# Bad sitcom. Good joke. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260 "2005-08-30T15:08:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/61 "2005-08-31T22:30:19Z")
Another one from “Just Shoot Me”: Elliot and Nina discover that they are both big fans of a blues musician named Cholera Joe Hopper. As the episode unwinds, we follow poor Joe’s medical disasters and deteriorating health through his music. His final album is called “Don’t Need No Doctor”. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/62 "2005-09-01T03:49:05Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > The musical version of _Hamlet_ that the gang put on in one episode of _Gilligan’s Island_ was brilliant in its ridiculousness. > > Originally Posted by the Skipper as Polonius > Neither a borrower nor a lender be! > Do not forget: stay out of debt. > There’s just one other thing > You have to do: > To thine own self be truuuuue! As a person who can’t understand anyone considering Gilligan’s Island to be a bad show, I must correct that quote. Neither a borrower nor a lender be! Do not forget: stay out of debt. _Think twice and take this good advice from me. Guard that old solvencyyyyyyy_ There’s just one other thing You _ought_ to do: To thine own self be truuuuue! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/63 "2005-09-01T13:31:32Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > Chandler: [pause] What kind of screwed-up clowns came to your birthday parties? “What kind of scary-ass clowns did you have at your birthday parties?” This correction brought to you by the Department of Pedantry. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/64 "2005-09-01T13:44:29Z")
On “Growing Pains” Mike’s best friend was called “Boner” for years. Finally it was revealed his real name was Richard Stabone. On one epsiode Mike asked him what his father’s first name was: Boner: Sylvester. Mike pauses, then says "Wait a minute. Your father’s name is _Sylvester Stabone?_. Boner: Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/65 "2005-09-01T14:29:22Z")
The funniest gag from _Happy Days_ came from _The Simpsons_: Marge: Time to go to the reunion. Homer: It’ll be great to see the old gang again. Potsie, Ralph Malph, The Fonz… Marge: That was Happy Days! Homer: No, they weren’t all Happy Days, like the time Pinky Tuscadero crashed her motorcycle, or the night I lost all my money to those card sharks and my dad Tom Bosley had to get it back. Art imitating schlock. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/66 "2005-09-01T18:52:27Z")
Paraphrasing from my muddled memory… One segment of the Flintstones, Fred was reminiscing about not getting any respect, even when young. “During our elementary school play, other children got to be trees, birds, and butterflies. I…I was a slug.” ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/67 "2005-09-01T21:51:53Z")
We only saw a couple of episodes of the Brooke Sheilds sitcom “Suddenly Susan”, but KH and I still get the giggles at the only scene we remember from it. Brooke Shields was in a bookstore trying to hide from someone, and she wandered into the science-fiction section. A short, obviously nerdy man was standing there browsing. He looked up, admired her, and said: “I bet you’re as tall as a Wookie.” Whenever we’re out in public and we spot a particularly tall woman, we’re still apt to say (quietly), “Bet she’s as tall as a Wookie.” ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/68 "2005-09-01T22:37:29Z")
> [@Eleanor of Aquitaine](#): > > We only saw a couple of episodes of the Brooke Sheilds sitcom “Suddenly Susan”, but KH and I still get the giggles at the only scene we remember from it. > > Brooke Shields was in a bookstore trying to hide from someone, and she wandered into the science-fiction section. A short, obviously nerdy man was standing there browsing. He looked up, admired her, and said: “I bet you’re as tall as a Wookie.” > Whenever we’re out in public and we spot a particularly tall woman, we’re still apt to say (quietly), “Bet she’s as tall as a Wookie.” You saw the only good joke of the series. **tdn** , I gotta say, I’ve got a slight problem with your OP. This is a good thread, but _Suddenly Susan_ made _ALF_ look like _Frank’s Place_. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/69 "2005-09-02T01:32:26Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > The entire “Just Shoot Me” episode with David Cross as the “retarded” brother of Eliot was a great moment in a terrible show. I also didn’t watch “Just Shoot Me” very much but I remember the “Biography” episode they did for Nina, which I thought was hilarious. At the end of the show they ask all of the people they interviewed for the episode to sum up Nina in one word. Don Henley (from the Eagles) rattles off a couple of adjectives that are completely dissimilar, then says “Is there a word that means both? I’ll bet the Germans have one.” (It would be a lot funnier if I could remember what the hell the two words were…) ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/70 "2005-09-02T02:32:20Z")
