The Last Book I Read

After plowing through a number of mostly disappointing books on comedy over the past few months, it's gratifying to finally come across one that's really good from beginning to end. Dangerously Funny by David Bianculli works for me largely because it is an example of excellent reportage, covering in great detail the circumstances behind the creation and notorious sudden termination of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour back in the late sixties. He has obviously spent a lot of time researching and synthesizing the perspectives of just about all of the key actors in that episode, not just the Smothers Brothers and other contributors to the program (writers, directors, performers, etc.), but also the network officials who normally stand as the bad guys in the way the story is recounted. I'm not sure the latter's role in cutting off such a creative, though controversial, show appears any less negative in the final analysis, but Bianculli provides us with enough information to evaluate what happened without recourse to blaming nameless suits whose sole motive was to censor their artistic betters.

For those who don't know, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was a TV show on the CBS network from 1967 to 1969, and the hosts were largely credited with updating the old variety show format to attract younger, hipper viewers who appreciated entertainment with some social relevance. At a time when news reports were full of conflict between the generations, the Comedy Hour actually appealed to a real cross section of the population. But their occasional pointed references to things like the Vietnam War, presidential candidates, and drugs made their employers at CBS nervous, and while the show was still quite popular they pulled the plug and canceled it (or, as Tommy Smothers insisted-- and proved in court-- the Brothers were unfairly fired from their contract). This incident became something of a flashpoint for many who saw the mass media as "establishment" collaborators bent on silencing the legitimate criticisms raised by those sympathetic to a more countercultural perspective (as was certainly true of Tommy Smothers and many of the writers on the program). Part of Bianculli's accomplishment here is to essentially prove the substance of that charge while also demonstrating that the circumstances were much more complex than a short summary of events might suggest. For example, reference to numerous memos penned by Tommy Smothers as the conflict escalated suggest that his challenge to network authority was somewhat premeditated and certainly aggressive, contributing something to the dramatic resolution of the conflict. But even beyond telling that particular story, Bianculli does a fine job of describing what made the Smothers Brothers and their show so unique, while placing them into the specific historical context that was a huge factor in both their success and their downfall. Of the spate of books on comedy figures that have come out in the last year or so (William Knoedelseder's I'm Dying Up Here; Richard Zoglin's Comedy at the Edge; George Carlin's Last Words), I think this is definitely the best.