Chapter 12: Escape from Area 54

Mitch comes to in a subterranean torture dungeon and tries to make sense of the last chapter, but can he escape and get to the afterparty in time to be reunited with his trusty hairpiece Dennis?Endnotes:Amy Poehler, Yes, Please (New York, HarperCollins, 2014) p.23 Capsule Review: Despite sharp and breezy writing, not a lot of laughs, lengthy complaining about the difficulty of writing the book (I get it). Cute stories about developing friendships with Meyers and Fey. Mildly inspirational. Most intriguing section for me was Chicago improv roots outside of Second City and formation of Upright Citizens Brigade. Slack Score: 11 ; Snark Score: 2.6; Overall FCA ranking: 130 David Spade (New York, HarperCollins, 2015) p.118 Capsule Review: As expected, text is formulaic Spade-speak throughout, tales of medium creepiness with women are in (over) abundance, but useful, extensive accounting of SNL hiring and production practices in the mid to late ‘90s. Slack Score: 12.8 ; Snark Score: 14.2 ; Overall FCA ranking: 459 Martin Short, I Must Say; My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend (New York, HarperCollins, 2014) p.124 Capsule Review: Mostly breezy, occasionally wrenching (last chapter on wife Nancy’s death is the most intense example) Specific interludes that explicate the origin and evolutions of various characters he’s created are particularly insightful and one of the most fleshed-out accounts of the Toronto production of Godspell aka the Big Bang of Canadian sketch outside of the full oral history in the Washington Post ( https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/05/19/godspell-toronto-martin-short-levy-radner-shaffer-garber/ ). Slack Score: 7 ; Snark Score: 12; Overall FCA ranking: 44unstoppablefarce.com #comedy #standup #speculativefiction #speculativememoir #neilhamburger #longmontpotioncastle #elephantgraveyard #snl #snl50