Comedy Analysis: Humour in literature and poetry

Roald Dahl

Humour has been around as long as mankind itself. Due to the lack of television, radio and the Internet during most of history, comedians and humorists have had to find other ways to broadcast their witty banter and hilarious ingenuity. Literature and poetry have proven a fertile ground for humour and has been used extensively throughout history for comedic purposes.

Elsewhere on this blog William Shakespeare has been mentioned and he is likely to come up again in the future, so we will not go too deep into his work here. We will mention however that he wrote many pieces of hilarious work which closely resemble contemporary humour. These include sitcoms (Merry Wives of Windsor), yo mama-jokes (such as in Hamlet) and slapstick (in nearly all his comedies and in a lot of his other work as well). He is worth a read and by no means deserves the bad reputation he has among many schoolchildren.

Besides old Will, there are many more respected authors who took to poetry to vent their funny antics. An example is Lewis Carrol, who wrote a poem about his love for soup (Beautiful Soup) and even the early twentieth century writer T.S. Eliot wrote a poem about Macavity, the feline master criminal (Macavity – The mystery cat).

Roald Dahl, known for several brilliant books also wrote a hilarious poem: The Pig. The main character is Piggy, a big and smart pig, who is able to read books and make calculations without the aid of a scrap paper or calculator. He is frustrated because he doesn't know the answer to one question:

“What LIFE was really all about.

What was the reason for his birth?

Why was he placed upon this earth?

His giant brain went round and round.

Alas, no answer could be found.”

I won't spoil the ending, so go read this hilarious poem! The link is below this post.

Charles Dickens

Literature is also full of humour outside of poetry. A classic example is Charles Dickens' Hard Times – For These Times which is full of satire. When we go into very classic literature we end up with the Odyssey. Although this is an epic drama, there is definite humour in there. A prime example is the moment where Odysseus blinds Polyphemus (the cyclops) and Polyphemus screams. When his brothers ask him who hurt him, Polyphemus responds “nobody hurt me” because Odysseus told him his name was nobody. Although this was probably written in the 8th century BCE, this is often considered an early form of humour.

Poetry and literature are full of humour and it really is a shame most teachers don't use humour more frequently in their literature classes. As with everything, literature is more fun when humour gets involved. Happy reading!

Links for further reading:

http://100.best-poems.net/macavity-mystery-cat.html

http://100.best-poems.net/beautiful-soup.html

http://100.best-poems.net/pig.html

Comedy Analysis: Humour in Ancient Greece

A person went to a doctor and said “Doctor, whenever I get up from sleeping, I'm groggy for a half an hour afterwards and only after that am I all right” To which the doctor replied: “Get up half an hour later.” - Philogelos (The Laughter Lover)

Philip of Macedon

This is one of the jokes that survived the ages. It was a joke told by the ancient Greeks and is remarkably similar to the jokes we would tell today. In fact, a major part of Greek humour, often over 2000 years old is very similar to our own comedy and humour today. The Greeks invented the parody, the comic drama, they ridiculed their politicians, made fun of their gods and wrote manuscripts and books containing jokes, which were even bought by king Philip of Macedon, who was Alexander the Great's 17th great-grandfather.

Besides the written joke-books, comedy was often portrayed through plays. This is possibly the best-known form of Greek comedy. This form of Ancient Greek humour is generally divided in 3 categories: Old, Middle and New humour. Although these terms are not necessarily chronological and most scholars agree old humour was common and evolving all throughout ancient Greece, they do roughly correspond with the order of ‘invention’ of types of humour.

Old humour encompassed sharp political satire and an abundance of innuendo. The innuendo was not only sexual, but also often scatological in nature. Also political attacks were sometimes disguised as humour. Not much material has survived the passing of time, but there are still enough works left to get an image of what Old humour would have been like. Some of the most famous writers of Old humour include Aristophanes, Hermippus and Eupolis.

Middle humour is the least clearly defined chronologically, scholars differ in opinion on when exactly it started, but the general consensus is it was later than Aristophanes, but before Menande. Middle humour is different from Old humour in the sense that the ridicule started to become more general, as opposed to the more direct ridicule in Old humour. Also there was little to no impersonation of public figures and recurring characters became more developed. Plays based on Middle humour were performed as far as Sicily, indicating they had significant influence on literature and culture in the ancient world.

Plautus

New humour was mainly popular during the Macedonian rule, mainly after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. New humour lasted till approximately 260 BC. In this era the humour became highly sophisticated and the sexual innuendo from Old humour became frowned upon. Love became an important subject in comedy and there came a greater focus on the ordinary person’s life. Most comedians started painting an image of family life which was as ordinary and realistic as possible, but with a humorous twist. This is similar to the Roman comedy of the same era. Also love became a real theme for the first time in comedy and this inspired artists for centuries to come. Shakespeare for instance was inspired by Plautus’ work.

Greek humour is surprisingly similar to today's humour as is known around the world. Even the joke about the 3 nationalities (Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman and all the variations to this) was common in Greece. Also the 'smart servant' jokes which were used by Shakespeare and by many comedians throughout history were already in use among the Greeks. It's interesting to see how many similarities there are in humour even through 2000 years of history. This also gives hope that humour can indeed promote understanding between peoples and cultures. If 2000 years of history and development can be bridged by humour, then certainly a few miles between two countries can be overcome. 

Comedy Analysis: Facial humour

The man with the rubber face

The face is one of the most powerful instruments in the world of comedy and humour. By using specific expressions, or by not using them, comic effect can be achieved. Some comedians have made the face their speciality or trademark. Rowan Atkinson is even nicknamed "the man with the rubber face", due to his ability to use differing facial expressions and deadpan in his humour.

A well-known version of facial humour is deadpan. This is derived from the slang meaning of 'pan' which is face. Therefore deadpan is a 'dead' face i.e. a face without expression. This is used for comedic purpose when delivering a statement or punchline. Leslie Nielsen was an expert in deadpan. His use of deadpan in the film Airplane! is legendary.

Leslie Nielsen's Deadpan

The opposite of deadpan is exaggeration. Here the comedian makes an exaggerated expression for comic effect. This can for instance be a grimace of incredible pain, when the comedian was only slightly nudged or a face of incredible joy over something small. Rowan Atkinson frequently used exaggeration in his Mr. Bean character.

