The sad thing is not many people nowadays are exposed to the pioneers of comedy. Sam of course and Rodney without question; but remmember Richard Pryor/Don Rickles/Redd Foxx; the list goes on. That was the best part of Johnny Carson; he knew and loved comedy and filled his shows with the best. You can't see that anymore. What I see is the comedians going for the easy laugh or parody. Parody has it's place but it gets boring over time because the jokes are limited by the situation.