That’s probably the truest answer, however I still find that kind of thing hysterical for some reason (in most cases). There is also a scene in MST3K The Creeping Terror where Mike is listening to the theme to the movie on his boss stereo system. He just stands there listening. Adjusts a couple of knobs, then marks a cd with a green marker and just listening. Still cracks me up.
As an example of funny–>not funny that does or doesn’t get back to funny? Because if it’s “does” then other than the fact that the scene never goes to not funny we’re good, but if it’s “doesn’t” then we’re going to Thunderdome.
I find that it sort of drags in the middle.
Another example, I think, would be from the end of one of the Monty Python episodes. All the footage is only of the sea and it just goes on and on and on. It’s as if one of their sketches didn’t work or they needed to stretch out the episode to make the time or something.
Somewhat simiilar is the Simpsons scene where Homer is lighting the barbeque. After dropping the coals in, he laboriously squirts an entire bottle of lighter fluid onto the grill. Then he reaches down and picks up another. And another. It’s just him spraying lighter fluid there for (what feels like) minutes. Of course in this case, the big payoff is that as soon as he lights a match and tosses it in, it lights up normally, with a modest flame
I started a thread here on that type of gag once upon a time
You made me think of the peeing scene in the second Austin Powers – slightly funny, then not funny, then really funny. (IMO).
I’m wondering if the ORIGINAL rake gag only dates to Tom and Jerry. Surely it’s older than that, Vaudeville maybe?
This isn’t the first time there’s been a Family Guy reference in The Simpsons. What confuses me is that everyone automatically assumes that these references represent some sort of deep-seated animosity the writers for The Simpsons feel towards the writers for Family Guy. I don’t get this. There have been dozens of shows that tried to ride on The Simpson’s animated coat-tails. How many of them ever merited a single Simpsons reference? If they really hated Family Guy, wouldn’t it make more sense to ignore them, especially since it was already a faltering, soon-to-be-cancelled show? Why give them the free advertising? Sure, they’re making fun of the other show, but The Simpsons make fun of everything. The fact that they felt Family Guy was important enough to make fun of seems to be a tremendous compliment, to me. I know that if I were Seth MacFarlane, the first time I saw one of my characters get lampooned by The Simpsons would be the highlight of my career, if not my life in general.
But, I don’t really know anything about Seth MacFarlane or Matt Groenig or how they feel about each other. Maybe they’re arch-enemies in real life, and fight duels and foil each other’s plans and crap like that. It just seems to me that a satirist satirizing the work of another satirist could just as likely be a gesture of professional respect as anything else.
To me, it wasn’t the length of the scene that made it funny but the sheer uncomfortableness. While other shows have had overly long scenes, they wern’t of the same style because they were either absurd (like the Tom & Jerry scene) or had a point (like the chicken scene in family guy). What struck me about the rake scene was that it was like one of those flippant jokes where you get the timing slightly off so instead of eliciting a mild chuckle, you just get deadpanned silence. The scene fools you into feeling sorry for the writers for not quite pulling of the gag and the sucker-punching you by making it work in the most amazing way.
The only scene that really comes to mind in Family Guy was the bruised shin scene but there were several more than they did which I especially remember because I felt hugely annoyed by them for ruining the simpsons scene for me.
Well, as Justin_Bailey pointed out, there was a previous gag that basically identified Peter as a clone (ie, an unoriginal copy) of Homer. I’m not sure that’s entirely affectionate. Seth MacFarlane has proclaimed his admiration for the Simpsons, but he denies that Peter is a Homer ripoff; he may just be kidding himself, but he claims Peter was inspired more by Archie Bunker than by Homer Simpson. (Though those of you who remember the FG joke about “a fat man inexplicably married to an attractive redhead” may think of a different antecedent.)
Audrey Meadows was a redhead?
Check out this image.
I can’t remember who said: "A pie in the face is funny. Two pies in the face are less funny. Three, not funny. Now, ten thousand pies in the face, that’s comedy.
I am well aware of the antecedent you originally had in mind, Nonsuch, but the Flintstones had its own antecedent - another fat man inexplicably married to an attractive woman with a dopey sidekick.
OK, then. Check out this image
Works fer me. Thanks, chukhung.
That was precisely the scene I was thinking of when I made my last post. It never even crossed my mind to consider it an insult aimed at FG until someone posted about it on the boards here. The Simpsons is a satire that draws from an amazingly deep well of pop culture. I can’t believe that thier writers aren’t aware of precisely how much of their own show is a deliberate copy of someone else’s work. That’s what makes it satire. Hell, the entire character of Homer Simpson is a parody of the “stupid dad” stereotype so popular on American sit-coms. As has been pointed out, there’s a direct line of descent from Ralph Kramden through Fred Flintstone, Archie Bunker, Homer Simpson, and down to Peter Griffin. The idea that the writers of The Simpsons to get upset at FG for “cloning” Homer requires a level of hypocrisy of which I would prefer to think them incapable.
Wow, you said what I was thinking far better than I ever could.
Now, see - that scene killed me. It went on forever, but there was a payoff.
There’s a sort-of similar gag on homestarrunner.com, when Homestar is dumping a soda on Strongbad’s computer keyboard. Since you used spoiler tags, I’ll continue the trend:
The soda keeps pouring and pouring, and the “go back?” prompt comes on the screen, so you believe that the flash animation has ended and is just in a loop. But then, after an unbelievably long time, Homestar suddenly says: “Dang, that’s like, the never-ending soda”.
Oh, they’re capable all right. Remember the episode where the Simpsons are watching “Dinosaurs”, and Bart says, “It’s like they took our lives and put it on the screen”, or something to that effect. Obviously, they’re allowed to copy The Honeymooners/ The Flinstones, but nobody else is.
I have actually stood on a rake by accident, and boy does it hurt to be hit by the handel at that speed. I’m sure it’s a gag as old as the rake itself.
Actually, I don’t. What the hell was Dinosaurs? At any rate, from what little context you’ve given me, it seems that my earlier comments re: their jokes about FG would be just as applicable. Poking fun at a rival TV show does not necessarily equate with genuine ire at the other show, and I continue to be confused by people who assume that it does. The Simpsons make fun of Homer more than they make fun of Peter Griffin. Should I therefore assume that the writers all hate Homer? Somebody help me out with the logic here.