Contrary to numerous gloomy internet reports prior to its airing, tonight’s premiere episode of the new Fox News TV comedy program, The 1/2 Hour News Hour, co-created and produced by 24 mastermind Joel Surnow, was very funny indeed.
The opening sequence, in which Rush Limbaugh speaks as the newly elected President of the United States and Ann Coulter is vice president, was goofy and charmingly funny. Sample joke: Rush asks Ann if she’ll join him for a cigar. Ann says, "Isn’t the White House a smoke-free zone?" Rush replies, gleefully, "Not any more!"
It’s a cheerfully silly moment, but it also makes a good point about the annoying busybody mentality so prevalent in America today that it permeates even the White House.
The rest of the program consists of a fictional news program hosted by two typically earnest anchors, complete with fictional commercials.
It’s very funny.
Tonight’s top story:
Dispelling reports that she would staff her White House with longtime cronies and political appointees, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton vowed that if she becomes president she will surround herself with a diverse, multiethnic, multigenerational group . . . of angry lesbians.
A comedy bit consisting of an advertisement for BO, a magazine about Barack Obama, turned out to have several good laughs. Article titles such as "A Life in Politics: My 18-Month Journey" and "Should We Even Bother to Hold the 2008 Election?" make solid satirical points and are quite funny.
A piece parodying the all too popular Che Guevara t-shirts includes a vendor offering shirts with a photo of Chairman Mao and the words "Ask about our one-baby policy." Another shirt has a photo of Idi Amin and the words, "People—the Other White Meat."
In another segment, a game show host and climatologist proffers his theory that any problem in the world can be linked to global warming in six degrees or less. He calls it "Six Degrees of Global Warming," and gives several examples of Rube Goldberg-style mechanisms leading absurdly, for example, from global warming to a crime wave in Houston. Superb.
In all, the program is funny, it’s satirical, and it’s gleeful in its political correctness. It succeeds greatly at what it sets out to do.
Recommended.
I’m sensing some hostility in the latest comment….
I’ll say this just one last time, get it through your thick skulls the shows aren’t funny and aren’t being watched by any one with an IQ larger than their hat size and is being cancelled. Deal with it. Once again for even the slowest of fox viewers the show is being cancelled.
I guess the constant bashing by the liberal media
discouraged all the independant thinking conservatives from viewing this extermly funny, if you can believe the laugh track, and well written program.
If you don’t find this show funny then you are the very left-winged nut they are poking fun at! It is 1970 SNL all over again.. you know, when it was funny.
P
It’s funny in a, “ha, ha look that old lady just fail and broke her hip”, kinda way. I can’t help but invision the prisoners at gitmo being forced to watch this screaming “stop, we’ll talk”.
I went into it not wanting it to be the train wreck it was rumored to be. Competition drives innovation, so no I didn’t want it to fail. Nope, it was as bad as advertised, even without that laugh track. First off, The delivery was cardboard. They really should have invested in some talent here as opposed to a couple of hacks who look like they had 3 classes in improv at the learning annex. Secondly, even if you aren’t trying to rip off the Daily Show, Colbert or SNL Weekend Update (not today, but when it was watchable) you need to keep in mind your competition. The faux news angle is done well, so step it up or come up with a new format. The show is about being conservative and anti liberal first, comedy second, and it shows. So no, the jokes were not funny, there is much better matieral out there to lampoon on the left, and better writers can find it. If someone like Jobie up there can’t appreciate Seinfeld, and likes this poorly written horribly executed drivel, now I know where the viewership for According to Jim, 2 and a half men and Yes Dear are, and these people truly will watch anythign that stinks if it is marketed with bright graphics and loud noises.
The show sucked horribly. Just a lame attempt by the FAUX News cronies to try to match the fame of Stewart and Colbert. Sorry FAUX, no dice…
I caught the first show by accident — and really enjoyed myself. I understand, of course, why leftists* like Christopher dislike it: they’re not used to being laughed at, and are determined that their balloons remain unpunctured.
(*The bit about “fake news” is a giveaway!)
Good point, Jobie. I have to think that the T-shirts will be on sale soon enough. Just as you say, there would be a great market for them–those who would wear them ironically, and those who would wear them sincerely, without realizing the satire….
I thought the show was quite amusing and extremely refreshing in contrast to the run-of-the-mill Bush-bashing that Hollow-wood espouses. Was it the funniest program that I have every seen? Absolutely not. SNL was hit-n-miss in its hayday, and is now absolutely abhorrent. All of the best shows throughout history, Cheers, MASH, Seinfeld had moments within each episode that was not funny. The same holds true here. By the way, any idea where I can purchase one of those t-shirts from the show? I am particularly interested in the Ask about our Mao shirts. Very funny.
Christopher, it doesn’t sound as if you gave the show a fair chance. I gave examples of jokes from the show so that readers could decide for themselves whether the show might have potential. I believe that those who watch the show with an open mind will enjoy it.
oh my God, you couldn’t be more wrong than what you wrote here in this aricle. Let’s face it, the show sucks outright and it is doomed. I am not a leftist nor a rightist, im a realist and the reality of this show is that laugh tracks and poorly time jokes with no real humorous substance will fail, no matter what its political affiliation. Fox News should stick to doing what thier best at doing, fake news.