Drunk History soberly reminds us that Los Angeles has always had water problems
There are much drier ways to learn about the Los Angeles Aqueduct, a project completed in 1913, spearheaded by William Mulholland, commissioner of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and Fred Eaton, his former boss and a onetime mayor of Los Angeles. (The LADWP has its own version, for example, as does History.com.) But as with most stories from the past, Comedy Central's Drunk History adds sloppy entertainment value to the quest to bring water — and thus people — to barren Los Angeles.
In Jeremy Konner's boozy retelling of the Los Angeles water story, Mulholland (Jack Black) is a sort of tragic quasi-hero, partly manipulated by a crooked Eaton (Kyle Gass). Drunk History devoted this week's entire episode to L.A., but while famous Hollywood canine Rin Tin Tin and armed law-and-order vigilante Andrés Pico are worthy subjects, the tale of the City of Angels' longstanding water shortages is certainly more relevant in today's drought-stricken California. Mulholland was done in by a dam break that killed hundreds, "but in the end, between Mulholland and Eaton, they created Los Angeles — but really Mulholland: If it weren't for him, there would be no Los Angeles," Konner said, noting again that the city is naturally a desert: "L.A. is a f—ing nonsense of nonsenses." Watch below, and mind the mildly NSFW language. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Zimbabwe’s driving crisisUnder the Radar Southern African nation is experiencing a ‘public health disaster’ with one of the highest road fatality rates in the world
-
The Mint’s 250th anniversary coins face a whitewashing controversyThe Explainer The designs omitted several notable moments for civil rights and women’s rights
-
‘If regulators nix the rail merger, supply chain inefficiency will persist’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
A peek inside Europe’s luxury new sleeper busThe Week Recommends Overnight service with stops across Switzerland and the Netherlands promises a comfortable no-fly adventure
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
