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You're not going to believe this. The FIRST Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award, in 1968 (Original Post) nolabear Jun 2016 OP
Coulda retired it right there gratuitous Jun 2016 #1
If any one deserves the finger, it's Congress eom Maeve Jun 2016 #2
+1 Auggie Jun 2016 #14
wow ... nothing has changed! napkinz Jun 2016 #3
This is actually shocking. Greybnk48 Jun 2016 #4
Massive K & R! Surya Gayatri Jun 2016 #5
Wow, great find! UtahLib Jun 2016 #6
We have nothing this edgy, funny and right on these days. lark Jun 2016 #7
Remember why the Smothers Brothers show was pulled from the air elljay Jun 2016 #19
And it's still hard to believe that... Pluvious Jun 2016 #30
As it happened, Paul Keyes (the head writer for Laugh-in... rdmtimp Jun 2016 #43
Wow, I never knew that ! Pluvious Jun 2016 #57
I beg to differ, lark. dixiegrrrrl Jun 2016 #44
Yeah we do--it's on basic and premium cable, but it's out there. MADem Jun 2016 #62
Hysterical! mountain grammy Jun 2016 #8
That show was incredibly prescient. SheilaT Jun 2016 #9
sad, he never lived to see that his prediction came true napkinz Jun 2016 #15
John Oliver ought to revive the award meow2u3 Jun 2016 #10
Wouldn't that be awesome? LOL! nolabear Jun 2016 #24
Ah, sweet memories of Rowan and Martin. What a marvellous find -- thanks. Hekate Jun 2016 #11
“History has tried hard to teach us that we can’t have good government under politicians. Tierra_y_Libertad Jun 2016 #12
1968 and still counting allan01 Jun 2016 #13
i had to put that on my fb barbtries Jun 2016 #16
:( BlancheSplanchnik Jun 2016 #41
Blame the Duggars! n/t Quasimodem Jun 2016 #55
Been around the world BlancheSplanchnik Jun 2016 #59
The more things change, the more they stay the same suffragette Jun 2016 #17
Kick Grassy Knoll Jun 2016 #18
K&R brer cat Jun 2016 #20
IKR! I wish we had anyone that brave on network TV now. Heck, ANY TV now! nolabear Jun 2016 #25
Clarification. Straw Man Jun 2016 #21
Fellow DUer Thom Hartmann quoted this OP... chknltl Jun 2016 #22
Really? I'm delighted! nolabear Jun 2016 #26
Yes he did. chknltl Jun 2016 #28
Excellent. My work here is done. nolabear Jun 2016 #34
Loved me some Laugh In greiner3 Jun 2016 #23
Amazing. underpants Jun 2016 #27
remarkable . . . . .n/t annabanana Jun 2016 #29
I really wish MeTV or Antenna TV would show re-runs of this show. GoCubsGo Jun 2016 #31
My childhood LWolf Jun 2016 #32
I'm pretty sure I watched that when it happened lunatica Jun 2016 #33
It was. I wish I felt someone could make me laugh at how insane the world is like that again. nolabear Jun 2016 #35
One example is Goldie Hawn lunatica Jun 2016 #36
Between Laugh-In and The Smothers Brothers I survived the 60s and my father! nolabear Jun 2016 #37
Great actress. But sometimes, she was set up. She would be prepped for a scene. Hoppy Jun 2016 #49
Funny in some ways...but that whole construct was sexist as hell. Ugly. Doesn't stand the test of MADem Jun 2016 #64
No. Not funny anymore but lunatica Jun 2016 #68
I don't disagree with that at all--actors are victims, often enough, of the script. MADem Jun 2016 #69
K&R for the fickle finger, ... CRH Jun 2016 #38
Ignoring 300 million now... Motown_Johnny Jun 2016 #39
OMG This does bring back memories! But funny how little some things skylucy Jun 2016 #40
LOL! And I was deemed old enough to watch Laugh-In that year! raven mad Jun 2016 #42
There is one strange oddity, in 1968, that was a majority Democratic Congress. Todays_Illusion Jun 2016 #45
Vellee Intelesting. - nm ThoughtCriminal Jun 2016 #46
"Those were the days my friend... ReRe Jun 2016 #47
Good lord! McCamy Taylor Jun 2016 #48
Ah! Those were the days! burrowowl Jun 2016 #50
They built a firewall between the news and the rest of the network and advertising department. Dustlawyer Jun 2016 #52
That's great! I remember watching those as a kid--when they weren't reruns. Yikes! :- TheBlackAdder Jun 2016 #51
Laugh In was my lifeline when I was a child, I made careful audio recordings of each episode Bluenorthwest Jun 2016 #53
I did the same thing with things that were keeping me going in a fundamentalist world! nolabear Jun 2016 #58
plus ca change... n/t malthaussen Jun 2016 #54
Wow! What a catch! Duval Jun 2016 #56
Pat Paulson editorial struggle4progress Jun 2016 #60
Oh you should post this separately! nolabear Jun 2016 #61
The more things change... n/t Different Drummer Jun 2016 #63
They've been ruling this country for nearly 50 years. Crunchy Frog Jun 2016 #65
Wow. SunSeeker Jun 2016 #66
I absolutely loved that show as a preteen benld74 Jun 2016 #67

