COUNTERPUNCH LETTERS : Readers Take Sides Over Comedian Steve Allen’s Ideas

Every year or so, some “seasoned” comedian comes forward to decry the use of “foul” and “vile” language in TV comedy. Steve Allen was the latest (“It’s Time for Comedians to Clean Up Their Act,” Counterpunch, May 22).

Every time I hear one of these diatribes, I have to ask myself, “What shows are these people talking about?” “Family Matters”? “Wings”? “Mad About You”? “Seinfeld”? “Friends”? “Murphy Brown”? “Blossom”? “Frasier”? “Home Improvement”? What “foul” and “vile” language have you heard on any of these shows?

Even such “risque” sitcoms as “Married . . . With Children,” “Martin” and occasionally, “Roseanne,” will employ ribald humor or “adult” subject matter, but even then they keep their language well within accepted PG or PG-13 guidelines.

In today’s mass-media marketplace, all types of comedy are available. From the G-rated comedies shown on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel to the G, PG and PG-13 style humor of the networks, to the R-level raunch on pay cable (some of it award-winning, I might add), there is indeed something for everyone.

Even Steve Allen. ALLEN B. URY Costa Mesa

My husband and I and all the people we associate with agree wholeheartedly with the column written by Steve Allen regarding smut and vulgarity in “comedy” today.

We purchased a five-show ticket for a series of plays at a nearby theater. But three times we were forced to walk out, insulted before they were halfway through. These were supposed to be bona fide, popular plays intended for normal audiences.

It is difficult to believe that writers expect everyone to think in the same low terms that they do. It may surprise them to discover that the majority of us just don’t enjoy hearing four letter-words and the accompanying filth when we pay for entertainment. Goodness knows most of us need to laugh and be entertained, not insulted after a hard day’s work. JOAN and ARCH HASKINS Whittier

Steve Allen, I read your Counterpunch piece on most current comedy supposedly being saturated with vulgarity and I have one question: Are you out of your %$*#@!^ mind? Semi-seriously, what alien has inserted a probe in your mind, or what possessed you to declare what is officially funny for all people and advocate censorship of free comedic speech?

Aren’t you the guy who gave Lenny Bruce his shot on TV? If our society has adopted more crudeness in its speech and is obsessed with vulgar topics, comedians merely reflect that change in the American lexicon.

Steverino, I’m not really mad at you [but you cite] only comedic performers from bygone eras. Does the rubbery physical brilliance of Jim Carrey suggest indecent acts to you? In your estimation, does Ellen DeGeneres simply remind you of a sewer-mouthed stevedore?

What the clubs need nowadays are not Clean Nights and Filth Nights but Stupid Nights and Intelligent Nights. The select use of “swear words” has a place, even a power, in the domain of comedy. But if it’s overused or simply supports mindless observations about convenience stores or the difference between cats and dogs, sure it’s going to grate. BRAD SCHREIBER Los Angeles

The article written by Steve Allen says it all. I used to go to comedy shows and watch comedy on television but not any more. One four-letter word and it is a turnoff to me. That is not comedy. It is filth. The same can be said for most movies today. My solution is simple. I just do not go to movies. If a television movie uses four-letter words, I switch channels. It used to take talent to be a comedian. Today all one needs is a mouth like a torn pocket! F. JANSEN Northridge