The Internet and television come a few steps closer tonight when Daniel Tosh brings his unique brand of comedy to Comedy Central in “Tosh.0.” While the world seems obsessed with blogs, vlogs, tweeting and poking on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, Tosh looks at all these technologies and turns them on their respective (and figurative) ears with viral clips and submissions from viewers being part of the show’s weekly content. Our Jim Halterman chatted with Tosh on a primitive object called the telephone, about how the 12th time is the charm, the show’s web redemptions and whether his parents are really ashamed of him.
Jim Halterman: How did you and Comedy Central come together to create “Tosh.0?”
Daniel Tosh: Here’s the real story. I was in a deal at Comedy Central to do a TV show and my deal was coming up to an end and they were going to have to pay me for nothing so they said “Hey, why don’t you do a show about the internet?” and I said, “Shit! I thought I was going to get a free check!” So we shot the presentation and the little pilot thing and then it was like “Great, so we didn’t pay you for nothing.” That was how it really came along and the cowboy world of the Internet and not having to clear anything meets the television legal team where everything has to be cleared. It’s a nightmare.
JH: How many episodes are you doing?
DT: A thousand! We are going to be the first show that is on seven times a day because Comedy Central apparently lost the licensing to one of the “Scary Movies.” Seriously, they ordered 10. Is that good?
JH: Yeah. That’s good.
DT: I was expecting six if it got picked up. That was my guess. I don’t know why I was even expecting that. I think this is pilot number 12 that I’ve shot in my life. I was 0-11! I had a bad track record but this one they’ve said yes to so hopefully we come up with something. I don’t know. It’s summertime at 10 o’clock. Just watch it a couple of times in the beginning so Comedy Central thinks that it’s building momentum.
JH: Does anything surprise you on the web anymore? I haven’t really been truly surprised in a long time.
DT: Right? And that’s the whole thing. You become so desensitized. The ante is so upped for me to remotely to be like “Oh yeah, my instinct is that that is really not feces. What’s next?”
JH: I must admit that seeing a reporter getting knocked down by a big bubble ball is always funny, though.
DT: Sure, I have no problem with pain and that sadly sometimes ups the ante for me a little bit.
JH: What’s the idea behind the Web Redemption part of the show?
DT: Well, the people that have been become famous because of some awful instance that happened and, completely honest not in a mean spirited way, give them a chance to redeem themselves. In the first one, we did the Afro Ninja where we tried to find out who this guy was and what happened when he messed up that back flip and give him a chance to try it again. I think today at 5 o’clock, Miss California is coming into the office to talk to us. Maybe grape stomp lady or Christian Bale. Somebody who has done bad things that we’ve all seen we’d like to give them a second chance.
JH: Zach Galifianakis showed up in your pilot presentation and was hilarious.
DT: Yeah, he did one of the pilots for us. Really funny and he has a new movie coming out “The Hangover.” We’re looking for any celebrities or viewers they just now gave us a website that we’re starting to put stuff up on www.comedycentral.com/tosh.0 or maybe email us at tosh.0@comedycentral.com where anyone can send us any short that they’ve done and there’s no sign-off rights. It’s still yours but we’ll premiere it on the show.
JH: Any other celebrities lined up so far?
DT: We’ve been throwing out a few people. We’re trying to do something with Kelsey Grammar and Bob Costas and some of the staples of Comedy Central, you know, the comics that we have relationships with. Zach hopefully will do something with us again.
JH: Which do you think is harder? Stand-up or doing a show like this?
DT: Neither of them is hard. I guess in a certain way, the show is way more time consuming. I’ve never really been a part of a show that is actually on television but it seems like a lot of unnecessary work but, alright, I’ll come aboard and I’ll try to figure out what I’m doing.
JH: Who were your comedy idols that have inspired you?
DT: People that really helped me. Dave Chapelle. I’d really take a bullet for that guy. I love him. Even though he’s only a couple years older than me he was so far along. There are so many people I think are funny. I didn’t really follow stand-up. I didn’t really sneak up into the attic and listen to my Steve Allen albums. I’m told a lot of people did.
JH: Back in the day, Johnny Carson was always the sign that you had made it as a stand-up but now there are so many late night talk shows on the air. Is that still something that comedians measure themselves by?
DT: I think Jimmy Fallon is the barometer. [Laughs.] Letterman is still probably the pinnacle of doing a stand-up set on TV. “The Tonight Show.” I think it’s something that a lot of stand-ups get caught up in. “How many appearances have you made?” I think a lot of these comics treat it like a sport at a home with a scoreboard up or something. Looking to break records that don’t exist.
JH: It seems that some comics hold back in fear of offending somebody. You have a lot of jokes about race and about fat people, for example. Do you think about who you might offend or is that not a consideration?
DT: Sure it’s a consideration. I think it goes along with comedic timing. I’m not trying to be malicious or anything. The people that get upset are always the one… the only joke that offends them is the one that they can personally relate to. They have no problem with you bashing everyone on the planet but as soon as you say something that effects their little bubble then there’s the line of decency that you’ve crossed.
JH: You say often in your act that your parents are ashamed of you. You’re joking, right?
DT: I don’t know if they’re ashamed as much as they are not supportive. I think one comment was “You never wanted to pick a stage name, huh?” They’re fine with it, they’re supportive but are they backstage at my shows? No. Never. But they’re okay with it. I’m the prodigal son and they’re waiting for me to return.
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