21
This Will Be A Very Funny And Successful Show
Above: taping of Fox News’s conservative comedy pilot
From Variety:
Satire hands a right
Fox, Surnow prep conservative skein
By MICHAEL LEARMONTHComedy Central has made a good living out of skewering the political right.
Now Fox News Channel, a primary source of material for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, is teaming with the exec producer of “24″ to try its hand at a news satire show for conservatives to love.
Joel Surnow, co-creator of “24,” is shooting two half-hour pilots of a skein he described as “‘The Daily Show’ for conservatives,” due to air in primetime on Saturdays in January.
If successful, the show could take its place on the regular schedule, adding satire to FNC’s formula of news and opinion.
“The way I look at it, almost every comedy show or satire show I see uses the same talking points against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney,” Surnow said. “The other side hasn’t been skewered in a fair and balanced way.”
The working title of the show has been “This Just In,” but that will change because AOL just launched a broadband comedy channel by that name.
The pilot segs will be co-anchored by comedians Kurt Long and Susan Yeagley and feature a family of correspondents. “There will be some elements of ‘The Daily Show’ and some of ‘Weekend Update,’ ” Surnow said.
And as conservative humorists, they will of course be standing on the shoulders of giants.
Ladies and gentlemen, Republican funnyman Dennis Miller:
Ladies and gentlemen, Republican funnywoman Julia Gorin:
Ladies and germs, wingnut director David Zucker:
People, give it up for conservative comic Brad Stine:
Please, God, let this be the alleged screenplay that Jeff Goldstein is working on.
Bonus laffs: Here’s The Comic Battle for America, a BBC Radio segment on ‘the new phenomenon of right-wing humor in America.’
craigie said,
November 21, 2006 at 23:40
But conservatives aren’t funny. Almost by definition.
And gee, I wonder why everyone is skewering Shrub and Darth Cheney. Is it because comedians are unbalanced, or because they go where the material is?
I just can’t put my finger on it…
craigie said,
November 21, 2006 at 23:41
Does this mean that O’Reilly’s comedy yukfest is canceled?
Otto said,
November 21, 2006 at 23:43
This will be so bad it’s good ala Showgirls.
norbizness said,
November 21, 2006 at 23:44
No, this is “William Hurt interacting with an animated monkey in Lost in Space” so-bad-its-good territory.
mdhatter said,
November 21, 2006 at 23:52
Will it really take two whole episodes to prove they are just not as funny as The Jewsâ„¢?
Some Guy said,
November 21, 2006 at 23:56
Ugh, there’s that “It’s not fair and balanced! Waaaah!” bullshit again.
And, if they’ve ever actually watched the Daily Show, he goes after Dems to. The repubs more because A: they’re in power (or WERE. natch) and B: it’s just. So. Easy.
Wow. Remember on Mike Myer’s old SNL sketch Dieter, about German people? Where he’s like, “Stop! It is 5:50! Time to dance!”
That’s the vibe I get from this thing. “Time to Laugh! Commence the Laugh!”
ifthethunderdontgetya said,
November 22, 2006 at 0:02
Fake news on FAUX? What exactly is new about this?
InsaneInTheCheneyBrain said,
November 22, 2006 at 0:20
The only laughs conservatives get are from sadists.
Scott from Baltimore said,
November 22, 2006 at 0:21
I am reminded of “Good Morning, Vietnam!” where 2nd Lt. Steven Hauk takes over as DJ for a while, invents a character named “Frenchy,” plays some polkas, gets reviews like “licks the sweat from a dead man’s balls,” and claims there’s a silent majority who support him and says “In my heart, I know I’m funny.”
Keep believing, Fox.
Kathleen said,
November 22, 2006 at 0:28
those were some seriously unfunny clips. Poor Julia tanked in front of an allegely Republican audience for pete’s sake.
mdhatter said,
November 22, 2006 at 0:38
I hope they use the scrolling text at the bottom of the screen in place of the “applause” and “laugh” lights they will need in the studio.
That way the viewers at home can feel in on the jokes, or at least not feel awkward for not knowing when to laugh.
mikey said,
November 22, 2006 at 0:42
I can see it now. Some Faux Jon Stewart wannabe saying “In economic news, the Democrat controlled congress today raised the minimum wage to eighty three dollars an hour, the Dow is down 800 points and a loaf of bread now costs 83 dollars”. Much canned laughter as the FJSW smirks into the camera in his best Stewart “Whhaaa?” take.
I was reading the Palo Alto Daily at lunch todat and accidently read prickly city before I knew what I was doing, as it was only one word today. Ouch…
mikey
g said,
November 22, 2006 at 0:47
It’ll be just as fun as the witty satirical comix of Chris Muir! I can’t wait!
cd6 said,
November 22, 2006 at 0:52
Time to crack open the always fresh treasure chest of Clinton-Lewinsky jokes!!
An intern runs into the white house and says “Willy, we need you to sign this abortion bill.” and Clinton goes, “Can’t you just pay it? I’ll reimburse you.”
GET IT? It’s a play on words! The “abortion bill” referenced a bill that had not yet become law, not a pay stub from the corner baby killin shop! Wakka wakka wakka
nate-dogg said,
November 22, 2006 at 0:54
They’re all funnier than Jeff Goldstein, though. Last time I couldn’t resist reading Protein Wisdom, he had something like an imaginary conversation between John Murtha and a Keebler cookie or something like that.
It was so funny I forgot to laugh, as we used to say in Jr. High School.
Jrod said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:02
Bwahaha, that Prickly City is awesome. That’s right repugs, and there’s more pain where that came from!
Hopefully…
DRR said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:05
This is going to be a gigantic success because no matter hiw painfully unfunny it is, the wingers will be in stitches. Keep in mind, these are the people who think Mallard Filmore is funny.
dmgroves said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:12
Don’t you hate pants!?
R.Porrofatto said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:19
I hope this is Jeffrey’s secret project, too, if only because shit like this is comedy Goldstein, and would have any audience screaming uproariously.
My guess is that Jeffrey’s really working on the screenplay for Liberal Fascism, the Goldberg thriller.
DRR said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:21
Wow, I just perused a couple of Pirckly City strips. My newspaper doesen’t caryy them. I now know that’s a good thing.
Edmund Schluessel said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:25
I don’t think anyone thinks Mallard Fillmore is actually funny. He’s there because of Right Wing Affirmative Action, just like how Dubya got into Yale.
There’s a thought…does the Washington Post still have Doonesbury on a special “commentary” page sequestered from the other comics, but keep Prickly City in with the others?
Pablo said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:26
Lord Goldstein mentioned — must troll thread.
Lesley said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:34
What they gonna call it, The Daily Flop?
How amusing they say there’s nothing skewering “the other side” in a “fair and balanced way” when all of their programming has been nothing but hysterical commentary by freaks like O’Reilly, Coulter, and Malkin.
MrWonderful said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:52
Oh, and Dennis? Here’s my plan for reinforcing the occupation–sorry; the democratization–of Iraq, of which you’re such a proponent. It’s really very simple: You want the US to invade, occupy, and democratize for the sake of our own security as well as the benefit of the Iraqis? Then you gotta enlist and place your own Lobb boots on the ground Over There. You wanna talk the neo-con talk? Then you gotta walk the walk, amigo.
Fuckhead. Or, alt., fuck-head.
Ugluks Flea said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:52
I can’t wait for their version of a Point/Counterpoint bit where their unavoidable “Larry the Cable Guy” clone character will have a debate with… the real Larry the Cable Guy!
Whaa? Which one is which? Sides will be split.
