A funny thing happened on the way to the worst administration in American history.
In the first success of his second term -- also known as the New Dark Ages -- President Bush has at long last actually achieved something: he's helped save the situation comedy and he's done it without even trying.
Now, when I say "situation comedy," I'm not talking here about the Bush administration's foreign policy -- which is perhaps more accurately described as "stand up tragedy." Rather, with their own epic comedy of errors, George and company have finally created a cultural need for laughter so widespread and so profound that the once written-off TV genre is now poised to stage the sort of major and sustained comeback that the Bush administration itself no longer has the time, inclination or ability to make itself.
Put simply, America sure could use some guffaws and giggles right about now, couldn't it, everybody?
To date, Hollywood's response to our troubled times has been to create a Bushel of well-intentioned feature films that have -- in a variety of deeply felt ways -- reacted against the devastation of the war in Iraq. Based on the box office record of this recent Hollywood surge, research indicates there are currently three or four people dozen left in America who remain seriously interested in politically charged entertainment about how we blew the war in Iraq, And half of them are too broke or and/or busy listening to NPR to get to the multiplex. Want to try and send a message? Use Western Union, or better yet, the Huffington Post.
On the other hand, as a good, God-fearing, TV-watching people, we Americans sure could use what the sitcom has traditionally offered us -- that appealing, life-affirming built in promise of a weekly laugh or too. Last week, I was there in Carnegie Hall working when CBS introduced a hilarious looking new situation comedy called Worst Week about a sweet guy with excellent intentions but the worst luck in the world. I watched and listened as a usually tough Upfront crowd erupted in overwhelming laughter and actual applause following the preview of this new fall series. Please be clear, I am in no way comparing the lead character of Worst Week with the man who's been leading the free world during these challenging times. To be clear, the guy in Worst Week is extremely loveable and endlessly appealing -- Dick Cheney, not so much.
CBS put Worst Week on its Monday night schedule that thanks to the enduring success of Two and a Half Men and strong recent shows like How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory has remained a real sitcom stronghold, even since the late great Everybody Loves Raymond left us. Now the network is making media headlines by opening up a second night of comedy on Wednesdays to give a good home to The New Adventures of Old Christina with Julia Louis Dreyfus and Project Gary, another funny look at domestic affairs on our American home front starring Jay Mohr.
Let's give credit wherever credit is due. NBC's fantastic 30 Rock and The Office have both also kept us laughing during dark times with smart comedy -- the former in large measure due to the comic brilliance of Alec Baldwin, a Huffington Post regular and, in my opinion, one of the funniest actors in the history of any screen, large or small. Increasingly, our hour dramas are also blending plenty of comedy -- consider two of last seasons better received hour shows - ABC's Samantha Who or Pushing Daisies.
Finally, even as a WGA member myself, perhaps it wasn't just the strike that delayed another of my favorite TV series -- Fox's 24. Maybe that tense drama itself needed that little break -- and not just so the great Kiefer Sutherland could do what Bush and company have never done and accept full responsibility for his own recent mistake by paying his debt to society.
Perhaps, more and more, We The People simply have trouble believing in the ability of anybody to save us all -- even Jack Bauer. Only one man could inspire such feelings of All American doubt. To borrow the title of a TV comedy that now seems way ahead of its time -- That's My Bush!
This, after all, is why a sitcom like Worst Week ultimately must return and save us from the horrors of both bad Reality and bad reality: Because you've really got to laugh, if only to stop from crying, one half hour at a time.