Bill Cosby’s first TV comedy special in 30 years is called “Far From Finished” — which aptly describes the veteran comic’s patience-testing delivery.
Those who’ve seen Cosby perform live, or maybe caught one of his specials over the years, know what I’m referring to; it takes a certain stick-to-it-iveness when watching Cosby and following his meandering riffs. Waiting for the hoped-for comic payoff is not for the impatient — especially since those payoffs, at least in this special, are few and far between.
Cosby is heavier now, at age 76, and moves a little slower. In fact, he doesn’t really move much at all here, spending most of the hour-long “Far From Finished” — taped at the Cerritos Arts Center in Cerritos, Calif. — sitting in a chair on stage (so calling this a “standup” special would be misleading). I appreciate the fact that he’s more comfortable sitting down — he’s earned that right after entertaining several generations of fans, and perhaps he’s physically unable to stand for a long period of time — but save for his occasional grimace or gesture, it just makes the time pass all-the-more slowly.
There are glimmers of the old sharp Cosby humor sprinkled throughout “Far From Finished,” which begins with the comedian elegantly draping a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Hello Friend” over his chair — a touching homage to his late son, Ennis, a gentle soul who frequently used that greeting. (Ennis was 27 when he was senselessly gunned down by a stranger on a desolate LA road in 1997.)
Diehards will enjoy the folksy yarns spun by Cosby, which cover all the familiar bases — smarter-than-their husband wives, relationships, growing older, ordering in a restaurant — and watching him work an audience is watching an old master working his craft.
That being said, Cosby’s gentle humor is a bit long-in-the-tooth, and Comedy Central, known for its acerbic hosts (Colbert, Stewart) — and as the home of the irreverent “South Park” — is a strange TV venue in which to expose a 76-year-old “family values” comedian to younger viewers.
Cosby might, indeed, be “Far From Finished” — but in terms of TV viewers with short attention spans, they’ll be bailing several minutes into this special.