Dangerously Funny

An unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the rise and fall of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour -- the provocative, politically charged program that shocked the censors, outraged the White House, and forever changed the face of television. Decades before The Daily Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour proved there was a place on television for no-holds-barred political comedy with a decidedly antiauthoritarian point of view. In this first-ever all-access history of the show, veteran entertainment journalist David Bianculli tells the fascinating story of its three-year network run -- and the cultural impact that's still being felt today. Before it was suddenly removed from the CBS lineup (reportedly under pressure from the Nixon administration), The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was a ratings powerhouse. It helped launch the careers of comedy legends such as Steve Martin and Rob Reiner, featured groundbreaking musical acts like the Beatles and the Who, and served as a cultural touchstone for the antiwar movement of the late 1960s. Drawing on extensive original interviews with Tom and Dick Smothers and dozens of other key players -- as well as more than a decade's worth of original research -- Dangerously Funny brings readers behind the scenes for all the battles over censorship, mind-blowing musical performances, and unforgettable sketches that defined the show and its era. David Bianculli delves deep into this never-told story, to find out what really happened and to reveal why this show remains so significant to this day.

MOCK STARS TWO-DRINK MINIMUMS AND POTATO SKINS; bad Clinton jokes on late night-these used to be the hallmarks of comedy, an art relegated to the controlled environs of comedy clubs and network TV. In the late nineties, a daring breed of comedians...

Welcome. My name is Professor Tobias Longbottom and I am the head of the Institute of Dangerously Funny Jokes. Inside my hilariously illustrated joke book you'll find stacks of laboratory tested rib-ticklers. Young readers will have a blast sharing these fresh jokes with family, friends and other kids at school.

"Chris Rush promised that if I gave him a favorable blurb, he would agree to be placed in a secure, isolated neuropsychiatric facility, away from the rest of us. Here goes: 'Chris's book is crammed with good, big, sick belly laughs.' Your turn, Chris." --George Carlin "I first saw Chris Rush thirty years ago, and he killed me. He has a bizarre, funny way of looking at things, and this book is proof of that." --Jay Leno "Chris Rush combines the stream-of-consciousness of a Lenny Bruce, a Monty-Pythonesque appreciation of the surreally absurd, and the mental energy of a Robin Williams." --New York Times "He is universal and intellectual without being elitist." --Variety Comedian Chris Rush was one of the original contributors to National Lampoon magazine. He can be heard on Sirius and XM satellite radio and on the Joey Reynolds radio show every Friday at 1 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. In Milking the Rhino, Rush uses a series of unforgettable surreal images to create hilarious verbal cartoons presented in a seductive list form to transport you into a world of nonstop laughter. Lists include: * Seven Examples of Truth in Advertising You Will Never See * Twenty-Five Really Lousy Jobs * The Ten Worst Pickup Lines * Ten Bizarre Hobbies * Fourteen Novelty Items That Never Took Off * Four Things You Shouldn't Do in Zero-Gravity Conditions * Four UFO Incidents That Are Weirder Than Usual

The original adult coloring book! A New York Times bestseller when it was originally published in 1961, The Executive Coloring Book is crashing the adult coloring book party with its subversive humor. "This is me. I am an executive. Executives are important. They go to important offices and do important things. Color my underwear important." So begins the dangerously funny classic, The Executive Coloring Book. Originally published more than fifty years ago, this brief and brilliant coloring book skewers the early sixties executive set. If Mad Men made them look glamorous, The Executive Coloring Book casts them in a different hue and invites everyone in on the joke.

Poems.

She's on a Mission to Save the Planet... Mermaid Angel Tritone has been researching humans from afar, hoping to find a way to convince them to stop polluting. When she jumps into a boat to escape a shark attack, it's her chance to pursue her mission, but she has to keep her identity a total secret. When He Discovers Her Secret, They're Both in Mortal Danger... For Logan Hardington, finding a beautiful woman on his boat is surely not a problem, especially since her presence helps his relationship with is young, newfound son. But when Logan realizes what she truly is, and the jeopardy his family is in, he doesn't know whom to trust. Suddenly following his heart has never been more dangerous...

Called by readers "blazingly funny, divinely inspired, breathtaking, sophisticated, original, deranged, a brilliant intellect wasted, and a comedic genius," if one could stew Dave Barry, Hunter Thompson, Al Franken and David Sedaris down into a thick, tasty ragout which might then be served over noodles, that might begin to approximate the unexpectedly hilarious experience of reading Patrick Carlisle. In a thoroughly questionable and highly refutable manner, with wildly fluctuating amounts of insight and sensitivity, Mr. Carlisle examines such irrational topics of modern identity as internet dating, the fanatic right wing, the dark, dangerous appeal of Meg Ryan, the unfathomable motivations behind the comb-over, the mysterious banana test, first love, antidepressants and the heartbreaking challenge of being a Yum! Brands Man. Pessimistic but full of longing, immersed in popular culture but oddly erudite, manic and depressive in turn, deeply and absurdly tangential, profoundly deluded and yet uncomfortably honest, liberal but utterly politically incorrect . most importantly, in the words of one reviewer, Patrick Carlisle is "so horribly, mind-bogglingly funny."

Erica Boyd is just trying to keep her life in one piece. But a family feud and a far-too-attractive newcomer threaten to blow it to pieces. Try as she might, Erica can’t quite escape the maelstrom of her mother’s ambition to control every aspect of a project to honor Howard and Bridget Taylor, beloved pillars of the Whitehall, Texas, community from years gone by. Whitehall’s competition for queen of the social scene is fierce—different factions have different ideas about how to honor the Taylors. Erica’s closeted relationship with Alice Goodman is hanging by a thread, and for reasons she won’t explain, Erica’s grandmother is actively resisting the whole Taylor history project, creating a generational feud with Erica caught in the middle. Everybody knows that Howard Taylor and bride Bridget emigrated from England back in 1912. When the frazzled local historian can’t confirm it, she’s replaced with a professional: out and audacious Rae, who jumps into the already powder keg situation. Erica’s mesmerized attraction to the dynamic Rae—and the rumor of a sealed diary—lights the fuse on this story of small town society, survival and secrets. Megan Carter (Passionate Kisses) brings her readers a lighthearted story of then and now with another cast of her unforgettable characters. Winner, Golden Crown Award for Historical Romance.

Television today is better than ever. From The Sopranos to Breaking Bad, Sex and the City to Girls, and Modern Family to Louie, never has so much quality programming dominated our screens. Exploring how we got here, acclaimed TV critic David Bianculli traces the evolution of the classic TV genres, among them the sitcom, the crime show, the miniseries, the soap opera, the Western, the animated series, the medical drama, and the variety show. In each genre he selects five key examples of the form to illustrate its continuities and its dramatic departures. Drawing on exclusive and in-depth interviews with many of the most famed auteurs in television history, Bianculli shows how the medium has evolved into the premier form of visual narrative art. Includes interviews with: MEL BROOKS, MATT GROENING, DAVID CHASE, KEVIN SPACEY, AMY SCHUMER, VINCE GILLIGAN, AARON SORKIN, MATTHEW WEINER, JUDD APATOW, LOUIS C.K., DAVID MILCH, DAVID E. KELLEY, JAMES L. BROOKS, LARRY DAVID, KEN BURNS, LARRY WILMORE, AND MANY, MANY MORE