Gary returned to the house after his victory. But his homecoming was bittersweet. Gary said he took no pleasure in beating Jay London. There are six comics left, five spots open—and the competition has only just begun.

By Christine Blackmon
Reality Reel Media
07.21.04

Jay Mohr arrived and promised that there were more twists and turns ahead.
In fact, Jay had a surprise for the group right then. He opened the door and in walked… three guys from "Average Joe" dressed in Speedos. Stunned, the comics looked to Jay for explanation, and then Jay said, "Oh, wait. 'Average Joe,' that's the next castle over." The hunks headed out and Jay took that opportunity to slap one on the butt. Then the real surprise was revealed: all of the eliminated comics were back and standing on their doorstep. Tammy admitted, "When those people came in, the insecurity, and fear, and jealousy all came back through the door." John was visibly shaken: "My past basically came rolling in - in a very bad green mist." Gary, however, had a different reaction. "When I saw Todd, I lit up like a Christmas tree."

The eliminated comics were back with a purpose-- and they would definitely have an effect on the competition (and the comics as well). Each eliminated comic would vote and help determine the head-to-head match up for the remaining six. Ant was back with his agenda and along with it the whispers and gossip. Ant claimed that John had promised not to vote for him but did. John said he never made such a promise.

Next, Jay Mohr announced the challenge: each comic would have the opportunity to pitch a sitcom--starring themselves. The pitches would be taped and shown to a focus group, which would then sound off on the comic’s ideas. The comic with the highest rated pitch would win immunity as well as a guaranteed spot in the final five. There was a catch—they only had two hours to prepare and were then taken to a room to observe the group critique their shows—from behind a two-way mirror. The group consisted of three men and three women, all with different backgrounds and ethnicity.

Corey's videotaped pitch was first. In the pitch, Corey said he would play an average, Al Bundy-type character that is forced to move in with an upscale, "Frasier"-like family. Corey said his show would be about two worlds that collide. One of the women said she only saw Corey as a sidekick. A second woman said that she didn't like Corey from the instant she saw him. Alonzo pitched a story of a recovering middle-class drug addict. No one liked this one. The group said it "was forced," "wasn't funny," and "might push the envelope a little too far." Kathleen's idea was a series about a fictitious entertainment show where she was the emcee. The focus group was split that pitch. Gary pitched a show where he would be a young pediatrician living with his mother. This did not go over well. One woman said she didn't like him, while others labeled Gary "generic."