"The ½ Hour News Hour" (2007) TV series

Creators:

Manny Coto
Joel Surnow

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

18 February 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Short Lived | Critically Bashed | Number In Title

Cast

Kurt Long	...	Kurt McNally (17 episodes, 2007)
Jennifer Robertson	...	Jennifer Lange (17 episodes, 2007)
Dennis Miller	...	Himself (13 episodes, 2007)
Jamie McShane	...	Timothy Cox (12 episodes, 2007)
Erin Matthews	...	Guest / ... (10 episodes, 2007)
Rush Limbaugh	...	Himself / ... (8 episodes, 2007)
Regan Burns	...	Tim Davenport / ... (7 episodes, 2007)

Also Known As:

The Half Hour News Hour (USA) (alternative spelling)
This Just In (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:22 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox

Thank God it's only 1/2 an hour!

This show is so awfully amateurish it is agonizingly uncomfortable to watch. What's worse is the overzealous audience who hoot and holler at jokes that are more ideologically pointed than funny. The director compounds this forced laughter and applause during the shows credits when the audience tries applaud and cheer for 2-3 minutes.

I feel sorry for the "actors." I know I have seen a couple in other shows on Comedy Central and in TV commercials. They are really hitting rock bottom with this turkey. The worst example of this is Dennnis Miller, whose rapid-fire, arcane references are so beyond the ken of the audience that the timing of their laughter is not in sync with his not-so-funny and very bitter punch lines. What is it with conservativism and comedy? Miller used to be a hoot when his observations weren't such blatant attempts to attack one side of the political spectrum.

Like Miller, the conservatives who write for this show are so consumed with trying to score political points against the left that they miss being funny by a long shot. One skit had "God" smiting secular humanist authors (to quote O'Reilly) and the audience not only laughed but cheered as each met their fate. Now who wouldn't find that funny? Good Christian humor, huh? I suppose the kool-aid drinking Fox News die-hards will force themselves to laugh and keep watching but it won't last long. I've watched three episodes and even on a good night this show is worse than a high school comedy routine.

As Lewis Black observed, "If this is supposed to be a 'fake' news show on Fox News, shouldn't it be a real news show?"

To those faithful acolytes of all things Fox, keep trying to laugh while you cringe inside.