# "Open up! Zis iss ze Gestapo!" is no longer funny. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2018, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-up-zis-iss-ze-gestapo-is-no-longer-funny/822042 "2018-09-27T17:47:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2018, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-up-zis-iss-ze-gestapo-is-no-longer-funny/822042/41 "2018-10-01T15:23:43Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > “You like it when the studio audience laughs at your jokes? Well, the studio audience will laugh _at everything you say and do_. This _is_ the other place!” That episode had an unusually significant impact on me, I have no idea why. But it forever changed how I view positive/negative events in my life. I get really uneasy when too many things are going my way. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-up-zis-iss-ze-gestapo-is-no-longer-funny/822042/42 "2018-10-02T09:45:53Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > …_Seinfeld_ was more of a metatextual commentary on the inanities of customs and social norms. It had the trappings of a sitcom—the wacky neighbor, the girlfriend, the ne’er-do-well best friend—but the characters were almost incidential. (There is no way Jerry Seinfeld could actually carry a show or film if he had to do so on the basis of character; he’s about as interesting as paste and frankly a mediocre comedian, and they were fortunate to have Julia Louis-Dreyfess and Jason Alexander who can hit their beats reliably.)… > > Stranger I doubt I’m the first one to suggest this, but is it fair to say that Jerry was the straight man on his own show? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-up-zis-iss-ze-gestapo-is-no-longer-funny/822042/43 "2018-10-02T10:03:19Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > I doubt I’m the first one to suggest this, but is it fair to say that Jerry was the straight man on his own show? More or less. He was the character with the least ‘wacky-ness’. I would actually contend that despite the title, Jason Alexander’s character was actually the central figure (and obvious stand-in for Larry David) around which most of the plot complications centered. But the standard sitcom featuring a stand-up comedian centers around that comedian because that’s the formula that was set up by _The Honeymooners_, _The Dick Van Dyke Show_, et cetera, although by the _George Burns and Gracie Allen Show_ which is really the prototype for all of the metatextual comedies that have come since. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-up-zis-iss-ze-gestapo-is-no-longer-funny/822042/44 "2018-10-02T10:18:26Z")
> [@Sloe\_Moe](#): > > I don’t know. The part concerning the Gestapo, Mein Kampf, and indoctrination in “Stalag 17” was the funniest part of the movie. You mean Stalag 13? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-up-zis-iss-ze-gestapo-is-no-longer-funny/822042/45 "2018-10-02T10:38:03Z")
I think he means [_Stalag 17_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046359/). It’s [kind of a famous movie](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046359/movieconnections/) that was the obvious inspiration for _Hogan’s Heroes_. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-up-zis-iss-ze-gestapo-is-no-longer-funny/822042/46 "2018-10-02T22:38:11Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I think he means [_Stalag 17_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046359/). It’s [kind of a famous movie](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046359/movieconnections/) that was the obvious inspiration for _Hogan’s Heroes_. > > Stranger I know the movie. I know it very well. I just don’t recall it containing any of the abovementioned moments of hilarity. The original title of _ **Hogan’s Heroes** _ was _ **Stalag 13** _, BTW. It was changed in order to avoid a plagarism suit. ---
**Author:** ![Sloe\_Moe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sloe\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sloe_Moe)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2018, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-up-zis-iss-ze-gestapo-is-no-longer-funny/822042/47 "2018-10-03T03:49:35Z")
When it was announced that the POW’s should undergo indoctrination, they (the prisoners) pre-empted their jailors and arranged a parody with all of them wearing Hitler mustachios, standing ramrod straight, listening to a speaker reading from Mein Kampf but uttering gibberish like “kaput” and “guzunheit”. Schultz told them to desist and asked “Do you want me to be arrested by the Gestapo?” to which they chorused “Jawol!” And then they started shouting “seig heil” in unison; which was the only time the cry way made with hilarious effect. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2018, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-up-zis-iss-ze-gestapo-is-no-longer-funny/822042/48 "2018-10-03T04:26:02Z")
> [@Sloe\_Moe](#): > > When it was announced that the POW’s should undergo indoctrination, they (the prisoners) pre-empted their jailors and arranged a parody with all of them wearing Hitler mustachios, standing ramrod straight, listening to a speaker reading from Mein Kampf but uttering gibberish like “kaput” and “guzunheit”. > > Schultz told them to desist and asked “Do you want me to be arrested by the Gestapo?” to which they chorused “Jawol!” > > And then they started shouting “seig heil” in unison; which was the only time the cry way made with hilarious effect. Right, I remember the salute. It’s been a while, though. IMDB has a lot of interesting data on the movie in the Trivia and Goofs sections. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-up-zis-iss-ze-gestapo-is-no-longer-funny/822042.md?page=2)