How did the comedy special on global warming do? 4

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1. 

   LauraC Posted 4:36 am
   21 Nov 2005

   Earth to America!I watched this show last night, or I should say I tried to watch it. It was painfully un-funny to me, but that could just be me since I can't stand the Everyone Loves Raymond school of humor. And I was actually looking forward to a comedy about global warming. Really, I was. But anyhoo, that aside, I just couldn't take the show seriously, so to speak, because it was set in Las Vegas. I kept waiting for them to make fun of the fact that they were doing a global warming variety show in what has to be one of the most energy non-efficient cities in the country, but I never heard that punch line. Maybe the show's organizers bought credits to offset all the carbon emissions, but that didn't come across to me as a viewer.
   I did log on to the site, stopglobalwarming.org, and found some nice tips buried in the Take Action section. They mention that some Las Vegas hotels are taking steps to improve their energy efficiency, and that's wonderful. But Las Vegas itself is a symbol of consumption, and that's a key factor in causing global warming in the first place.
   That's not to say I expect the performers to all wear hemp yoga pants while performing in tents at Joshua Tree, but this show was meant to send a message. The message I got was that it was ok to use incredible amounts of non-renewable resources to entertain the American masses for a couple of hours and make them feel good for not watching Desperate Housewives. I appreciate the sentiment, but it rings hollow when you talk the talk but don't walk the walk.
   I'm looking forward to "Global Warming: The Musical" to start it's Las Vegas revue any day now.

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2. 

   jyholahan Posted 5:45 am
   21 Nov 2005

   Earth to AmericaI watched the special and didn't find it to be riotously funny (though Will Ferrell's George W. Bush impression was quite hilarious, I thought, and it was fun to see Steve Martin play his banjo).  It was fine--a bit like watching an awards show.
   What I found most frustrating, however, was that throughout the show, celebrities kept urging the viewers to log on to the Stop Global Warming website and join the virtual march... unfortunately, the website wasn't able to handle the traffic, and I was unable to "join the march" though I did try to do so on numerous occasions during the show.
   The tbs website might have video downloads from the show at this point, if you'd like to check out that possibility.

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3. 

   doriannegray Posted 6:57 am
   21 Nov 2005

   Earth to AmericaI had a feeling it wouldn't be as good as I had hoped - and I was not disappointed. They could have comedically offered a lot more in the "environmentally sound solution and alternative to everyday problems" department so that viewers just didn't enjoy the humour for a fleeting moment, but could have applied it to everyday life when they left the show. Also, for a while there I thought I was watching the Democratic Party Convention. The humour veered away from environmental issues to social security and precription drugs for the elderly. Terrible. They really succeeded last night in living up to the stereotype "liberal Hollywood" despite filming in that dispicably environmentally sad city. Too bad they couldn't leave the bad politicing and mudslinging in CA and focus more on getting the real message across - that we ALL need to do more to save this planet and do it with a smile.    

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4. 

   ask Posted 6:55 am
   22 Nov 2005

   Earth to America specialPeople - just be happy that there was a two-hour long special about global warming on TV. We (enviros) tend to be so picky. I thought most of it was funny. It's a start, a step in bringing this issue into mainstream thinking.
   Will Ferrell was great in his Bush impression. While Faith Hill and Tim McGraw weren't the best/funniest part of the show, I did think it was good to include these traditionally "red-state" stars.

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