[Polar Bear]

I'm already bracing myself for the feedback I will receive for this post. But I finally figured I'd post it anyway. And I want to stress...the following is strictly my opinion.

I love humor. I think I have a pretty good sense of humor. I love humor in other people. Comedy is my favorite form of media. That being said, I have an observation regarding humor on ToTV...

It seems that the attempted use of humor on ToTV has seen a dramatic increase lately. That would be fine, except in my opinion, there are a couple of reasons it is not so fine. Humor is an art. Many factors play into whether humor is effective, or should I say...well...funny. Timing, appropriateness, content, audience, and many other factors determine how effective attempts at humor are. There's the rub. Just saying something intended to be funny does not make it funny. And there is such a thing as too much...not too much humor, but too much trying to be funny. The best humor comes naturally and is used a bit sparingly in my opinion. Constant attempts which are mostly borderline or simply lame even diminish those that might be truly funny.

This is not intended to be taken personally by anyone on ToTV. It's just my honest feelings about a recent trend. I'm seeing more and more of what appears to failed attempts at humor on ToTV for two reasons:

1) Many of the jokes...remember...my opinion only...are simply not funny. With respect to humor, this is obviously very important. Humor isn't a game like baseball, where if you succeed a small percentage of the time you're considered successful. One potentially good joke gets lost among many failures. A sense of quality must be maintained, or it's just throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks. Very few people like sifting through lame attempts to find the occasional, mildly funny post.

2) Possibly even more important because it has the potential to irritate and/or offend people...the "jokes" are at a time when they are simply not appropriate, either posted inappropriately in a serious thread, or at a time within any thread that is simply inappropriate in the context posted. Don't get me wrong. I think humor is great therapy, and can be used in the most serious of situations. But even then, some sense of timing and appropriateness is essential.

I'll never forget Saturday Night Live, the first show after the terrible events of 9/11. Early in the show, after an opening segment about the attacks, SNL Producer Lorne Michaels looked at his guest, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and asked "Can we be funny?". Giuliani looked at Michaels and said "Why start now?" Hilarious. And it got a great laugh from the New York audience. But it was after a very serious, touching and reverent opening and an appropriate lead in. They didn't just come on the air and start making fun. It was a great TV moment...and very funny in spite of the horrific events of just a few days earlier. All due to timing, respect, and attention to appropriateness.

Bring on the humor. Everybody should laugh every day. But make sure it is appropriate, respectful, and...well...funny.

Okay. I have my flack jacket on. But I feel better getting it off my chest.