I shouldn't be surprised by this...as my friends over at Fans of Reality TV kept telling me, everything was set up for this specific result...

...but I AM surprised--as my sense of who would be voted for the most by the most motivated voters did not indicate them favoring Iliza over Marcus and Jeff.

...and yes, I considered the idea that Marcus & Jeff might split the "I vote for the cute ones" vote, but I didn't think it would be enough to set up this result.

And I severely underestimated America's appreciation for Jim Tavare.

Well, fair play to Iliza. She proved herself to be a solid performer. She handled the challenges presented to her. She won over enough support to get America to vote for her...and I'm not embarrassed by her winning and going on the road as a representative of working professional comedy.

...even if I'm surprised that she actually won.
 

Hmmm, I figured Marcus had this one as a lock. Impressions, after all!
 

What the fuck happened? I just tried watching my DVR recording of Last Comic Standing (which was supposed to be interrupted by the football game, anyway) and it's showing America's Got Talent!
 

Last Comic Standing ran from 8pm to 9:30pm E/P...with America's Got Talent from 9:30pm to 11pm.

Actually, Shecky's spoilers got it wrong...in that Jim and Jeff were transposed.

Final order:

5th place--Louis Ramey
4th place--Jim Tavare
3rd place--Jeff Dye
2nd place--Marcus
1st place--Iliza Shlesinger

The show was incredibly padded to even make the 90 minute mark...and if I'd been a finalist in the show I might have been mortified by the things they were making them do...(other than the lure of a quarter of a million dollars at the end of it, which seems to salve all wounds.)

I'll be looking forward to the Shecky take on it, as ever.
 

Can we get Dan French to comment on this one please?!?!?! He is dead on and pulls no punches.
 

Can we get Dan French to comment on this one please?!?!?! He is dead on and pulls no punches.
 

I auditioned in all 3 auditions with Shlesinger in SF. She was the most irritating person in the group. Always talking (loudly) on her cell phone and rolling her eyes at all of us. Turns out (I was told by another Comedian) all this loud phone talking was meant to throw all of us off. I didn't think of it at the time. She would only do it in the line waiting to go on stage. It was hard to concentrate. There was no reason to yell that loud. The room we were in wasn't a loud space. Of all the people I'd have liked to see win this "fixed" show, she was the last. Goes to show, nice people finish last!