Bad To the Future
by Noby Nobriga

Okay. I think this time may have come and gone for the most part, but it's still hanging around a bit and I'm sure that there are a lot of people who continue to think this way, but...

It seems cool to make fun of past stuff. Specifically these days, the eighties. Yes, the 80s had some what we would think of as funky, stupid, and crazy stuff to it. But why is it overly necessary to make fun of it in commercials and things?

Do you know what I'm talking about?

You know, something interesting in a recent commercial (I think it's a car commercial) the two chicks are talking about the reunion they're at and one chick is trying to one up the other or something. Then, the lesser chick ends up with a better car, but the better chick went to the prom with the cool guy, and then we see Buff Johnson (funny name) with a mullet and some old 70s car with an 80s radio sitting on the hood... Now, this is apparenly supposed to be a ten year reunion today, putting them in class of 91/92. Does seeing this commercial make you think of some 70s or 80s character that the guys is supposed to be, rather than a character of the 90s, albeit early? I just imagine 70s/80s when I see the guy. Whatever...

I haven't seen much of it, but I wish they would just cancel That 80s Show. It's doing what That 70s Show doesn't and what it shouldn't be doing. Making fun of it's own "subject." It's not funny. Maybe a little humorous the first couple of jokes they made in the first episode... as jokes... But, no more. Yes, the show apparently has some sort of "story" but you can't deny that they love to make those 80s "jokes." They should call it Those 80s Jokes, instead.

Now, I'm not trying to be some guardian and protector of the 80s. But, so many joking references are just tiresome and unfunny. Are the things from the 80s really that wild and wacky? We made fun of Hammer Pants about two years after he wore them.

I think the public is becoming more dumbed rather than intellectualized as time goes by. Movies and television so much rely on the obvious intelligent-lacking humor of shows in the past. Why bother with a Jack Benny look, the dry martini of Hawkeye Pierce, or the down-to-earth, true-to-life family threatening of Cliff Huxtable, when you can just setup a joke like:

Alice: So, how did the competitive board game with Sue turn out?
Bob: She beat me.
Alice: Ah, she won the game, huh?
Bob: No, she punched me in the nose.

Granted, Three's Company, one of my favorite shows is based on the simple premise of misunderstandings and has these sorts of setup jokes. But, it never pretended to be anything other than that which worked. It was just slapstick, wacky schemes, and misunderstandings. No storyline to keep up with. Each episode was different. You didn't have to remember any who is with whom and knows about who... And, there was never a "very special episode," except the last one, and that's acceptable.

Anyway. I admit, I like a lot of shows that do the crappy stuff. But there just don't seem to be the intelligence there anymore.

"Whazzuuuuuuu?!" said Bullwinkle the Moose.

That's a whole other story...