| Episode 5 - Rats! (Literally and Figuratively): July 1, 2003 |
| Tess played hostess as the Extra! camera crew arrived to tape her segment. She soaked up the attention and showed her dynamic personality - to the surprise of her roomies. The other comics soon started calling her "the sleeping dragon." The next day screams erupted from the kitchen as Cory spotted a rat. Dave stepped up with a master plan to lure the rat out from under the stove and trap it under a plastic container. Always helpful, Rich perched on a countertop to supervise. Cut to: Dave and Rich sharing a bubble bath to recount the experience! Wow, talk about comic unity. Eight hours later... Dave's not-so-elaborate Tupperware trap had worked. In the dark of night, Dave, Tere, Geoff and Rich snuck down to the neighbor's house and released the critter into their yard. Nice. It wasn't long before the Fortune Teller's bells and whistles were sounding off again. Geoff read the message: BYOA, bring your own audience. Rob explained that in the comedy industry, low level performers suffered through a "Bringer Show." It meant that the poor comedians had to engage in shameless self-promotion such as passing out flyers in order to rally up an audience for their own performances. The comic who could gather the largest audience would get immunity from this week's vote. Side note on activity within the house... Tess braided Rob's curly locks into slammin' cornrow braids. Rich is always seen ironing, and should in fact be referred to as "Ironman Rich." Cory almost always seems to get stuck cooking, along with Ralphie. Back to the action... Jay gathered the comics on the sun-drenched deck to explain the BYOA challenge. There was a rented theater in Venice Beach waiting to be filled with an audience. Each comic was given a stack of specifically colored tickets. They would each have half an hour to persuade people on the boardwalk to attend the show on their behalf. The comic who recruited the most people would get to perform an entire set in addition to receiving immunity. Onto the short bus and off to Venice they went. If you've never been to Venice Beach, you may not realize the wide variety of human specimens that tend to gather there. From the guy on roller blades juggling chain saws to bespectacled tourists gaping in awe, it truly is a cross-section of America. The comics infiltrated the scene and went to work. A half an hour of false promises ("there will be food"), lies ("the red tickets are fake, you need blue tickets") and begging later, the comics met up at the theater to see who would show. The audience was comprised of 11 disinterested looking folks, half of whom were probably homeless. The final audience tally was: Geoff, 2; Cory, 2; Ralphie, 2; Dat, 0; Rich, 0; Tere, 0; Dave, 0; Rob, 0; Tess, 5. Once again, Tess had kicked comic butt. This time, she won immunity and the chance to perform her set. Oh, no, that's not all! She also won a Beverly Hills shopping spree with her own personal stylist. You go, girl! Tess took the stage and any nervousness soon subsided as she wowed the not-so-packed crowd. Tears, not laughs, filled the house the next day. Cory had issue with the fact that Tere was enjoying the luxurious house more than she was helping to maintain it. Tere, on the other hand, thinks Cory has control issues and is very high maintenance. The others have noticed the tension, but most have wisely not intervened. Dat advised Tere to "just be careful," which made Tere go on the defensive and take out her frustrations on Dat! Later, Cory called Dat a poseur when he admitted that he wanted to be an actor more than a comedian. Dat then shared his "comedy graph" journal with the others. It was like comedy math. Graphs, charts and notations from every one of Dat's approximately 1,500 performances filled the pages like a calculus exam. The others thought it was a little freaky to say the least. That night, as the vote approached, Rich, Dave, Ralphie and Cory once again plotted alliances. It seemed Dat was the target. The voting went down as follows: Tess voted for Dat, Rob voted for Tere, Cory for Tere, Tere voted for Rob, Geoff for Ralphie, Ralphie for Geoff, Rich for Tere, Dave for Tere and in a move that brought Tere to tears, her pal Dat voted for her as well. With five votes against her, Tere was hurt. She chose to go up against Cory. But later at the house, trader Dat got the brunt of Tere's frustrations. Meanwhile, Ralphie and Tess sort of revealed that they were hoping to get rid of Cory or Dat next. With only vague, under-the-breath mumblings it was hard to know what they were really saying. That night at the theater, the audience sat with nervous excitement while the comics endured the bus ride. By then, Cory and Tere had called a truce and even sat by each other on the way to the competition. Tere took the stage first with her trademark, "Right on, cha cha cha." Tere seems to really engage the audience. Cory was ready to challenge her. Cory riffed on marriage, sports and white teens acting black. The audience was facing a tough decision. Ultimately, Cory got 80% of the vote which meant Tere was going home. |
| THE SEARCH FOR THE FUNNIEST PERSON IN AMERICA |
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