll, Kristen Schaal, Amy Schumer, among others). The second season seems to be more no-names (at least to me), but I now respect Oliver’s taste enough to just go with it. Plus, at least there’s a John Oliver monologue at the top of each episode, and that’s not bad.

The only problem with it is how convenient it is to pull it up on Netflix and watch a segment of stand-up while doing something else. So basically I’m going to be done with everything they have on Netflix by tomorrow.

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Louis CK: Live at the Beacon Theater should be something you’ve already heard of, if you read any of the same websites I do, but if not, it’s a stand-up special he filmed himself and released online for $5, with no studio or other corporate involvement, and with no DRM. So it’s the kinda thing I’d want to see anyway, and the production and distribution is done the way I’d like it. So he got my $5. It’s been a big success, and the proceeds have been split pretty evenly between covering costs, staff bonuses, charitable donations, and for himself to do “terrible, horrible things with and none of that is any of your business.”

Anyway, the special itself is very good, but that won’t surprise anyone who’s familiar with his work. Nothing quite rises to the genius of his “everything’s amazing and nobody’s happy,” but there are quite a few inspired moments, and the rest is just generally funny.

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