Ellen Degeneres: Relatable (2018)

Ellen is back doing stand-up after fifteen years. The premise of her special is that after becoming so successful, she is still a relatable person. The most relatable thing she says is her explanation for returning to stand-up. She obviously doesn't need the money. It is simply that she loves it and misses it. You can see how much fun she's having. Stylistically, her set reminded me of Seinfeld, with simple observations made funny. She pauses quite a bit with good comedic timing. She's not particularly cutting edge, but she's silly and funny as always.

Tig Notaro: Happy to Be Here (2018)

You know I love Tig. This is great but I didn't find myself laughing as much as I usually do with her. She is totally the only person who could drag that out for so long and boy does she, but who are the Indigo Girls anyways?

One Mississippi (2015-17)

Amazon just pulled the plug after two seasons of Tig Notaro's semi-autobiographical tragicomedy. Tig Ntoaro is not everyone's cup of tea, but I think her deadpan humor is hilarious. Only in the era of streaming could a show so unusual have been produced. She had a story to tell that was poignant. And she told it in her own understated way. I think she's an auteur. And now she's free to go and do more unique things.

Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted (2015)

Tig is so funny. In the last few years, I have become a genuine follower of Tig, such that I was already familiar with half the material she did in her stand-up special.  But that did not detract from her brilliance. It's all in her deadpan delivery.  She takes things that are really not that funny and turns them into comedy gold.  No one else can tell her jokes cause they are uniquely Tig. What is so great about this special is that it shows Tig's versatility. She rose to fame after a legendary set at Largo that was heavily improvised in which she talked openly about her cancer diagnosis. But she is a fighter and not a one trick pony.  She has plenty more jokes where that came from, and plenty from other places.  She also performs a portion of her set topless, unashamed of her scars.  She first tried out that stunt at a performance in New York, and she has reportedly been doing it in many of her shows lately.  She has had an excellent year with a Netflix documentary, a Showtime special, and an HBO special. I can't wait to see what next year has in store.

Tig (2015)

Tig Notaro is one of the funniest stand-up comedians today. Her self-titled documentary directed by her friend offers an intimate look at an infamous year for Tig.  She was hospitalized for C-Diff. Shortly thereafter, her mother died and she went through a break-up.  And to top it off, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  And still, she did her regular-turned-legendary set at the Largo, and produced comedy gold out of tragedy.  This is a life-affirming documentary that proves the power of comedy that can make you both laugh and cry.  The Largo does not permit cameras, so Tig's set, now known as the album Live, is solely audio. The documentary cleverly flashes the transcript on the screen in different font sizes, making a visual art out of verbal art.  The documentary also features several snippets from Tig's appearances on late night talk shows, including Conan, which is where I first discovered Tig.  Praise to Netflix for featuring this comedienne who deserves her time in the spotlight.

Knock Knock, It's Tig Notaro (2015)

Tig Notaro is brilliant, probably one of the best stand-up comics today.  She rose to fame in 2012 after Louis CK released a recording of her now-legendary set performed at Largo in Los Angeles in which she joked about the cancer diagnosis she had received the week before.  She took a very dark experience in her life and shared it with her audience through comedy.  Her style of comedy is deadpan, personal storytelling, and is refreshingly unexpected.  She makes comedy out of the slightest things--the best scene in this stand-up special is one in which Tig imitates the sound of a clown horn repeatedly much to the delight of one particular audience member.  The premise of this stand-up special is that Tig and fellow comedian John Dore tour the country playing in the homes and backyards of regular people.  They perform at arms length from the audience , forcing a level of intimacy that feeds their comic genius.  This is simultaneously a comedy special and a road trip documentary.  I understand that Tig needed a partner to tour with, but I honestly think she could have carried the show all by herself, after all her sets were funnier than Dore's.