Comedy Central Presents: Ted Alexandro

Ted Alexandro’s second half-hour for Comedy Central is built on slow-burn exasperation. Rather than shouting about his frustrations, he lets them simmer, picking apart the absurdities of daily life with a laid-back delivery that occasionally breaks into sudden physical movements. He questions the logic of fad diets that require eating asparagus, drinking water, and crying yourself to sleep, and mimics the imposing, pigeon-like strut of massive gym regulars asking each other if they’re working out “ass and head.”

Filmed for the tenth season of Comedy Central Presents and airing in March 2006, the set captures Alexandro as an established New York club fixture. Drawing on his background, he recounts his tenure as a public school music teacher and recalls his mother trying to pass off Boston Market as a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner by putting it on fine china. It is a low-key set that relies on specific details, like the family tension over whether to wash or throw away a plastic fork.