Here are some more laugh-inducing media that you may or may not already know about.

"I have a pony" and "When the wind blows" DVDs: Steven Wright

…is  one of the funniest stand-up comedians I’ve heard.  His style is not one that is calculated to yield a dynamic onstage persona, however it’s his very deadpan nature which makes his delivery even funnier in person than it is on DVD. 

An example of his humor: "I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met" or "I used to have an open mind, but my brains kept falling out" or "my friend sent me a picture post card of the entire earth; on the back it said ‘wish you were here’".

If you can’t see him in person or don’t want to wait, you can see him on DVD. 

"Fawlty Towers": 

Much to my amazement, there are still people who haven’t heard of this British TV series or have heard about it, but never watched it.  The British, who’ve cranked out more great comedy shows in the last 40 years than anyone, including the U.S. (okay, we’ve got Mary Tyler Moore, MASH, All in the Family (adapted from a British show)  Sanford & Son (adapted from a British show), Cheers, Seinfeld, Frasier, 30 Rock, and of course, The Simpsons, but the Brits have a lot more), voted "Fawlty Towers" the greatest comedy show ever; interestingly, the next funniest show was the original version of "The Office".

In any event, "Fawlty Towers" is about a very uptight, passive-agressive  English seaside town hotelier who runs a small rundown hotel, and his wife and staff and their collective interactions with each other and their guests.  It stars the brilliant John Cleese (from Monty Python’s Flying Circus), Prunella Scales, who plays his wife Sybil,  Andrew Sachs, who plays a dim-witted Spanish waiter named ‘Manuel’, and Connie Booth, who plays one of the staff at the hotel.  The scripts are by and large outstanding, and have frequent guest appearances by some of the best English stage and movie actors around.  This show had more camera shots than any  other show had had up to that point; I don’t know if it still has the record or not.

If you like British humor, esp. Monty Python, you’ll love this show.  I have seen each episode many times, and there are still parts that I see and laugh at, even knowing the lines verbatim.

"Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union":

This is a TV series in its first season, which just wrapped up on Showtime.  Ullman is really good, certainly one of the funniest mimics around and a great impersonator.  She is also a very good comedy writer.  Couple this with her biting look at life  in America today (TSA screeners who use the X-ray machines to do physical exams for each other, female soldiers who get home from Iraq for 2-3 days and have to go back, etc.), and you have a great show.

"The Capitol Steps"

This is a group of writers and performers who, like Weird Al Yankovic, add new words to existing popular songs.  All of their songs are political/social commentaries, and most of them are very funny.  You can get their tapes or CDs at [1] Capital Steps. 

Three DVDs to make you laugh

[11] Steven Wright: Wh…

[12]

[13] Image Enterta…

$10.99

[14] I Have a Pony

[15]

[16] Rhino Flashba…

$5.99

[17] Fawlty Towers - Th…

[18]

[19] BBC Warner

$42.77

[20]
[21] Privacy