Judges' uproar over US TV show

American reality TV show Last Comic Standing has been hit by allegations that the results were fixed.

Two judges have gone public with their claims that the ten stand-ups chosen to appear in the series were selected by the producers, making a mockery of the regional competition heats.

One of the executive producers of the NBC show, Barry Katz, also is the manager of two of the final ten performers, Ant and Gary Gulman.

Judge Drew Carey, a respected comic and stalwart of the US version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, said: "I thought it was crooked and dishonest."

During an interview at the Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado, he revealed that the judges' favourite from a semi-final in Las Vegas failed to get through, while a competitor who flopped made it.

"It was like somebody at NBC cast the show ahead of the event in Vegas," he said. "And they had 1,100 in the audience who saw how blatantly it was cast.

"The producers can change the outcome of the show whenever they wish. Why would they have a contest and judges if they were just going to cast it anyway?"

"If this happened on 'Survivor' or any other reality TV show, it would be a major scandal."

"I'm mad they had my name associated with it. I've got a certain amount of integrity in this business and I'm not going to be compromised."

When Carey complained, he was told of a small-print disclaimer that said, whatever impression viewers may have, that the final decision is made by the show's producers and NBC executives, not the on-screen judges. .

Fellow judge Brett Butler was also angry about the decision, stating: "As panel judges, we can say that (a) we were both surprised and disappointed at the results and (b) we had NOTHING to do with them."

The chosen comics are now put into a Fame Academy-style house, with one being evicted each week until the winner is chosen.

Published: 8 Mar 2004