Not really a joke, but one Gilligan’s Island, they found, I think it was a stone of some sort, that was supposed to grant wishes. At the end, they’re all standing on a corner of the island, at the edge of the island, Gillian holding the stone, ready to make the last wish. Everyone tells him to wish them off the island, so he does. The piece of land they’re on breaks away a few inches from the island. About the only cleaver thing I ever saw on the show. Also, I liked a Christmas episode of Married With Children, where Kelly gets a CD from Herman’s Hermits, and reads it out loud “I’m Henry the V I I I I am” Bud corrects her and…darn, I’m blanking, hearing Kelly pronounce each Roman numeral as an individual letter was funny enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![initech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/439d5e/32.png) [@initech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/initech)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/71 "2005-09-02T02:48:34Z")
FRIENDS: Joey: All right, Rach. The big question is, “does he like you?” All right? Because if he doesn’t like you, this is all a moo point. Rachel: Huh. A moo point? Joey: Yeah, it’s like a cow’s opinion. It just doesn’t matter. It’s moo. ROSEANNE: [Lights go out as electricity is shut off] Roseanne: Well, middle class was fun. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/72 "2005-09-02T03:00:50Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > “What kind of scary-ass clowns did you have at your birthday parties?” > > This correction brought to you by the Department of Pedantry. It’s actually “What kind of scary-ass clowns came to your birthday?” [Link](http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/9151/206.htm) I remember it because I found it odd that he didn’t say the word “party” at the end. This correction brought to you by the Department of Pedantry’s Department of Pedantry. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/73 "2005-09-02T15:29:29Z")
Well, I liked most of the episodes of _Friends_, but since it’s been trashed somewhat, I guess I’m free to share one of my favorite scenes: The gang is watching an old home-movie of Ross and Monica, when they were in high school. Unbeknownst to some of them, Monica was very fat in high school. When she’s first seen on the video, the gang recoils in shock. Joey (pointing, horrified): That girl ate Monica! Monica: Shut up. The camera adds ten pounds. Chandler: So how many cameras were ON you, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/74 "2005-09-02T15:36:48Z")
Some people considered [The John Larroquette Show](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106039/combined) bad (they were wrong, of course). One of my favorite scenes was when John walked into work one day wearing whiskers under his lower lip. Daryl Mitchell asked, “What the hell do you call that?” and Chi McBride replied, “It’s called a _soul patch_, and they were considered cool until about twenty seconds ago.” ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/75 "2005-09-02T15:37:08Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > Well, I liked most of the episodes of _Friends_, but since it’s been trashed somewhat, I guess I’m free to share one of my favorite scenes: My favorite part of that scene was when Monica opened a box and pulled out an old bathing suit, and Chandler commented “That’s what they use to cover Connecticut when it rains.” Then the video shows Rachel with her old nose, and he says, “No, _that’s_ what they use to cover Connecticut when it rains.” ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/76 "2005-09-02T16:18:19Z")
_Just Shoot Me_ was usually only remotely funny when focusing on the character of Finch. I liked the episode where they did a takeoff on, “The Ginch Who Stole Christmas” to the tune of, “You’re a mean one, Mr. Finch.” Basically Finch thinks no one’s getting him anything for Christmas and starts plotting against people in the office. The songs and narration they came up with were clever. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/77 "2005-09-02T16:28:36Z")
Does anyone remember the show “The Grubbs” starring Randy Quaid? No? That’s because it was cancelled before it even aired. However, apparently there was a short time when they were still in purgatory and they were running some promos for it from which we were left this gem. . .“when life hands you crap, make crapenade”. From the sitcom so bad, it didn’t even make it to TV. There was also the “ketchup” joke from “Fox Force Five”. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/78 "2005-09-02T16:42:20Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > Chandler: So how many cameras were ON you, anyway? I came in here specifically to post this one. Damn you, **Sauron**! ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/79 "2005-09-02T17:31:50Z")
> [@Eleanor of Aquitaine](#): > > Whenever we’re out in public and we spot a particularly tall woman, we’re still apt to say (quietly), “Bet she’s as tall as a Wookie.” Life imitating…art, I guess if you want to be kind to Suddenly Susan. There was this girl who dated most of my group of friends. One time, when talking about her, one of the guys says: (Spoiler box for the easily offended/disgusted/I don’t wanna hear no bitchin’ if you highlight the spoiler box) It was like going down on a wookiee. Ouch. -Joe, tangential ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260/80 "2005-09-02T17:37:44Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > (It would be a lot funnier if I could remember what the hell the two words were…) “Destructive…no, vibrant.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-good-joke/319260.md?page=5)