Maybe I should revise it. Things are getting interesting. There's a bit of a war breaking out between Colbert and Fallon. It seems that the NBC puppy's no longer on top with his safe diet of "let's play games" and let's pretend inanimate objects send "thank you" notes. While the key demographic of stupid Millennials still love him and his hilarious drag impression of a stupid Millennial chick, and his habit of frat-boy giggling as he repeats the same joke over and over again with his announcer, ADULT comedy is winning on CBS.
The reason, though, isn't that the American public has lost its taste for bland and fairly mindless comedy before beddie-bye (Leno beating Letterman).
It's that America wants TRUMP JOKES. Colbert is supplying them.
Over at "Saturday Night Live," they are experiencing their strongest ratings in DECADES, thanks to all the mimicry of Trump and his family and his ludicrous appointees.
According to the ratings, "Colbert’s margin of victory is growing. On the week ended Feb. 3 — Colbert’s first week of new shows since Trump’s inauguration — “Late Night” edged out “Tonight” by a mere 10,000 viewers. Last week, that margin of victory grew to 130,000. While Fallon still draws in a bigger audience of 18-to-49-year-olds, the demographic advertisers covet, his once comfortable margin of victory is getting slim."
Yes, a lot of people (remember, Trump lost the popular vote by THREE MILLION) don't want ANY news about Trump. Seeing him is still a bitter reality ("He IS the president. He really IS"). NOT reading a newspaper is good for anyone with high blood pressure. BUT...many need to hear the Trump jokes. If they don't want to watch the TV news, at least they get a comical version of it with the latest outrages doused in the "Bucket Challenge." Challenge a comedian to handle a fiery remark from Trump, and out comes the bucket, which is pretty much saying "Fuck it."
Somehow the happy medium is still not faring that well. Jimmy Kimmel, the deadpan guy who schleps to center stage with his hands limp at his sides, and offers a mix of needling on politics and noodling on everything else, remains in third place, always a million viewers behind.
And after the big shots at 11:35? Seth Meyers still leads and has upped the time for news comedy and, ala Maher, comical lectures on Trump. His safe rival is the effeminate James Corden. Or to borrow a Don Henley line, "all she wants to do is dance." Or, play giddy "Car Karaoke" with empty-headed celebrities.
Political humor skidded from essential (Mort Sahl and David Frye among others in the Nixon era) to silly (Rich Little doing Reagan and Carter in less troubled times). Clinton the "corndog" was treated affectionately with Robert Smigel doing his Clutch Cargo bits on Conan's show, and soft-faced Clinton "lookalike" appearing with Leno. Dubya Bush's gaffes made for amusing "I'm not making this up" clips for both Leno and Letterman, but you couldn't call it "political satire."
Now? Alec Baldwin's Trump impersonation is pure David Frye malice. Put it this way, Trump wouldn't mind standing alongside Darrell Hammond for a laugh, but NOT Baldwin. The need for prickly jokes has likewise made heroes out of unsympathetic performers such as Colbert, Maher and Meyers. With Trump around, a rising audience wants them to be snotty, blunt or snarky.
Comedy is always a barometer of what's going on. The zany Marx Brothers and Three Stooges reflected the Depression era, where the exact opposite was needed: mad escapist anarchy and manic comic violence. Eisenhower and the Cold War and repressed sexuality gave us Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl. And now...TRUMP is wrestling political comedy back from the "politically correct" brigade. Just how long it lasts depends on when people begin to say, "This is NOT funny anymore. This is SERIOUS!!!"
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