I know I'm a bad poet, but I'm a good man. All I ask is that... is that you try to see me—

William ,'Conversations with Dead People'


Comedy 1: A Little Song, a Little Dance, a Little Seltzer Down Your Pants

This thread is for comedy TV, including network and cable shows. [NAFDA]


sumi - Mar 18, 2008 6:45:01 am PDT #553 of 8624
Art Crawl!!!

My dvr may have cut off a piece of the teaser too. So perhaps it did start early.


Vortex - Mar 18, 2008 7:01:21 am PDT #554 of 8624
"Cry havoc and let slip the boobs of war!" -- Miracleman

Did HIMYM start a few minutes early or something? My DVR cut off the very beginning.

mine did too. I don't think that we missed much, though.


sj - Mar 20, 2008 4:55:45 am PDT #555 of 8624
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."

HIMYM: Do you think Ted's future wife is the one he accidentally bumped into at the bar?


Vortex - Mar 20, 2008 5:15:47 am PDT #556 of 8624
"Cry havoc and let slip the boobs of war!" -- Miracleman

I think so. She was also the one with the yellow umbrella in line, that he also used when it was raining.


Liese S. - Mar 20, 2008 8:14:40 am PDT #557 of 8624
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."

HIMYM: You know, if I were his kids sitting on the couch, I'd have gone completely insane by now listening to my dad ramble on about his sexual escapades without ever getting into how he actually met my mother.


JZ - Mar 20, 2008 8:50:21 am PDT #558 of 8624
See? I gave everybody here an opportunity to tell me what a bad person I am and nobody did, because I fuckin' rule.

I've always assumed (or possibly fanwanked?) that what we see acted out is more, and in much more detail, than he's telling the kids. I seem to vaguely recall some sort of handwavium in the particularly skeevy threesome episode that might support my wank, but I can't actually remember what it was.

And it occurs to me now that we're probably seeing not only more than he's telling, but more than he remembers--he says very clearly that he didn't meet their mom that night, but I can't imagine any other reason for the random collision and apology than that it's her. Which seems oddly nifty; I like the idea that the huge meta-narrative has been telling us not just the details of the stories that he's censoring for the kids, but the details he doesn't even remember.


sj - Mar 20, 2008 9:04:00 am PDT #559 of 8624
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."

JZ, I've gotten the same impressions.


Matt the Bruins fan - Mar 20, 2008 4:55:37 pm PDT #560 of 8624
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand

I have to say, I'm unexpectedly liking this new Miss Guided show now that I've caught a couple episodes by accident. I love Judy Greer, and for some reason her character reminds me of the protagonist in all those old "Mary Jane just laughed" jokes.


lisah - Mar 21, 2008 5:32:16 am PDT #561 of 8624
Punishingly Intricate

and for some reason her character reminds me of the protagonist in all those old "Mary Jane just laughed" jokes.

What jokes now?

Miss Guided was a little too something for me. Too cringe-making and not funny enough to make up for that, I guess. I've recorded the two eps on last night so I'm going to give it another chance though.


Matt the Bruins fan - Mar 21, 2008 5:55:37 am PDT #562 of 8624
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand

There's an old tradition of ironic and horrifying jokes featuring an oblivious little girl named Mary Jane. For example:

Mary Jane was playing on the swings one day, swinging higher and higher. Her mother came out and said, "Mary Jane, don't you swing too high, the boys will see your underwear."
Mary Jane laughed and laughed; she knew she wasn't wearing any underwear.

Mary Jane pushed her brother into the pool. Her mother said, "You know your brother can't swim!"
Mary Jane laughed and laughed; she knew there wasn't any water in that pool.

Aside from the obvious panty-less parallel with the first joke, Judy Greer's character has that same quality of being chipper and breezing right on as something horrible or humiliating occurs.