What's So Funny?

Ron James brings his blistering vocabulary and arcane Bonanza references to What's So Funny? for the first time. The quintessentially Canadian comedic icon regales us with his thoughts on the role of comedian in culture and talks about his bittersweet TV experience. It's an enlightening conversation with a real wordsmith.

Ellyn Marie Marsh must never sleep. How the Broadway star/podcast host/cabaret diva/trivia host/voice teacher/single mom had time to sit with us for an hour, I'll never know. But we're glad she did. We talk about her sporting youth, true crime obsession, being fired from her singing waiter job, and she fires a few trivia stumpers at us for good measure. Check out her newish podcast Obsessed With: Disappeared. Recorded June 23, 2020.

Darren Frost is back for his sixth go-round with us. He can't tour the country, as he was planning to do, but we've got him. We talk about crowd work, dark humour, cartoon voices, and Hairspray (the movie, not the product).

Lachlan Patterson was last with us in 2005, as far as our records go. It takes a pandemic to get him back with us, but oh the fun we had. We talk about why he's glad he lost on Last Comic Standing, his worst Zoom show experiences, his reminiscences of Vancouver, he pitches his surfer caveman script, tells us why he still surfs, discusses his lady, baby pockets, and standup subtitles. Download his new special, Dark White, at lachlanpatterson.com.

Bonnie McFarlane hates earnestness, but we brought out some in this episode. She started her comedy career in Vancouver and we reminisce about the old days and the lessons she learned, the comics she dated. We also talk about living under Trump, living with Rich Vos, and performing for hecklers. She's also the only guest we've had who's been sung about by The Pursuit of Happiness.

Colin Mochrie finally makes his WSF? debut! It was fate. The improviser opens up (thanks to a bottle or two of malbec) and discusses a little politics, talks about his accidental standup set, his intellectual pursuits, explains why silence is golden, tells us which 1970s sitcom star brought him to tears, talks about acting opposite Paul Giamatti, hanging out with Donny & Marie, playing the Pyramid, doing mime, and his weirdest night in Hollywood.

Michael Gelbart (call him Michael) returns to the program, this time with 100 percent more Sam Tonning! In our Isolation Studios, Michael makes several pledges during this hour. He also fills us in on the ins and outs of leaving an 8x10 glossy at an establishment, discusses Byron Allen and Norm Macdonald, and explains the difference between being overly picky and just discerning. He also gives us a scoop!

Marcus Ryan joins us in the social isolation studios all the way from Wonthaggi, in the great state of Victoria, in the wonderful country of Australia. We thought it was his third or time on the show. Turns out it is his fifth. We talk about what Oz is looking like under lockdown, what his new routine is, and discuss his myriad adventures in the 60-odd nations he's visited. This episode brought to you by snooker and jailbirds.

Dwight Slade joins us in the What's So Funny? Isolation Studios from his home in Boise, Idaho. We talk about how he's spending his days in his home hoarding toilet paper. We also talk about his work on cruise ships, his early days as the comedy partner and best friend of the legendary Bill Hicks, and seeing a flying saucer.

Eddie Brill was holed up in his Manhattan apartment while host Guy MacPherson and sidekick Sam Tonning were holed up in their respective Vancouver mansions. It was all in an effort to flatten the curve. Eddie talked about today's Gotham, as well as the state of late night TV talk shows, his salad days at Emerson college, the Comedy Club Network, meeting big names, doing drugs with Sam Kinison, and much, much more.