There is so little these days that makes me laugh. Few things that pass for comedy are actually funny to me. It seems it all has to be graphic, obnoxious, or push some imagined envelope. I find that there are no envelopes yet to be pushed. Since the culture is so jaded, nothing shocks or surprises any more so it's quite hard to get a laugh by being outrageous (thank God!). Comedy, therefore, is a difficult medium. What remains? In order to be funny, it still must strike some chord in reality, and some subtlety (IMO) is required. In accord with these things, the most recent series that consistently delivered for me was "The Cosby Show" (unless I must count the first 2 or 3 seasons of "The Office", which I thought had some potential, but quickly KILLED my interest). Still, I watch re-runs of Beaver, and I can't help it, I laugh out loud at least once/per episode. Besides, who hasn't known an "Eddie Haskel"?? Do we really need more depressing reality telling us we're all screwed-up and no one really has any helpful answers? Do we really need to bemoan the time when moms made a career of their families (perish the thought!)? My guess is that families were stronger, children were involved in far less destructive behavior, and men felt like men. No, people didn't have as many material possessions, but I think people were more content, and ultimately, I think women were, in a real sense, contributing to a much healthier society. Was life perfect then? No; but could what we have now ever be described as such? If anyone thinks so, I would definitely disagree. "Leave It To Beaver" still strikes a chord, and it's still humorous.