Another form of facial humour is to make an expression which does not suit the actual emotion in the least. For instance a happy face at a funeral, though (or maybe because) it is inappropriate, can be funny. (In comedies ONLY, do NOT attempt this at a real funeral!).

The final form of facial humour we will discuss here is the act of making a weird or funny face, unrelated to the surroundings. This is a technique used by many comedians, as well as by 'normal' people. This can be hilarious when done right and can often be seen in photo-bombs, at parties, stand-up comedy acts and in many films, series and on the streets.

Due to the many possibilities of the face (most probably haven't even been mentioned here) it is a truly powerful tool of comedy. You can try it at home, take a ridiculous picture, upload it to the Internet and see the responses flood in!

Comedy Analysis: British sitcoms

Man about the House

British sitcoms on TV have been around since even before American sitcoms: Pinwright's Progress, was aired from November 1946 till May 1947. This makes it nearly a year older than the first American televised sitcom. Although there are many similarities between American and British sitcoms in that they both focus on a family, workplace or other institution and have largely the same character types, there are distinct differences as well.

The first major difference is the amount of episodes per series. Generally British sitcoms air less than 10 episodes per series or season, whereas in America it is usual for seasons to consist of around 20 episodes. Also many British sitcoms are produced for the BBC, which has no commercial breaks during broadcasts and limited commercials in between programmes. This allows for a full 30 minute run time for sitcoms, whereas American sitcoms generally run for 22 minutes, to accommodate 8 minutes of commercials.

Another key difference is the number of writers. US-made sitcoms are often written by a team of a dozen resident writers, sometimes even more, whereas British sitcoms are generally written by 2 or 3 writers, who are often also the creators and (executive) producers of the show. This results in a different type of show with often a more consistent storyline.

Peter Capaldi in The Thick of It - a modern British sitcom

British comedies often follow a topical storyline which incorporates cultural developments and recent real-world events. Often the sitcom comments on these happenings. A well-known 1970s sitcom is Man about the House, which shows, and comments on, the changing role of women in society. During the 1980s the young generation started revolting and demanding a more equal role in society. This was portrayed by sitcoms, which started the 'alternative comedy' genre. The best example of this is possibly The Young Ones which follows a group of 4 students who share a home and each take the place of the classic sitcom characters: Neil is the mother, Vyvyan and Rick are the teenage children and Mike is the distant father.

With many British sitcoms gaining huge popularity abroad and some being remade for American TV, they are among the most successful types of comedy around. And much like American sitcoms they are here to stay.

"Why isn't my life like a situation comedy? Why don't I have a bunch of friends with nothing better to do but drop by and instigate wacky adventures? Why aren't my conversations peppered with spontaneous witticisms? Why don't my friends demonstrate heartfelt concern for my well being when I have problems? ...I gotta get my life some writers." -  Bill Waterson (Author Calvin and Hobbes)

Comedy Analysis: Character comedy and stereotypes

Ali G.

Character comedy is a form of comedy where the comedian takes on the role of a character, much like an actor, but with a funny effect. Stereotypes are often exaggerated depictions of certain peoples,

cultures, religions or other groups. The two forms of comedy often coincide, when the comedian takes on the role of a stereotypical character.

A form of stereotypical comedy which is especially popular in the UK and Europe is the depiction of (former) soldiers or military officers. Also the depiction of stereotypical law-enforcement officers is popular. Often the depiction of police officers includes some reference to dictatorships, fascism or national-socialism. Also both the police and military are often shown to be of questionable intelligence.

Another famous example of a stereotype is Sacha Baron Cohen's portrayal of Ali G. He is a stereotype of the typical (British) white (generally working class) male who imitates the rap culture as well as the reggae and hip-hop cultures. He pretends to be much more streetwise and 'gangster' than he really is and hangs out with people much like himself. Characters like these are a sure source of hilarity.

Michelle Dubois in 'Allo, 'Allo!

In British comedy stereotypes are highly popular. Not only foreign or other specific groups are targeted, the Britons are remarkably fond of stereotypical British characters. Some examples include Basil Fawlty and most of the British characters in 'Allo 'Allo! who are generally portrayed as over-the-top British with exaggerated accents. In the same series however, there are also stereotypical French, German and Nazi characters.

American comedy often uses stereotypes such as rednecks, Mexicans (and other Latinos) and people from specific cities, such as New Yorkers who are often depicted as New Jersey-hating, coffee and bagel-loving, Yups. Also the police is often stereotyped as incompetent, lazy, coffee-drinking and donut-eating. This is prominently displayed in series such as The Simpsons where Chief Wiggum is all that. American stereotypes are often regarded to be less complicated than British stereotypes although that is not always true. Stereotyping has been around for centuries and doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon, so we had better learn to appreciate them, even when we find ourselves on the receiving end.

Comedy Series Review: Arrested Development

Michael: “Tell me the truth. There's been a lot of lying in this family”

Lucille: “And a lot of love.”

Michael: “More lies.”

There's probably no better way to summarise the relationships within the Bluth family than the above quote. The Bluth family is the main family in the American classic Arrested Development. With the head of the family, George Bluth Sr indicted after years of “creative accounting” his son, Michael Bluth becomes the de facto head of the family and the Bluth corporation. Michael's authority is constantly being undermined by his incompetent and selfish older brother George Oscar 'Gob' Bluth. This leads to hilarious situations where Michael is desperately trying to do the good thing and keep the family together, while the rest is trying to fend for themselves.

Michael is a widowed single father, who has one son: George Michael Bluth. George Michael has many of the positive characteristics his father has, but is also less connected to the rest of the family. Throughout the development of the series, Michael's bad sides become more and more apparent and he is often seen ignoring his son's feelings and becoming more selfish and detached from the family.