End each show with a fart joke, and yer talking Peabody. Or Polk, whatever.
darrelplant said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:52
This won’t be fake news on FOX, it’ll be fake comedy on FOX.
Maybe they can use the crawl to explain the jokes.
My guess is this last about as long as O.J.’s book and TV deal.
Thank you, thank you, you were a great audience.
Zombie Kissinger said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:54
“I don’t think anyone thinks Mallard Fillmore is actually funny.”
It was funny…twice…but only in the first month, then they got wise and gave the artist a PFL.
jpj said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:56
So Funny Girl Julia Gorin says being born in the Soviet Union makes you a Republican. Then she says that the ulta liberal Jews were responsible for getting her out of the Soviet Union. And she never sees the irony of that.
Both Gorin and Miller are completey “I’m ignorant and limited and that is a GOOD thing!”
Yep, these conservatives are totally tuned into the whole “humor” thing.
LanceThruster said,
November 22, 2006 at 1:56
The fact that they see The Daily Show as exclusively liberal means they just don’t get it. TDS skewers all sides though the goopers make a far broader target on things that matter.
The mention of fascist (un)funnyman Dennis Miller illustrates the point. In an interview with Jon Stewart on TDS, he said he chose not to say *anything* disparaging about Bush because he felt it was his duty. Good comedy requires a deeper truth than FAUX News style lies do.
To all those scary funny scribes of the Electorate Kool-Aid Asshat Test…I say, “Bring it on!”
J— said,
November 22, 2006 at 2:01
Hey, Gavin M., here’s an image from the taping of the pilot for “This Just In,” in case you’re interested in working your photoshoppe magic.
Gavin M. said,
November 22, 2006 at 2:04
Oh wow. That’s so money!
Thanks!!!
Smiling Mortician said,
November 22, 2006 at 2:24
Hey, Gavin, great parody of an actual Variety article! The idea of a Faux Daily Show so the Right finally gets a fair shake . . . I can’t stop laughing! What would their Colbert equivalent be? A guy whose persona not even the show’s creators and performers know about? Although that might be fun to watch: Dennis Miller as the Fake Liberal Guy — only he doesn’t know he’s acting, see, so he pisses himself off but good every night. Then one night he hides out in the parking garage and waits for himself to leave the studio and beats the hell out of himself.
Query: are there any wingers (or, to be broad-minded, any “conservatives”) who are actually funny? I’m trying but I just can’t think of one.
mikey said,
November 22, 2006 at 2:28
I think I read somewhere once that Mussolini was hilarious. In his unguarded moments…
mikey
Xanthippas said,
November 22, 2006 at 2:31
You know…I guess it could be funny? I mean, I doubt it, but it’s not fair to not at least give it a shot, right?
Oh to hell with it…conservatives aren’t funny, and it’ll suck.
Randomfactor said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:02
You know, too many folks just Don’t Get It. The Daily Show and Colbert Report are *NOT* making fun of politicians. They’re making fun of the media.
Now, Faux will use the opportunity to skewer Democrats and call it “balance.” But it’s not going to work, because their “news” coverage is funnier than anything they could come up with…
mmm...lemonheads said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:05
In the Detroit Free Press they relegated Doonesbury to the page just before the editorials.
And it’s the supposed “liberal” paper of the city.
Mallard Fillmore, however gets on the comics page of the Detroit News.
It’s possibly the most unfunny, most unrelevant strip evar.
Conservatives don’t get humor, don’t get the gist of irony, nuance, or juxtaposition.
Maybe, someday. Not now of course.
Shoelimpyâ„¢ said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:05
Mallard Fillmore is a hell of a lot funnier than “This Modern World.” Of course, that isn’t much of a compliment.
Herr Doltor Bimler said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:14
The Christopher Hitchens Comedy rant. Sponsored by Grants Distillery.
Kathleen said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:15
Hey Gavin, any chance this was *the* Marie Jon’ showing up at the end of the Kissinger thread? http://sadlyno.com/archives/4311.html#comment-96859
pablo said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:23
It has the co-creator of 24 working on it? Does that mean we can look forward to one torture scene per episode?
NickM said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:24
Note that Surnow was one of the fellas in the Dominican Republic with Rush on his famous Viagra Voyage. Maybe he knows what Rush was using that Viagra for. Talk about laughs . . . .
jkd said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:26
It’s also pretty great to see the, er, “talent” that they’ve got to host this show. Susan Yeagley has - literally - made a career of being “teh hott gurl with no linez,” and Kurt Long has made a career of….um, okay, calling that a career is kind of unfair to all the working actors out there.
Most of the unemployed ones, too.
Otto Man said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:39
Wait, does this mean that the morning “Fox and Friends” isn’t a conservative spoof?
Ex-Fed said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:43
Hey! I hear Michael Richards needs work!
Actually, some conservatives are funny.
In fact, there are even some who are funny INTENTIONALLY.
DocAmazing said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:52
To be fair, Rush Limbaugh does get off a few good lines now and then.
Of course, he inevitably kills the joke by repeating it endlessly.
Actually, that’s P.J. O’Rourke’s schtick, too. A right-wing humorist with an actual sense of timing could make a fortune. Maybe it’s got something to do with the materila they’re working with…
owlbear1 said,
November 22, 2006 at 3:59
The Faux “News” channel is planning to air a comedy show as a ‘balance’ to the Comedy channel’s faux News show?
They really don’t understand Irony do they?
Righteous Bubba said,
November 22, 2006 at 4:00
How is that Zucker commercial not an argument against Bush? I mean, if dictators are evil…
Righteous Bubba said,
November 22, 2006 at 4:01
Jesus Christ I listened to every one a those goddamned things just to find out.
a different brad said,
November 22, 2006 at 4:06
Here’s the simple reason conservatives aren’t funny; too angry.
Here’s another reason; can’t laugh at themselves. The only person jon stewart is harder on than bush is himself.
On the other hand, the daily show n colbert will get some great material out of it.
mikefromtexas said,
November 22, 2006 at 4:14
Don’t these Fox guys already do a fake news show, um, like all day, everyday????
Jillian said,
November 22, 2006 at 4:22
What gets me about this is the idea that The Daily Show is specifically a “liberal” comedy show.
If you watch the show, you know that Stewart takes plenty of potshots at the liberals out there - he’s been ruthless to John Kerry a number of times, and he’s turned a particularly poison pen on Ralph Nader more than once.
He just works with the material they give him. Someday, maybe the left will be as jawdroppingly stupid as the right, and then things in comedy will be fair again.
Think we could get an affirmative action program for that?
Auntie Occident said,
November 22, 2006 at 4:27
This is a GREAT idea. I see it being a success; this will be to comedy what Pajamas Media is to news.
His Grace said,
November 22, 2006 at 4:39
Don’t those liberals see that the terrorists are trying to kill us?
(laugh track)
I guess they all want us dead or living under Sharia
(laugh track)
Probably it’s because they believe in evolution…
(laugh track)
…
annieangel said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:22
I’m a conservative. I’m funny.
ifthethunderdontgetya said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:24
His Grace, just wait for their ‘pro-life’ routines. Guaranteed to leave ‘em rolling in the Ailes..
BlackBloc said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:26
It can’t be less funny than “The War at Home”, right? Can it?
Ugluks Flea said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:28
I’m a conservative. I’m funny.
And how.
Wait… maybe you didn’t mean that way.
Notorious P.A.T. said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:31
How’s this for a funny show idea: “Anthrax’d” starring Michelle Malkin and Laura Ingraham. Watch and laugh as America’s new comedy sweethearts mail fake poison to people like Keith Olbermann and Jon Stewart! Your sides will be splitting as our hidden cameras capture their panicked reactions, desperate calls to 911, and frantic prayers for a second chance at life! Spoiler alert: in the first episode a mystery guest (Ann Coulter) parks a fake truck-bomb outside the New York Times building! At least, we think it’s fake!
