# Sneaky jokes in TV shows - not movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2010, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732 "2010-04-29T10:12:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/41 "2010-04-30T13:18:00Z")
There was an episode of Eastenders a long, long time ago, where the scene cut to characters (Sharon and Wicksy, if anyone is interested) sitting in the kitchen. Wicksy is saying “… and she says, no, but it keeps the flies off my watermelon”. And Sharon laughs a lot and tells him he’s dreadful. I sat in stunned silence, thinking “I know the rest of that joke”. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/42 "2010-04-30T13:27:50Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > The final episode of _Not the Nine O’Clock News_ got a famous piece of smut [past](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLgeiRO63mE) the censors. :eek: 😃 I wonder what the censors would have made of [this](http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/665455/) then. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/43 "2010-04-30T14:02:15Z")
> [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](#): > > Heh. I’m clearing stuff off the DVR because I was …busy\*… and I’ve caught some neat funny jokes. > > During **Cougartown,** (I know, don’t look at me like that) the mother and son character are exploring a possible college opportunity for the son. As they’re walking down a sidewalk, a student stops the mother and asks for the time. Mother replies “It’s 4:20.” During the same episode, when they were golfing, the blonde’s boyfriend’s father yells “Ratfarts!” as he shanks it for the 4th or 5th time. “Ratfarts” of course being what the bishop in “Caddyshack” yells after he misses the final putt in the thunderstorm. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/44 "2010-04-30T14:04:51Z")
> [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](#): > > Anybody got anything else? I mean, besides **Supernatural.** They do that all the time. Drat, I saw the thread title and thought “Ha! I’ve got a bunch of these from **Supernatural**! They’ve gone and totally misplaced their fourth wall!” Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/45 "2010-04-30T14:32:40Z")
I’m surprised that the Dope’s gold standard for sneaky jokes hasn’t made it into this thread yet: I’ll be in my bunk. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/46 "2010-04-30T14:35:27Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > You may find this weird, but Newhart isn’t known worldwide. I couldn’t even tell you if it was a comedy, drama or what. So there is no “of course”. It was kind of an obscure show even in the US whaen it aired. Not totally obscure, of course, but definitely not in the top ten. But the last episode created such a stir that everyone was talking about it. As **EvilTOJ** pointed out, in the last episode, things got really wacky and surreal. The main character then woke up and realized that the entire thing was a dream. He woke up next to his wife from his first TV series. As for the psychology stuff, in his first series he played a phsychologist from Chicago. Jack Riley regularly played a really hostile (and hilarious) patient. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/47 "2010-04-30T14:42:02Z")
> [@](#): > > It was kind of an obscure show even in the US whaen it aired. This really isn’t a believable statement. **Newhart** was on the air in prime time on one of the big three for _eight years_. You can call it many things, but “obscure” isn’t one of them. Even if it wasn’t in the top ten. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/48 "2010-04-30T15:13:07Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > I wonder what the censors would have made of [this](http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/665455/) then. Which reminds me of SNL’s [Schweaty Balls](http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/871407/). ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/49 "2010-04-30T16:00:13Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > The final episode of _Not the Nine O’Clock News_ got a famous piece of smut [past](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLgeiRO63mE) the censors. :eek: 😃 That was great, thanks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/50 "2010-04-30T16:24:58Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > Which reminds me of SNL’s [Schweaty Balls](http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/871407/). I have trouble imaging how that in any way counts as a “Sneaky” joke being eased past the censors. Same with the cork-soakers. And with the ending of Newhart. I mean, it was the punchline to the entire series, not a sly wink done on the side. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/51 "2010-04-30T17:39:01Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Drat, I saw the thread title and thought “Ha! I’ve got a bunch of these from **Supernatural**! They’ve gone and totally misplaced their fourth wall!” > > Never mind. If we’re going to eliminate “Supernatural,” we should eliminate “The Simpsons,” too - I say let them both in! ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/52 "2010-05-01T01:40:02Z")
I recently saw an episode of the cartoon _Phineas and Ferb_ which featured a musical number which had a brief shot of a bear sitting next to a tree reading a newspaper. At the end of the episode, the bear reappears and says “Yes, yes I do”- a reference to a running gag on the show as well as the bear himself answering the famous question “does a bear shit in the woods?” Considering this is a Disney cartoon, I was pretty surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/53 "2010-05-03T01:24:37Z")
There’s a _Scrubs_ episode where JD starts pronouncing words with an “schm” at the beginning and claims he can do it for any word. A short while later, in the background, he responds to an annoyed-looking nurse with “Eat schmit and die.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/54 "2010-05-03T01:31:14Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/55 "2010-05-04T07:01:29Z")
> [@HeadNinja](#): > > Michael tells G.O.B., “Get rid of the Seaward,” referring to the new boat; Lucille replies, “I’ll leave when I’m good and ready.” > –Arrested Development Is that really a sneaky joke? It’s funny, sure, but (from memory) it wasn’t an aside or throwaway joke, it was the punchline. There’s no other was to interpret the exchange other than Lucille thinks Michael is calling her a cunt. Her lack of reaction was what I found funniest, but it’s not that sly a joke. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/56 "2010-05-04T14:45:01Z")
Anything on SNL is anything but “sneaky” – surely American TV (even the regular everyday commercial channels) had gotten to the point around 1985 where risque material could be performed on late, late night TV without any real fear of censorship. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/57 "2010-05-04T16:30:34Z")
Just saw one of these over the weekend on TLC’s “Moving Up.” The host, Doug Wilson, had a couple of guys oiling an unfinished bar and another couple was demolishing a kitchen. The narration to segue between the two homes went something like this: “While Joe and Bobby _lubed_up their bar, Ron and Cathy spent their time \*rubbing one out \*in the kitchen.” ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/58 "2010-05-05T07:52:44Z")
Maybe I’m breaking my own rule, but on tonight’s \*\*Sports Soup \*\*on Versus, they had their Hockey episode. The “Ice Crew” (aka cheerleaders) from the LA Kings were there. They were suggesting that women nationwide join their “Local “Ice crew” for the local hockey team” in their area. I’m sure they’ll be getting the phonecalls for that one. Whether it’s the crew or the TV station, I’m not sure of. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/59 "2010-05-05T08:48:06Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > I wonder what the censors would have made of [this](http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/665455/) then. WHOA…who the hell gave _that_ the green light? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732/60 "2010-05-05T08:51:21Z")
I have to believe that a lot of this stuff the censors know about, but since it’s not explicit then they let it go through. Like in this current example, sure Colonel Angus sounds like cunilingus, but since they didn’t actually say the word then it’s OK. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaky-jokes-in-tv-shows-not-movies/537732.md?page=4)