Title: The Most Catchphrase-happy Show ?
prophecy girl - December 22, 2005 10:28 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
| "How I Met Your Mother" From Newyorkmetro.com - By Adam Sternbergh - 2005-12-21 Repeat After Me. Catchphrases are the new punch lines. How I Met Your Mother, on CBS, is a charming, smartly crafted sitcom; it’s also the most catchphrase-happy show on TV. The characters, led by the wiseacre Barney (Neil Patrick Harris, pictured), fling undercooked phrases at the screen just to see which ones will stick. Along with Barney’s twin battle cries, “Suit up!” and “Legendary!,” the show has field-tested, in one episode alone, “the lemon law” (a five-minute rule for rejecting a date), the “self-click” (clinking your own glass for a toast no one accepts), and “bro-by-extension” (your best bud’s fiancée). This isn’t a comedy, it’s a televised glossary. It used to be enough for a sitcom to launch one lunchbox-friendly catchphrase, be it “What you talkin’ about, Willis?” or “Dy-no-mite!” In fact, that corny, here-it-comes moment when an actor turns one eye to the audience became such a cliché that shows in the eighties, like Family Ties and Cheers, steered clear of self-conscious coinages. Then came Seinfeld. The show’s main joke-venerating minutiae-turned it into a catchphrase factory: man-hands, sponge-worthy, not that there’s anything wrong with that, etc. Or rather, yadda yadda yadda. How I Met Your Mother takes this approach to a ludicrous extreme-which, it turns out, is both funny and a canny act of self-preservation. Blogs and online forums are written in an ever-evolving patois, stitched together from inside jokes between fans. (The Simpsons alone has spawned its own quasi-language.) So a catchphrase that actually catches on can make a show part of the cultural conversation, literally and instantly. Back when sitcoms had a whole season to find an audience, they could afford to lure people in with funny characters. Now shows have about two episodes to hook you, and catchphrases are much flashier bait. The catchphrase-as-punch line is simple evolution: It’s survival of the glibbest. |
:lol:
Number Six - December 22, 2005 12:59 PM (GMT)
Not for me then. I loathe catchphrase humour with a fiery passion. If I didn't laugh the first time you said it I sure ain't going to laugh at the hundred and first time.
John Brawn - December 22, 2005 02:24 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Number Six @ Dec 22 2005, 12:59 PM) |
| Not for me then. I loathe catchphrase humour with a fiery passion. If I didn't laugh the first time you said it I sure ain't going to laugh at the hundred and first time. |
I recall the writers of Dad's Army saying they had some catchphrases for the kids and, they hinted, more complicated humour for the adults. This always seemed to me to be a good compromise. The class consciousness of Mainwaring and Wilson is priceless and probably over the heads of all but the brightest children.
The constant catchphrases in The Simpsons are a bit irritating and good evidence that the show is aimed at kids but there are still moments of brilliance for adults.
I still feel the main problem with American comedy is that they forget to put the humour in but there are brilliant exceptions. Joss Whedon has explicitly said about Buffy that he tried to avoid catchphrases that would make him feel like 'ripping his face off'. Joss seemed to concentrate on witty dialogue and silly situations instead. That kind of effort strikes me as something special. sk
The last watcher - December 22, 2005 02:54 PM (GMT)
Reminds me somewhat of 'The fall and rise of Reginald Perrin' and all the dire catchphrases that threw up.........
goth willow fan - December 22, 2005 03:36 PM (GMT)
I didn't get where I am today by constantly using a catchphrase.
The last watcher - December 23, 2005 07:41 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (goth willow fan @ Dec 22 2005, 03:36 PM) |
| I didn't get where I am today by constantly using a catchphrase. |
I so knew someone would say that........ :rolleyes:
Bit of a cockup on the posting front to have posted it in the first place I guess....
Great!
Super!
goth willow fan - December 23, 2005 09:25 AM (GMT)
The last watcher - December 23, 2005 09:28 AM (GMT)
Errrr.....yeah? :ponder: :shrug: :weird:
goth willow fan - December 23, 2005 09:43 AM (GMT)
You obviously don't remember FARORP that well then :p
The last watcher - December 23, 2005 09:45 AM (GMT)
Never used to watch it........just remember everyone using the damned catchphrases......... :rolleyes:
So whats with the hippo then....?
So whats with the hippo then....?
goth willow fan - December 23, 2005 09:47 AM (GMT)
Anytime anyone mentioned his Mother in Law he used to imagine a hippo running across the screen.
The last watcher - December 23, 2005 09:52 AM (GMT)
Ah....I see.......how long did you spend looking for that little clip then? :)
Never really found Leonard Rossiter funny........personally, I think the funniest thing he did was 2001..... ;)
Never really found Leonard Rossiter funny........personally, I think the funniest thing he did was 2001..... ;)
Number Six - December 23, 2005 01:06 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (John Brawn @ Dec 22 2005, 04:24 PM) | ||
I recall the writers of Dad's Army saying they had some catchphrases for the kids and, they hinted, more complicated humour for the adults. This always seemed to me to be a good compromise. The class consciousness of Mainwaring and Wilson is priceless and probably over the heads of all but the brightest children. The constant catchphrases in The Simpsons are a bit irritating and good evidence that the show is aimed at kids but there are still moments of brilliance for adults. I still feel the main problem with American comedy is that they forget to put the humour in but there are brilliant exceptions. Joss Whedon has explicitly said about Buffy that he tried to avoid catchphrases that would make him feel like 'ripping his face off'. Joss seemed to concentrate on witty dialogue and silly situations instead. That kind of effort strikes me as something special. sk |
I guess that's the problem, substituting great writing for repeating the same old same old. Dad's Army never suffered from "stupid boy" and Only Fools and Horses was sublime, despite "lovely jubbly" because the writing was so brilliant. (I used to ask people what a jubbly was and why was it lovely? Blank looks all round). I also used to be a fan of the Fast Show, despite it being riddled with catchphrases. I suppose because the characters were, for the most part, intriguing. I'm never going to laugh at "I'm the only gay in the village" no matter how many times you say it, any more than I laughed at constant "Oooo Betty"