Brian Schlosser said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:32
Here is a list of jokes that I predict will be on the first episode of “Chux ‘n Yux” or whatever the show gets called. I expect a royalty from NewsCorp for each one that is used:
“Nancy Pelosi is a woman! And she’s not that attractive!”
“Boy that Ted Kennedy sure is a drunk!”
“Michael Moore: fatty!”
“John Kerry is a rich man!”
“Did you hear about those clowns in the Democratic Congress? What a bunch of clowns!”
“Howard Dean made a weird noise!”
“Chappaquidic!”
“Clinton! Stain! Dress!”
“Isn’t Janet Reno ugly?”
“Monica Lewinsky: fatty!”
Oh boy! I’m laughing already!
a.j. said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:35
that julia gorin clip…whew…that’s like the most painfully unfunny shit i’ve ever seen.
ifthethunderdontgetya said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:38
Mr. P.A.T., that actually would be funny. Which guarantees FAUX won’t use it…Maybe you should forward it to Jon Stewart.
Notorious P.A.T. said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:41
Here’s the simple reason conservatives aren’t funny; too angry.
Here’s another reason; can’t laugh at themselves. The only person jon stewart is harder on than bush is himself.
Another reason: comedy is only funny if its directed at someone more powerful or as powerful as the comedian. It isn’t funny for rich white men to make fun of poor white people, black people, Muslims, women, people trying to give a hand up to any of the above, etc. Which is what this Fox “comedy” show will be, unless it’s filled with 30 minutes a night of “why do people talk about the weather?” or “why do people give their cats funny names?”
punkinsmom said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:45
a different brad said,
November 22, 2006 at 4:06
Here’s the simple reason conservatives aren’t funny; too angry.
Here’s another reason; can’t laugh at themselves.
The key to all good comedy is always to be able to laugh at oneself. If you can’t see the humor in your own actions, you have no sense of humor at all.
Stine had a good line about Adam and Eve (I think it was him) in the BBC program, but other than that, yeeesh. Garbage. If this is the best the “right” has got, this show is tanking hard and fast.
TC said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:46
Actually, this just points out how long it takes me to get on the clue train sometimes, but…
I’ve kept looking at the title for that post and trying to make sense of if all afternoon. Finally, I get it: It’s supposed to read “Satire hangs a right” but a typo made it “Satire hands a right”
Which is weird and surreal….
But the best part is that a the post talking about the rightwing faux-comedy-news show comes preloaded with mistakes. Now THAT, friends an neighbors, is Ironic Satire, Meta-Style.
Some Guy said,
November 22, 2006 at 6:04
Julia Gorin’s entire thing seemed to be “Look! Republicans in NYC! ZANY!”
Sad.
And, holy shit, someone mentioned that Micheal Richards was a funny conservative?
http://www.ifilm.com/video/2798666
Hey, does that stage look familiar?
lharris said,
November 22, 2006 at 6:13
Mallard Fillmore is a hell of a lot funnier than “This Modern World.� Of course, that isn’t much of a compliment.
Ooh, that reminds me to check out today’s comic! Thanks Limpy!
digamma said,
November 22, 2006 at 6:17
You can’t say David Zucker isn’t funny. Zucker made several of the funniest films of all time.
Gary's Mom said,
November 22, 2006 at 6:17
Gorin’s pitch for something called The American Show has to be seen to be believed. You’ll thank me for this link….
J— said,
November 22, 2006 at 6:29
Jason Apuzzo, writing at Libertas, the Libery Film Festival’s blog:
And Govindini Murty in the comments:
ifthethunderdontgetya said,
November 22, 2006 at 6:30
Speaking of preloaded with mistakes, I saw the AWOL Preview Button a couple threads back.
But on to the current topic, how is FAUX comedy going to compete with teh real thing? Oops, I meant the real thing.
superdude said,
November 22, 2006 at 6:35
If the modern conservative message can suck the funny out of David Zucker, there isn’t much hope for any of the rest of them.
forked tongue said,
November 22, 2006 at 6:42
I watched those clips. The first few minutes of them, anyway. Well, the first few minutes of the first couple…then increasingly brief samples of the next few…
Help. My mouth is frozen. I’m not sure I’m ever gonna smile again, much less laugh…
Huggh huggh hugggh—no, that’s grotesque. HELP ME!!!
Marita said,
November 22, 2006 at 6:46
Gorin’s pitch for something called The American Show has to be seen to be believed. You’ll thank me for this link….
Oh, dear Gawd, Gary’s Mom, that is the most atrocious thing I’ve ever seen. Three grown women stumbling through jokes so lame that they would be rejected from the average junior high bible camp skit. The right-wingers can’t be relying on these women for talent.
Even I would have sympathy for the conservative cause if that were the case.
a different brad said,
November 22, 2006 at 6:58
Sasha Cohen…. conservative. Johnny Carson…. conservative.
…….
I have to admit, Govindini Murty is a genuinely funny conservative.
bulbul said,
November 22, 2006 at 7:02
OK, folks, I’m a liberal-pinko-commie as they come, so take this as I give it to you: Dennis Miller used to be good. Really good. I got all of his rants on various media, I even watched that weird show of his (1-800-LACTOSE) now and then and I gotta tell you, this guy bombed. The way he kicked Newt’s ass, the way he dissed the religious right - priceless.
Then 9/11 came and he became the best example of what happened to every nazi in the world - he shit his pants and the crap got into his brain. And it’s been downhill eversince. The bit above is the best example. What a fucking pity.
a different brad said,
November 22, 2006 at 7:04
Oh, and I watched The America Show, and the only laugh in it was them claiming George Carlin would be a guest.
If conservatives are going to start claiming George Carlin as their own, I may have to go on a murder spree.
On the other hand, I’d love to see that Julia woman try to interview him. Hell, I’d chip in to help pay for it.
bulbul said,
November 22, 2006 at 7:15
OK, that Julia Gorin chick is funny.
Then again, I’ve been up for 36 hours straight and only about a third of my brain is functioning properly…
Wow, I just got to the “Other countries are dirty bit”. Even that still-functioning bit of my brain is refusing to find this funny.
And now she’s calling priceless artifacts stolen from the Baghdad museum “knick-knacks”. I got three words for ya: what a cunt.
Notorious P.A.T. said,
November 22, 2006 at 7:16
Sasha Cohen…. conservative
He must be kicking himself that his “Borat” movie made Bible-thumping rebel flag-waving rodeo-lovin’ red-staters look like such asshats. I’m sure that isn’t what that conservative guy intended at all.
craigie said,
November 22, 2006 at 7:21
The only funny conservative is a naked one.
Herr Doktor Bimler said,
November 22, 2006 at 7:22
And as conservative humorists, they will of course be standing on the shoulders of giants.
How did that line go? “If I have seen farther than other men, it is because I am surrounded by midgets.”
Righteous Bubba said,
November 22, 2006 at 8:04
The only funny conservative is a naked one.
Kingsley Amis, not naked. Funniest writer there ever was. Also, Tory bastard who thoroughly alienated Julian Barnes by suggesting that the problems of apartheid in South Africa could be solved by shooting black people. “As many blacks as possible.”
Some Guy said,
November 22, 2006 at 8:05
It’s not so much that conservatives lack the capacity to be humorous in any form, it’s that they lack to capacity to be humorous about politics.
David Zucker has produced many funny projects, Airplane!, Police Squad, BASEketball. Borat is funny. But none of those are very political. Borat uses an exagerated characature, but the humor of it is not in the politics, but his complete social inneptitude and awkwardness.
