13th November 2005, 7:18 PM
Arrested Development is funnier to a dedicated viewer who doesn't need a laugh track or any other indication to know that a joke is funny. Leaving that responsibility to the viewer to find the funny for themselves is something too far above the average TV viewer to understand. AD pulled old jokes out of the closet from past episodes repeatedly, to jam in a laugh during something that wouldn't be funny by itself.
Michael can be having a conversation with George Michael somewhere in the model home, and you can spot blue smudges around walls, from Tobias covering himself in blue paint because he might get a call to be a stand-in for a Blue Man Group show. That's is funny.
Watching Lucille argue with Buster on a beach while seeing spashes of water every so often in the background. Later on you realize, perhaps from a second watching, that those splashes are from the "loose seal" (sounds like Lucille) that would later bite off Busters hand. That is funny.
And so many tiny nuances that only the dedicated fan would understand. At the end of last season, Michael and Gob got in a fight in front of the courthouse. The fought very similarly, and with the same spanish music, as when they fought over Marta in season 1 in the exact same place. Verbal jokes and double entendres come fast and furious. Everything comes so quick that you almost miss some of the jokes because you're still laughing at the previous ones. Even the characters throwaway lines are uproarious.
The fact that you call Arrested Development in your face, or blatant comedy shows how little you understand the show. You can watch it, chuckle at the obvious jokes, but miss so much of what is hidden for the diligent watcher to find. The jokes that aren't thrown in your face, and are left for you to find, are 50 times funnier than the ones they place obviously. This is intelligent comedy.
Okay, I'll take your example and explain why they're funny. It tastes like sad. Gob is angry over never being told about the cabin. Michael knew about the cabin, as his father would routinely tell him they would go, and then not take him. Gob is angry that he isn't as upset as he is and forces Michael to taste his tears of sadness since he isn't crying. When Michael finally agrees to take him to the cabin, Gob starts crying again, this time because he's happy, and then grabs Michael and makes him taste his tears again, this time so he can "Taste the happy, Michael!!". Michael responds with "tastes kind of like sad".
Further proof that a joke isn't funny when you need to explain it. For those of us that do get the subtle humor, it's gold. The normal viewer needs to be told when the laugh though, so legitimately funny shows are often left by the wayside to make room for things like "Yes, Dear", "King of Queens", and "Two and a Half Men". Sickening.
Michael can be having a conversation with George Michael somewhere in the model home, and you can spot blue smudges around walls, from Tobias covering himself in blue paint because he might get a call to be a stand-in for a Blue Man Group show. That's is funny.
Watching Lucille argue with Buster on a beach while seeing spashes of water every so often in the background. Later on you realize, perhaps from a second watching, that those splashes are from the "loose seal" (sounds like Lucille) that would later bite off Busters hand. That is funny.
And so many tiny nuances that only the dedicated fan would understand. At the end of last season, Michael and Gob got in a fight in front of the courthouse. The fought very similarly, and with the same spanish music, as when they fought over Marta in season 1 in the exact same place. Verbal jokes and double entendres come fast and furious. Everything comes so quick that you almost miss some of the jokes because you're still laughing at the previous ones. Even the characters throwaway lines are uproarious.
The fact that you call Arrested Development in your face, or blatant comedy shows how little you understand the show. You can watch it, chuckle at the obvious jokes, but miss so much of what is hidden for the diligent watcher to find. The jokes that aren't thrown in your face, and are left for you to find, are 50 times funnier than the ones they place obviously. This is intelligent comedy.
Okay, I'll take your example and explain why they're funny. It tastes like sad. Gob is angry over never being told about the cabin. Michael knew about the cabin, as his father would routinely tell him they would go, and then not take him. Gob is angry that he isn't as upset as he is and forces Michael to taste his tears of sadness since he isn't crying. When Michael finally agrees to take him to the cabin, Gob starts crying again, this time because he's happy, and then grabs Michael and makes him taste his tears again, this time so he can "Taste the happy, Michael!!". Michael responds with "tastes kind of like sad".
Further proof that a joke isn't funny when you need to explain it. For those of us that do get the subtle humor, it's gold. The normal viewer needs to be told when the laugh though, so legitimately funny shows are often left by the wayside to make room for things like "Yes, Dear", "King of Queens", and "Two and a Half Men". Sickening.
The Earthworker Race has ended. Everybody wins.