Favorite George Carlin HBO Special

[Tony Santoro]

Alright so a bunch of friends and I are going to have a "George Carlin Day" and what we are doing is voting on our favorite specials and I am going to show the top five the Saturday after Thanksgiving (My Girlfriend got me all of George's Stuff for an anniversary gift). But doing this made me curious. What are my fellow board mates favorite specials.

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

Probably What Am I Doing In New Jersey, followed by You Are All Diseased.

[Time Lord Soundwave]

I don't really have a favorite. To me, any Carlin is good Carlin.

[Paul]

"The Suicide Guy" from Life Is Worth Losing is one of the funniest bits of his I've ever heard. I can't vote because I love all of his albums/specials for different reasons.

[A Dubya (El Hombre Muerto)]

I love mostly all of them, but I voted for Jammin in New York.

[Desi]

Honestly, I love everything he did after Jammin' In New York, though I admit I'm late to the Carlin love (only really got into him a few months before he died.)

[willywonka666]

Huge Carlin fan here, but I think "Jammin'" was him at his best. Everything was really great there. He could have just done "The Planet Is Fine" by itself and it'd still be my fave.

[Big Daddy Bad Booking]

Jammin' in New York IMO is the only correct answer for this. It represents George at the peak of his career. For proof, just look for Airplane Announcements from that album. 17 minutes, yet it goes by quicker than an airline flight and is as sharp and witty as anything ever written by a comedian.

"Get on the plane! Get on the plane! I said f*** you I'm getting IN the plane! Let Evel Knievel get on the plane! I'll be in here with you folks in uniform, there seems to be less WIND in here."

To add to my point, George in his autobiography "Last Words" even noted this was the apex of his career. Listening to this again, I can understand why.

Second place for me is Back in Town then Complaints and Grievances.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

They're all great, but I gotta go with Life is Worth Losing.

To me, Coast to Coast Emergency is probably the best thing he ever wrote.

They're all great, I wish I didn't have to choose.

[mattperiolat]

Jammin' in New York. Absolutely hysterical. I actually used the airline skit to try and be cool in high school and pick up girls.

It worked once.

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

I can't pick a favorite, so I'll just post my 3 favorite jokes of his that I can actually post on the forum.

Language warning(especially the final one)

[BorneAgain]

Life is Worth Losing.

Love dark and macabre humor and that special had it in spades.

[mybraveface]

"Jammin' In New York" isn't just Carlin's best HBO special, but maybe the greatest stand-up special performed by ANYBODY! A sheer masterpiece. Everything about it, superb!

"Back In Town" a close second.

"Life Is Worth Losing" is probably his most "experimental" special as far as material & delivery goes, but was still amazing.


A new George Carlin HBO special was always something to look forward to, and was always worth it when it was over. I miss that since he's been gone.



Carlin was a stand-up genius right up 'til the end.

There'll never be another one like him. And that's a shame.

[Bullhead]

I love them all so it's hard to pick a favorite. I'll have to go with What Am I Doing In New Jersey (the first one I ever saw) with Carlin On Campus at a close second. "Keeping People Alert" is still one of the funniest things I've ever heard.

[-Lithium-]

George Carlin: Again

Come on, the "Time" bit was great. Then all the "news" and stuff...