If Faux is going to do a “conservative Daily Show”, it’s going to have to be based on politics, and not 2001 Space Odysse spoofs.
…Dammit. I got distracted and lost my train of thought.
Ummm… Bush is a twinkie.
bronco214 said,
November 22, 2006 at 8:09
Got almost 4 minutes into Julie Goyem’s insane “hey I’ve got a fat ass and I’m just so fucking smart because I’m a rethug Jewess” rant and had to stop before I puked. This is what passes as rethug humor?
Then there was Brad Stine who first tells us not to whine about the weather and then does just that. Fucking imbecile.
Yes, Zucker made funny movies and Millers’ acid tongue and vocabulary were funny in the past but, this is now.
They’re making 2 half-hours of this shit? Should be enough for eternity.
ryk said,
November 22, 2006 at 8:09
digamma: “Zucker made several of the funniest films of all time.”
Didn’t he really make one of the funniest films several times? And I’m with bulbul, Dennis Miller used to be freaking hilarious. 9/11 took away his mojo or something.
bronco214 said,
November 22, 2006 at 8:24
Gary’s Mom,
We’ll thank you for the link????
We’ll thank you not to do that to us ever again. I’ll be off my feed for at least 2 days. Your link made a life-long pacifist start pining for the start of a potential class war.
a different brad said,
November 22, 2006 at 9:05
I don’t think Dennis Miller is hilarious as much as you don’t realize what a dick he is until he’s not on your side. Go rewatch some of his old stuff, it’s not funny now, at least not to me. He’s made himself retroactively unfunny, which is quite an accomplishment.
And yes, I loved him back in the day, too. I blame the foolishness of youth.
Gavin M. said,
November 22, 2006 at 9:15
Hey Gavin, any chance this was *the* Marie Jon’ showing up at the end of the Kissinger thread?
Yeah, it seems to be her.
token liberal said,
November 22, 2006 at 9:24
I work with about a half-dozen die-hard republicans. On occasion you can find them gathered at a computer, giggling at the latest in conservative humor making its way through the internets.
Out of curiosity, I usually ask them if I can check out the stuff that is making them laugh. I watch the same thing they watch, but I find zero humor in it.
It’s all junk - not unlike the YouTube links above. Some seriously unfunny shit. But… it cracks them up. I mean, the Julia Goren bit was pathetic, yet it got positive comments. These people laugh at that crap.
I have no doubt that the Fox show will suck, but there is an audience for that type of crap. And that audience is fiercely loyal. They gravitate to Fox News Channel because it feeds them what they want. Those 31% of Americans that still have a positive opinion of Bush are out there and searching for entertainment.
The show will probably be popular with the lizard brains, and there will be probably be more shows produced after the first few pilots. Unless the shows really suck, I don’t see this as a one-time thing.
And, what the hell happened to Dennis Miller?!? Man, he used to be funny as hell. How the mighty have fallen. That joke about the National Anthem being sung in Spanish, where he said, “I’ve kinda been doing it myself.. I always start the song off ‘Oh Jose Can You See’…” (groan)
Sad.. just sad…
ifthethunderdontgetya said,
November 22, 2006 at 9:28
Hey Gavin, any chance this was *the* Preview Button showing up at the end of the We’ll Take It Up With The Public Sex Committee thread?
Righteous Bubba said,
November 22, 2006 at 10:01
And, what the hell happened to Dennis Miller?!?
Y’know, long before he supposedly lost his mind, he did a brief thing where he said something like “Y’think going like this makes the hot water come any faster?” and waggled his finger like it was under the tap.
I have been furious about it for at least a decade.
Gavin M. said,
November 22, 2006 at 10:07
Hey Gavin, any chance this was *the* Preview Button showing up at the end of the We’ll Take It Up With The Public Sex Committee thread?
[sobbing]
I’m working on it!
celticgirl said,
November 22, 2006 at 10:27
I give you the short reason why conservatives are unfunny - it’s the same reason they invited Colbert to speak at the Washington Press Club Dinner:
They.Are.Clueless.
Vic said,
November 22, 2006 at 10:45
Dennis Miller is still a conservative? After the election??
Does he only switch when the executive branch does, or does he have to wait until the actual first second of the first day of the new Congress?
darrelplant said,
November 22, 2006 at 10:59
DENNIS MILLER WAS NEVER FUNNY.
There, it’s out of my system. Again.
Maybe it’s an age thing. When Miller came on the scene in the mid-’80s, I was already in my 20s. Maybe he seemed smart and witty if you were a stoned 14-year-old or something, watching SNL on a Saturday night, but his schtick was always smarmy, and the references that were supposedly what set him apart from other comedians were always superficial. It was comedic name-dropping, intended to give people who recognized the refs the feeling that they were members of the in crowd. Norm Macdonald and Kevin Nealon were far better anchors of Weekend Update. And they didn’t have that little self-satisfied head waggle that Miller should have had beaten out of him by Lorne Michaels.
ichomobothogogus said,
November 22, 2006 at 14:04
It’s not so much conservatives or right-wingers that aren’t funny, but republicans, and hyperpartisans in general. any comedian who starts off with a blanket refusal to write about certain things or make fun of certain people or situations is cutting off their creativity at the roots. Comedy thrives on spontenaity, free-thinking and subversion. if you start second-guessing yourself and worrying about saying something off-message you fuck it up. If a Democrat Comedian was paid by Rahm Emanuel to recite his bullshit talking points, that wouldn’t be funny either, the difference is the Dems aren’t quite stupid enough to try. There have been plenty of funny right-wing comedians (well, a few anyway) but none of them would make good republican comedians. Sam Kinison was hardly on-message with Reagan.
The fact that Fox News is making a “Daily Show for Conservatives” encapsulates perfectly the parasitic, reactive, largely uncomprehending attitude that the extreme right in America has towards popular culture. They don’t seem to have any understanding of “Art” beyond that of the commissar (is it “good art” ie politically useful and doctrinaire?) Doctrinal purity becomes far more important than the idea of Art itself. It’s the same attitude that allows the writers of National Review to endlessly dissect the hidden politics behind Mulan II and Pop Idol without bothering to ask whether any of these shows are worth watching in the first place. Enjoyment and Fun don’t enter into it. That’s why they don’t “get” popular culture, or comedy, and have to make erzatz copies of it instead of making anything original themselves. That’s what makes the whole Fox thing so sad. They’re behaving like a cargo cult. Most of the people involved have no obvious sense of humour but seem to believe if they faithfully recreate enough of the props around the funny somehow, magically the funny will appear of it’s own accord. I’m sure the Fox writers will pore over every episode of TDS they can get their hands on, recreating as much as possible every filming technique, every hand gesture, every facial expression without really understanding what they mean. They’ll write material that has the cadence and timing of jokes, but no actual humour, and round it off with stale pop culture cliches 30 years out of date and amateurish immature insults then wonder why no-one is laughing.
Of course the tragedy is people will watch it. they might not laugh or enjoy it, but the bar has been set so low for right-wing culture the fact that it exists will be enough to satisfy. listening to some of that BBC show reminded me of David Cross’ quote about people after 9/11 treating Bush like he’d just come third in the special olympics. That’s exactly how those comedians were being received. not much laughter but lots of applause, as if the very effort of getting up on stage demanded a pat on the head and a three-year contract with CBS. who cares if it’s shit, weren’t they so brave?
ichomobothogogus said,
November 22, 2006 at 14:08
apologies for the completely random capitalization. i dunno what’s going on with that
spencer said,
November 22, 2006 at 15:19
If you watch the show, you know that Stewart takes plenty of potshots at the liberals out there - he’s been ruthless to John Kerry a number of times, and he’s turned a particularly poison pen on Ralph Nader more than once.
