Thursday, June 12, 2008

Verrrrry Interrresting TV

In our busy day to day lives, we don't always get a chance to watch a whole feature film. That's when we turn to classic TV on DVD, like The Best of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. Ms. Bev and I both watched these as kids, and hadn't seen them since. Would they match our memories?

Sure, they are hilarious. The comedy is as fresh as it was when it first aired. Since a lot of the material predates vaudeville, that means something. One episode pays a brief tribute to Ernie Kovaks, then just deceased. Another featured "Pigmeat" Markham, the original Here Come De Judge man. Except I expect the routine goes back to 1868.

And mixed in with these classic blackouts, slapstick, double dutch, double talk and double entendres, they include startlingly new and original flashes. The comments on the war, race relations and sex are sadly up to date.

Sure, there are embarrassingly bad acts and flopped jokes (but I like Tiny Tim!), but the problem isn't age. "You bet your bippy" doesn't sound radical today, but it sounded pretty stupid then, too.

In conclusion, we got out Disk 2.

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