h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What does it say about the state of TV comedy when the funniest things are the Specssavers ads?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waZ4fpQA5C8


Unless you know different...

I'm guessing these people also sell hearing aids?

I agree in general about the state of TV comedy. But this past week, we've actually watched TWO series that made us laugh. One was the new season of 'One Mississippi', starring observational comic Tig Notaro. The other was the first season of 'The Good Place' - which is a satirical look at the Afterlife, and, well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut0ai4s4mjU

I hope the UK can get this gem.

I otter go now. I have a lot of good things that need to be done.

"Let someone merge in traffic" scores high. It's nice for me when I do it, and nice for the person I let in. Why then do I get such black looks from the people behind me? Tsk tsk.

They get negative points for being grumpy about it.

Who decided that particular acts are all bad or all good? Once they've occurred, the world adjusts to them and they become givens.

It's a satire, Paul.

There is good comedy on TV, but you gotta go a bit farther afield to find it.

I find some rather high quality, well written shows on some of the higher numbered cable channels, like IFC, FX & FXX, TBS, Adult Swim and then there are the shows on pay channels and streaming services.

And there are a few gems on the American broadcast networks as well, like The Good Place. I was worried that one would end up preachy, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I also like Speechless and Modern Family.

There are also some excellent animated shows like The Venture Brothers, Rick & Morty, Archer, and Bob's Burgers.

Some of the more esoteric shows on those high-number channels I like are Baskets, You're the Worst, and Better Things.

There is good comedy to be found, you just have to look past the huge mass of dreck.

I know it's a satire, Dmitri. A good one, too! Nevertheless, a lot of people have gone through their lives convinced that an almighty, all-seeing entity was calculating these things. Call it karma, call it the Doomsday Book, call it whatever, we've all seen those cartoons about Saint Peter greeting a long list of new arrivals with a ledger that indicates their eternal fate based on their acts. Santa Claus gets into the act too. He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He may be pagan, but somewhere he got that skill set.

That was kind of their point in the series, as I read it - that people have the weirdest notions of what constitutes 'goodness' and 'badness' in humans. One of the characters is a moral philosopher who keeps quoting various authorities on the subject. He has an uphill battle trying to educate a Florida stoner, though.

And yet, somehow it was possible for people with weird notions of good and bad to end up among the good elite?

That would be telling. Don't want to let loose any spoilers.

Well, if Ted Danson's past roles are any guide, the bar isn't set very high.

Cheers!

Television is for being on, not for looking at.

Noël Coward.

Noel Coward as on TV more than a few times....