One of my Christmas gifts this year was a DVD set of the best of season three of the Smothers Comedy Brothers Hour (that’s how the announcer says it at station breaks). I remember watching the Smothers Brothers when I was a kid and remember the “Mom always liked you best” banter but not so much the political sensitivity of a lot of their late 1960s material or how truly controversial it was at the time. It’s hard to imagine that there was a time during my life when a network thought it was improper to mix political commentary with artistic entertainment to the extent that they were willing to censor the show. One of the early episodes in 1969 featured Harry Belafonte singing a calypso medley with scenes from 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention running on a screen behind him. The censors (aka Practices and Standards) cut it from the show after it was filmed, which was really the beginning of the end for the show. Among the extra features is a gallery of documents between the brothers and CBS during this feud, which escalated rapidly. Harry Belafonte identifies CBS’s actions as one of the opening salvos in a conspiracy of silence that dominated the next 25 years (Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush I) of American politics.
Other interesting things about the show. The Doors played on one episode—with a bunch of old studio musicians playing horns as backup. Steve Martin (with black hair) was one of the writers and appeared onscreen during some of the ensemble bits. Rob Reiner was also a writer, as was the man who would later become Super Dave Osborne. A very young George Carlin appeared on one episode. He was almost unrecognizable with short hair and era clothing, until he did that thing where he stretches his face in seemingly opposite directions, which made him instantly the George Carlin I’m familiar with. And he sang with the Smothers Brothers—imagine that.
To prep for the upcoming premiere, I’m watching the DVD set of season 4 of LOST. I always find a refresher useful for bringing me up to speed with details I may have forgotten or overlooked. The 8′ 15″ refresher of the first three seasons is pretty funny.
I haven’t written or sold any short stories for a while, but I received a notice that one magazine is holding a story for a second read and I was invited to submit to another anthology that will be out in 2010. My writing time is going to be devoted to an unannounced project for the next two months, but I’m hoping to get something done for the anthology deadline, which isn’t until late in 2009.
