Popular sports writer Bill Simmons came up with this idea once in one of his podcasts, I can't remember which one, but he claimed that at any given moment in the world of comedy, someone has "the conch".

It's a perfect idea for sports fans who happily obsess and debate over who's better than whom, and while it's probably better in sports where there is actual face-to-face competition, it's also a fun idea for comedians. Think Eddie Murphy in 1984, or Jerry Seinfeld in 1994. For my money right now that honor must belong to Louis C.K. On the surface, Louis is an odd choice. He isn't making any successful feature films and even his TV show Louie, which is debuting its second season tonight in the U.S. on the FX cable channel, has a laughably small audience compared to sitcom hits of the past.

But, Louis C.K. has the respect and awe of comedy die-hards and his fellow comedians alike, partly for his genius, and partly for his work ethic, having created a new standup special every year for the last 4 years, culminating this past year with the first standup theatrical release in recent memory, Hilarious (It can be found on YouTube if you like). Louis C.K. is also a gifted filmmaker. A vocal proponent of short films, he made several in the 90s that played the festival circuit. More interestingly for this site, he repeatedly says in interviews that he thinks of and treats the episodes of his TV show, which he writes, acts, directs, and edits like they were short films. I think it's an apt comparison as the show will vary in tone and style wildly from ep to ep, and generally ignores continuity in favor of self-contained stories.

So, since Season 2 of Louie debuts tonight, we're presenting a double bill. First is Ice Cream, a short that Louis C.K. made in the mid-90s when he was still rather anonymous. The film played Sundance and won the prestigious Aspen Shortfest. It is a 13 min black and white work that isn't hit you over the head-funny, but which wryly hits upon themes that would come to dominate his later humor: parenthood, male-female interactions, and the often absurd emptiness of people conforming to socially-expected roles. The second selection is an actual episode of his TV show. This episode, the 9th of the first season and entitled Bully, was among the more buzzed about during the initial run. At a donut shop while on a blind date, Louie and his companion are confronted by a high school bully. The episode is both hilarious and excruciatingly painful. Perhaps more than any other episode it highlights Louis C.K's diverse abilities to straddle comedy and drama through keen social observation. The episode is on Hulu (which sadly I think is geo-blocked outside of the US) and will be up for 3 more days.