I just watched "Rowan and Martin's Laugh in"

[bluestateguy]

It's on the TRIO channel every morning. It was the first time I have ever seen the show. I knew that it was thr #1 show on TV for two years, so I had always wanted to see it.

While some of the skits were funny, and a few were very funny, I found the whole show to be discombobulated, too random and sometimes incoherent. Many of the skits were way too fast. The segues were hard to follow or non-existent.

I'm not in a hurry to watch this show again. You Baby Boomers sure have a bizarre sense of humor.

[NYCGirl]

1. It helps if you're stoned while you're watching it. NT

[htuttle]

3. You bet your sweet bippy it does!

[Maple]

2. It was very current

and made sense at the time. I doubt it would now.

It was also a major departure from the stuffy fare we got otherwise.

[chelsea0011]

4. It was always a hit or miss show

It's remembered more for some of the characters going on to big careers and having the abiltiy to get huge stars to make quick hit appearances. "Sock it to me"!

[terrya]

5. It was ok until Paul Keyes, the head writer took over.

Paul Keyes was a supporter of Richard Nixon. The show took a slight right wing tilt when he took over as producer.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

6. Ah, the show that made acid neccessary for TV viewing!

yeah, I don't think it would make much sense to anyone but history majors now.

[On the Road]

7. It's Become Dated

I haven't seen it in awhile, but I can see where a lot of it might seem lame nowadays.

But at the time, a lot of the things they were doing were new and creative. The fast-paced chaotic style was jolting compared to the slow, predictable pace of most sitcoms. Martin's smirking double-entendres are tame today, but they were censorship material back then. ("I have to take a nap with my teddy bear." "You have a teddy bear?" "Yes, her name is Suzie.") And a lot of the comedy was in the British vein of creating ridiculous situations rather than just setting up a punch line. A lot of their famous line ("Very interesting...") are appreciated better if you don't look for a specific joke.

Sadly, a lot things I thought were great when I was younger don't seem nearly as good today.

[AntiSmirk]

8. Compare it to What Else was on in That Era...

and you will see why it was so widely watched. I was just a kid (born in 1960) when it was on but I really liked it at the time.

[zbdent]

9. Sock it to

me?

(Well, Tricky Dick, you socked it to yourself!)

(for those who have no idea, Richard Nixon decided to play the "Hollywood" card and appeared on the show, and asked the question: "Sock it to ME?" in a bewildered tone).

Yes, damn that liberal Hollywood media!

[TheCentepedeShoes]

12. Remember the "News of 20 years

in the future" segment that started something like "Today, President Ronald Reagan..."

[RevolutionaryActs]

13. Very interesting,

but stupid! :7

[yellowdogintexas]

10. Much of the humor was topical, so if you were up on your

current events, everything was hilarious.

Also, some things were not funny the first time they tried them, but they built on them and they became running gags...and running gags are always lots of fun.

[DinahMoeHum]

11. Their "Flying Fickle Finger Of Fate" award cut close to the bone

re political humor.

Yep, they knew how to shave the corners to skirt the censorship hounds.

:evilgrin:

[Joe Chi Minh]

14. I like and

admire post-war generations of German people, but, thanks to Laugh-In, I can't help doubling up when I see a clip on a TV cable channel of a WWII German soldier looking through a pair of binoculars.... "Very interrresting..."

[EstimatedProphet]

15. I loved that show when I was a kid

Lived for it, every week I was riveted to the TV.
It played well then because it was up against the VietNam war, IMO. The TV viewing public needed random zany humor to break away from the daily tragedy.
With a little brush-up on the topical humor, it might even play well today...

[Doc_Technical]

16. "Very interrresting.."

"Good night Lucy (Ball) I'd come visit you but I have trouble

getting across channels."

[yurbud]

17. THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON DRUGS

I think that was the first show written while stoned. Most were until Family Ties.

When I go back and watch old episodes of HAPPY DAYS, they suck ass so bad I think the writers probably wonder what the hell they were thinking.

[Deja Q]

18. I think it's hilarious! Of course, I also have ADD...

:D

[donheld]

19. Yes it's true I have never seen Rowan and Martin's Laugh in

:cry::cry::cry: and it's not because i'm too young.