Yeah, I skipped my Sunday entry. WHAT OF IT? I was still on vacation time, plus, recent personal events have made me not feel like being very interesting (which is true, but was also, oddly, articulated in just that way on Studio 60 last night). This entry may not be all that interesting either, but I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about this last night.
Today, I want to talk to you about America's most unlikely funny man: Brian Williams. Ok, maybe "most unlikely" is an exaggeration, as there are certainly many, many unfunny people in America. It is still surprising that he has turned up on SNL and on the recent autism telethon, the hilariously-named "Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Benefit for Autism Education." Apart from the fact that his dry, serious-news-anchor delivery turned out to be excellent when put to telling jokes, his willingness to make fun of his own job is very charming.
Are all news anchors secretly funny? If so, where does that come from? You would think most news anchors would take themselves too seriously, given their weird, self-important job.
I assume Brian became besties with Jon Stewart after appearing on his show when he took over for Brokaw, but that doesn't really explain the SNL appearance. And how do the NBC Nightly News producers feel about his comedic stylings? I suppose fine, since SNL is on the same network.
Semi-relatedly, in that references to it constantly appear in my life: Why is the very idea or mention of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (including in the NOTMS:AOBFA) is so freaking funny. I mean, now it's just funny to me because they keep popping up. It's odd for a specific group to become an actual comedic device though.
Thank you for the context clues
I had to think long and hard to identify Brian Williams. What does that say about me? This from the girl with Carl Kassel's voice on my home answering machine.
Posted by: Anthea | October 18, 2006 at 06:45 PM