I hate to tell you this, but Nader ain’t liberal. Not anymore.
As for Giodivini Murty, what this person seems not to understand is that “person who was registerd Republican when he was alive, but has been dead sine 1977″ most emphatically does NOT mean “conservative, in the modern sense of the word.”
But nice try anyway.
spencer said,
November 22, 2006 at 15:23
Maybe he seemed smart and witty if you were a stoned 14-year-old or something, watching SNL on a Saturday night
Damn, I’m busted.
Karl the GM said,
November 22, 2006 at 15:34
Morrie Ryskind who wrote the Marx Brothers comedies (Ryskind was a conservative
Er, where does S. J. Perelman fit in there, then?
Johnny Carson? Conservative?
Kingsley Amis, I’ll grant, although he wrote his funniest book, his first, before he became such a monumental asshole.
You might want to grant Philip Larkin as funny, too, but of course, like Amis, he was a terrible human being and a racist to boot.
gjdodger said,
November 22, 2006 at 17:08
Nobody’s mentioned Leno yet. He’s funny, and conservative. But he doesn’t play to a right-wing audience, and his routine is pretty broad-based. You can be conservative and funny if you stick with current events; as someone above said, I think we expect a whole bunch of Bill Clinton stained dress jokes.
g said,
November 22, 2006 at 17:26
“It has the co-creator of 24 working on it? Does that mean we can look forward to one torture scene per episode?”
Each episode is guaranteed to be a solid hour of torture!
Robert M. said,
November 22, 2006 at 17:34
I’m de-lurking for just a moment, because I can’t believe no one has mentioned this: according to IMDB, Susan Yeagley is married to Kevin Nealon.
This seems like a betrayal by proxy, what with an SNL alum (and Weekend Update host, no less!) linked in any way to what is destined to be a painfully unfunny show…
ick said,
November 22, 2006 at 17:41
No way it’ll be this funny.
Remember, conservative doesn’t always mean neocon. So I would look deeper into the ideology of the WW2 vets/USO group as compared to the Dennis Miller/”save me from brown-skinned people or Allah-worshippers or brown-skinned Allah worshippers” crown
dgbellak said,
November 22, 2006 at 18:16
I’m not convinced David Zucker is funny. Airplane! and Top Secret! may very well be two of the funniest flicks ever made, but he made ‘em with his brother and Jim Abrahams. On his own, he’s made Scary Movie 3 & 4 and Rat Race. My 4-year-old daughter raised one eyebrow at Rat Race.
dwbh said,
November 22, 2006 at 18:20
For a while now, I’ve been wondering if Michael Moore really is fat. Hopefully, this new show will tell us.
annieangel said,
November 22, 2006 at 19:05
Jon Stewart hasn’t been funny since his first talk show. His claymation “Talk Show Jon” was hilarious. I used to think he was one of the most adorable people in the world, now he just bores me to death.
salty said,
November 22, 2006 at 19:07
Julia Gorin really likes her jokes. I’d hate to hear what her awkward laugh was like in an unfriendly crowd.
Charlotte Smith said,
November 22, 2006 at 19:32
I always thought that Saturday night timeslots were where the networks sent shows to die. And this less-than-promising venture is starting out on a Saturday night. Interesting.
Melba said,
November 22, 2006 at 19:38
They should hire Michael Richards. He’d fit right in.
ichomobothogogus said,
November 22, 2006 at 20:01
i think i’ve worked out why so many right-wingers have problems with the concept of humour. they’ve been using the “It’s only a joke…” dodge for so long to excuse all the completely unfunny racist, sexist, hate-filled borderline-genocidal shit they spew that they’ve forgotten the word “Joke” has another meaning besides “covering your ass”
Karl Rove II said,
November 22, 2006 at 20:09
annieangel said,
November 22, 2006 at 5:22
I’m a conservative. I’m funny.
——————————————
Yes dear, we know…the problem is it’s tweaker funny…you know, as in meth head.
ACG said,
November 22, 2006 at 20:37
I’m a conservative. I’m funny.
Yeah, but looks aren’t everything.
TC said,
November 22, 2006 at 21:07
Another point of misunderstanding: It’s other people, not you, who decide whether you’re funny.
When you decide you’re funny for yourself, it’s wanking
If other people won’t pay to hear you make jokes, you’re not funny. get over yourself.
FlipYrWhig said,
November 22, 2006 at 21:56
Jay Leno is very middle-of-the-road and risk-averse, but that’s not the same thing as conservative in the political sense. Even if you want to credit (or blame) him for Schwarzenegger, a lot of Hollywood types got on that bandwagon, and more just keeping jumping on it. Plus, his wife was one of the leading voices rallying people against the Taliban’s oppression of women in the 1990s.
r€nato said,
November 22, 2006 at 22:59
how could you have forgotten Colin Quinn, former host of the former “Tough Crowd”, which formerly followed “The Daily Show”?
Oh, that’s right. Everyone else forgot about Colin Quinn too.
Maybe they could hire Bruce Tinsley to animate some of his knee-slappingly hilarious “Mallard Fillmore” panels.
mparker said,
November 22, 2006 at 23:04
Well at least they got the right director.
Republicans trying to be funny for a half hour is going to feel like it’s taking 24.
Diane said,
November 22, 2006 at 23:21
i thought fox fair and balanced was their parody.
It can’t be a real news network, can it?
Don’t you have to tell the truth for it to be a newtwork, right, right???
tikistitch said,
November 22, 2006 at 23:39
The few times I’ve seen people “laugh” at conservative’s idea of humor have been during the godawful points in my life where I’ve found myself working for a Republican boss.
Then the pattern is inevitably, Conservative boss: “Those Mexicans! They live in the GHET-TO!” White dudes who work for boss: “Heh. Heh. Heh.” Conservative boss: “Gays are teh funny.” White dudes who work for boss: “Heh. Heh. Heh.” Conservative boss: “Do you see that woman? She needs a REAL MAN.” White dudes who work for boss: “Heh. Heh. Heh.” Etc.
I’ve always reacted by applying for another, less freakish job. Why people would voluntarily put themselves through something like this is beyond me….
Dicksucker said,
November 22, 2006 at 23:41
Yeah, fuck dennis miller. He’s a fag!
metroplexual said,
November 22, 2006 at 23:43
Diane,
Right you are, to look at Fox as anything but entertainment is to not see reality.
MParker,
To see where republicans (wingnuts not the level headed ones) have no sense of irony is to see the Colbert better know a district. It took a memo from the higher ups in the party to tell the repubs not to go on the show anymore. They did not know it was a spoof because they have no sense of irony. Especiall y funny is the interview with this coongressman.
How many of the 10 commandments do you know?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jL3-JLHrRo
Barrasso said,
November 22, 2006 at 23:51
Being a lefty comedy nerd, I have to jump in and say there are conservative comedians who are actually funny, however they tend to be libertarian, not at all republican. Like Doug Stanhope, Drew Carey, or even in small short bursts of time Joe Rogan and Denis Leary.
James said,
November 22, 2006 at 23:57
That guy’s shirt in the first photo is VERY left-wing.
Dreamboat Skanky said,
November 23, 2006 at 0:02
Unwatchable.
PoliShifter said,
November 23, 2006 at 0:06
Not quite as funny, but close
Immigration Expalined - Wingnut Style..
budpaul said,
November 23, 2006 at 0:06
I kept waiting to laugh with that Julia Gorin woman. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting but nothing would come. She’s horrendous. I respect her for getting up on the stage, which has got to be a harrowing experience, but she’s not funny.