Lucille Bluth, the family's mother

The series gets a lot of it's hilarity from the voice-over who tells the story in a dry manner and is often disillusioning whenever a positive development seems to come up. Also there are a lot of running jokes, such as George senior mentioning there is 'money in the banana stand'. After the banana stand is burned to the ground, he reveals he meant this literally: there was $250.000 cash lined in the stand's walls.  After finding out Michael burned the stand down, George Sr. becomes infuriated, trying to strangle Michael and demanding to know how he could be clearer when saying “There's always money in the banana stand”. Another running joke is a family member stating “I've made a huge mistake” whenever they get themselves in over their heads.

The story features a lot of 'archive footage' and 'home videos' which were often made with a handheld camera to create a feel of amateur videos. These are often used in flashbacks to the family's past, often before the series started. This sheds some light on the character's background and the family history.

The Bluth family, left to right:
GOB, George Sr. Lindsay, Tobias, Michael, Lucille, George Michael, Maybe, Buster

Because most of the family's assets were seized pending the investigation into George Sr.'s accounting, they are forced to live in a model home, which was intended for viewing and as such doesn't have real plumbing or a sewer connection. Also most of the furniture and appliances are cardboard models for show only and don't really work. This doesn't exactly contribute to the family's bonding. Also most of their cars have been seized, leaving them with only a stair car, which was originally used for boarding the private plane. The plane had also been sold to help deal with the financial trouble. This odd mode of transport contributed to many hilarious scenes as it was used to break people out of prison, take down homecoming banners and for promotional purposes during election campaigns.

The dysfunctionality of the Bluth family and their complex internal relationships with secrets everywhere make for a hilarious sitcom. With 68 episodes already aired, a 9.2/10 rating on IMDB and the creator hinting on a film and fifth series to come, this series is here to stay. And so it should.

Comedy Analysis: American sitcoms

The cast of Married... with Children

A staple of contemporary comedy, American sitcoms are gaining numbers and popularity around the world. The American sitcom has been around since 1926, when Sam 'n' Henry was first broadcast on WGN radio in Chicago. The first televised sitcom was Mary Kay and Johnny which premiered on 18 November 1947, on DuMont Television Network. Later is was moved to CBS and later to NBC. It was also the first show to show a couple in bed and the first show to feature a pregnancy. This was because Mary Kay became pregnant and as the attempts at cover-up were unsuccessful, the writers decided to write it into the show. The show was also broadcast live at first, but was later recorded and aired after production. As the show's sponsor wanted to know if it was worth investing money into, but there were no viewing statistics yet, they devised a simple way to test the waters: during one of the commercial breaks a spot was aired offering a free pocket mirror to the first 200 viewers who wrote in. As a precaution the company bought 400 mirrors, in case the audience was larger than expected. After airing only the one spot, the company received nearly 9000 requests for mirrors. Therefore the sitcom was regarded to be a success in viewer figures.

Later sitcoms follow largely the same format focusing on a family and their daily antics. Some sitcoms follow a miserable family, or a miserable family member (Such as Married... with children), whereas other sitcoms follow more of a funny or comedic family (such as The Simpsons or Family Guy). Especially animated sitcoms often feature more absurd humour or over-the-top hilarious situations.

American sitcoms also often incorporate slapstick and sarcasm into the series. Not every sitcom these

The cast of Community

days focuses on a family, although the classic roles of family members are often filled in by other characters. For instance Community follows a study group on Greendale Community College. Increasingly the 'old-fashioned' one-camera sitcoms are returning. The one-camera technique involves a single camera filming the entire series, rather than 3 or more cameras filming with the best scenes then edited together. Some modern single-camera shows include Scrubs, It's always sunny in Philadelphia and Arrested Development. Also the mockumentary sitcom is on the rise. These include series such as The Office and Modern Family, which are made to look like a documentary, but with a comedic effect.

The American sitcom is still undeniably among the most popular forms of comedy around. Many are broadcast around the world and repeated often. Some of the most legendary gems of comedy are sitcoms, such as The Cosby Show, Seinfeld, The Simpsons and  I Love Lucy. This is a genre in comedy worth preserving.

Comedian Bio: Tommy Cooper

Tommy Cooper and signature fez

A prop comedian and magician whose act was so unpredictable that when he got a heart attack he died on stage, during a live television broadcast, people weren't sure if they should help him, or if it was part of the act. He wore a signature fez and was a large, imposing figure.

His act generally involved magic tricks which were either obviously fake, or didn't work, for comic effect. His response to failed tricks made it a hilarious show to watch. Every now and then he would throw in a trick that actually worked, just when the audience least expected it.

Tommy Cooper's Statue in Caerphilly

He managed to keep audiences entertained for four decades, and even posthumously he is still admired as a comedic genius and respected magician. He is often said to be one of the best comedians in history and in 2008 Sir Anthony Hopkins revealed a statue of Tommy Cooper, including fez, in Tommy's hometown Caerphilly, Wales, United Kingdom.

Tommy Cooper has left behind a legacy going far beyond best-of-lists and a statue. Numerous comedians and artists have cited him as an inspiration, including Jason Manford and John Lydon. Also several members of the English ska-band Madness have been seen wearing fezzes in Tommy Cooper's image.

Although Tommy Cooper has struggled with alcohol and smoking, leading to a decline in health and his act, he has managed to pull through. He has however never stopped drinking and it's thought his untimely death may in part have been brought along by alcohol abuse and smoking. As his collapse was aired live, there are countless recordings of it, which can easily be found online. Some websites including Youtube have been heavily criticized for featuring the video due to its dramatic content.

Even though Tommy has had his ups and downs, he is generally remembered as a comedic genius and has inspired many artists and comedians. He has earned his place in comedy history.

Comedy Series Review: The Young Ones

The Cast of the Young Ones;
Jerzei Balowski, Neil, Rick, Mike and Vyvyan

Over 30 years ago, in London, there was a successful club circuit for young stand-up comedians. The success of the scene prompted the BBC to approach a few of the most successful stand-up acts and make a series with them. This became The Young Ones.

The Young Ones follows the lives of Rick, Neil, Mike and Vyvyan, four lazy students living in a shared house in the early 80's. The massive differences between their personalities and their regular violent clashes made this series one of the big hits of the time. It's profound violence, blood, sex and foulness had never been seen before in any mainstream comedy series and certainly not in a flagship series at the BBC. Several attempts have been made by other series since to incorporate these matters into their shows, but never quite as successful as The Young Ones.

