George Carlin: On Location At Phoenix (EOTWS)

End Of The Week Shorts #24 extract: George Carlin: On Location At Phoenix (1978)

With two of the most brilliantly written, and incredibly long, bits ever performed, this is my favourite Carlin special. (At least, my favourite of those that I've seen). Those bits are his deconstruction of Seven Dirty Words, which is one of his most famous bits, and his analysis of Time. These are incredible monologues that capture elements of Carlin's anarchistic and nihilistic leanings, but also his more playful side - which got lost and seemingly died a slow death as his career went on and the specials kept being pumped out. Moreover, these bits play to Carlin's approach, which is recognisably very manufactured and meticulously practised. In such, these monologues could only function if they'd been worked out all the way down to the syllable, letter and punctuation level. Added to this, his circuitous and rant-like delivery really works wonders when his subject matter is complex--profound even, though in a layman way. And, of course, Carlin doesn't seem to take himself so seriously and treat the world so gruffly in this short. 

All of these elements combine to create a symphony of comedy that no one else could have ever performed. I can only sit in awe of Carlin's abilities with this special. Pure gold.