I found her “joke” about the Cuban Missile Crisis to be truly uninformed. She claimed that if Bush were running the country, the crisis would have been over in 13 minutes and not 13 days. Uh, yeah, you’re correct, and that’s not a good thing. Unless you’re not in favor of ever being born or something (which is actually something that I might support).
America’s Least Wanted
Doug Alston said,
November 23, 2006 at 0:09
Today I beat up a queer on the way to work! It was so funny! Don’t you get it? Ha Ha!
Oops, I think I told that wrong. I guess you had to be there.
OxyCon said,
November 23, 2006 at 0:26
It doesn’t matter if the show sucks, Fox News will run it anyway. Murdoch doesn’t mind losing millions of dollars, as long as his far right wing agenda is served. Fox News lost millions for 5 years before it turned a profit. The New York Post is a chronic money loser.
Case said,
November 23, 2006 at 0:26
Jose can you see! hahahaha…haha..ha….ha…ummm yeah.
Conservative humor is hilarious when you’re stoned:)
Forge said,
November 23, 2006 at 0:35
Jesus God, I have never seen so much stuff in one place that was intended to be funny and totally, utterly ISN’T. Wow. Just… Wow.
k said,
November 23, 2006 at 0:37
“You know what’s really frightening?” O’Reilly asked Stewart. ” You actually have an influence on this presidential election. That is scary, but it’s true.”
Comedy Central used its viewers’ test scores Tuesday to strike back at Fox News Channel and O’Reilly’s viewers.
It also trotted out stats from Nielsen Media Research to show that Stewart’s viewers are not only smart, but more educated than O’Reilly’s.
“Daily Show” viewers are 78 percent more likely than the average adult to have four or more years of college education, while O’Reilly’s audience is only 24 percent more likely to have that much schooling.
Plus, the network noted, “Daily Show” viewers are 26 percent more likely to have a household income more than $100,000, while O’Reilly’s audience is only 11 percent more likely to make that much money.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/28/comedy.politics/
Galloping Goose said,
November 23, 2006 at 0:40
Somehow this reminds me of Monty Python’s sketch about the joke that was so funny everyone who heard it died laughing. In the sketch the British use the joke against the Germans to win WW2 — before the Geneva Conventions banned joke warfare.
But the part it reminds me of is the German’s weak attempt to create their own deadly joke:
Der ver zwei peanuts valking down der strasse … und one vas a-SALTED peanut.
Somehow I think the Fox Daily Show will be just as funny as the German joke.
UberIcarus said,
November 23, 2006 at 0:53
I watched all of those videos and wish I could bleach my eyes. The only one who told an even remotely funny joke was Brad Stine and that’s only because he’s ripping off Bill Hicks and Dennis Leary, and he wasn’t talking about politics. People that laughed at those jokes were either a.) Stupid. b.) Drunk. c.) Stupid. d.) giving pity laughter and e.) Stupid. That bloody awful skit “The America Show” had nothing but *good* comments on it, saying “OMG YER SO FuNNY HVE SEX W/ ME PLZ!!!!111eleventy!” Which tells me something: Far right wing people have serious trouble getting laid, which gives them a sort of comedic “Beer googles” effect, I call them “loser goggles”. This is beyond politics though, no matter your political persuasion if you were in the audience you should have been saying “YOU SUCK! Get off Stage!” And there are liberal comics that are bloody awful as well and no one ever comments on it.
Dennis Miller was never funny by the way, Also Jerry Seinfeild’s standup? Awful, Margaret Cho? Fucking horrendous.
Batocchio said,
November 23, 2006 at 0:53
The humanity! The humanity!
I remember seeing that Dennis Miller clip before. Painful.
Because comedians and artists tend to be anti-establishment and critique the status quo, it makes the conservatives that venture into the field very odd birds. Comedy is generally about anarchy, the upsetting of the established order, and the underdog winning. Conservative “comedians” tend to put down the powerless and defend the way things are. They tend to be apologists versus critics.
I’ve been running a series called Rightwing Cartoon Watch recently. As a whole, conservative editorial cartoonists are funnier than conservative comedians, but it’s been interesting to see which conservative cartoonists will occasionally actually criticize the GOP, while others are in constant attack mode and literally illustrate GOP talking points.
Gus said,
November 23, 2006 at 1:00
darrelplant you beat me to it. Dennis Miller was an unfunny pedantic asshole before 9/11. Never found him anything but self-satisfied and annoying.
Chris said,
November 23, 2006 at 1:33
I think Republicans exposing their “humor” will not be good for the Republican party. At least it will be hilarious to see Colbert and Stewart have a field day.
Geoff said,
November 23, 2006 at 2:07
Although those were some seriously unfunny clips, that is not to say a conservative can’t be funny. It’s rare but it happens. They just can’t talk about conservative topics. Because what isn’t funny is right wing propoganda. And given that it’s Fox + 24 again, that’ll be coming out in spades. Calling Pelosi a witch every night with a cartoon graphic of her on a broom isn’t going to hold people’s attention because it isn’t funny. I don’t expect this show to last for long.
And again, wow. Just wow. Those were some seriously unfunny clips. They didn’t even make it to the level of so bad it’s funny. It was just kinda sad and tragic.
Maggie said,
November 23, 2006 at 2:08
I tried to watch the clips, but couldn’t make it all the way through any of them. I’ll give Brad Stine credit for at least having some energy, but that’s it.
Dennis Miller and Julia Gorin’s pacing was so sloooooooooooooooow I almost fell asleep.
Even though their premise, that TDS, Colber and Weekend Update are only picking on the righwingers, is totally unjustified and proves they don’t get “it,” Weekend Update has been part of SNL since it started in 1975 and TDS has been on, what, ten years now? Just goes to show that they are not only lacking depth perception, but they are too slow to catch on to catch up.
Most of these decision makers, check wirters, are baby boomers; do any of these people remember Laugh-In, or That Was the Week That Was, or The Smothers Brothers Show? Do they actually think this is a new phenomenon?
It’s not about making fun of a party or the media, in general. It’s about revealing that the emporer and his attendants at court have no clothes. It’s about excersising the right to descent, even humorously. It’s about shedding light on the absurdities of those, no matter who is sitting on the throne, who are supposed to be leading us to a brighter future, but are actually clueless. It’s about telling the truth.
When was the last time you heard (or read) a rightwinger say anything that wasn’t in the “talking points” memo, of the day? They’ve lost the power to speak spontaneously. You can’t speak the truth, if you’re only repeating someone else’s lies.
IBuB said,
November 23, 2006 at 2:09
The Right had their own new and humor show on for many years. It was called “Hee Haw”.
RedRocker said,
November 23, 2006 at 2:28
Conservatives are boring.
Radically Moderate said,
November 23, 2006 at 2:31
After viewing those hilarious clips, I believe Andy Rooney is primed for a new career on the Faux Follies.
mmm...lemonheads said,
November 23, 2006 at 2:40
I agree with bulbul above; Dennis Miller was brilliant before 9/11, the obscure pop culture and literary references were priceless, and balanced. But post 9/11 he saw the paycheck and went in that direction. He’s now a shill for the the right ’cause it pays, but teh funny is gone. He hasn’t had any relevance in five years, which is a shame; a sharp a wit as he has he could have been another spark in this debate. But a check’s a check, I suppose.
Thursday said,
November 23, 2006 at 2:47
Where the hell is P.J. O’Rourke when he is so desperately needed? That there is an actually funny man who happens to be conservative. Did I agree with him? Not often. Did I laugh with him rather than at him? Often.
