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Promotional art for Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents: Michael Palascak
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Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents

Michael Palascak

Comedy Central · 2012 · 20 min

A mild-mannered look at post-college life, child leashes, and ghost babies.

Michael Palascak leans into the mundane indignities of being a recent college graduate in a set built around delayed adulthood. He delivers his material with an optimistic, unassuming cadence that makes his absurd premises feel entirely reasonable. Whether he is mapping out the exact scenarios that justify keeping a toddler on a leash or working through an irrational fear of ghost babies, the punchlines rely on a mild-mannered delivery underscoring his own bewilderment.

Taped at the Royale in Boston, the set was part of the inaugural 2012 season of Comedy Central’s The Half Hour, which replaced the network’s long-running Presents series. Palascak was settling into a reputation as a reliable late-night performer. The 21-minute television spot details his reluctance to move out of his parents’ house, his complicated feelings about SUVs, and the digital pitfalls of looking up exes.

The set list

3 bits
  1. Fear of ghost babies

  2. Mixed feelings about SUVs

  3. Living with his parents after college

How it plays

Tone
Clean, clever, dark, and funny.
On stage
Described by critics as an antidote to cynical stand-up with great likability.
About
Ghost babies, SUVs, Living with parents after college

What the critics said

Drew Hunt of The Chicago Reader described Palascak as 'the ideal antidote to the sort of unbridled cynicism that pervades much of contemporary stand-up,' while The Guardian praised his execution as 'clean, clever, dark and, most importantly, funny.'

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, gooent.com, mijnserie.nl, moviescene.org, underthegunreview.net, vulture.com, michaelpalascak.com.

Backstory

Appeared as episode 2 of the inaugural season of Comedy Central's stand-up showcase series The Half Hour (later renamed Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents), which replaced Comedy Central Presents to showcase rising voices in stand-up comedy.

Details

Released
Taped
Royale Theatre, Boston
Runtime
20 min
Where
Comedy Central
Topics
After
1984 (2020)

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