Rick is a wannabe leftie anarchist and Cliff Richard fan. Deep down he really is quite conservative and doesn't actually come from a worker's class background, but from an upper-class conservative family. He writes horrible poetry and refers to himself as “The People's Poet” and “the voice of a generation”. Vyvyan has described him as a “classic example of an only child” due to his entitled nature and tantrum-throwing.

Mike refers to himself as 'the cool guy'. It is unclear whether this is his actual surname, or just a title. He assumes the position of ladies' man and natural leader of the house. These positions are also challenged, as he is often shown to share his bed with a blow-up doll and in one episode he nearly admitted to being a virgin. His authority is mainly enforced by Vyvyan tolerating his authority and Rick's sucking up to him.

Vyvyan isn't entertained

Vyvyan is often described as a bastard. He is a punker with orange hair, and metal stars apparently embossed into his forehead. He sometimes portrays superhuman strength and abilities, such as his extremely high tolerance of alcohol, his ability to eat virtually everything, his teeth being able to bite trough bricks and his power to lift people above his head with apparently little effort. He is on occasion able to solve complicated calculations fast and without the aid of a calculator or even pen and paper, although he can't tell time from a watch.

Neil is the final member of the house. He is a clinically depressed hippie and stoner who has attempted suicide on at least 4 occasions in the show. He is generally abused by the rest of the house, and is forced to perform housework and cook for the rest. He believes sleeping causes cancer and as such tries not to sleep, although he is on occasion shown sleeping. He has several hippie friends including Warlock, Neil and a female friend called Stonehenge. This possibly makes him the house-mate with the most friends and definitely the only one with a female friend. 

The Young Ones aired 12 episodes over 2 seasons as well as several specials including a hit single with Cliff Richard's Living Doll to benefit Comic Relief. Despite its short lifespan it has won a BAFTA and has had several DVD releases around the world. An American pilot was also made for FOX but it wasn't picked up, much to the relief of Nigel Planer (Neil) as he was the only actor from the original cast to join and he was worried he'd have to spend 6 years with people he hated making sort of a grubby Benny Hill. The series remains popular and has inspired numerous other alternative comedy shows and sitcoms. 

Comedy Series Review: South Park

Eric Cartman, Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, Kyle Broflovski

South Park is Comedy Central's flagship show. Always rude, often gross, sometimes shocking and eternally on a quest to stretch the boundaries to the max, this show has attracted a huge fanbase over its  17 season lifespan (so far).

Matt Stone and Trey Parker are the masterminds behind this stop-motion animated comedy show. They first created an animated short entitled The Spirit of Christmas in 1992. This showed the four boys, largely as they would be depicted in the later series, although Kenny didn't have a name yet, and who is now Eric Cartman was called Kenny. A mutual friend and FOX producer then asked them to create a second animation for a Christmas card. This was created 1995 and already looked like the later series. The FOX producer sent the card to some of it's friends who uploaded it to the Internet, where it became one of the first viral videos ever.

After FOX refused to pick up the series the second short was shown to Doug Herzhog, executive with Comedy Central and he commissioned a series to be made. The first episode started the gross and shocking tradition straight away, entitled Cartman gets an anal probe and featuring Cartman getting

Muhammad, Prophet of Muslims and Lord of Fire

abducted by Aliens who install a giant satellite dish in his rectum. This episode later got a sequel with Cancelled, which has the exact same opening, after which the kids realize they've had that scene before.

Part of South Park's signature style is its animation. Although only the pilot episode was complete cut-out stop-motion, the rest of the series is animated by computer, keeping close to the stop-motion style of the pilot. This creates a unique and instantly recognizable style, which is now found on countless t-shirts, sweaters, bags, lunch boxes etcetera.

Due to it's kind of humour and complete disregard of conservative values and liberal causes and its portrayal of religion for comic effect, South Park has generated plenty of controversy and criticism from parent- and teacher-associations. The depiction of religious characters such as Muhammad has resulted in death threats and even the creator's home addresses were shared via the Internet. The depiction of Buddha snorting cocaine led Sri Lanka to completely ban the series.

Snookie from Jersey Shore makes an appearance on the show

The series follows a group of 4 primary school boys: Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny who go through all sorts unlikely and absurd adventures. These include trips to outer space, trips to Imagination-land, a battle against Wal-Mart, a bunch of Mongolians invading the Chinese restaurant City Wok and a war raging over 2 Canadian comedians which involves Satan and Saddam Hussein.

The absurd, gross, disgusting humour and sharp criticism of politics, religion and society as a whole, with a complete disregard for people's feelings and with no limits as to who gets insulted makes this series an absolute gem of contemporary American comedy. It has aired over 200 episodes and it's nowhere near over.

Comedy Analysis: Shakespearean Humour

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is often considered to be the greatest playwright and one of the greatest writers in the history of the English language and the western arts. Something he isn't always given enough credit for is his comedic work. His plays were written mainly with the common people in mind and as such feature two prominent themes: sex and violence. Not unlike today, those were the two things that sold very well to the mainstream audience. Although the word “comedy” had a different meaning in Elizabethan times than it does now, there are similarities. Comedy back in those days was used to refer to a play with a happy ending. Shakespeare did however use jokes and creative insults in his plays, which can be compared to modern-day comedy.

Shakespeare's comedy had strong similarities with contemporary comedy and sitcoms. Some examples of recurring elements in his plays are: a focus on situation rather than character (such as in a sitcom), a clever servant (such as in Blackadder III) and use of every type of comedy, including slapstick, wit, puns, deadpan and practical jokes. This results in writing that is still hilarious today, despite Shakespeare having a reputation of being boring among especially the younger generations, which is evidently not deserved.

Shakespearean insults

A great source of comedy are the insults Shakespeare uses. He was generally very creative in his insults and went way beyond the occasional 'idiot' or 'moron' often seen in today's comedy. He does on occasion use maternal insults (the modern equivalent would be a 'Yo Mama-joke').

            Demetrius: "Villain, what hast thou done?"
            Aaron: "That which thou canst not undo."
            Chiron: "Thou hast undone our mother."
            Aaron: "Villain, I have done thy mother."

