This is no joke. America’s leading, grown-up satirical newspaper can finally rent a car, get its insurance premium lowered and not be automatically carded when entering Dave & Busters. Comedy Central has cornered the TV segment and MAD remains the entry-level satire drug.
I’m not surprised this publication originated in Madison, WI. The state’s capital is like Milwaukee’s younger, funnier and cooler sibling everybody wants to party with. It’s a city with a rich history of pranksters. When I was a kid, some students were on Real People doing gags such as a replica of the Statue of Liberty, just from the torch up.
Oddly, I never heard of The Onion until 1997. Brian showed me its Web page during a mutual visit in Raleigh to see our parents. Back then, everybody would be anxiously await the new stories/jokes they posted on Wednesday. Today there’s a steady stream on a week-day basis.
It’s a bummer their other endeavors: two TV shows on cable, a shelved movie (not very good) and radio news stories have fizzled out. I think the Web is what they should stick to, the writers are excellent at capturing the immediacy. One even left for a successful stint in Hollywood…Dan Vebber, producer on Futurama and American Dad, aka Family Guy with a narrative.
May these guys remain for at least another 25. They make the world a better place by helping us all laugh about everything. They’ve often shinned after a horrible crisis.