About.com Rating

There is no better stand-up working today than Louis C.K. Between his brilliant FX series Louie, his stand-up and the way that he's revolutionizing the comedy business (first by selling his special directly via his website and then by eliminating third-party ticket sellers during his stand-up tour), C.K. is changing the face of comedy while still dominating it.

His latest special, Oh My God, is not the strongest hour he's released in recent years.

But because he's so talented and, more importantly, prolific, it almost doesn't matter; C.K.'s approach is to write an hour of stand-up, work it for a year, do a special and then never do that material again. That means we'll be getting another special from him in a year or so, and Oh My God will be absorbed into one of the most impressive bodies of work in contemporary comedy. Besides, I'll take Louis C.K. slightly off his game over most comics on theirs any day.

Returning to cable TV after clearing $1 million in profit by selling his last special, Live at the Beacon Theater, via his website, Oh My God finds Louis C.K. riffing on dating, on the lifestyle changes afforded by his recent success, on being divorced, getting older and, to close it out, a bit called "Of Course...But Maybe" that's destined to become a classic. He comments on the world in the sharp observational way that recalls George Carlin, but C.K. is lacking in Carlin's anger and condescension. His comedy lacks any cynicism at all, really; even when he's being dark and edgy -- and C.K.

is able to be darker and edgier than just about anyone -- there is no bitterness to his comedy. He's more interested in raising questions with impossible answers and forcing his audience to consider terrible things that they have possibly taken for granted. Maybe success has made him happier or made laid back; maybe divorce has shed him of some angst (he says as much in the special). Whatever the reason, C.K. appears to be having a blast on stage during Oh My God. He's not exorcising any comedy demons. For a guy so self-deprecating, he's awfully happy.

Despite the presence of several brilliant routines, Oh My God just isn't as strong as C.K.'s more recent hours, including Live at the Beacon Theater, Hilarious and Chewed Up. The special feels looser, the jokes less developed. It's probably just unfair pressure; because C.K. is the best there is right now, there is an expectation that each new comedy special will be not just funny, but the funniest thing ever. But isn't funny enough? Especially when it's smart and well observed and original? The special falls short only of the impossible standard that C.K. has set for himself. By any other measure, it's a big success.

Perhaps this is just the next stage in C.K.'s evolution. He had his time as a brilliant, frustrated guy on stage, but his kids were much younger, he was still married and still working his way to the top. Now he's arrived there, and the frustration seems to have melted away. Perhaps we'll find out in a year or so, when C.K. produces his next special (assuming that he keeps working at the same impressive pace). If there's one thing Oh My God proves, it's that Louis C.K. is impossible to predict.

• Original air date: 4/13/13