gratuitous

(82,849 posts)
1. Coulda retired it right there
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 12:59 PM
Jun 2016

Hard to imagine this kind of commentary slipping onto network programming today.

lark

(23,003 posts)
7. We have nothing this edgy, funny and right on these days.
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 01:36 PM
Jun 2016

Them and the Smothers Brothers were on those years, two of the brightest, funniest and most left wing shows to every be shown on the TV screen. How I miss those days.

elljay

(1,178 posts)
19. Remember why the Smothers Brothers show was pulled from the air
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 02:45 PM
Jun 2016

CBS started censoring them over the '68 Democratic Convention and the antiwar movement.
I never missed a show. Was a big fan of Pat Paulsen, the Stag Party candidate, who made the following political statement:

"When asked if he believed in the right to bear arms: "No, I believe in the right to arm bears."" I cannot agree more.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smothers_Brothers#Controversies_and_cancellation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Paulsen

Pluvious

(4,277 posts)
30. And it's still hard to believe that...
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 03:54 PM
Jun 2016

... they got Nixon to appear on the show.

Bush Jr. never would have had the courage.

rdmtimp

(1,577 posts)
43. As it happened, Paul Keyes (the head writer for Laugh-in...
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 10:04 PM
Jun 2016

... was a pal of Nixon and even wrote speeches for him. That's how they got him on there.

Lorne Michaels was on the writing staff of Laugh-In for a spell and said he could never get a Nixon joke on the air.

Pluvious

(4,277 posts)
57. Wow, I never knew that !
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 01:01 PM
Jun 2016

That makes more sense now.

Amazing how much courage has been exhibited by some comedians, they truly are our unsung heroes.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)
44. I beg to differ, lark.
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 10:46 PM
Jun 2016

We have John Oliver's sunday night show, and Samantha Bee's weekly show, and Colbert skewers the skewable on his late night show.
Best of all, they can be seen any time on YouTube.

Oh..I forgot about SNL, of course.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
62. Yeah we do--it's on basic and premium cable, but it's out there.
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 09:20 PM
Jun 2016

Larry Wilmore, Bill Maher, John Oliver, Trevor Noah--they're all button pushing.

We don't have a 'wacky variety format' because Variety Television is out of fashion right now...but political commentary is still "in."

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
9. That show was incredibly prescient.
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 01:40 PM
Jun 2016

Almost as if someone from the early 21st century went back in time and became one of the writers.

Just look at this:

meow2u3

(24,743 posts)
10. John Oliver ought to revive the award
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 01:44 PM
Jun 2016

and present the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate to the 114th Congress for utter obstruction and willful inaction.

