Finding funny in a bleak world

In these daunting days where optimism seems so difficult to find, self-care has become as important as the ever elusive roll of toilet paper. Every individual has a unique way of seeking some much needed distraction. It was surprising to hear that sales of Albert Camus' novel, The Plague, have soared. I'm not sure I could enjoy reading such a dreary story. Browsing what's popular on Netflix right now, I see lots of various baking shows along side darker fair like Ozark and Tiger King. I'll agree that watching polite Brits compete for a cake dish is good escapism, but I don't know about watching the slow, violent destruction of a nuclear family or the weirdly disturbing true tale of animal abuse and murder-for-hire as a method of forgetting my troubles. Obviously, many are enjoying those shows; however, I have found that there has been nothing better than a hearty belly laugh.

Over the past few weeks, we've found lots of that ingredient in such shows as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily (Social Distancing) Show with Trevor Noah, and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Colbert and Noah have excelled at finding humor in current events and they continue to do so to a certain extent. I have found that it has become harder and harder to laugh away much of what is happening and so watching their shows has become a little less light and fun. Jimmy Fallon was hilarious at the start of the shelter-in-place days. While I have no personal experience with dealing with children who are stuck in the house, I found his struggles to be absolutely hilarious. Unfortunately, I've noticed in recent days that he is limiting our exposure to the mirthfulness of these family interactions. I still enjoy the show, but not nearly as much as previously.

So I found myself  searching for some much needed hilarity and rediscovering a new edition of a sure-fire source of guffaws, MST3K. Actually, it's MST3K: The Return. I watched the original series religiously back in the late 90s. It was my escape from a hard knock life of working long hours. Ironically, it is now an escape from a hard knock life of working hardly any hours. But the laughs are just as good with Jonah Ray doing a great job of filling the large shoes first filled by Joel Hodgson and later by Mike Nelson. Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt are entertaining as the mad scientist and her sidekick. I really have no complaints about these new installments. The movies are perfectly bad and the writing is equally great. This is the PERFECT escape from really dark days. The good news is if I'm able to get through the two seasons of this newer series, the original series is available through IMDb. Things are looking up!