-        Act IV, Scene II of Titus Andronicus

On occasion Shakespeare does comment on someone's intelligence, such as Menenius telling Brutus to shut up with the following sentence:

           

            “God-den to your worships: more of your conversation would infect my brain, being the            herdsmen of the beastly plebeians: I will be bold to take my leave of you.”

Shakespearean wit

Hamlet is full of hilarious wit

Besides his creative insults, Shakespeare is also known for his great wit and word-play. Hamlet is full of witty remarks and banter by our hero, such as when Osric says “tis very hot”, as an excuse for not wearing his hat, Hamlet makes him say "It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed," and the next moment again that "it is very sultry and hot."

This kind of witty banter makes Hamlet in particular an amazing read with unexpected comedy around every linguistic corner.

A Slap Stick

Shakespearean slapstick

Although slapstick is often associated with early cinematic comedy, it is much older than that. Shakespeare incorporated slapstick into several of his plays, most notably in The Comedy of Errors where he used a lot of slapstick and mistaken identities for comedic effect. He ensured people would not feel sorry for the slapstick victims by focusing more on the situation, than the actual character, much like a sitcom does nowadays.

Shakespeare has left behind a legacy like no other writer. Even people who haven't read or seen any of his plays or who aren't interested in literature and theater usually have some idea who 'Will' was. His influence on comedy and writing in general is unprecedented and impossible to measure. If you haven't seen or read any of his work, go check it out, you will not be let down.

Trivia:

Shakespeare was credited in the Blackadder series on the BBC as “Additional dialogue by William Shakespeare”.

If you want to see a Shakespeare play, but quicker, look up the Reduced Shakespeare Company, who are able to cram all of Shakespeare's play in one evening show.

Comedy Series Review: Scrubs

The original main cast of Scrubs

If you like cutaway gags, bromance, slapstick and a fast-paced screenplay, chances are you will enjoy Scrubs. This medical comedy-drama premiered in 2001 survived for 9 seasons, which is remarkable in today’s fast-changing television world. So why did this show survive that long? And why did it end?

Character development

When Scrubs first started, the main characters (J.D. and Turk) were two interns in the Sacred Heart hospital, still learning to be real doctors. J.D. was training to be an attending physician, whereas Turk was training to be a surgeon. Throughout the series the characters mature and rise through the ranks, resulting in J.D. eventually leaving the hospital to become a residency director in a different hospital. Turk becomes Chief of Surgery. In the last season both J.D. and Turk work as teachers in Winston University, while Turk continues his work as Chief of Surgery. This way of developing characters offers the audience a chance to bond with the characters over time. Also, since the audience ages at approximately the same rate as the actors and characters, it stays easy for the viewer to feel connected with the characters.

Humour

Although there is plenty of (romantic) drama in Scrubs, it is also full of humour. As a result of this, in many countries it is aired by Comedy Central; a broadcasting company focused on humour and comedy. The humour in the series takes on many forms, the most recurrent being slapstick and bromance and cutaway gags, in the form of vignets which can often be surreal.

The slapstick in the series is often due to the janitor, usually simply called Janitor, who is in a constant battle with J.D. This started with J.D. allegedly sabotaging a door with a penny, causing Janitor to have to repair it. This prompts Janitor to seek revenge, often by hurting J.D. in any way he sees fit.

J.D. and Turk have a special relationship, described as a bromance, or guy-love. They are not in any way romantically involved, but their friendship goes way beyond the levels most people are comfortable with. This results in hilarious situations, especially when they are ridiculed for it and try to change their ways.

A major motive in the series is J.D.’s fantasies. These come in the shape of him dreaming away and imagining a situation developing in an often absurd manner. In later seasons it becomes apparent his co-workers are aware of this and sometimes imitate him. Also some other characters in the series are shown to have similar fantasies.

Janitor

Drama

Although this blog focuses on humour it’s impossible to discuss Scrubs without mentioning the
drama. There’s a lot of it, but it’s executed in a way many people don’t find disturbing. It doesn’t impede the humour and on occasion it actually contributes to the comedy. Much of the drama involved includes J.D. and his relationships, notably with Elliot Reid, another intern and later doctor, as well as with Kim Briggs, a doctor and the mother of J.D.’s first child. The dialogue and roles within the relationships are generally well-written and realistic enough to be relatable, but still weird enough to be funny.

The end

After the seventh season Scrubs was well-known, well-loved and popular around the globe. At this point NBC announced it would not continue with an eighth season and it appeared as though the series was to end at its peak. Then ABC announced it would be airing an eighth season and then aired a ninth season as well. During these two seasons extra characters were introduced, some of the main characters got lesser parts or completely disappeared and the focus shifted from J.D. and Turk to Lucy Bennet, who takes over narration from J.D. after only a few episodes of introduction.

These changes alienated a large part of the series’ audience and resulted in it being cancelled after the 9^th season. This is a pity, since the series was so strong and popular and, had it been cancelled after season 7 or 8, would have been fondly remembered for years to come. Although the series still has some following and is still being broadcast in different countries, it is not as popular as it used to be and it probably never will be again. The older seasons are still quite popular though and the DVDs featuring the older seasons are well-sold around the world and that is the true legacy left behind by J.D., Turk, Janitor, and all the other marvellous cast from Scrubs.

Comedy Series Review: Monty Python

Monty Python in 1969

This legendary English group are experts in surreal comedy. They started a revolution in comedy and inspired countless other comedians and humorous acts in Europe and the Americas alike. There is much too much to say about these legends, so we'll keep this to a short introduction and go in to specific parts in later posts.

Monty Python were formed my John Cleese, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. Perhaps their most famous work is the television series Monty Python's Flying Circus which first aired in 1969. Now, over 40 year later, the series has been rerun on different stations countless times translated or subtitled in many different languages, the troupe has won numerous awards and have been quoted by hundreds if not thousands of artists and comedians as major inspiration. Their influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on popular music and pythonesque is now an officialy recognized word in British English.

Pythonesque (ˌpaɪθəˈnɛsk)

adj

1.                        denoting a kind of humour that is absurd and unpredictable; zany; surreal

Nobody ever does...

