# When Funny Shows Turn Poignant (Warning: Some Spoilers Possible) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2006, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393 "2006-11-07T04:31:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/61 "2006-11-08T06:55:02Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] That last episode of Blackadder Goes Forth hit pretty hard in the USA, as well. (Although I known that Britain lost far more in The Great War.) [/QUOTE] No offense was meant, I wasn’t thinking numbers, more the symbolism of the [poppies](http://www.poppy.org.uk/). ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/62 "2006-11-08T07:01:13Z")
[QUOTE=Greywolf73] On a less award-winning level, there’s the episode of Growing Pains in which Carol’s friend (Matthew Perry, pre-Friends) dies in a car accident. The worst part about it was that Carol had just visited him in the hospital and he was fine. Then he threw a blood clot or something and died suddenly. Played with my teenage emotions, that episode did. [/QUOTE] I didn’t like him because his name was Sandy … a GIRL’S name (as far as I was concerned). ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/63 "2006-11-08T07:39:12Z")
[QUOTE=fiddlesticks] Since the Mother Simpson episode has been mentioned, I’ll add the “Maggie Makes Three” episode where at the end we see that Homer has covered up his “Don’t Forgot You’re Here Forever” plaque with pictures of Maggie so it reads “Do It For Her”. [_sniff_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Simpsons6x13.jpg) Scrubs does poignant very well. Michael J. Fox’s two episode arc last season was very very well done. [/QUOTE] Ah yes, back when the Simpsons was a great TV show. _sniff_ ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/64 "2006-11-08T11:45:47Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] The first two Blackadder series ended with the death of all the characters [/QUOTE] There are two other scenes before Blackadder and co. go over the top that are quite moving. General Melchitt sending Captain Darling out to the front lines as a favour, the scene where the door opens and the driver stands waiting is chilling, like a man being led from court to his execution. And poor old George, recalling his school friends who have fallen already, realising how messy things are really going to be. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/65 "2006-11-08T11:54:56Z")
The end of Blackadder Goes Forth was indeed gut-wrenching, and a beautiful tribute to the fallen (I’m tearing up now thinking about it); very appropriate this week. And The (UK) Office Christmas Special managed to provoke tears of joy, somehow without ruining the cynicism of the show. Not a dry eye in the room. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/66 "2006-11-08T14:31:11Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] The end of Blackadder Goes Forth was indeed gut-wrenching, and a beautiful tribute to the fallen (I’m tearing up now thinking about it); very appropriate this week. … [/QUOTE] I watched the last episode with a room full of teenage pupils. They thought the whole series was hilarious and there was a continual lot of laughter, imitations and general larking about. When the scene finally faded, there was complete silence. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/67 "2006-11-08T15:53:56Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Jones] No offense was meant, I wasn’t thinking numbers, more the symbolism of the [poppies](http://www.poppy.org.uk/). [/QUOTE] I’m another yank who tears up thinking about the ending, and I had absolutely no idea about the symbolism of the poppy. Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/68 "2006-11-08T16:04:14Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Jones] No offense was meant, I wasn’t thinking numbers, more the symbolism of the [poppies](http://www.poppy.org.uk/). [/QUOTE] I memorized “Flanders Fields” in elementary school. (Back in the fifties.) Vets used to sell poppies in the USA, but that custom has almost disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/69 "2006-11-08T16:31:50Z")
[QUOTE=Rilchiam] There was a Jeffersons episode that I never saw in its first run. It was a flashback to 1968, when Louise was a maid and George was trying to get a loan to open his first dry-cleaning store. Halfway through the episode, they’re in the property that will become the dry cleaners, and hear a commotion outside. George opens the door and asks what’s going on, and a distraught man says, “Brother Martin was killed!” After the break, Louise’s employer calls, not understanding why she hasn’t shown up when the employer is hosting a dinner party that night. George bellows, “Why don’t you get a new maid?” and hangs up. Meanwhile, then-teenage Lionel wants to join the looters, and George talks him out of it, on the grounds that that’s not what Rev. King wanted for his people. So all three of them sit and watch the news, still shell-shocked, and fade out. Pretty powerful, and in a way more so, because I saw it on Nick at Nite, which tends to skip over the really hard-hitting episodes. [/QUOTE] I also recall George having a conversation with a bank officer, who makes snide comments about the riots and finally calls them “animals”. That’s the last straw for George. Before long, the banker is telling him, “Well, I guess you can kiss that loan goodbye.” and George replies, “Well, you know what **you** can kiss!” ---
