History of the Joke on The History Channel

There's an interesting documentary showing on THC called The History of the Joke. Narrated by Lewis Black, it doesn't do much to give a real historical survey of comedy, but it does provide a thorough overview of the comedy world, touching on topics that include physical comedy, political comedy, "dirty" jokes, and our favorite subject, the roots of comedy in pain. All of this is illustrated by a huge range of famous and aspiring comics ruminating on the nature of comedy and telling jokes. George Carlin, Penn and Teller, Kathleen Madigan, Dave Attell and a whole heap o' funny people make appearences over the course of two hours. My favorite was the section covering the persistant libel that female comics aren't funny, which Kathy Griffin skewers hilariously ("She's funny AND she has a vagina? How can this be?").

The History of the Joke airs again Saturday night at 10 (when of course all comedians and comedy fans are at home sipping chamomille tea). The DVD is also available from THC for $29.99.