All is not lost on TV

Every time I have a renewed glimmer of hope in humanity (see: mayor of Salt Lake City), another blip appears on the radar screen, causing the return of my agita. This time, the heartburn was brought on by my beloved Entertainment Weekly’s annual fall TV preview. In the section covering Sunday night’s “entertainment” offerings (am I the only person who finds desperate Housewives unbearable?), a small blub appeared for The War at Home.

The first problem with this is that I had assumed that this vile “comedy” had already been canceled, so I was very disappointed to learn otherwise. For those of you fortunate enough to be unacquainted with the show, Michael Rapaport, an actor who used to have so much promise (what the hell happened?), plays a racist, sexist, homophobic borderline abusive husband and dad. Sure, it worked well with All in the Family, but it is hard to strike comic gold mining in that vein again.

The creator of the show, Rob Lotterstein, was excited to note that one of this season’s upcoming episodes is about “Dave… going to go to war with this Middle Eastern neighbor over their property line in an episode we’re currently calling ‘The Gaza Strip.” Hmmm. Seriously, the concept is so funny that it brings a fuckin’ tear – from gut-busting laughter - to my eye. I can’t imagine anything more hilarious. Who could outdo this brilliant comic concept? It is almost impossible, yet I feel up to the challenge…

[A few minutes later] I know! I’m going to make a show about a waxing salon owned by Palestinian-Americans. Instead of offering Brazilian waxes, they highlight their pride at their culture and as fashionable Americans by calling the procedure “The Gaza Strip,” which will also be the name of the show. Wackiness ensues in each episode as cultural misunderstands are exploited for guffaws and then resolved by the end of the episode. Oh, the possibilities!