**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:** [November 8, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/70 "2006-11-08T22:30:14Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] I memorized “Flanders Fields” in elementary school. (Back in the fifties.) Vets used to sell poppies in the USA, but that custom has almost disappeared. [/QUOTE] The veterans still sell them for Remembrance Day, and we all still wear them in Canada (I hadn’t realized that “Flanders Field” was written by a Canadian, but that would partly explain why the tradition hasn’t died out here). ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/71 "2006-11-08T22:33:26Z")
This show I remember clearly was Maude. In one episode, Mrs. Naugatuck, the maid. was acting stranger than usual. Then we find out it was because she was suffering from strokes. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/72 "2006-11-09T01:36:26Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] The veterans still sell them for Remembrance Day, and we all still wear them in Canada (I hadn’t realized that “Flanders Field” was written by a Canadian, but that would partly explain why the tradition hasn’t died out here). [/QUOTE] Yeah, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Canadian who isn’t wearing a poppy this time of year. “Flanders Field” is also printed on the Cdn 10$ bill. ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/73 "2006-11-09T01:55:13Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] I hadn’t realized that “Flanders Field” was written by a Canadian [/QUOTE] [hijack] Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae from Guelph, ON. I was in Guelph when his long-lost war medals were rediscovered by a collector and were being sold at an auction. Mr. Lee (don’t think he ever gave his first name), a shy Chinese immigrant bought them for $400K and donated them to the McCrae museum in Guelph. Said he wanted to give back to the country that gave him so much. It was a very touching moment and Mr. Lee became a hero of Guelph that day. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/74 "2006-11-09T02:14:05Z")
[QUOTE=Hodge] Yeah, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Canadian who isn’t wearing a poppy this time of year. [/QUOTE] I really, really wish that were actually true, but of course probably less than ten percent of all adults wear poppies this time of year. Just walk into a store and count them if you don’t believe me. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/75 "2006-11-09T02:35:58Z")
I suppose there might be a little bit of confirmation bias on my part but I also wonder if there’s regional variations in poppy wearing. I imagine that poppies may be more commonly worn in areas with more homogeneous, native-born populations than in other areas with significant immigrant populations who don’t share that tradition. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/76 "2006-11-09T03:31:12Z")
[QUOTE=Draelin] I’m going to go with _Sports Night_’s “The Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee.” For some reason, when Isaac gives that editorial at the end, I cannot keep my eyes dry. [/QUOTE] Yes, that one, and also “The Apology” when Dan apologizes to his brother on-air. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/77 "2006-11-09T04:16:11Z")
[QUOTE=Hodge] I suppose there might be a little bit of confirmation bias on my part but I also wonder if there’s regional variations in poppy wearing. I imagine that poppies may be more commonly worn in areas with more homogeneous, native-born populations than in other areas with significant immigrant populations who don’t share that tradition. [/QUOTE] I was just down in your neck of the woods Monday and saw hardly any poppies at all. It’s just not that popular. For fun, have coffee in a Timmy’s tomorrow, watch people come in, and count people with and without poppies. You’ll be absolutely floored by the numbers you come up with. You see them around, but the idea that you’d ever be “hard pressed to find a Canadian who isn’t weating a poppy this time of year” is just bonkers. Most people do not think to wear them. It’s unfortunate. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/78 "2006-11-09T15:22:55Z")
[QUOTE=HeyHomie] I’ve seen this reference a couple of times before. What’s it about? \*HeyHomie, who has never seen an episode of WKRP (because he’s a wee bit too young) [/QUOTE] For an actual link to the scene in question: [try here](http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2006_10_01.html#012180) ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/79 "2006-11-09T17:43:32Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] Comedy Central clips have largely gone back up after the parent company decided on a new approach. [Cite](http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061101-8126.html) . Obviously your old bookmark is no longer there, but a search may well find the clip again. [/QUOTE] Woo! [QUOTE=Ghanima] Transcript of the speech: [http://anitasdailyshowpage.tripod.c](http://anitasdailyshowpage.tripod.c)…ts/2001okay.htm [/QUOTE] Woo! I love this board. 🙂 Thank you, **Struan** and **Ghanima**! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393/80 "2006-11-09T17:55:57Z")
Question for **Hodge** and **RickJay** , what about national a figures ? On TV in the UK I recall that everyone wears them, weather forecasters, newsreaders, sports commentators & other presenters. The MPs all have them and I’m nut sure if Tony Blair doesn’t get a slightly fancier one, I know Queenie does. Most national newspapers also include the symbol in their masthead this week too. And **Maeglin**? Sorry but that episode is only going to be more difficult to watch now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-funny-shows-turn-poignant-warning-some-spoilers-possible/379393.md?page=5)