"Half Hour News Hour": the Iowahawk Review
As a conservative, one of the things that has always chafed my fair-complected hide is the charge that "conservatives aren't funny." Obviously this charge is unfair, for haven't we all been kept in stitches by that angry bachelor uncle with a 45 minute repertoire of Hillary Clinton fat jokes? Not to mention the dozens of hilarious Hillary Clinton PhotoShops I get emailed everyday from Tom, the intense loner IT guy who just moved into the next cubicle. And when it comes to song parodies, limericks, riddles, and song parodies, conservatives can hold their own with any comedian, even when the topic isn't Hillary Clinton's appearance.
The reason people people perceive conservatives to be unfunny is because our tradition of whimsical conservative humor has been suppressed by the "MSM" or "Main Stream Media" which as we all know is run by liberals. More like "LIE-berals"! LOL! Fortunately, Fox News is out to correct the record with the all new "The Half Hour News Hour" satire program scheduled to debut Saturday February 18.
"THHNH" has been generating significant buzz around the conservative blogosphere ever since it was announced in late 2006. Even with its big budget and production being handled by Hollywood heavyweight Joel Surnow (of the hit comedy series "24"), a few of us -- myself included -- felt this project would have a hard time living up to its preproduction hype. Well, after review the highlight reels at HotAir (thanks AllahPundit), I'm ready to eat my words. Because this could perhaps be the single funniest comedy humor program in the history of television, if not the written word itself.
In the run-up to the show's debut, Surnow promised it would feature "a blend of elements of from the Daily Show and Weekend Update." I admit I was initially skeptical that the THHNH team could accomplish such an ambitious goal, but somehow they've pulled it off. This program throws away the old rules, smashes through the envelope and creates an entirely new comedic genre in the vast, nebulous creative space between The Daily Show and Weekend Update. For example, the opening sequence features a fly-over crane shot to an anchor desk, which gets you thinking, "hey, this is like the Daily Show," but then, bang! you realize that there are two anchors, like Weekend Update -- but with the female actually on the right side of the anchor desk!
But THHNH isn't just about gutsy iconoclasm; it's backed up with top-grade edgy political satire penned from some of Hollywood's leading gagmeisters. As a hobby humorist I know how hard it can be churn out a good comedy piece, so it's always a treat for me to sit back and watch paid network professionals practice the craft. Take for example, THHNH's merciless skewering of Barack Obama: when I saw the big payoff punchline that (spoiler alert!) his initials are "B.O.", I fell into such convulsive paroxysms of laughter that I thought my end table would break under the force of my repeated head-smashings. And when they followed that up with a timely zinger about Marion Barry? Let's just say I had to wipe away the tears of laughter while as I punched holes of mirth through my trailer's flimsy masonite walls. But the real payoff came when I saw the THHNH promo warning that they would be offending -- wait for it -- gay penguins! Between the uncontrollable screams of laughter and throwing my PC over the access road fence, I was nearly out of breath.
My recommendation: fire up the TiVo, because THHNH is destined to be an enduring classic. Kudos to you, Roger Ailes and Joel Surnow, for letting the comsymp comedy world know that when it comes to laffs, nobody can top us conservatives!
MORE RAVES
Ace of Spades HQ
Protein Wisdom
IMAO
Hog on Ice
Wuzzadem
Ann Althouse
Moxie
