Funniest verbal gag: I couldn’t find it on You Tube, but the scene in MAS*H when Margaret thanks Radar for letting him use his pet rabbit for a pregnancy test, and he says, “That’s okay. I know you would’ve done the same for her.”
Funniest sight gag: At 6:47, Ethel, fresh from charm school and dressed as a glamour girl. (Lucy is dressed up too, but it’s not as funny for her.) I Love Lucy - Charmed School - YouTube
I think radio needs a look in here as well. “That Mitchell and Webb sound” is a work of genius (John Finnemore was involved, 'nuff said")
The “wooden boy” sketches are genius.
For some reason, the stuck horn in “Little Miss Sunshine” made me laugh myself into tears in the theater, and still makes me laugh.
Jim’s hack license test in “Taxi”, of course. The first slowing down of “What does a yellow light mean?” was scripted, but the ensuing ones were in response to the hysterical audience. Or so I read somewhere.
Kramer having seizures whenever he hears Mary Hart’s voice on TV:
Mr. Bean’s Christmas, including the closing turkey scene.
I still remember this clip from MASH when if was first shown. Something had happened earlier in the day that had everyone in the house in pissy moods. We were watching MASH, for some reason when this scene played, we all broke out into fits of laughter. For a short while the event earlier in the day didn’t matter.
Also don’t forget Tim Conway as a rookie dentist. It really gets going at about the 5:30 mark.
My favorite scene from Psych when Gus gets to take the lead:
In the “Seinfeld” epsiode “The Voice,” Jerry is agonizing over the ultimatum his girlfriend has given him: Either lose “The Voice” or lose her. He is struggling so hard over the decision, but he finally arrives at what he needs to do, and he shows up at her apartment and says. . . “HELLLL-OOOOO!”
Gene Wilder’s “morons” line from Blazing Saddles.
Cleavon Little’s outburst of laughter was genuine due to the “morons” part not being in his script.
The Nazi rally scene from Death to Smoochy.
The cookies Rainbow Randolph provided for Smoochy’s show is also a contender…
The Young Ones going on University Challenge kills me every time. Especially Griff Rhys Jones’ line delivery, which is so unlike anything else in the series (they never really did deadpan).
Yes you can, with Monthy Python.
Different kinds of humor. Holy Grail is classic Python, Young Frankenstein is classic Brooks. I like them both… I just like YF better. Same with Life of Brian and Blazing Saddles. I like BS better. I’m sure you can find lots of people who would disagree with me. Funny is subjective. YF did $86M, and HG did $5M box office.
This is the one I came in to post. Just kills me every time!
Also, I’m another for anything Fawlty Towers. That show did me in almost every episode.
Also, Monty Python’s Upperclass Twit of the Year Contest:
I love Python to death, and I rewatch the series once a year or so (the picture quality of the BluRay set that came out last year is just glorious) but even I’ll admit, you would probably whittle the 45 episodes (plus the two German ones) into an 80 minute montage of brilliance and not miss much. For every Argument Sketch, there’s twenty minutes of Mister Neutron. For every Dead Parrot, there’s a Bicycle Tour. For every few minutes of the Cheese Shop, there’s half an hour of blancmanges turning people into Scotsmen.
there’s a scene in johnny dangerously Michael Keaton’s gangster spoof where john’s brother who becomes the DA graduates from law school and their mom goes for something in her purse and the girlfriend is standing there as mom slowly hands her a bunch of sex toys with an escalating look of surprise and disgust as she takes each one
The series are definitely hit and miss. The movies (well the first two) on the other hand absolutely on the nail from start to finish, pretty much the perfect comedies. Personally as i said its not if the funniest scene ever is from the Holy Grail or Life of Brian, but which scene from those two movies is the funniest scene ever.
Not that I hate Meaning of Life (or the series for that matter) there are plenty of good comedians who’ve spent their careers making movies but not come up with anything as funny, but its not in the same league as Grail or Brian.
Another great line, but very hard to beat the “white women” line. The concept of pulling a black man out in front of the KKK is funny, but having him say the line about the white women is just amazing.
A very funny two minutes, if we are now including sketches.
“The Front Fell Off”
