On TV

The Gaggle

• Why it's worth your time: This political version of Fox Sports Net's Best Damn Sports Show Period features journalists, political consultants, bloggers and other pundits debating the issues of the day. Ana Marie Cox, Washington editor for Time.com, moderates the discussion, along with comedian Marc Maron, who could give Bill Maher a run for his money in the biting-political-commentary department.

• Worth quoting: Maron on Al Gore running for president again: "All right, I predict, folks, that Al Gore will do more than just announce his candidacy. I think he will declare himself president, finally. I think he will lead an army of Prius owners, organic farmers and bike messengers armed with solar-powered laser weaponry and they will take the White House by force."

• Check it out: On HBO later this year or early next if the pilot is well-received. On stage

Kirk Fox

• Why he's worth your time: The tall, lanky tennis pro is confounded by everything from Asian bird flu to hybrid cars. ("What's the point of driving a car that, by the time it gets you where you're going, all your friends are gone?")

• What's so funny? On paying for cremation in advance: "What if I die in a fire? I'd feel pretty stupid."

• Check him out: Fox has no plans to perform in Denver soon, but you can catch him opening for Carlos Mencia at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on March 23. Shane Mauss

• Why he's worth your time: Full of boyish charm, Mauss' humor has a way of sneaking up on you. He comes on stage pitching an idea for a bumper sticker declaring, "I am a child molester." When the audience doesn't respond well, Mauss explains: "Oh, you don't put it on your car. That would be ridiculous."

• What's so funny? After his girlfriend says he doesn't have to go to a strip club, because she'll do her own act for him at home: "Oh sure, I'll just tell all my friends to come here."

• Check him out: Mauss performs mainly on the East Coast, but if you're in the mood for traveling, you can find his schedule at profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=110767846.

On the Net

Summer of Tears

• Why they're worth your time: This Los Angeles-based sketch-comedy group is edgy, smart and a little silly (and it won the festival award for Best Sketch).

• What's so funny? A video parody of Johnny Cash's recording sessions with producer Rick Rubin. At one point a restless Cash blurts out: "I never told anyone this, but Eddie Murphy is my son."

• Check it out: summeroftears.com

JoeyandDavid.com

• Why they're worth your time: Joey Manderino and David Young might be the best comedy duo to hit the sketch world since Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.

• What's so funny? Watching Manderino and Young trying to enjoy an entire day in five minutes after reading those instructions on a can of soup.

• Check it out: joeyanddavid.com

Previously in Aspen

• Here's a look at others who have gained notoriety from the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival:

Demetri Martin

• Then: Law-school dropout who won the jury award for best one-person show at the 2003 festival.

• Now: Hosts the Trendspotting segments on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart; stars in a series of online comedic shorts advertising Micro- soft's Windows Vista operating system and tours the country as a stand-up comic. He played the Boulder Theater last fall.

Morgan Spurlock

• Then: The unknown director screened the documentary Super Size Me in the festival's film program three years ago.

• Now: Executive producer and star of F/X's reality series 30 Days.

Sarah Silverman

• Then: Brought her musical show Jesus Is Magic to the festival in 2005.

• Now: Stars on The Sarah Silverman Show on Comedy Central, a deal she sealed in Aspen.

Mindy Kaling

• Then: A recent Dartmouth graduate, Kaling and college buddy Brenda Withers performed in the unique two-person show Matt and Ben at the 2003 festival. The show examined the birth of Good Will Hunting, with the petite Kaling playing Ben Affleck.

• Now: Showed up briefly as Paul Rudd's ex-girlfriend in The 40- Year-Old Virgin; annoys boyfriend Ryan as "valley girl" Kelly on NBC's The Office.

On film

Charlyne Yi

• Why she's worth your time: Yi, at left, could have been the love child of Andy Kaufman and Gilda Radner if one of them were Asian.

• What's so funny? Seeing the giggling Yi awkwardly date audience members onstage or singing the lines "I never quite finished writing this song. God knows I finished the whiskey" with a straight face.

• Check her out: In the upcoming comedy Knocked Out, due in theaters in June. Director Judd Apatow told Variety, "Charlyne Yi kills so hard in the brief moments she is on screen that afterward people think she is one of the stars of the film."

Heckler

• Why it's worth your time: Inspired by his own experiences, stand-up and Son of the Mask star Jamie Kennedy, right, turns the camera on the people who love to harass comics, athletes, politicians and other performers.

• What's so funny?: Watching the pros (including Ronald Reagan and Barbra Streisand) handle hecklers. Kennedy invites one loudmouth to perform onstage and then heckles him from the audience.

• Check it out: Heckler has its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival at the end of next month. If the film can find a distributor, it may hit theaters before year's end.

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