Besides Monty Python's Flying Circus Monty Python is known for their films. Some films they have made as a troube include Monty Python's The Meaning of Life; Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python's Life of Brian. Notably two of these films ridicule Christianity. Life of Brian is a parody of the story of Jesus Christ, and The Holy Grail is a parody of the classic legend of King Arthur going on his holy quest to search for the Holy Grail.

Recurring factors in both the Flying Circus and the films is the fact that nearly all female roles are played by the (male) members of Monty Python. Generally this results in a badly-disguised man in a dress with little to no make-up and an exaggerated high-pitch female voice. This is used to comic effect as well as to eliminate the need to hire female actresses for minor roles.

Besides their on-stage work and their films and television series, Monty Python have also recorded several albums with humorous songs. Some of these songs were derived from, or later used in, their sketches or films.

Monty Python are among the most legendary comedians in history, along with the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel&Hardy. Why this is completely justified will be looked at in later posts. Don't go away!

Comedy Series Review: Little Britain

Daffyd - The only gay in the village

Little Britain, the guide to Britain for the non-British is an award-winning comedy sketch show produced for the BBC by Matt Lucas and David Walliams and voiced by Doctor Who-star Tom Baker. The show focuses on “Great British institutions” which are mainly extreme parodies of normal
people and groups such as FatFighters (a WeighWatchers parody), libraries, (mental) health care, and the elderly. As with most British humour there is an awful lot of self-deprecation to the point where it became controversial with, mainly older, members of the public taking offense and the series was re-edited for release on BBC 1, after the original cuts had aired on BBC 3, which is aimed at a younger audience.

Although the series received some criticism for supposedly suppressing minorities in both the British and American version of the show, it has also received great critical acclaim and a following among the public.

'Lou' and 'Andy' two main characters

Something the show's creators get too little recognition for is the good they have accomplished with their show. Ever since its inception they have worked with Comic Relief to collect money for charity work around the world. They have created dedicated sketches, often together with celebrities, to raise awareness or to urge people to donate to Comic Relief.

Another charity effort, which has gained somewhat more recognition, is David Walliams' work for Sport Relief, another charity. His efforts include swimming the river Thames, swimming the Channel, swimming the Street of Gibraltar and (co-)hosting several Sport Relief telethons. He has raised millions of pound for Sport Relief with his activities.

Also both creators are advocates for gay rights, even though they often ridicule gay people in their show. Also David Walliams isn't gay and he is married to a Dutch female supermodel (Lara Stone). He has however stated that it shouldn't matter whether one is gay, straight, bisexual or whatever else, since he figures people fall in love with a person's character, rather than genitalia.

Nowadays both actors, although no longer working on Little Britain, have successful careers, with Lucas living in West-Hollywood and both actors working on different projects. 

Comedian Bio: John Cleese

John Cleese on the Muppet Show in 1977

This world-famous comedian has a species of lemur, an astroid and a municipal rubbish heap named after him. He has declined both a CBE and a Life Peerage appointment on account of the former being 'silly' and the latter would require him to spend winters in Britain, which he doesn't wish to do.

John Cleese first rose to great fame through co-founding Monty Python. This comedy ensemble will be discussed elsewhere on this blog on more detail, but here we will note they have left quite a legacy.

After Monty Python John started working on Fawlty Towers, together with his then wife Connie Booth. Fawlty Towers went on to become one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time. John Cleese has referred to Fawlty Towers as the his best work and he has stated he doesn't want to make any new comedy work, as it will never live up to Fawlty Towers.

Besides this work, Cleese has worked on several comedy films, including hit film A Fish called Wanda. He has also starred in two James Bond films, Rat Race, two Harry Potter films and numerous other films, both humorous and serious. Also he has done voice-acting for a range of video games and he has starred in commercials in different countries, including Australia, Britain and the Netherlands.

In addition to acting, Cleese has also written and produced films such as The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation As We Know It, most of the Fawlty Towers episodes and the script for A Fish called Wanda. Also Cleese has written books, some of which together with a psychiatrist written as a dialogue and some books with a comedy theme.

Cleese is a multi-talented actor, writer and producer who's still active, despite his previous attempts as retirement. He could have been a Commander of the British Empire, but thought it was 'silly'. He also declined a Life Peerage (Baronship) on account of not wanting to spend winters in Britain. He is a master of dark humour, writing his eulogy at Graham Chapman's funeral as a parody of the Parrot Sketch he wrote for Monty Python. He rightly remains one of the most admired comedic geniuses of our time.

Comedy Analysis: Comedy in Music

'Weird' Al Yankovic in 2010

Humour in music is one of the oldest forms of humour. Ever since the dawn of music, it has been
used to tell humorous stories, and over the last decades this has only increased. Especially with the rise of the internet and sites such as youtube.com and blip.tv where users can upload and share their own content the amount of humorous songs and parodies has sky-rocketed.

A prime example of a comedian singer who had made his breakthrough through Youtube, is Bo Burnham. This young talent started in 2006 and signed a four-record deal with Comedy Central Records only two years later. His songs often feature controversial subjects such as disability, white supremacy and homosexuality. Often in a satirical form.

A musician who has made his living from musical comedy and became famous through parody songs featured on Dr. Demento's radio show is “Weird Al” Yankovic. He has parodied famous songs both older and contemporary hits, including Eat it (a parody of Michael Jackson's Beat it), Perform this way (a parody of Lady GaGa's Born this way) and Amish Paradise (a parody of Coolio's Gangster Paradise). Also he has written his own original work (Albuquerque, Trapped in the drive-thru, Skipper Dan) and several polka-remixes of then-contemporary hits.  Weird Al differentiates from many other parody-artists in that he gets permission from all the original artists to parody their song.

Another example of a comedy group that became famous through Youtube is the Key of Awesome. This ensemble makes parodies of contemporary hits, sometimes with a direct link to the original artist (such as their parody of Adele's Someone like you which is about Adele's problems with her boyfriends) as well as original songs, usually about a film or television series (such as The Dark Knigh is Confused about the Dark Knight). Their songs are generally not politically motivated or controversial but they are generally entertaining and have gained the group a strong following.

