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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Comedy Central Presents

Kathleen Madigan

Comedy Central · 2000 · 30 min

Midwestern logic applied to alien abductions and airline safety.

Kathleen Madigan operates like a pragmatic skeptic. She stands on stage without a gimmick, applying her Midwestern logic to whatever large, slightly absurd concept crosses her mind. The focus of this tight television set is on the logistics of the ridiculous. She takes on alien abductions, questioning the exact motives of extraterrestrials, and applies the same dry scrutiny to airline safety procedures and the theory of evolution.

Filmed for the third season of Comedy Central Presents and airing in the summer of 2000, this half-hour catches Madigan fully formed as a road-tested club comic. By this point in her career, she had already spent years touring relentlessly. She doesn’t rely on high-energy theatrics or big act-outs. Instead, she works through a steady stream of conversational complaints, detailing exactly how she wastes her excessive amount of free time and poking holes in the logic of whoever is in charge.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Flying on Southwest Airlines and airline safety routines

    Compares cheap flight experiences like flight attendants playing trivia games and mocks the logic of wanting an aisle seat to escape a plane crash.

  2. Visiting Canada and their exit fee

    Describes Canada as America's attic and jokes that charging a $10 exit fee in freezing weather is lowballing themselves.

  3. Traveling to Mexico and their approach to problem-solving

    Celebrates the currency exchange rate, mandatory adult nap times, and getting prescription drugs without prescriptions.

  4. Watching Unsolved Mysteries during free time on the road

    Mocks the 'Reunions' segment where families track down estranged, dysfunctional relatives who immediately ask for bone marrow.

  5. Listening to Dr. Laura and watching Olympic figure skating

    Remarks on being addicted to hating Dr. Laura on AM radio, and laments the patience required for pairs figure skating alongside announcer Dick Button's condescension.

How it plays

Tone
topical, sarcastic
About
flying and airline safety, Canada and travel, Mexico and economy, free time and television, sports and figure skating, theory of evolution

Backstory

Part of Comedy Central Presents Season 3, a series of half-hour stand-up specials showcasing rising comedians taped in New York City with individual set designs.

Details

Released
Runtime
30 min
Where
Comedy Central
Director
Paul Miller
Topics
Before
HBO Comedy Half-Hour (1997)
After
Bothering Jesus (2016)

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