Anybody who has followed this blog knows I am a fan of late night comedy TV. One of the latest entries is The Opposition with Jordan Klepper. It airs on Comedy Central right after The Daily Show.
I guess you could consider this as a spinoff. Klepper was one of the fake correspondents on the Daily Show, usually playing a counterpoint to the opinions expressed on the show. He was the establishment white guy although always with tongue firmly in cheek. Some of his pieces during the 2016 campaign were very good.
His new show is supposed to be a satire on today's right-wing conspiracy theory media. Much like the old Colbert Report was a take-off on Fox News shows with their pompous, bombastic hosts. Colbert primarily used The O'Reilly Factor as a model. The Opposition seems to be a toned down satire of Infowars with Alex Jones. Lots of conspiracy theory, fake news, and lies.
The show is not as over the top or as loud as Alex Jones. In fact, I'm not exactly sure what it is. I suspect the show's producers, writers, and stars don't know exactly what it is yet. Sometimes it is an outright satire of the wacko right and sometimes it seems like another version of The Daily Show.
Jordan Klepper is a funny guy. He did good work on The Daily Show and does some good bits on The Opposition. Unfortunately, the supporting cast is very weak. As mentioned, the writing and focus are disjointed.
I've watched eight or ten episodes and they are not getting any better or more consistent. If it remains on the air, I'll check it out again in a couple of months. I realize that some new shows need to find their voice. Right now, I don't think it is worth the ½ hour investment four nights a week.
After the first couple of weeks, I have to rate this show a C-. If we are lucky it will find it's footing and get better.
wjh
It seems to me that whenever something controversial shows up in the news, at least one side says "now is not the time to discuss or debate" whatever the issue is.
The most recent was the horrible terrorist attack by a wacko in Las Vegas with a large cache of automatic weapons and ammunition. But this is not the appropriate time to talk about our gun laws. It wasn't the right time after Orlando, Sandy Hook, Charleston, Columbine, and dozens of other tragic shootings.
When NFL players knelt or sat during our national anthem, that was not the proper time or venue to protest.
When unarmed people, usually Black males, are killed by police, we shouldn't rush to judgment and protest.
When you protest the glorification of Confederate leader's statues all over the South, you are trying to obliterate (white) history.
We can go back decades on this issue. When Rosa Parks wouldn't give up her seat on the bus, that was the wrong approach. Blacks should never have disrupted the white lunch patrons at the Woolworth's lunch counter by doing a sit-in. Martin Luther King should never have marched in southern, segregated, cities. The students at Kent State University deserved to be killed for protesting the Vietnam War and refusing to follow National Guard directions. The protesters at the Democratic convention in Chicago were just asking to be clubbed by out of control police.
It seems to always be the protester's fault. They just don't seem to know when, where, or how to protest. Of course, the real issue is that they are protesting something that is not actually a real problem.
Here's the deal, if the majority of the country agreed with the protesters, there would probably be no need to protest. If most of the country thought racial discrimination was a problem and wrong in 1960, MLK wouldn't have needed to march. Rosa Parks wouldn't have had to defy the bus driver. If many Black athletes didn't feel the system was still prejudiced they wouldn't be kneeling during the national anthem.
The LGBT community shouldn't show up at Columbus Day or St. Patrick's parades because they are traditional events and family-friendly celebrations. Apparently, LGBT people don't have families or as some think, shouldn't be allowed to have families.
The only way protesters get any attention is when they make a large segment of the population uncomfortable or inconvenience them. Sitting at the Woolworth's counter wouldn't have much impact at midnight. Rosa Parks would never have caused a stir except that it was evening rush hour and white folks wanted a seat. You have to get people's attention. The NFL players got traction because millions watch the games on Sundays and then Trump personally challenged them.
Some protests get out of hand and cause damage or injuries. That is just like what is being protested, the protested actions sometimes cause damage and injuries, often times deaths.
If you are on the protesting side of the issue, it is almost always the right time and place to protest. If you don't agree, there is no appropriate time, place, or venue for the protests. In fact, there is no reason to be protesting.
This country was founded on protest. The second amendment supporters say they need their weapons in case the government gets out of hand. The Confederate states protested against the Union and many still honor their effort.
As long as we are a free speech country, there will always be protests. There is no right or appropriate time, just as there is no wrong or inappropriate time. The protesters get to decide. That is the free speech part of the equation.
If you see injustices, now is the right time to protest in whatever way you feel appropriate. My way today is to publish a blog.
wjh
- I'm pretty sure that almost every TV action series of the 1950's and 60's had at least one "quick sand" episode. A mostly fake peril created by TV & movie writers.
- Same deal, every old western had a cholera/typhoid fever episode.
- Just saw an episode of 77 Sunset Strip. The bellhops and cabbies were tipped with coins. Don't try that now.
- I've noticed on the late night product advertisements that the latest marketing slogan is "atomic". We have atomic lanterns, atomic flashlights, atomic security lights, atomic gloves, even atomic wallets. A couple of months ago, everything was bamboo. Next up, atomic bamboo.
- If I'm a person in the DACA program, I would not have any confidence that Congress will have a resolution in six months or six years.
- I find it funny that some businesses brag about being established in 2005 or some other relatively recent year. As the saying goes, "I have ties older than that".
- Is it just my old ears or are there way more annoying voices on TV these days?
- Does anybody really want that flap of rib meat attached to chicken breasts bought at the grocery store?
- There apparently are designated bad driving days. The other day, I had to avoid a couple of bad drivers on the road, then in the parking lot, and finally shopping cart drivers in the grocery store.
- The old TV show Highway Patrol is back in rotation on MeTV. What a terrible show with even worse scripts and acting. Still fun to watch. Mid 1950's cars, old phones, etc. They drive Oldsmobiles and Buicks. 1955-6 Buicks to be exact, the model we had when I learned to drive. They were tanks.
- If the North Korean mess results in a hot war, we, or at least history and our descendants, will look back and say, "this could have been avoided". Just like every other major conflict in the past 100+ years. Let's avoid it now and be on the right side of history.
- A sign of the times. On 9/12, the new iPhone X, 8, & 8+ received more news coverage than Irma, Harvey, North Korea, and other important news stories.
- How come a familiar word is suddenly impossible to spell?
- Or, when spelled correctly it looks wrong?
- Why in the hell does Twitter recommend that I follow Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift?
- When something is advertised as under $100, best case scenario is it is $99.97 instead of $99.99.
- Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the first amendment. Even if you don't agree with the speech. Actually, especially if the majority disagrees.
- Weather folks on TV always introduce themselves as meteorologist so and so. Should the rest of the TV news people follow that practice? Hi, I'm news anchor Bob Smith or I'm news reporter Suzie Jones or I'm sports reporter Biff Ballgame.
- It is very hard to be tolerant of those who are intolerant of those who are different or have different views.
- Why is it not OK to kneel during our National Anthem but it is OK to honor the Confederate flag? A flag that represents those who wanted to dissolve our country. I'm confused.
- Leave it to Americans to find a new issue to disagree on when the hot topic begins to cool. Statues give way to the National Anthem.
- What exactly is the proper and appropriate way to protest?
wjh
