I watched this on PBS last night and it was brilliant. I saw some of those old HBO specials when he was breaking that ground and the guy’s schtick really got to me. I was, maybe, 11 or 12. I didn’t know, at the time, that no one had done cable stand-up before. He broke that ground. Then you learn that he always broke ground, with what he said and how he said it. Then watching last night, as the late genius was honored by those he influenced, I began to realize a bit more about the depth of his ability. When I was a teenager, I wasn’t really thinking about the two hours of material he simply memorized. I didn’t thank about the research and preparation that made his show look so spontaneous and demented. He actually reminds me of Zappa a bit, with his anti-establishment attitutde, his grouchy demeanor, and his other-worldly talent. Here’s the bit we learned about in law school: