Robert Lloyd, TV critic for the L.A. Times theorizes… no… insists that awkwardness has become “the dominant note in comedy.”

The folks in the mainstream media (and, yes, that includes the alt rags) have been flogging this horse for some time now. Making the case that “awkard is king” (that bold claim is even in the title), Lloyd cites Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office (both versions, naturally) and 30 Rock.

One of these things is not like the other… can you pick it out?

If you answered 30 Rock, you’re correct, but more about that later.

Back in September, when Rolling Stone put out its Comedy Issue, we said this:

We have no problem with niches. This awkward thing is a niche, a cultural speed bump. This nonsense about comedy’s “new impoverished look” or it’s “lack of show business phoniness” is laughable. And their eagerness to declare that good, solid standup is dead– and that some form of rumpled, pseudo-authentic, Kerou-whackiness has replaced it– is pathetic. (NBC has been pushing the “awkward is the new funny” meme for some time now.)[…]

RS could have actually made the case for a golden age. They could have written rapturously and with wonder about the eye-popping opportunity that exists– for performers and consumers alike– in the 21st century’s sprawling comedy marketplace. Instead, they offered a narrow, parochial survey of what’s out there, packaged as a hipster’s guide to what’s funny.

And back further, in May of last year, on the occasion of the first episode of the sixth season of Last Comic Standing, we said this:

It was excruciating and grim… and not in a good way (NBC is fond of promoting their shows by offering a roundup of videos called “Hilarious Awkward Moments.” Apparently, awkward is the new ironic. Ironic, you’ll recall, substituted for funny back in the 90s. We suppose this makes LCS cutting edge. We can’t wait until the wheel turns and humorous is the new funny.)

NBC even has an entire blog devoted to awkward moments… it’s called the “Awkward Moments’s Blog.” It serves as an oblique viewer’s guide to The Office— a way for folks to figure out just what is funny about awkwardness (and, by deduction, figure out what might be funny about the NBC series). It’s working. The show (on a turd of a network) is getting good numbers in key demographics. But is anyone really laughing when they watch? And is smirking at uncomfortable moments in the front office of a paper factory a substitute for a load of belly laughs? Is it really king?

When we tune into 30 Rock, we often get there too early… so we’re stuck with the last 45 seconds or so of the awkwardness of The Office. When 30 Rock fires up, though, the difference is striking. It’s a laugh riot. And the gags get the laughs in a startling variety of ways– visual gags, puns, political humor, etc. There may well be some uncomfortable moments involving Liz Lemon’s failure to find a decent man or occasional glimpses into her private life, but the writing is witty and the half-hour is layered with more jokes per minute than any sitcom in recent memory.

But, if awkward is “king,” that’s not backed up by the few sitcoms that hover at or near the top (or the top of the middle) of the ratings. How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Rules Of Engagement, Two And A Half Men— none of them come anywhere close to milking the awkward moments thing.

Better Off Ted, which is arguably one of the funniest sitcoms to premiere in quite some time, will probably not survive long enough for a network suit to find a slot for it to thrive in. Unfortunate. It’s not doing well in the key demographics. And we suppose that’s what this all comes down to. Awkward isn’t by any stretch king– but it is the current lingua franca among 18-34 year olds. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is king. Further down, Lloyd says:

Indeed, much of the day’s humor is about behaving like total children; at the very least, it is deeply adolescent. Reflecting the interests and fears of that most awkward and inarticulate of creatures, the teenage boy, it is haunted by sex, violence, bodily functions and bodily fluids.

Is there a lot of it around? Certainly. Is it “much of the day’s humor?” Certainly not.

Rather embarassing for NBC and the LAT and the others to be bending over backwards to cater to the kids. Kinda like dad showing up at your junior prom wearing his neatly pressed jeans. Perhaps, as they face their precipitous slide into irrelevance, the newspapers and the networks think that they’ve got to place all their bets on teens, adolescents and young adults. Flattering them in this way will only delay the inevitable.