# What running gags, schtick, do you detest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [March 15, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131 "2022-03-15T19:34:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/41 "2022-03-17T13:51:10Z")
I don’t know what you call it but for example, in the movie Mrs. Doubtfire, when they were at a restaurant and Robin was dressed as Mrs. Doubfire and had to keep running back and forth to the washroom, changing from Mrs. D back to his other character Daniel. It goes on and on. Too long and annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/42 "2022-03-17T14:00:15Z")
> **[Two-Timer Date - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TwoTimerDate)** > > A character schedules dates with two different people at the same time. Rather than cancelling one of the dates, the character tries to attend both simultaneously, constantly running back and forth between the two locations while making up … ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/43 "2022-03-17T15:20:08Z")
After the first time “Kramer” slid into my apartment there would be about 6 locks on the door, plus multiple cameras. Just running into that guy in the hall would be intolerable. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/44 "2022-03-17T15:35:40Z")
There are two running shticks I do that my gf absolutely hates. I have been trying to cut them out, but people keep feeding me the straight lines that make it difficult for me to ignore. The first is when we have a visitor who comments about all the butterflies in our yard, I’ll comment, “yeah, I’m going to have to spray this weekend”. For some reason people take this seriously and it really breaks the mood. I’ve used it with butterflies, turkeys, songbirds, etc. The second is when someone thinks they know me and keeps pursuing the issue. Once I’ve had enough of the conversation, I’ll get my prison yard stare going and ask them, “you ever done time?” Again, it really freaks people out. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/45 "2022-03-17T15:41:09Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Going even further back I could never understand the whole Gallager watermelon smashing routine. I’m not saying he was a great comedian but he was fairly decent even without that schtick. I used to watch his comedy specials on cable in the '80s – originally, the watermelon thing was a spoof of the “Veg-o-Matic” TV ads, and was just one little portion of his routine. But, it became very popular, and it’s what he became known for, so it became a bigger focus of his act (and fans started showing up for his shows wearing rain ponchos, in expectation of the splattering food). I think it’s not unlike how fans came to expect that George Carlin would do the “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” routine, that Jeff Foxworthy would do the “You Might Be a Redneck” bit, or Ron White would do his “Tater Salad” bit. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/46 "2022-03-17T15:45:10Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > After the first time “Kramer” slid into my apartment there would be about 6 locks on the door, plus multiple cameras. Just running into that guy in the hall would be intolerable. Same for me. Even just watching him do that annoyed me. The man can’t enter a room without creating a disturbance. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/47 "2022-03-17T15:47:43Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Second thing I thought of: the also long drawn out “jokes” on Family Guy. Something will happen that has potential for humor (let’s just say a fart), and then it goes on for a ridiculously long time, until the joke becomes that _it’s still going on!_ Har de har har. This has always been my problem with South Park. Sometimes they land on something really funny, but they always have to ruin it by beating it into the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/48 "2022-03-17T15:48:31Z")
“Git-r-done”. “Larry the cable guy”. Perfect comic for the Age of trump. I think his time is about done, thank God. I did see him recently in an ad endorsing some Nebraska candidate. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2022, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/49 "2022-03-21T18:29:04Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TwoTimerDate](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TwoTimerDate) Yep! That’s what I was trying to explain. ---
**Author:** ![Mortimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mortimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mortimus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/50 "2022-03-23T23:23:33Z")
The Bob & Tom show-Tom’s “What’s New Pussycat” routine. It wasn’t funny the first time I heard it, wasn’t any funnier the 20476th time either. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/51 "2022-03-24T14:27:23Z")
I generally like Jimmy Kimmel’s monologs, but I switch off when he goes to any kind of people-on-the-street routine. It’s been done by just about everyone and it’s gone from being funny to just being pathetic to see so many stupid and ill-informed people. And that incoherent old guy who Kimmel calls on to review movies? Another turn-off. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/52 "2022-04-12T17:24:18Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Love George Carlin, but hated his old Hippy Dippy Weatherman routine. I think, as kind of stated, he hated his own act. If you listen to the interview he gave on the 40th anniversary of his time in comedy, he says something like, “I went home and realized. I wasn’t in my own act!” He took time to redo everything and come back as himself. It’s much better. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/53 "2022-04-12T17:32:48Z")
I hate any running bit with a long build up. Seth Meyers has “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell” and the set up is unwatchable. Colbert has “Meanwhile” with this long, for unlacing setup. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/54 "2022-04-12T17:46:37Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > (…) when we have a visitor who comments about all the butterflies in our yard, I’ll comment, “yeah, I’m going to have to spray this weekend”. (…) > The second is when someone thinks they know me and keeps pursuing the issue. Once I’ve had enough of the conversation, I’ll get my prison yard stare going and ask them, “you ever done time?” (…) I think these are funny. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/55 "2022-04-12T18:00:23Z")
I have always detested the “There is NO WAY I am ever going to do [that]” followed by a quick jump cut to them doing exactly that. What exactly did the person say or do to make them change their mind? I guess the writers never bothered to come up with anything. It just seems lazy. And even more lazy 50 years and 10K repetitions later. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/56 "2022-04-12T18:11:20Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > He took time to redo everything and come back as himself. It’s much better. I loved almost all of Carlin’s early, middle and late stand-up phases (his sit-com and movie appearances were quite funny, too). It’s just his Ippy Dippy routine that left me flat. It left me flat for the same reason the show _Laugh-In_ mostly left me flat—I don’t like comedy that tries _too_ hard to be hip. I don’t like it when it’s current and when it ages, it’s worse. Even as a pre-teen, I thought _Laugh-In_ was lame. Here’s Carlin early in his stand-up career. The humor isn’t biting or polished like his later routines, but still _very_ funny. It’s a bit jarring seeing him in his button down pre-Class Clown years. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivCeOSrSQ88) Here’s George on an episode of That Girl: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/G1hQ62wjeco/maxresdefault.jpg "RUFUS!! George Carlin is That Girl's 1st Agent: Understudy #1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1hQ62wjeco&t=239) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/57 "2022-04-12T18:30:25Z")
Adam Sandler’s “Cajun Man” character. He’s been somewhat obsessed with it his entire career and it’s never been funny. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/58 "2022-04-13T03:37:40Z")
I liked a much of the original SNL cast material, but quickly grew tired of the Landshark, Killer Bees and Samurai Futaba running bits. They should have just been one offs. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/59 "2022-04-13T04:08:03Z")
Yeah, people glamorize the original SNL and that cast, but forget how much filler there was, including those running non-gags. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131/60 "2022-04-13T16:22:06Z")
People saying “Da Bears” and think they’re being sooo clever and original makes me very close to becoming violent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-running-gags-schtick-do-you-detest/961131.md?page=4)