On Mon, Mar 4, 2019 at 12:20 PM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 4, 2019 at 2:45 PM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Lily Tomlin will headline, and producer George Schlatter is expected at, >> the Dolby Theater-hosted tribute, joined by a goodly graf-full of current >> comedy stars prepared to "sock it to us" anew... >> >> Variety >> <https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/netflix-to-celebrate-laugh-in-50th-anniversary-with-original-star-lily-tomlin-1203154226/> >> (link) >> > > 1. This has "promises to suck" written all over it. The series has been > rerun on Decades and I have a "Best of" DVD set. Having watched a number of > episodes it's clear that fond reminiscences of the series are hindsight > bias, meaning what we remember is the best and we forget that the other 95% > happened. What I also didn't remember from its run during my childhood is > what a revolving door it was for the cast. > That it was not always cutting edge or even funny is undeniable, but the same can be said of every sketch comedy series. Though I agree a modern take on pseudo-psychedelic humor is destined to fall flat. > 2. I find it interesting that NBC isn't hosting it. Schlatter could have > raised outside money to produce and NBC could have given it a spot in prime > time on Saturday which is a dead zone. > I feel that whereas NBC once was proud of and frequently boasted about its legacy in broadcasting, some focus group data must’ve convinced someone in a suit that nostalgia = old, and old = bad. Oh they’ll still do reboots, but retrospectives are no longer in their wheelhouse. > 3. While not a major part of his resume, Lorne Michaels was a writer for > the show. It's interesting that he is not a part of the show. I saw some > minor SNL alumni in the cast but with Lorne's participation they could have > gotten much better comics. > Less Lorne and less SNL influence can only help this special. I picked up the first couple seasons of Laugh-in on DVD last year. I think the humor still works, at least more than Tom W indicates. It is very much of its time... swing pad jokes about excessive drinking, promiscuous sex, and Nixon aren’t going to play with new audiences, but if you existed in or around that era, the jokes still land. There were also efforts at Ernie Kovacs style video manipulation and sight gags, tricks of editing, and old fashioned slapstick that work with any audience. Hindsight has led us to believe the humor found on the Smothers Brothers topped that of Laugh-in, and I won’t argue that point of view. But I’m alright with a legitimate celebration of Rowan & Martin, if it is done right. > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