 

Tierra_y_Libertad

(50,414 posts)
12. “History has tried hard to teach us that we can’t have good government under politicians.
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 01:54 PM
Jun 2016
“History has tried hard to teach us that we can’t have good government under politicians. Now, to go and stick one at the very head of the government couldn’t be wise.” Mark Twain

barbtries

(28,702 posts)
16. i had to put that on my fb
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 02:22 PM
Jun 2016

there were only 200 million Americans then!?

yep. looked it up. 200.7 million, compared to over 324 million today

BlancheSplanchnik

(20,219 posts)
59. Been around the world
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 02:55 PM
Jun 2016

and saw that all the stupid people were breeding.
The cretins cloning and feeding.....

Straw Man

(6,613 posts)
21. Clarification.
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 02:49 PM
Jun 2016

The 1968 bill ultimately did pass. And ...

The top NRA officer, Franklin Orth, wrote in the association’s publication American Rifleman that “the measure as a whole appears to be one that the sportsmen of America can live with."

--https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-nras-true-believers-converted-a-marksmanship-group-into-a-mighty-gun-lobby/2013/01/12/51c62288-59b9-11e2-88d0-c4cf65c3ad15_story.html

chknltl

(10,558 posts)
22. Fellow DUer Thom Hartmann quoted this OP...
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 02:53 PM
Jun 2016

On his show today, in an interview with Congressman Pocan where they discussed last night's 'sit-in', fellow DUer Thom Hartmann pointed out this OP.

chknltl

(10,558 posts)
28. Yes he did.
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 03:40 PM
Jun 2016

Other than posted videos, Thom rarely interacts here but he often cites stuff stuff he reads here. He did not mention you by name but he did say he watched the video on DU.

LWolf

(46,179 posts)
32. My childhood
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 04:07 PM
Jun 2016

lives on in my memories, but not on cable re-runs.

At least, not the anti-establishment part that was on display on tv as well as everywhere else.

Another generation, another round of establishment suppression.

nolabear

(41,915 posts)
35. It was. I wish I felt someone could make me laugh at how insane the world is like that again.
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 04:52 PM
Jun 2016

Things like The Daily Show are great but skit comedy and political music and such is inspiring and I think really helps us realize we're not alone.

lunatica

(53,410 posts)
36. One example is Goldie Hawn
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 05:31 PM
Jun 2016

that show was her initial venture into entertainment and she was great playing the ditzy, bubble headed cute girl. She was hysterically funny and those who are too young to have seen that show have missed how great she and all the other characters were.

nolabear

(41,915 posts)
37. Between Laugh-In and The Smothers Brothers I survived the 60s and my father!
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 07:44 PM
Jun 2016

LOL! I have always said that he couldn't figure out why people made fun of Archie Bunker.

 

Hoppy

(3,595 posts)
49. Great actress. But sometimes, she was set up. She would be prepped for a scene.
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 12:29 AM
Jun 2016

The other characters were in on the change of the script but she would be there with a befuddled look. Getting that look was a goal of the director.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
64. Funny in some ways...but that whole construct was sexist as hell. Ugly. Doesn't stand the test of
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 09:33 PM
Jun 2016

time at all.

Judy Carne didn't have such sanguine memories of the experience. She used to be beaten on the show every time someone said "Sock it to me."

She didn't like it very much. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/08/the-tragic-tale-of-judy-carne-sock-it-to-me-girl-of-laugh-in-dead-at-76/


The joke now seems as cruel — and as difficult to explain to millennials — as it seemed hilarious in the 1960s: A young, lithe woman, often in a miniskirt or less, stands onstage. She announces that it’s “sock-it-to-me time.” Then, she is hit with a bucket of water, or dropped through the floor, or otherwise clobbered in some form or fashion. Sure, Richard Nixon famously said the words — but he didn’t have his clothes ripped off.

“Sock it to me”: Television runs on catchphrases — consider the instant memories sparked by “De plane!” or “What you talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” — but none seem as strange four decades later as the four words routinely uttered by actress Judy Carne on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” And now that Carne, who died at 76 last week reportedly of pneumonia, is gone, her derailed career and tragic life can have no other epitaph.

