Comedy Tonight!

Tragedy tomorrow,

Comedy tonight!    

                           -  Stephen Sondheim - “A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum”

There is certainly enough drama (or perhaps tragedy, depending on one’s perspective) in our nation right now.  Growing sick, tired and a little wary of politics, I now turn my attention to comedy.

Everyone enjoys comedy. Who doesn’t love to laugh? Okay – really, that was a rhetorical question. I am not requesting volunteers or examples. The thought of those same people who whined non-stop about our previous commander-in-chief for eight long years are now screaming, “Suck it up, buttercup – we won and you lost – get over it” is not really funny, though it is ironic.  And hey, I find humor in irony most of the time. Though some humorous shows were based on the premise of irony, such as All in the Family, I don’t think the political screamers would get the joke.

Modern comedies are okay, though most are based around sexual situations 90% of the time. We watch The Big Bang Theory every week. Yup – the same old sex jokes, but add in nerdy geniuses and you have something a little different. The characters are well defined, and you can  identify with them. Well, I identify with them anyway.

I enjoy The Goldbergs. It blends some ‘80s nostalgia with dysfunctional family, and that works for me. The Middle fits into this niche as well, and we watch it occasionally. Since ABC moved it to Tuesday nights, we don’t see it so much.

I always get at least one good laugh from Last Man Standing. Like Home Improvement before it, Last Man Standing features Tim Allen as a character that many man can identify with. Maybe we just wish we were in his position. While Allen is the star, the ensemble cast is what makes this show funny. 

When I am talking about TV comedy here, I am talking about its accompanying stroll down Memory Lane. Classics from the ‘50s such as I Love Lucy are excellent. What little I’ve seen from Ernie Kovacs was simply outstanding. He was a creative force, killed in a car crash at age 42. Who knows what he may have created had he reached his full potential?

Among the TV comedies from the early 1960s that I enjoyed were Bewitched, My Favorite Martian, and I Dream of Genie. The Dick Van Dyke show is classic comedy! I also remember some very short lived shows in the ‘60s that I loved as a kid, though most adults apparently did not. It’s About Time was a favorite of mine. Astronauts traveling back to caveman days? Cavemen who spoke English? A catchy theme song? What’s not to like?  

I remember My Mother the Car, although most folks don’t or, perhaps they are wishing they didn't. I think it ran for one unspectacular season. One of my favorites from that era was Mister Terrific, which dealt with mild and squeamish Stanley Beamish, a gas station attendant, who became Mister Terrific when he took his special pill. It seems that adults in 1967 thought his power pill sounded a little too much like illicit drugs, so the show died after one season. Bummer, dude! This one has a great theme song, too. Here is a clip of Stanley's transformation.

The real era of TV comedy for me was the 1970s! I can list a plethora of them, such as Mash, All in the Family, Three’s Company, Laverne and Shirley, Bob Newhart, etc. However, I will focus on the one show that always makes me laugh out loud (a real life social media LOL) to this very day.

To me at least, the epitome of TV comedy is The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The characters were so well developed with just enough flaws left so as to allow plot elements to wedge their way in. The casting and acting was spot on. So many moments that leave me in hysterics come from just a character’s facial expression before he or she even delivers a line! Accordingly, many in the cast saw their way to successful future roles after the show’s seven year run ended.

The action takes place at WJM-TV in Minneapolis. The cast is responsible for the station’s 6:00 PM news. The Cast:  The vulnerable but strong associate producer Mary Richards. The gruff but tender Lou Grant. The talented but underappreciated, sharp witted and slightly neurotic Murray Slaughter. The buffoon newscaster Ted Baxter. Mary’s neighbor Rhoda and landlady Phyllis had their own spinoff shows. Lou Grant was one of very few successful dramas that spun off from a hit comedy. How few? Ed Asner is the only person to win Emmys for comedy and for drama portraying the same character in two different shows.

The writing on The Mary Tyler Moore Show was second to none. The writers knew the rare talent they were working with, and often used a character’s facial expression or body language to get a laugh. If you want to study what comedic timing is, watch The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Many times, you had no idea where a plot was going. What you expected didn’t happen. When Ted Baxter auditioned for a network game show in New York, you knew he wouldn’t get it. Ted leave WJM? But he did get the game show job offer! As much as everyone at the station knew Ted was an incompetent fool, he was their incompetent fool!  Lou tells Ted that he is noble for being a newsman, and Ted reluctantly – and hilariously - passes up thousands of dollars to stay in Minneapolis.

 The death of Chuckles the Clown in the episode "Chuckles Bites The Dust" is a prime example of why The Mary Tyler Moore Show worked so well. Chuckles the Clown had a kiddie show at WJM in which he portrayed several odd characters. When Lou Grant forbids Ted from being the grand marshal of a circus parade, Chuckles the Clown is chosen from WJM-TV instead. Sadly, Chuckles the Clown, dressed as one of his personas Peter Peanut, is killed when one of the circus elephants "tries to shell him." The cast was shocked and horrified, but dealt with their emotions by making jokes about the situation. Hilarity ensued, except for Mary, who chastises the rest of the station’s staff for their cavalier demeanor.

On the day of the funeral, Mary can not keep from laughing at the minister’s unintended jokes. When the minister asks Mary to stand and laugh for Chuckles, she cries instead. Talk about well played irony! 

My absolute, laugh out loud favorite comedy is The Mary Tyler Moore Show. What makes YOU laugh? The moral of this blog post – life is way too serious. Humor is not. Laugh, damn it!

UPDATE: On January 25, 2017, Mary Tyler Moore died at age 80. We have lost a talented actress and comedienne who overcame many hardships to achieve success and critical acclaim. Although she is gone, her work lives on.