Blackmoor Vituperative

Susan and I just got digital cable recently. As part of our channel package, we get all kinds of new channels, like the Sundance Channel, Encore, and the Independent Film Channel. As part of our explorations, we ran across The Al Franken Show, which is described as a comedy. In fact, during the first few minutes of the show, he describes himself as a comedian.

If he’s a comedian, I’m a brain surgeon. Al Franken simply isn’t funny.

I also have problems with his politics, but that’s not my main complaint. He’s a hardcore neo-socialist, but that’s nothing unusual. Jon Stewart of The Daily Show, for example, isn’t exactly a libertarian. The difference is that Jon is funny. It also helps that The Daily Show, despite being an overt spoof of a news show, gets its facts straight. The Al Franken Show spins the facts so hard they get dizzy. These are the kind of people who’d call an M1 Garand an “assault rifle”. But the main thing is that The Daily Show is funny and interesting. The Al Franken Show is neither. It’s just plain dull.