Even well-known artists have been known to produce comedy songs. An example is Neil Patrick Harris, who has made a Youtube-series titled Neil's Puppet Dreams which often includes humorous songs about a variety of subjects. Also the band Lonely Island has gained stardom by making comedy songs, often in collaboration with famous artists such as Akon, Michael Bolton and Justin Timberlake.

Humour in music has been around for centuries and is not going anywhere soon. A welcome source of entertainment, easy to take with you in the car, it is an enjoyable form of comedy. 

Comedy Analysis: Comedy and the Law

Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau

Comedy in many forms is a mirror to our society, often criticizing or parodying elements of our politics, religion and culture. But how far can comedy go? And do regular laws apply in comedy? Let's take a look.

Drugs

With drug law, especially in regard to marijuana slowly being relaxed in many countries, this is a hot topic. How does drug use, legal or otherwise, feature in comedy?

Drugs are commonly found in comedy and humoristic programming, particularly when aimed at a young-adult and older teenage audience. Shows such as American Dad, Family Guy, South Park, How I Met Your Mother and It's always Sunny in Philadelphia feature regular mention and depiction of drug use. Often this is not limited to marijuana or alcohol use and abuse, but stretches to crack cocaine or even crystal meth, which is often considered the most damaging and most addictive drug in existence. Usage of these drugs is sometimes condoned and sometimes is shown to lead to damaging effects, however it mostly serves a humorous purpose.

Racism

This is a sensitive topic. Racism is illegal is most countries but it still is a recurring element in humour. British humour has included racism (both to others and in self-deprecation) and American humour has included it more and more over the last decade or so. This can be in any form ranging from subtle remarks to outright racism towards characters or sometimes real-life people or groups. Generally this racism can be against any race, so a character may be derogatory against people of their own race, or against other races. More and more often however, racism is shown to backfire.

Pedophilia

Although in most countries pedophilia and the depiction of child-porn is illegal and generally frowned upon, some shows do tend to stretch the boundaries as far as they can. This often proves easiest for animated shows such as South Park since the depiction is obviously not real and no actual children are needed to portray the scene. This results in an entire episode centered around an 8-year old trying to get a blow-job from another minor and another show where 8 or 9 year olds are being treated for sex addiction. Family Guy features Herbert the Pervert as a recurring character, but he is never successful in his attempts to 'get' boys.

Generally it can be said that comedy does have a little more freedom than other forms of media, since there is often some form of legal protection in place securing a show's right to free speech, parody and ridicule, which is harder called upon when making a 'serious' show or film. Especially animated comedies can in some cases stretch the boundaries further, for the obvious reason there are no actual actors that might get involved in uncomfortable or dangerous situations. Shock laughs can also be used in comedy but is often frowned upon by the public as well as other comedians and writers.

There are many other laws which may or may not be broken or bent in comedy and humour but we can't discuss them all here, so we will cover those later in another post. 

Comedy Series Review: How I met your Mother

Ted and Barney, the show's best character

A father telling his children the story about how he met their mother. How exactly does this turn into a 9 season show with over 200 episodes? By being bloody brilliant, that's how.

This series follows Ted Mosby, an architect who tells the story to his two children in the year 2030. Because he is telling the story in the future, the episodes showing the story are set in the year of airing. This is an interesting choice, since major real-life events will have to be incorporated into the series in some way and can not simply be omitted.

Ted lives with his best friend Marshall Eriksen and later also with Marshall's fiancée Lily Aldrin. Ted's self-proclaimed 'best friend and bro' Barney Stinson constantly tries to hook him up with girls. Barney himself is a real ladies man, having slept with over 200 women and authoring a 'Playbook' with trics and stories to get girls to sleep with him. These can be anything from pretending to be a famous and/or rich person, or working a girl's daddy issues. He has a near-obsessive love for his suits, on one occasion grieving over the loss of one of his suits as if it were a family member.

There are quite a few running gags in the series, including Barney's occupation. When he's asked what he does for a living he invariably answers “Ah, please...”. In the last season (SPOILER ALERT) he reveals his job is to P.L.E.A.S.E. (Provide Legal Exculpation And Sign Everything) and as such being a fall guy for the company's wrongdoings. He has however been conspiring with the government in a long-term scheme to take revenge on his boss for stealing his girlfriend prior to the series (/spoiler).

In the first few episodes Ted meets Robin Scherbatsky, a local news anchor, whom he sometimes refers to as 'aunt Robin'. She's a news anchor and Ted dates her for a while. They even plan on moving in together but this doesn't work as Ted isn't willing to part with his belongings (which were mostly given to him by his ex-girlfriends). Ted continues to tell his children exactly who he has dated previously to their mother and goes into inappropriate detail in regards to his premarital sex-life.

The series as a whole has some traits in common with Friends and has been compared to it as well. The main difference is there is no Ross-and-Rachel-like relationship in this series. Also the setting and comedy have been updated and include more modern technology. Over the years the season has gathered a solid following and remains popular. Reruns are currently aired by different stations and the series can be found on services like Netflix and on many websites.

The shows final episode led to explosive backlash

There is however one massive flaw in this series. It's been talked about hundreds of times, and will probably be talked about again, but the final episode is horrendous. In the last 30 or so minutes a decade of television was ruined. Let me explain why. The show is called How I met your Mother however, in the last 30 minutes, the mother is killed off by a disease she was never before mentioned of having, and replaced by the 'aunt' who the main character (Ted) had been chasing for years prior to meeting the mother. The rest of the series had shown Ted and Robin together before, and had always tried to explain why they shouldn't be together. To throw all this away in the last thirty minutes of the last episode is disrespectful to the mother's character, to Ted and the mother's relationship and to the fans. 

A great show, which died a messy and bloody death. I would still wholeheartedly recommend the series to anyone, but stop the last episode halfway and imagine your own ending.

Comedy Series Review: Futurama

Created by the Simpson's Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, this series about life in the 31st century was one of FOX's many successful animated sitcoms, although production was in later seasons carried out for Comedy Central. The series follows Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery-boy from the late 20th century who accidentally fell into a cryogenic tank on new year's eve 1999 which freezes him for 1000 years, thus he ends up in the year 3000 on January the first, mere minutes after midnight. The series follows his new life in the 31st century, trying to adapt to all the changes and deal with the loss of his old world. The series is wildly popular, won 6 primetime emmys and several other award and has found its way to the Internet in the form of several popular memes.

