The World's Funniest Moments

Ugh.

The World's Funniest Moments is a show with a format similar to that of America's Funniest Home Videos, except that the videos aren't nearly as funny, and there are also various viral videos from the Internet. This show pales drastically in comparison to AFV. First of all, Tom Bergeron is a funny person. Although Arsenio Hall can also be funny, Bergeron actually looks like he's enjoying his job. Hall, on the other hand, looks as if he would rather be somewhere, anywhere, else. Also, the videos are much dumber than those on AFV (I'm willing to bet that the people who sent in videos to WFM were turned down by AFV).

No wonder MyNetworkTV is the second-lowest rated major network (the only major network with lower ratings is Ion Television).

In a genre of television, monopolized by one particular program, the 2010-2011 season of World's Funniest Moments shows lots of potential as a home-video show contender. Season 2 brings an all new flavor, replacing solo act Arsenio Hall from Season 1 with an ensemble of new talent, good writing and segment production, and just some good ol' fun and laughs!

Kind of like a cavalcade, the presentation is shared by several personalities, with main emcees Erik Estrada and Laura McKenzie. Chris and Kyle Massey (Zoey 101 and That's So Raven, respectively) refresh the hosting duties with funny stunts during the episode, including silly competitive games with the audience. Additional video challenges, where contestants can win money (like convincing random people to adopt a live swarm of bees), also make for some very hilarious moments. Too funny!

Live television + taped home videos + reality TV games = well-rounded, interactive, reality television show. I see lots of potential here with their current formula, but this valiant effort has only one exception to its goodness. World's Funniest Moments sometimes plays outdated recycled clips (like the girl falling face-first on the treadmill from 2-3 years ago). Because they sometimes define themselves as a viral video show (and viral videos are often already replayed and become stale quickly), it's one of those necessary things to showcase recent clips that have not yet met their expiration date. I am certain that if they could afford to acquire some fresh videos, this WFM upgrade could be solid gold.

I just watched this new video show and must admit, I had one small chuckle. This was one about a guy who fell asleep and people kept waking him up to ask the time. None of the PICKS OF THE WEEK were even remotely funny. Whoever screens these videos should really give their sense of humor an extreme makeover. There was hardly anything funny about this whole show. I had been wondering what had happened to Arsenio Hall. He must have ran out of money and got really desperate to accept this job. The writers should have stayed on strike where they didn't have to inflict their bad taste on the rest of the world. I had set my DVR to record these shows, but have since erased all of them. Find something better for Wednesday night like going to the dentist.

While there are a lot choices for comedy entertainment in this world. However, none quite encapsulate the essence of The World's Funniest Moments. I am a historian of comedy and Connoisseur of comedy. The World's Funniest Moments is at the top of my list.

New host duo Erik Estrada and Laura McKenzie add some humorously inventive interventions between clips and commercials, and then guide us through a collection of silly home-made clips. In the last episode I saw, this TV show upgrade also featured great bits with Christopher Massey (Zoey 101, Santa Paws) and Kyle Massey (Dancing With The Stars, That's So Raven), where they played funny games with the audience (remember the show "Double Dare"?). Very refreshing, especially when a show about video-taped spontaneously funny moments is able to create and record some on the spot. Additional plus marks: Some newer videos that I've never seen, the audience looks a lot happier, and the outtakes are short and witty. Too bad it's on at an awkward time during the weekend; it used to be on at night (on Wednesdays, I think) for all to see. Oh well. Still, a big quality boost for sure.