Remote Controlled : Roast regular Giraldo has new special airing tonight

The New York comic has never been to Tucson (as far as he can remember).

And aside from a smattering of spots on the late-night talk-show circuit, most of his work has been produced and featured exclusively on Comedy Central.

Giraldo's intelligent, sometimes vicious sense of humor has led to regular gigs on the channel. He has hosted several of his own shows and specials, and his guest spots include time spent on "Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn," Lewis Black's "Root of All Evil" and last weekend's celebrity roast of Joan Rivers.

Giraldo wasted no time ripping into Rivers, roast host Kathy Griffin and Tom Arnold, among others.

"Tom, it is great you can take time out from being Roseanne's ex-husband to be here," he said. "Tom grew up in Iowa, where he learned how to produce cheese and depend on pigs for a living."

Giraldo returns to Comedy Central tonight with his hour-long special, "Greg Giraldo: Midlife Vices," airing at 10.

He spoke to the Star Thursday from his Manhattan apartment.

How humid is it in New York right now?

"It is humid as hell, but I haven't been outside. I try not to go outside ever. In New York City, you have everything delivered."

Are you nervous or excited about the special?

"Nervous is a weird way to put it. I'm definitely not excited. I'm not the kind of person to get real giddy about things. I am happy that it is done. I think it is very funny. I'm proud of it. But, you know, it is just another brick in the wall."

So this is not a big thing for you?

"It is definitely a big thing. I can objectively realize it as being a big thing. But in my own personal prism, I don't let myself get too excited. People seem happy about it. My manager seems excited."

How did filming go?

"We did two shows back-to-back, on the same night at a theater here in mid-June. It went really well. We shot the shows to run about an hour and 15 minutes long. The Comedy Central version is 42 minutes of that. I get frustrated seeing things cut out, but they keep the stuff that they think is best for their TV audience."

How essential has Comedy Central been to your career?

"Comedy Central has been critical. Most of the shows I've been on have been on Comedy Central.

"In some ways, I guess I'm putting all my eggs in one basket, but it says 'comedy' right there in the name. If you had to pick one network, this would be the one."

You were hilarious on "Tough Crowd" riffing with people like Jim Norton and Patrice Oneal. What was working on that show like?

"It was great. It was based on the Comedy Cellar in New York. Pretty much what happened every night at the comics table in the back of the Comedy Cellar was what we did on 'Tough Crowd.' It was a constant barrage of abuse, humiliation and evil. I miss that a lot."

It doesn't happen anymore?

"Not so much. That little crew isn't really around anymore. Everybody is off doing their own thing. Guys are still around. We see them from time to time. But now we are showbiz types. We take ourselves seriously. Now we are artists."

You are great with the topical comedy. Is it difficult to keep up on current events?

"The problem is that it takes so long to develop topical material. You get it to where you like it and it starts getting dated. You end up falling back on these evergreen bits.

"I like being topical, but I also like getting deeper."

How did you get involved with the Comedy Central roasts?

"They asked me a long time ago to do a Chevy Chase roast. I guess I had done some of the roasts around town for friends. I originally said no because it seemed ridiculous for me to make fun of Chevy Chase.

"But people kept canceling and they kept asking. They asked again at the last minute and I kind of needed the money, so I thought, 'Why not?'

"It was kind of a disappointing experience. Chevy was not into it and it was a pretty miserable night.

"It did turn out that I was able to pretty comfortably make fun of people."

ON TV

"Greg Giraldo: Midlife Vices" debuts at 10 tonight on Comedy Central.