h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Seven Tenets of Comedy and their Application Today - A834761
Author: Master B - Vote for your favourite sitcoms at A824681 - U190397

A departure from my usual style, perhaps, but something that I've been thinking about a lot recently.

Additional examples, contradictions etc. welcome as usual.

B

Looks good to me!

Looks very good to me.

Your description of Dell Boy's falling throgh the bar routine is an example of Slapstick at its best. I would put it above those mentioned in the links.

It might be useful to explain the origins of the term "Slapstick". As you mention it is the only one that doesn't stem from Greek or Latin origins. What is a slapstick?

Regards

Stuart

A very nice entry Master B - I have little to comment upon.

One typo I noticed - " Of course, *surrealsim* is also..."

Are Brian Rix and the Whitehall farces considered too lowbrow for this entry? And what about the epitome of slapstick - the pie fight

Can you really talk about satire without mentioning TW3 and Private Eye?

An excellent example of surrealism which I think would help everyone to understand it would be Monty Python, surely.

"And don't call me Shirley." How about the "Airplane', and 'Naked Gun' films as examples of parody?

A couple of quick comments...

- The official title of the film 'Singin' in the Rain' has the final 'g' missing from the 'Singing', if you see what I mean...

- You attribute the 'Make 'em Laugh' dance routine to Arthur Freed; Freed was the producer and lyricist on the film, Donald O' Connor played the part of Cosmo, which included that routine.

Other than that - great article

Definitely Monty Python (A687945)

It's a good piece of work.

I see that the thread "second greatest comedy moment" gives a top 10. Is it possible to identidy each comedy moment with one of the tenets. Or not?

Not that I want to. Comedy is either funny or not. Analysing it is only going to sour the whole experience.

But this is still a good piece of work.

Have the seven tenets been previously compared to contemorary comedy?

Thanks all for the praise. To answer a few questions:

Stuart: Footnote 3 explains 'slapstick'

Gosho: Typo fixed. I don't know much about the Whitehall farces, hence I left them out. Private Eye and Monty Python (yes, you can have a link, Danny ) are great examples which I have added. I certainly thought about including Airplane, but because it blurs the boundaries between parody and pastiche, I decided to keep it simple and didn't.

Danny: Pedantry re: Singin' In The Rain accepted and fixed. I should've known all that, it is one of my favourite films.

Trout: Comparing the classic tenets to modern comedy is certainly not an original idea.

As you say, I don't like to analyse too far, but I would say:

1) 'Don't Tell Him Pike' - Irony
2) Delboy - Slapstick
3) The Germans - Irony/Parody/Slapstick
4) and 5) Bring up the question of Punning, which is a surprisingly recent invention. I might add something to this effect in the main text.
6) Carry On Khyber - Farce
7) The Blood Donor - Irony/Parody/Satire
8) Basil & The Car - Irony/Slapstick (literally!)
9) Monty Python - Surrealism
10) Fork Handles - Mostly punning again

B

I'm going to be offline for the next week, so I'll leave this to stagnate for a bit

B

We'll be sure to keep it fed and watered for you

Incidentally, I'm very happy that you added Private Eye, but no mention still of TW3. Ned Sherrin, David Frost, et al really brought satire to the fore in That Was The Week That Was, which spawned the entire 60's satire boom, which led to not only Private Eye, but also The Frost Report, which led to Do Not Adjust Your Set, which led to Monty Python.

And to come full circle, two of the people involved in TW3 and most of the satire from the 60's - John Fortune and John Bird, are now involved in one of the finest examples of current satire - Rory Bremner's show

Strictly speaking, Bremner must be parody, though.

Bird and Fortune are definitely satire. I really should squeeze in TW3, I suppose.

B

Yes, I see what you mean about Bremner being parody.

Bremner's surely both satire and parody.

This is a bloody brilliant entry. My only beef is with the claim that Pratchett is underrated. Since when? It seems like saying the Beatles are underrated.

Thankyou

I had a problem with describing Pratchett, to be honest. I wanted to mention him as a brilliant pastiche artist, but at the same time didn't want to sound like a sad fantasy/scifi-obsessive.
He certainly is underrated by certain portions of society (when was the last time you saw one of his books reviewed in the broadsheets?).

If you can think of a better adjective to sum up those feelings, I'll change it; otherwise I'll leave the entry as it is, for the time being.

B

Okay, perhaps it's the company I keep, but I thought I was the only person in Europe who didn't adore Pratchett's work. As for an actual alternative, the only thing I can think of is to say something like "..the novelist Terry Pratchett..." After all, you go on to give him much credit.

It's only a minor quibble really.

Don't get me wrong, I am a big (but certainly not obsessive) Pratchett fan - I just didn't think it was appropriate to the nature of the entry to waffle on about cult authors.

It stays as it is, for now, and I'll see you all in a week.

B

Fair enough.

Thanks - it was the "got an 'ose?" that triggered my question.

Ho hum, must be about time the Scouts saw this by now

B

Hi Master B,

fascinating entry, don't know how it passed me by.

couple of typos for you:

non-sequit*e*urs

ouvres = oeuvres



I guess it is difficult to decide what to use for examples, so much to choose from.

One detail I can't agree with you on, though, is the suggestion that punning is a 'recent innovation'...

I think there was plenty of punning, double-entendre and other wordplay in ancient literature. Aristophanes, for example. And the roman comic poet Catullus, perhaps. I don't have specific examples for you, but I am pretty sure they are there in the texts.

I recall Arist. as being particularly keen on scattalogical puns.

Oh, yes, and an odd phrase at the end there:

"One of the themes over all seven tenets is,..."

I think i see what you mean, but the syntax is decidedly odd.

cya on the front page
spiff