This is a Journal entry by Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor
Annoying the Establishment: 50 Years On
Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor Started conversation Feb 4, 2017
Yesterday's New York Times Opinion Page has a timely reminder for us about the anniversary of the first appearance of the 'Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', which premiered 50 years ago tomorrow.
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/opinion/the-smothers-brothers-laughing-at-hard-truths.html?&moduleDetail=section-news-0&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&pgtype=article
As the article points out, the Smothers Brothers got their own show because the network (CBS):
- thought nobody could take on the opposition, namely the anodyne 'Bonanza', in that time slot, and
- like most grownups, they were fooled by the Smothers Brothers' deceptively clean-cut facade as goofy folk singers.
Also, the Smothers Brothers lulled our parents into complacency by boring them with their standard routine. This involved singing a folk song (or something that sounded like a folk song), and then constantly interrupting the singing to argue about everything from the plot of the song to whether their mom liked Dick best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQfdEekYVYs
Of course, once the grownups had gone away, bored, they put stuff like this on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9arYuMhf_A
Too much thinking for a Sunday evening. The grownups were now fully committed to ice cream, and we could watch the protest singers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYYCiaHhnx4
Of course, the show got wildly popular with us younger folk. And of course, the network managed to get rid of it after three seasons. Largely because it made important people feel uncomfortable. But as Lyndon Johnson wrote to them, after he'd got over being miffed at the jokes at his expense, 'May we never grow so somber or self-important that we fail to appreciate the humor in our lives.'
*************************************************
Fast forward to 2017. Fifty years later. I am just about to become officially Old. My Saturday morning is interrupted by teenagers at my door trying to peddle 'Awake!' and asking my opinion about teenage depression. No, I am not awake. I do not wish to be on Saturday morning. There are no depressed teenagers at my house. Go away and Witness elsewhere, please.
And I notice the story about the Smothers Brothers. And it takes me back again and forward. And I think: Maybe the teenagers are depressed because we're protesting the same problems in 2017 as we did in 1967?
Annoying the Establishment: 50 Years On
Prof Animal Chaos.C.E.O..err! C.E.Idiot of H2G2 Fools Guild (Official).... A recipient of S.F.L and S.S.J.A.D.D...plus...S.N.A.F.U. Posted Feb 4, 2017
we never had them on our tv, but over the years the odd bits "emerged"
To me! these and certain others (on both sides of the pond) were the fore runners of true comedy that "broke" the standards and "rules"
Annoying the Establishment: 50 Years On
Pierre de la Mer ~ sometimes slightly worried but never panicking ~ Posted Feb 5, 2017
Annoying the Establishment: 50 Years On
Vip Posted Feb 5, 2017
There is still a lot of 2017 to go, but it hasn't started out too well.
One of my difficulties is the inability to switch away from the awfulness of the world. It's not just the paper in the morning, or the news in the evening, it's relentless.
Annoying the Establishment: 50 Years On
Pierre de la Mer ~ sometimes slightly worried but never panicking ~ Posted Feb 5, 2017
Aye. "My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane", as David Sipress wrote in a caption to one of his drawings.
Annoying the Establishment: 50 Years On
Pierre de la Mer ~ sometimes slightly worried but never panicking ~ Posted Feb 5, 2017
Here's a little light comedy to lighten up your moods:
http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/02/05/snl-just-shredded-trumps-press-secretary-sean-spicer/
Annoying the Establishment: 50 Years On
Pierre de la Mer ~ sometimes slightly worried but never panicking ~ Posted Feb 5, 2017
Key: Complain about this post
Annoying the Establishment: 50 Years On
- 1: Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor (Feb 4, 2017)
- 2: Prof Animal Chaos.C.E.O..err! C.E.Idiot of H2G2 Fools Guild (Official).... A recipient of S.F.L and S.S.J.A.D.D...plus...S.N.A.F.U. (Feb 4, 2017)
- 3: Pierre de la Mer ~ sometimes slightly worried but never panicking ~ (Feb 5, 2017)
- 4: Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor (Feb 5, 2017)
- 5: Vip (Feb 5, 2017)
- 6: Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor (Feb 5, 2017)
- 7: Pierre de la Mer ~ sometimes slightly worried but never panicking ~ (Feb 5, 2017)
- 8: Pierre de la Mer ~ sometimes slightly worried but never panicking ~ (Feb 5, 2017)
- 9: Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor (Feb 5, 2017)
- 10: Pierre de la Mer ~ sometimes slightly worried but never panicking ~ (Feb 5, 2017)
More Conversations for Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor
Write an Entry
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."