1.   Being twisted, being swathed in a blanket of irony, being so hip as to be nearly unfunny is what passes for brilliant comedy these days.

2.   He has an ear for the kinds of saucy banter and glib put-downs that substitute for conversation in television comedy these days.

3.   That is not to say there are no comedies these days with dark-tinged humor.

4.   Yet her material at the downtown house was extremely mild, even by the standards set by the stand-up comics who are the spine of television comedy these days.