Placebo Loft For Rent
First Tom Snyder. Then Merv Griffin. Now "The 1/2 Hour News Hour".
When will the dying end?!
Truth be told, I had no idea that Fox's flat attempt to mimic "The Daily Show" was still on the air. If you don't watch a certain show, does it exist? Not for me, and now not for the Old Glory humpin' yahoos who found this piece of shit funny or "contrarian."
Looking back at some of the show's clips, I think the main problem was not enough racist humor, specifically, anti-Arab bashing. Sure, the "1/2 Hour" gang had nothing nice to say about radical jihadists. Who does? But if they'd taken a few pages from the P.J. O'Rourke National Lampoon, where Arabs were called sand niggers, wogs, towelheads, camel fuckers, and the like, perhaps "1/2 Hour" would've gained some ratings traction. O'Rourke understood that when it comes to rightwing comedy, you can't skimp on racist insults. That's what a lot of white male readers enjoyed, and this was a time when sliming Arabs and Muslims wasn't as cool as it is now! For all of its supposed hatred of Political Correctness, "The 1/2 Hour News Hour" seems to have choked on a large piece of organic tofu. Next time, dress Rush Limbaugh in a Saudi royal costume and have him run all over the stage, screaming "Arabic" gibberish, waving a large prop sword. Rightwing comedy gold.
The one thing that "1/2 Hour" did right was to feature washed-up comic and born-again reactionary Dennis Miller. There's a myth that at one time, Miller was actually smart and funny. It was only when he began blowing Bush that his humor dried up. Not so. I've known and know comics and writers who worked with and for Miller in those days, and they tell me that he was an empty-headed hack even then. None of these guys are surprised by the current Miller. They merely wonder what took him so long to reveal his true self.
Here's a fine example of what I mean. The only problem with this bit is that Miller wasn't drenched by buckets of goat piss at the end, in a homage to Judy Carne on "Laugh-In". Borrow from the classics, and make it your own.
When will the dying end?!
Truth be told, I had no idea that Fox's flat attempt to mimic "The Daily Show" was still on the air. If you don't watch a certain show, does it exist? Not for me, and now not for the Old Glory humpin' yahoos who found this piece of shit funny or "contrarian."
Looking back at some of the show's clips, I think the main problem was not enough racist humor, specifically, anti-Arab bashing. Sure, the "1/2 Hour" gang had nothing nice to say about radical jihadists. Who does? But if they'd taken a few pages from the P.J. O'Rourke National Lampoon, where Arabs were called sand niggers, wogs, towelheads, camel fuckers, and the like, perhaps "1/2 Hour" would've gained some ratings traction. O'Rourke understood that when it comes to rightwing comedy, you can't skimp on racist insults. That's what a lot of white male readers enjoyed, and this was a time when sliming Arabs and Muslims wasn't as cool as it is now! For all of its supposed hatred of Political Correctness, "The 1/2 Hour News Hour" seems to have choked on a large piece of organic tofu. Next time, dress Rush Limbaugh in a Saudi royal costume and have him run all over the stage, screaming "Arabic" gibberish, waving a large prop sword. Rightwing comedy gold.
The one thing that "1/2 Hour" did right was to feature washed-up comic and born-again reactionary Dennis Miller. There's a myth that at one time, Miller was actually smart and funny. It was only when he began blowing Bush that his humor dried up. Not so. I've known and know comics and writers who worked with and for Miller in those days, and they tell me that he was an empty-headed hack even then. None of these guys are surprised by the current Miller. They merely wonder what took him so long to reveal his true self.
Here's a fine example of what I mean. The only problem with this bit is that Miller wasn't drenched by buckets of goat piss at the end, in a homage to Judy Carne on "Laugh-In". Borrow from the classics, and make it your own.
posted by Dennis Perrin at
12:36 PM
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