Gotta say, Stine’s a pussy. I’ve vacationed in Winnipeg in February - the city’s a blast, and it’s a dry cold. Beats the west coast at 2 degrees any day.
Douglas Watts said,
November 23, 2006 at 2:49
First of all, Conservatives hate all art and would like to see it all banned. So comedy, being an art form, is anathema to their entire world view.
Conservatives believe everyone should be forced by law or threat or coercion to think the same thing. No diversity of thought or expression allowed. Christ, these people are FRIGHTENED of someone speaking in a foreign language. Comedy thrives on surprises, twists and odd inventions of spontaneous expression. Comedy is the epitome of free thinking, not controlled, goose stepping thinking. This is anathema to conservatives.
Conservative ideology today is based on fear, greed and hate — especially hate for the less fortunate, the sick, the old, the poor. Making fun of the less fortunate is not funny. It’s just hateful. That’s why it’s not funny, and comes across as just mean and cruel.
Conservatives know they can get laughs from bigots by telling bigot jokes. But they also know they’ll get thrown out of every club they go to. So they have to go to Klan meetings and do it in secret.
If a conservative comic (oxymoron alert) plays to a redneck type audience it is only a matter of time before he tells a racist joke — because that’s what the audience really wants to hear. Let the nigger jokes fly. Nigger jokes are the core of conservative humor. Or cripple jokes. And these don’t fly no more in American society. So conservative comics have become, as Frank Zappa said, “stressed cheese.”
Left unable to tell nigger and cripple jokes and spic jokes, Conservatives have to go with the very light, barely funny “soft” political material because what their conservative audience really wants is the REAL stuff that can only be told behind closed doors, like in Klan meetings or redneck hunting camps. So they are prevented from using their “best” material. That will mess up any comic.
As I recall, the Soviets tried to put all art through an ideological filter and what they got was horribly crappy, non-creative, bad, forgettable art. Essentially, art at gun point. Not funny. Not good. Not interesting. Not lasting.
I hope Fox does these shows because it will give real comedians a mountain of ripe fodder for a whole year.
gavagai said,
November 23, 2006 at 2:56
Audiences are an important point in all this: When they clap they are making a gesture of political agreement. They laugh when things are funny. My guess is that a “conservative Daily Show” will get lots of claps, but not many laughs.
The Daily Show is a type of smart-funny: its insightful in pointing out the absurdities that go along with televised media and politics, and all the corruption, hypocritical and contradictory remarks that go along with the partisan politics and its associated hackery (This Week in God is funny in just the same way but with regard to the way religion is partisanship in the extreme). TDS’s audience want’s “funny” with an edge - for an audience who have realized how televised media has become simply another form of infotainment and have abdicated their responsibility as the 4th estate. “Conservative” humor, from what little I’ve seen, seems to mostly revolve around pointing out the differences of others (those rappers wear their pants so low that …) - not funny to the demo of TDS watchers.
The Colbert Report simply parodies the political pundit shows such as O’Reilly. The Colbert character, as admitted by Colbert himself, is profoundly unreflective such that he can be absurd, self-contradictory, and amazingly self-obsessed without ever knowing it. But it’s more of a jab at the state of politics in general: take the Better Know a District segment where his congressman-candidate guest was given the opportunity to “take a smear card,” which read “my opponent smokes marajuana.” Colbert than says, “there ya go and I think the press should pick up on that since, you know, its information and it’s out there.” It’s not funny because it’s liberal, it’s funny the Colbert character is at one and the same time pointing out the absurdly low level of political smear campaigns and at the same time doing it - again, an act of a profoundly unreflective political pundit.
TDS and TCR are just not partisan in the way Fox thinks they are. And i think there is something true about conservatives and religious zealots being amazingly unfunny… it’s just not in them. The world as a moral battle ground, or a world where everyone is out to tax, carjack, or sodomize them simply isn’t a funny world.
Douglas Watts said,
November 23, 2006 at 3:31
Good points. But remember that Conservatives are paranoid too. They really do think everyone is out to get them. Scientists, other countries, people speaking other languages, Hollywood, whatever. So adding comedians to the list is natural for a paranoid, self-absorbed, hate-filled, evolution non-believing loser moron.
andy phx said,
November 23, 2006 at 3:34
Julia Gorin is just NOT funny. this is just sycophantic rant
andy phx said,
November 23, 2006 at 3:47
FOX news is just scape-goating the daily show to justify their having a ‘comedy’ show in order the skewer democrats. the daily show unmercifully went after clinton and the dems when they were in charge. since bush and the gop controlled all branches of govt for the last 6 years they’ve been going after them. how short do they think our memories are? just two short years ago there was a guy named john kerry that was running for prez and the daily show made fun of him the entire time he ran. in fact theyve already started going after nancy pelosi and gang. i guess they think were all just a bunch of stoned out pot heads that cant remember anything. well this pot head does!! .
RobW said,
November 23, 2006 at 4:38
Anyone else recall TDS’s “interview” with Howard Dean in ‘04? It was pre-taped, and post-production voice-overs were added to represent Dean’s inner thoughts.
Dew said,
November 23, 2006 at 5:49
This is probably the first and last time I will say this.
“I feel sorry for the republicons.”
Jeanne said,
November 23, 2006 at 6:56
That was REALLY bad. Lame. Pitiful.
Dreamweasel said,
November 23, 2006 at 7:06
“[...] and I hear rumors that Sacha Baron Cohen is a conservative as well”
Sacha Baron Cohen is a Conservative Jew, where “Conservative” describes the level of his devoutness (less strict than Orthodox, more strict than Reform) and has nothing to do with his political affiliation.
Five bucks says that the aforementioned “rumor” is a result of this misunderstanding.
Dustin said,
November 23, 2006 at 7:09
This just shows the intent that conservatives will carry thier “Liberal Media” boogeyman too. Fox News, which is sooo fair and balanced, now wants to do a comedy segment. Now why would a respectable news channel want to take a big leap into entertainment media? They say it’s real news, not propaganda, they report and we decide.
And so the comedians are making fun of the current administration… because apparently the comedians never made fun of the Clinton administration. No jokes about Bill or Hillary Clinton… no jokes about Al Gore… no jokes about… etc etc. Comedians tend to make jokes based on current events, and that includes whoever is the current president.
Not to mention, how can the Right claim that there is a bias because all they see is conservatives being made fun of. Gee, if they wanted to see liberals made fun of they could very easily just turn on talk radio, or open up the New York Post, or the Washington Times, or they could sruf on over to newsmax or worldnetdaily, or watch Fox News (the station that wants a convservative comedy).
The most interesting thing is now there is always a charge that liberals just don’t get comedy, they just have such a problem with making jokes. Well, now they are pissed cause Jon Stewart made a joke… and don’t mention Al Franken! Sort of like when Ann Coulter went all retareded cause Saturday Night Live dare have a man play Linda Tripp (in one sketch) but no comment on have a man playing Janet Reno in several sketches. (And Janet Reno didn’t have a problem with it… she did a guest cameo in one of the skits… and then turned it into a campagin fundraiser.) Reno could take a joke. Rush Limbaugh can make a joke about a 12 year old Chelsea Clinton being the White House dog, but make one fat joke about Rush and liberals are worse then Charles Manson.
I guess since the Dems took the house and the senate the conservatives are bring up their old ploys to get sympathy and attention. They did “liberal media” so soon we can expect “activist judges”, complaining about universities and we are approaching the time of “war on Christmas”.
Daniel Thomas MacInnes said,
November 23, 2006 at 7:22
Don’t forget that American Conservatism is essentially an authoritarian movement. It’s composed of those who have decided to let some strongman do the thinking for them. They will laugh at the jokes and do whatever the APPLAUSE sign tells them. They will repeat the same tired talking points. They will consciously ignore any semblance of reality that contradicts the word of Big Brother. Oh, and they’ll try to tell a lot of bad jokes and fail miserably.
