BY STEVE SAFRAN
MANAGING EDITOR
LOST REMOTE
What is it about failed comedy that makes people so angry? Fox News’s “1/2 Hour News Hour” certainly ceases to be funny immediately following one’s reading of its moderately clever title. So? Why, exactly, are people so steamed about this show? Why are the reviews so gleefully bad? And while we’re on the topic – why on Earth do people continue to insist upon the notion that comedy is somehow politically biased?
There is room in the distributed media world for all kinds of information, bad comedy included. And “1/2 Hour News Hour,” awful as it is, is no worse than plenty of sitcoms or an “SNL” or two. Sure, Ann Coulter joking about how she would invade whatever un-invaded countries would be left once she and Rush took office is stupid and plays into every anti-American stereotype. So? She’s Ann Coulter. That’s her name, her act and her brand. Can we uniformly agree upon that point now and get on with life?
There are plenty of giant targets in the media and politics. There is room for more shows like “The Daily Show.” That “1/2 Hour News Hour” is as bad as it is should encourage people: it’s proof that making a consistently hilarious and sharply satirical program like “The Daily Show” or “The Colbert Report” is a lot damn harder than it looks.
Then there’s this: “1/2 Hour News Hour” is not an “answer” to Jon Stewart. You know who the answer to Jon is? Jon. Yes, Jon makes fun of President Bush. Absolutely. Jon lets the prez have it, two fists, full-on. But I didn’t see Jon giving John Kerry a pass in ’04. And he ain’t exactly going easy on Hillary and the Dems now. Among my prize collections in my DVD case is The Daily’s week of shows from the Democratic convention in 2004, right here in Boston. It was not exactly a lefty lovefest.
Comedy is neither liberal nor conservative. It should just be funny. “1/2 Hour News Hour” is not funny – and not in a “That’s not funny – that’s inapropriate, sick and politically incorrect” sort of way either, which usually is funny. No, it’s just not – you know – funny.
So?
Let’s put this into perspective: A news channel has failed at comedy. So? What if Nick Jr. failed at a nightly newscast? With so much surrealism on the news networks right now, isn’t a news comedy show redundant? You want a good news channel comedy show? Just cut down the day’s coverage and rerun it. That’s pretty much what Jon Stewart does anyway. You already have a comedy show – it just needs some editing.
The angry and vitriolic among us will not be convinced to become neither engaging nor quiet. So? Let them enjoy themselves. If they are sure there’s a liberal media conspiracy, feed into that. Tell them we have meetings. With cashews. If they are absolutely certain that Brian Williams spends his every waking hour trying to bring down the capitalist system from within, send them a copy of Mao’s Little Red Book and inscribe it: “With Kisses, Brian.” And when they post that “1/2 Hour News Hour” is a work of utter comedic genius, tell them you couldn’t agree more – and that all shows should use laugh tracks to bring home that very point.
“Comedy Isn’t Pretty” was the title of one of Steve Martin’s albums. (Ironically, one of his less funny albums, too.) Failed comedy is even less pretty. So?
