When I was younger and still living at home, my father would often watch CBS' 60 Minutes. Come to think of it, he actually may not have watched the entire show each week, but I distinctly recall seeing Andy Rooney every Sunday evening in our living room. When I was in elementary school, Andy Rooney was an old man. Despite the fact that his topic was regularly over my head I remember him being somewhat of a comic. So over the past few weeks I have made a point to watch 60 Minutes the past month or two.

Granted it has not been a complete waste of time. One of my favorite actors, Morgan Freeman, sat down with Mike Wallace and showed him parts of his life. Tonight opera singer Debbie Voight was interviewed by Bill Simon. And then, as he has for decades, Andy Rooney ended the show with his traditional sitting-at-his-desk monologue. Tonight I finally realized something Andy unfortunately has yet to understand.

Andy Rooney is no longer funny. Andy Rooney is old and senile. He doesn't seem to even know who is watching the show anymore. Consider the fact that everyone on 60 Minutes is easily over the age of 60. Some of them, including Mike Wallace, are into their 80s. The show itself has been on for decades and its audience has been aging with it (According to the CJR, the median age of the 60 Minutes audience as of 2005 was 58). Tonight's monologue was about technology that is ever-improving and changing. And it took Andy Rooney only 45 seconds to prove that he does not even know who is watching his own television bit. For example, "If you're 15 and have a cell phone, you may think that people have always have cell phones." I'd be surprised to learn that many 15-year olds watch Andy Rooney regularly. Or this: "Reinventing anything should be illegal less than five years after it was invented." He argued repeatedly that for his sake old technologies should be preserved rather than be upgraded and improved, simply because it's easier for him (and I'm assuming he's attempting to relate to an entire generation on this one) rather than try to learn how to work something new.

I suppose in some sense he's still funny. But to me, his entire demeanor and approach is one of being an old, bitter man. He no longer has that charm he once did (which Larry King has somehow managed to retain). Perhaps Andy Rooney would be better suited as a character in a sequel to the classic Walter Mathau and Jack Lemmon movies.