In my house there was never any question at the time that the Smother’s Brothers were much funnier, edgier and more important than Laugh-In. They also were not exactly contemporaneous, overlapping for only one season: TSBCH 1967-1969; R&MLI 1968-1973.
While sharing that one season, the shows were reallly quite different in their sensibility. The SB were much closer to the actual youth and counterculture of the time, while LI always read more like older people using the counterculture for some other purpose (making money or getting laid). Most of the 60s pop culture in LI was already self parody even at the time. Now, I enjoyed LI at the time, and have enjoyed reruns mostly as a time capsule ( though some things, like most of Tomlin, were great then and now, and it can be fun and strange to watch their news of the future bits, now about our past). But it is almost impossible for LI to work now in anything like the way it worked at the time. SNL started only 2 years after LI’s final season, but had much more in common with the SB than it did with LI, in large part I think because both of those shows were really being done by people who part of that culture. On Mon, Mar 4, 2019 at 7:53 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On Mon, Mar 4, 2019 at 7:20 PM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > >> On Mon, Mar 4, 2019 at 3:42 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> On Mon, Mar 4, 2019 at 12:20 PM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> 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. >>> >> >> If the guest list showed a better caliber of comedian I would agree with >> you. I have no faith in the people they got. >> >>> >>> 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. >>> >> >> Their high spots in the early days still stand up. Eileen Brennan was in >> the first season and she was great. Goldie Hawn was very good until the >> writers went overboard on the ditzy blond act. I think my problem stems >> from watching 5 days a week on Decades. The show might hold up better if >> it's only seen once a week. With the size of the announced cast I don't see >> the special being done right. >> >> I must have seen the Smothers Brothers Show at the same age I saw Laugh >> In and I remember nothing about the Smothers Brothers but I do remember >> bits from Laugh In. >> > > I’ve been buying up Smothers Brothers on vinyl. It’s usually inexpensive > and never fails to entertain. > > >> -- >> 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. > -- Sent from Gmail Mobile -- 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.
