Louis CK makes me want to be a better comedian

Best newcomer nominee Nath Valvo picks his Perfect Playlist

Seinfeld

Oh god. Cliché. Yes. I know. Whatever I type here you have heard a million times before. The show about nothing was everything great stand up should be. No observation is too small.

It’s common for shows nowadays to have unlikeable (funny, but unlikeable) characters but I feel Seinfeld was ahead of the game on this one. Also - from a technical point of view – this show is a perfect example of great story structure.

Louis CK

Every time I watch Louis CK, it lights a firecracker up my butt to work harder and be a better comedian. The guy goes dark but it’s never to the point of despair. The main lesson I learn from watching Louis CK is that no matter how heavy a premise is, if it’s grounded in truth then you can always make it funny.

Big Girl's Blouse

This is an Aussie skit show that I watched in the late 1990s. I was early teens and falling in love with comedy. The show was created by Gina Riley, Jane Turner and Magda Szubanski who all went on to star in Kath & Kim. The characters were people I swore I knew. My aunty? My mum?

Most comedy I had consumed was from the US or UK. It was the first I saw characters that reflected Australian suburban culture.

Conan O’Brien

This guy delivers the perfect late-night show. He somehow made a tired old show format interesting again. Conan also plays up to the studio audience in a way I hadn’t seen from a TV host before. He would often react to people in the front row, acknowledge if a joke didn’t land well and was never afraid to derail the traditional talk show vices (like the opening monologue) to keep you on your toes watching.

Conan also wrote the best Simpsons episode of all time – Monorail. Anyway, please enjoy 30 mins of the masturbating bear.

Monty Python

The biggest challenge I face as a comedian is keeping my shows in my voice. Monty Python is a masterclass in originality. But you already knew that, I’m sure.