Possible Clues:

• Stand-up folks?
• Stand-up people
• Extraterrestrial's son's declining wits
• Clowns often making idiotic comments say, originally
• Garfield's milieu
• Funny papers features
• "Peanuts" newspaper section
• 'Peanuts' newspaper section
• Clowns come over menacingly in circus show initially
• Common newspaper feature not seen in The New York Times