Alongside Fry the main characters include Turanga Leela, Professor Farnsworth, Bender, Amy Wong, Hermes Conrad and Dr. Zoidberg. They are also the crew of Planet Express, the delivery company owned by Professor Farnsworth. Professor Farnsworth is said to be extremely old, with his age most recently being mentioned to be 170 years old, and he ages along with the series. He used to be the oldest member of his family, until Fry came out of cryogenic preservation. Fry, being a distant uncle of the professor, is currently the oldest member of his family.

Fry and Leela

Fry's love interest is Leela. She's the captain of the Planet Express ship, although the used to be a career placement officer at the cryogenics lab, where she implanted a chip into the hand of fresh defrostees to identify which jobs they were best suited for. When Fry refuses to have his hand chipped, he flees and Leela follows him. After meeting Bender, a humanoid bending robot who just deserted his job, they are all hired as the new crew at Planet Express, since the old crew just died on a dangerous mission. The matter of former Planet Express crews dying becomes sort of a running joke in the series, with Professor Farnsworth sometimes assigning jobs to them which have cost the previous crews their lives. At one point the crew meet a previous crew, which was believed to be dead, stuck inside a giant four-dimensional space whale in the Bermuda Tetrahedron, which Leela manages to pilot back to Earth by the power of sheer obsession.

Leela is first believed to be an alien, although no-one knew where she came from. She was raised in the Cookieville Minimum Security Orphanarium where her parents abandoned her with a note covered in mysterious symbols to give the impression she was an alien. Eventually Leela finds out she is in fact a mutant, but as mutants are not allowed on the surface, her parents decided to give her up to the orphanarium in hopes she'd have a better life as an alien orphan.

Dr. Zoidberg is an old army friend of the professor. Also he is the only surviving member of the first crew of the Planet Express, having escaped from the whale by escape-pod. Zoidberg as a character is modelled after Jewish stereotypes, although most of his characteristics are not distinctly Jewish. He is an atrocious doctor with poor understanding of basic human anatomy, although he believes himself to be an expert. He is otherwise poor, unsuccessful with females (even of his own species), smelly and altogether disgusting. Also his manners – especially his table manners – are non-existent. He is not mean-spirited or of bad heart, just helplessly incompetent in just about everything. He often lies about his wealth and status and tries to appear of higher standing than he really is. This is something more people in his family do, so it's uncertain if its a Zoidberg thing, or a family or species characteristic.

Bender Bending Rodriguez

Bender is a bending unit robot fuelled by alcohol. He is generally an inconsiderate, selfish robot, although he does develop a close friendship with Fry. A humorous characteristic he has, is his dependence on alcohol. If he goes without alcohol for too long he grows weak and starts rusting around his mouth and chin, giving the impression of a beard. He more or less looks like a human would after drinking too much alcohol for a prolonged period of time often would look in a sitcom.

Futurama has aired 140 episodes. In 2013 the series had it's finale, but the producers have indicated they would like to continue or to make a film to conclude the series. Futurama has a huge fan base around the world and the episodes are still broadcast around the world by Comedy Central. The series has survived a cancellation before and many fans are hoping for a return of the series. Fingers crossed!

Comedy Series Review: Fawlty towers

The Cast of Fawlty Towers

Who doesn’t know this landmark of British comedy? Still regarded as one of the best televised comedies ever made, this sitcom still captivates and entertains viewers all over the globe. In the 1970s, the series won 3 BAFTAs; in 2000, a good 20 years after the final episode aired, it was named “Best British television series of all time” by the British Film institute; in 2006 the series came second only to Frasier in The Ultimate Sitcom Poll of Comedy Writers and in the same year Basil Fawlty (one of the main characters) ended first on Five’s Britain's Funniest Comedy Character Poll. All this is truly remarkable for a series consisting of only 12 episodes. So what makes this such a hit?

The establishment

During the 1970s there was a class struggle in the UK where the lower-paid working class started to rebel against the wealthy upper-class establishment. This sometimes led to clashes such as the miner’s strikes of 1972 and 1974 which derailed society to the point the government introduced the 3-day week to conserve power. The miner’s strikes are sometimes mentioned in Fawlty Towers, mainly by Major Gowen, who’s always looking for his newspapers to read up on the outside world.

This general discontent felt by many British people made them susceptible to the ridicule of the establishment throughout Fawlty Towers. Mainly Basil Fawlty’s attempts to attract upper-class rich people and the resulting chaos played in to the animosity many people felt towards the real-life upper-class.

Racism

Racism, mainly in a fairly innocent form, is recurrent throughout British humour. In Fawlty Towers a running joke is Manuel’s lack of skill in being a waiter and the English language. The usual excuse for this is “He’s from Barcelona”. Basil Fawlty’s racism towards the Spanish waiter usually bounces back to hit Fawlty - often literally. This kind of mildy racist humour is popular not only in the UK, but around the world. Even in Spain, where in the translated version Manuel is Italian.

Slapstick

Slapstick is one of the oldest forms of comedy and is as popular as ever. There is no lack of slapstick in Fawlty Towers, mainly on the expense of either Basil Fawlty or Manuel, the Spanish waiter. Generally there are no real consequences to the violence and slapstick, although Basil does end up in hospital once and Manuel is at one point locked in a burning kitchen.

Recognizablity

Many people who have stayed at hotels or been to restaurants are familiar with bad service and incompetent management. The series was based on the real-life Gleneagles Hotel, run by the Sinclair family. John Cleese (Basil Fawlty) described the Gleneagles’ manager Donald Sinclair as “the rudest man I've ever come across in my life.” And modelled the Basil character after him. The over-the-top ridiculous acting and drama in the series is laughable because it is so close to the truth and to existing stereotypes.

To sum up, Fawlty Towers is a timeless mix of many of the famous aspects of British humour executed brilliantly by a formidable cast. It is still loved by many and will continue to be popular for years to come.