Born Joyce Audrey Botterill to a grocery-store owner in England in 1939, Carne’s training at the Bush Davies Theatrical School for Girls led to a spate of appearances on British television, as Variety reported. Her resume stateside was bolstered by appearances on such ’60s staples such as “Gidget,” “I Dream of Jeannie” and “The Patty Duke Show,” culminating in a starring role on the little-remembered “Love on a Rooftop,” (1966) which was canceled after one season.

Then, it was sock-it-to-me time: “Laugh-In” hit the airwaves in 1968. A representative exchange with the smirking Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

Carne: All right, fellas. It’s about that time. Let me have it. I’m ready.

Martin: C’mon, Judy, open your eyes. There’s no sock it to me anymore!

Carne: There isn’t? You wouldn’t lead me on, would you?

Rowan: Why, of course not. Just once, fellas, let’s spare our blameless moppet from these unending indignities to which, Judy, I must say you have displayed amazing fortitude and endurance. You have held in there no matter what they’ve done to you. You’ve taken it all, never a whimper.

Carne: Dan, that’s really sweet of you. But the audience is getting bored.

(Carne is hit by a board.)

Carne: Well, at least it wasn’t water.

(Carne is hit with a bucket of water.)

Carne: I get it all now. It was all just a trap, wasn’t it?

(Carne is dropped through the floor.)


After a few decades, this didn’t seem funny anymore......

lunatica

(53,410 posts)
68. No. Not funny anymore but
Sat Jun 25, 2016, 12:04 PM
Jun 2016

which I agree with but I was talking about Goldie Hawn who used it as a springboard to have a great career as a unique comedienne.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
69. I don't disagree with that at all--actors are victims, often enough, of the script.
Sat Jun 25, 2016, 03:17 PM
Jun 2016

Every now and again I come across an old movie with actors in it who are now famous, but at the time were just starting out--sometimes, those scripts are just hideous. Ya gotta eat, so you take whatever work you can get!

It's interesting to see how really talented actors handle a shit script!

raven mad

(4,940 posts)
42. LOL! And I was deemed old enough to watch Laugh-In that year!
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 09:57 PM
Jun 2016

I'd just started high school.............. when it was 9, 10, 11, and 12 grades. I was 13.

ReRe

(10,597 posts)
47. "Those were the days my friend...
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 11:25 PM
Jun 2016

... we thought they'd never end." And actually, they didn't. Congrats on getting mentioned by Thom Hartmann!

Dustlawyer

(10,493 posts)
52. They built a firewall between the news and the rest of the network and advertising department.
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 08:10 AM
Jun 2016

The FCC wasn't bought off yet.

Now they are nothing but propaganda crafted by psychologist to manipulate the rest of us. How much time do they devote to Climate Change, zero. How much time do they talk about the arms manufacturers lobby, zero. They only mention the NRA who takes all of the heat.

We are seeing clear evidence in the power the Lobbyiests weld in Congress right now. The Republicans cannot hold a vote even though we have had all of these sad tragedies and over 90% of us want some gun regulation.

What do we expect when we allow them to legally bribe our Representatives? Remember a few years ago there was a stink when it came out that Congress had carved an exception that allows them to receive stock tips that would be classified as insider trading? They took that right away from themselves and quietly gave it back 6 months later. Yet another way Wall Street owns them!

 

Bluenorthwest

(45,319 posts)
53. Laugh In was my lifeline when I was a child, I made careful audio recordings of each episode
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 08:53 AM
Jun 2016

so I could remember all of the jokes. Back then recording from television was considered to be the act of a crazy person. Recording television became much more popular later on. Craig reel to reel tape.

nolabear

(41,915 posts)
58. I did the same thing with things that were keeping me going in a fundamentalist world!
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 01:05 PM
Jun 2016

I was shocked out of my shoes a few years ago when I heard an audio recording of a special on Simon and Garfunkel that I'd carefully recorded too and listened to over and over. It's not just us.

benld74

(9,888 posts)
67. I absolutely loved that show as a preteen
Sat Jun 25, 2016, 11:26 AM
Jun 2016

My parents thought it disgusting of course.
Made fun of everything and everyone who deserved it.
Ahead of their time.

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