I am – Hercules!!

When a comic named Dan Naturman was excluded from the final 10 contestants on 2004’s “Last Comic Standing 2,” judges Drew Carey and Brett Butler went memorably on-camera batshit, infuriated that one of their top choices was 86’d while producers elected instead to elevate talentless homosexual Ant onto the show’s cast.

Ant was eliminated in a head-to-head competition soon thereafter. “Standing” was cancelled a few months after that. Naturman went on to appear on Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson and even got his own 2005 Comedy Central special.

Naturman’s career has apparently now cooled enough to drive him back to compete on a revived “Last Comic Standing.” A few weeks ago we saw his audition advance him again to the semifinals.

The first round of semifinals airs tonight.

Will Naturman make the cast this year? Or will his slot be given to the handsome Israeli prop-comic who impersonates mosquitos?

“Last Comic Standing”: 8 p.m. Thursday. NBC.
“Fear Itself” (d: John Landis): 10 p.m. Thursday. NBC.

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