Mitch Fatel at Pittsburgh Improv All Weekend; Pens Face Off Against Flyers (Thurs., 1/18/16)

1) Internships have taken criticism recently as unpaid labor leading nowhere. But the one Mitch Fatel had seemed to work out. Fatel, now a comedian, was once an intern for the Howard Stern Show. (Yes, in a lawsuit waiting to happen, Stern has interns.) This is probably where Fatel learned to talk about boobs, which he does at length in a slow, simply squirrelly style. A comedic sampling: “I don’t even know why I like breasts. They don’t do anything. They just bounce up and down, and it makes me happy.” If that kind of observational humor gets a giggle out of you, he’ll be at The Improv through Sunday. 8 p.m. 166 E. Bridge St., The Waterfront, Homestead. (EC)

2) Our “friends” from the eastern part of the state are back in town. The Pens face off against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight in a 7 p.m. game at the Consol Energy Center. The Pens recently picked up winger Carl Hagelin in a late night trade with the Anaheim Ducks in return for David Perron and Adam Clendening. Hopefully this is the missing piece that will take them deep into the playoffs. 7 p.m. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown.

3) Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Look at it this way, after this there’s only two more to go. Back in 1977, director George Lucas premiered Star Wars, which along with Jaws changed the nature of the movie business. The summer blockbuster was born, and now, unless a movie makes $70 million opening weekend, it’s considered a flop. That first film turned out to be the third installment of what Lucas promised would be a nine-part series. And that seemed like a good thing since he followed up with Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Fun movies and a terrific way to spend a rainy afternoon.

But in 1999, it all started to go horribly wrong with the release of The Phantom Menace. Suddenly LucasWorld didn’t seem a particularly entertaining place to be, and by the time we got through Attack of the Close and Revenge of the Sith, it was generally agreed that maybe the franchise had run its course. But we forgot that it’s a nine-part adventure, and George and the gang are in the process of coughing up the last three in the series. The Force Awakens (which is number VII) takes places 30 years after Return of the Jedi. No word on the actual plot (believe me, we landed in Normandy with less secrecy than this movie), but here’s my question: Since the emperor is killed and the Empire is defeated at the end of Jedi, who are they going to be fighting for the next three films? Rampaging boredom, if you ask me. Check Fandango for screens and times. (TH)

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