Colin Quinn's Toughest Crowd: Comedy Central.

Colin Quinn gets a bad rap. So I'm going to tell you why I'm a big Quinn supporter, and an enormous fan of his Comedy Central show - "Tough Crowd" - which I was recently horrified to hear is in grave danger of being cancelled.

A friend of mine grew up with Quinn's younger brother Mike in NYC. And I have it on very good authority that Colin is a great guy. I love the fact that he always messes up his lines. I love the fact that he mumbles and constantly self-depreciates. He's a tough, salty, stand-up comedian who's been walking the boards with balls since he was a teenager. And he truly cares about the state of the world today.

A lot of people don't "get" him. But I find his uncomfortable, booze-soaked, choppy, blue-collar style to be unique and honest - and have since I first saw him on MTV's Remote Control in 1988. I had a comedy special he did for MTV, "Colin Quinn Goes Back to Brooklyn" on VHS and watched it for years. I wish I still had it. Anyway, my point is - me and Colin go way back.

Tough Crowd is, in no uncertain terms, a brilliant show which we desperately need. That show used to be Jon Stewart's Daily Show before it turned into the "Jon-Stewart-shows-a-clip-of-a-politician-he-doesn't-agree-with-and-smirks-pompously-for-a-laugh" show. The Daily Show in the era of Steve Carell was one of the most consistently funny things on TV. But it's become little more than a violently partisan send-up and I just can't watch it anymore. I don't refuse to indignantly - I simply can't.

Let me make one thing abundantly clear at this point. People who read this blog regularly, even though I try to keep it relatively politik-free, know that I am conservative in nature. I'm a Canuck and cannot vote down here, but if I could it would not be for John Kerry. That's no secret, and it's now out of the way. I'll continue...



I would have also stopped watching the Daily Show if it had swung exclusively to the right instead. If I wanted to remain unchallenged, and have my opinion spoon-fed to me like pablum, I'd watch The O'Reilly factor exclusively or read nothing but the New York Times. Partisan comedy is not dangerous. It's not challenging. And it's most certainly not funny.

Enter Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. If you haven't seen it, it's on Comedy Central every weeknight at 11:30 p.m. - or at least it will be for a few more weeks. The format is as follows: Four little-to-fairly well known celebrities, usually veteran stand-ups who've been on the circuit for years and are extremely quick on their feet, sit facing each other while Quinn poses questions dealing with current events to them which they then hash out. It's unscripted, save for the occasional skit-like segment, and it's brash, envelope-pushing, no-holds-barred and hilarious.

No one is safe, and no punches are pulled. The guests are from all walks of life - blacks, whites, hispanics, gays, liberals, conservatives etc. - and it can get pretty vicious at times. In one episode I sincerely thought Dennis Leary was going to punch Greg Giraldo in the face. In another Judy Gold (a Liberal/Jewish/Lesbian) took on Patrice O'Neal ( a black/conservative/Bostonite) in a battle over who's people have been more oppressed over the years. They hit hard, and they're honest, and they're always funny.

But there's an almost always underlying respect among the guests - perhaps because many of them know eachother from slugging it out on the comedy circuit for years - which makes this possible and productive. There's never any political correctness or sugar-coating, and everyone always walks away friends. It's a bit tough to describe, and I suppose the main point of this article is to get you, dear reader, to watch the show and form your own opinion.

I read that the reason Comedy Central wants to cancel Tough Crowd is because it doesn't retain enough of Jon Stewart's Daily Show audience which precedes it at 11 p.m. To me that is tragic. To me that's akin to cancelling a Dylan show because everyone is going to leave after the opening act, N'Sync. I am not criticizing Stewart's lefty audience. I am criticizing those members of his audience that are sitting in their high chair waiting for Mom to open that next jar of Gerber's. And I am vehemently criticizing Comedy Central for catering to them.

Tough Crowd is like watching your friends, who all love and respect eachother, argue in a bar on a Friday night. They speak their mind, they challenge each other's opinions, and they all leave friends. Debate is fucking healthy and we all need it in our lives. I cherish Tough Crowd, but it looks like the curtain is falling. Kudos to Colin - I'll be watching wherever you end up.