Does Darwin Explain It All?

It’s inevitable that we’d have a moment with our friend Darwinian Larry in the technology class.

The Louis C.K. moment was not inevitable. Who would have guessed he would have provided a “teachable moment” about Pascal?

I watched most of the Emmys at a time most TV lovers must have been watching BREAKING BAD. Louis was nominated for several awards, but didn’t win any. The general tone was subdued, partly because there were a bunch of eulogies. Even Elton John’s tribute to the not-so-recently-dead Liberace was surprisingly classy. I learned that the twin peaks of TV excellence are MODERN FAMILY and BREAKING BAD. I don’t have much to say about either.

I still haven’t warned up to BB, although I admire the commentary by Pete. I know the problem is with me and not the show. MODERN FAMILY isn’t funny and isn’t even modern.

That leads to the question: What’s happened to the comedy? VEEP, which is neither funny nor classy, even won a couple of awards.

Well, I thought I’d add one thing. I agree with the threader who says that the only realistic EIGHTIES show was FREAKS AND GEEKS. It was also a lot more than a comedy. Talk about the sadness and “the howl of existentialism” beneath the surface of pragmatism and all that:

Lindsay: Sam. Did Mom and Dad tell you I was the only one with Grandma when she died?

Sam: No.

Lindsay: Yeah. They went down to the cafeteria to get some coffee. And all the sudden Grandma looked so terrified. I didn’t know what to do. She grabbed my hand, told me she didn’t want to go. She looked so scared, Sam. I said, Well, you know, can you see God or Heaven or a light or anything?

Sam: What did she say?

Lindsay: “No. There’s nothing.” She was a good person all her life and that’s what she got.

That’s not to say it is a nihilistic show. There’s a great scene with Lindsay dancing joyfully with a mentally challenged kid to JOURNEY, for example. It is a realistic show. Sometimes, as far as we can tell, bad deaths happen to good people.