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.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
