Yesterday, I was forced to endure three consecutive "episodes" of "Jersey Shore". People today call this show "stupid" which it is but I think we need to further define it.

Stupid TV is not necessarily a bad thing. Stupid can be funny. The 3 Stooges may have been the start of stupid TV. Their shorts were not made for television but were originally shown in moviehouses. But the huge popularity of the Stooges when I was growing up was strictly due to TV exposure. No one can deny that the Stooge episodes were ridiculously stupid but most of us (I said "most" so shut up) also acknowledge they were hilariously funny. The sight of of one of the Stooges getting knocked through a door leaving his outline in the wood may be moronic but it's also hilarious.

Another show that was completely stupid was "Green Acres" but it too was also hilarious. I saw one recently where a film crew was going to come to Hooterville so Haney opens "Haney's School of Acting" where the first rule was never to look at the camera. His TV camera was a mock-up with a tomato can as the lens. When the news crew tries to film people, they turn away from the camera because, they tell the bewildered crew, "Mr. Haney told us never to look into the tomato can." I laughed so damned hard.

Another stupid show was "Get Smart" but which was also totally hilarious. Like when Max fills out a questionnaire for a dating service only to find himself hooked up with Chief as his perfect date which neither of them find humorous is hilarious. "Gilligan's Island" was another like when Gilligan's mouth turns into a radio receiver and every time he tries to talk this tinny rocknroll music comes out causing whoever was closest to him to reach over and push his mouth shut. Totally stupid programs but which were hilarious in their stupidity.

"Jersey Shore" simply isn't funny in its stupidity. I mean, it's laughable but that's not the same as saying it's laugh-filled. It's funny at the expense of itself. After these three episodes, I felt numb, drained. Like something sucked my mind out of my body. This is what people today think is funny. Today's attempts at stupid but funny end up being stupid and annoying. Maybe stupid isn't the right word--mindless would be more like it. In these earlier programs I mentioned there was some plot to follow. In "Jersey Shore" there's no plot. All three episodes were really indistinguishable and had no storyline to follow and so trying to follow it leaves you feeling sort of dizzy and tired. It's truly idiot TV these days and I think really is debilitating to watch and really is harmful.

It's frightening that this shit can be so popular.