I don’t feel sorry for the lemmings one bit. I know I should, and I continue to hold out hope that they can somehow wake up and rejoin humanity, but the punk side of me would much rather shout obscenities.
You’d think they’d at least get someone who’s funny, instead of the likes of Limbaugh or Weiner or poor Dennis Miller, who’s fallen so far that it’s impossible to remember when he was funny. It’s just sad, like watching a bully punch himself out.
bubba said,
November 23, 2006 at 7:35
Like all cults, they look for what is effective. They see comedy doing well skewering republicans (who are in power) and want in on the technique. Its like when creationists talk about dinosaurs alot (and make a dino-theme park) to lure kids into their crazy world. They know kids love dinosaurs, so they use it as a lure. Then they get them in and tell them that scientists are crazy.
Or I guess its like christian rock music or the US army handing out free video games based on being in the army.
I just dont get how FOX news can pretend to be unbiased after this.
Bob Birdsong said,
November 23, 2006 at 7:45
Actually, I think P.J. O’Rourke is pretty amusing at times, though only in print. He’s still a Nazi, though.
Jeff said,
November 23, 2006 at 7:46
“Why do people think they are smarter than GWB?” Is that chick Gorin for real? Comparing the missile crises to Monica Lewenski? WTF? “If Bush was president during the missile crises it would have been called 13 minutes.” Yeah, 13 minutes of life left on earth before the nuclear winter.
Yeah, bring on them conservative comics. They are a riot.
Dana said,
November 23, 2006 at 7:53
These people were not funny at all. They seemed to be trying too hard at their acts as if they had to force laughs from the audience. Another thing is, just like their ‘president’ they have to appear before a ‘pre-screened’ crowd. Everyone in the audiance had to be a winger just like them. Wonder if they made the audiance members sign ‘loyaty oaths’ just to get through the door?!
Jonathan said,
November 23, 2006 at 7:55
But The Colbert report is already standing on the shoulders of The Factor with Bill O’reilly. So is they stand on the shoulders of daily show/Colbert then it will really be their own shoulders and will end up mocking themselves. A flop to be
kuvasz said,
November 23, 2006 at 8:00
in a jokacracy all humor is not created equal.
conservative humor is about as oxymoronic as compassionate cannabalism.
Jim W. said,
November 23, 2006 at 8:53
For whatever reasons. the Right Wing isn’t funny and the Left Wing doesn’t do hysterical anger well. The Right Wing loves the hysterics of Rush, Michael Savage and Glen Beck, but us Lefties have had trouble with the shrillness of Air America. We shouldn’t try dumbing down, they shouldn’t try satire.
Miss Emily said,
November 23, 2006 at 9:15
Johnny Carson…conservative.
Why? Because he hated paying alimony? Well, bada-boom-fuckin-tish! Hey! Joan Embry and I will be hosting the next PETA meeting…
As god is my witness, I recently got an email from a conservative aquaintance. Little piece of doggerel that ended: “I’ll hug my elephant; you kiss your ass.”
I guess that’s another bridge burnt behind me but, really! You’re not only not funny…you’re stealing Democratic jokes and retelling them in a way that makes no sense. Have fun with that!
Fred Fnord said,
November 23, 2006 at 11:20
Personally, I don’t think it’s difficult to be truly funny and conservative. But I do think it’s pretty damn hard to be truly funny if you’re an authoritarian sycophantic suck-up, which is what many of the right wing talking heads and ‘comedians’ are. The best comics are adept at pointing out the ridiculous in human behavior, which is a very difficult thing to do for an authoritarian follower. Anything the opposition does is ridiculous, anything your leaders do is not, yet somehow when you point out that someone made a movie that was critical of the president, nobody laughs, even when you say it half a dozen times and pause for effect.
The real reason that today’s conservative movement isn’t funny is the same reason that it’s so dangerous: today’s authoritarian conservatives lack empathy. They are not capable of imagining themselves in someone else’s shoes, and thus their humor is meanspirited (because they don’t imagine how it would feel to have it pointed at them) and uninspired (because they can’t identify enough with other people to know what they’d find funny). Also, self-deprication seems to be a very rare trait among doctrinaire neocons… not surprising if you think about it, but it has some interesting results. When a comic throws in some self-depricating humor every once in a while, the exact same joke that would sound vicious coming out of the mouth of someone else sounds reasonable from him.
If they can find a real, non-authoritarian conservative or two to be talent on the show, they might come up with something funny. On the other hand, they’ll come up with something Fox will hate, because real conservatives like Bush about as much as they like Al Gore. Maybe less.
-fred
Tatarize said,
November 23, 2006 at 12:32
*sigh*
Sorry folks, only the truth is funny. Lies are just stupid lies anyway you slice it.
Jericho said,
November 23, 2006 at 13:23
Indeed, lies can’t be funny. Dennis Miller makes me sick in this segment. But I have to admit, any ignorant right-wing republican prick with a smile on his face makes me sick. And I’m white as Bush! Imagine how it must feel for all the other races of the world.
shannon said,
November 23, 2006 at 13:30
ha! scott from baltimore…..”good morning viet nam!” that’s exactly what i thought!!! great minds think alike!
cowboyjimmi said,
November 23, 2006 at 13:43
Daayyyum, what a sad, scary bunch of bitter blinded people. They have absolutely no sense of humor, theyre just enjoying being able to share their ignorance.
Radically Moderate said,
November 23, 2006 at 14:56
Let us give the republican voters a little credit for their comic genius. They have brought us 6 years of classic jaw-dropping presidential bloopers.Even when the shrub pronounces a word correctly he still makes me chuckle. Letterman does a great skit with “Great moments in Presidential Speeches”, he only has to present the information and the audience ROARS with delight. As far as the comedy of Bob Hope….he made a career of making fun of his own lame material. Many nights I watch Leno and wonder if he inherited some of Hopes’ writers.
Dr. Dementor « The Opinion Mill said,
November 23, 2006 at 15:51
[...] Over at Sadly, No! they have collected video clips of some of the finest comedic minds Wingnuttia has to offer, just to show the kind of talent pool available to the impending Fox show, and the results are pretty gruesome. The Dennis Miller segment, for example, is a horror of almost Lovecratian purity. Did anybody here read (or watch) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? The one with the dementors, the evil beings that suck away all the happy memories of anyone they stand near? Dennis Miller has become a comedy dementor — watch him preen and smirk for the camera while his jokes sink without a ripple, and he will suck away all your memories of ever having laughed. I’m not kidding, folks. When Dennis Miller reaches for the big yucks, the very concept of comedy is thrown into doubt. Just watching the YouTube clip sent me staggering across the room, blindly groping for a copy of This Is Spinal Tap or Monty Python and the Holy Grail to jam into the DVD player. [...]
Vincent Vega said,
November 23, 2006 at 16:20
This will be off the air in two weeks.
Lies aren’t funny, hence, Republicans aren’t funny.
Ryan S~ said,
November 23, 2006 at 18:30
Here’s the thing: I want the conservatives to have a good comedian. I want them to be able to skewer us lefties. I want them to make us question ourselves and our actions through humour. Why? Because when we are questioned it causes us to reflect upon our actions and decide if we can continue on that same path. When we are self-reflective it usually leads to a change in path that was needed or a stronger sense of self. Anything that makes us stronger is good news in my book. So, bring on the funny, neo-cons, just make sure it’s funny.
Rod W. said,
November 23, 2006 at 18:30