Dangerously Funny

Finished another book, this one "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" by David Bianculli.

It's a very entertaining, up-close look at the history of Tom and Dick progressing from their earliest days through their TV show to the present day.

I remember a few images from the show when it was on the air: the tiffany stage, Pat Paulsen and his hang-dog run for the Presidency, the Beatles appearances, The Who, The Doors, and Pete Seeger singing "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy."

It seemed like we never missed a show, which is a little surprising, looking back, because my father turned out to be such a staunch Republican. But we also watched most of the Bonanza episodes, so I don't really know how we did that, as both shows were on at the same time, and during those years there was no such thing as a VCR. Something had to lose out.

I knew that the Smothers Brothers were a little controversial at the time, but I really missed a lot of the political commentary. Too young, I guess. Watching some of those episodes these days, it's striking how tame much of it seems.

At the end of the book, Tom says he'd like to do another TV show. I'd love it. They could really let loose these days. Wish I owned a network.

Pretty good review of the book here.