Best of Npr: Public Laughter Abridged

Rating:
Summary: more interesting than funny
Review: I am a big fan of NPR. And what is on this tape is one of the reasons why. But rather than being really funny, this tape is more discussions with the various people. So if you are looking for belly laughs, in my opinion this is not for you. If you are looking to hear what the commedians have to say about what they do mixed with some comedy, you should enjoy this tape.

Rating:
Summary: About half
Review: Some of this is really funny and interesting. I loved the Car Talk segment. Unfortunately, some of the good stuff (like an interview with Jerry Seinfeld) is truncated, while the dull-witted stuff seems really long. Such as, the worst joke in the world... some NPR staffer (can't remember his name) decides it would be really funny to call a bunch of hotels and other places trying to rent a ballroom for an inauguration ball on the very day of the inauguration. That's the joke... you've heard the joke before it starts. He doesn't say anything funny at all to these people. They don't say anything funny in return. He just calls and they tell him it's too late. The April Fools jokes suffer from lack of surprise. I suppose they might have been funny if you were listening on April 1st and you had to figure out that it was a joke, but they announce up front that these are April Fools Day jokes so you listen to a looooong piece on eating compost. It goes on forever. I do admire how the production sounds totally real. There's no surprise so what's so funny about it? You have to imagine how funny it would be under those circumstances.

Rating:
Summary: About half
Review: Some of this is really funny and interesting. I loved the Car Talk segment. Unfortunately, some of the good stuff (like an interview with Jerry Seinfeld) is truncated, while the dull-witted stuff seems really long. Such as, the worst joke in the world... some NPR staffer (can't remember his name) decides it would be really funny to call a bunch of hotels and other places trying to rent a ballroom for an inauguration ball on the very day of the inauguration. That's the joke... you've heard the joke before it starts. He doesn't say anything funny at all to these people. They don't say anything funny in return. He just calls and they tell him it's too late. The April Fools jokes suffer from lack of surprise. I suppose they might have been funny if you were listening on April 1st and you had to figure out that it was a joke, but they announce up front that these are April Fools Day jokes so you listen to a looooong piece on eating compost. It goes on forever. I do admire how the production sounds totally real. There's no surprise so what's so funny about it? You have to imagine how funny it would be under those circumstances.

Rating:
Summary: more interesting than funny
Review: This is one of the best of the Best of NPR books on tape. I LOVED listening to comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, Lily Tomlin, the Best of Car Talk (SO FUNNY!) and others. I listened to it while driving in rush hour, and it helped me through it! I think EVERYONE should listen to this tape-it will help break the stress.

Rating:
Summary: Very Funny Tape!
Review: This is one of the funnyest tapes I have had in a while. The April Fools stuff is so funny, if you like that sort of thing. And the whole bits are funny.

Rating:
Summary: Very Funny Tape!
Review: This is one of the funnyest tapes I have had in a while. The April Fools stuff is so funny, if you like that sort of thing. And the whole bits are funny.