I Totally Forgot About This Until I Remembered it

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

You know how different comedy eras seem to have a few lame-o conventions for about a decade? I just saw one from the early 90's that I am glad went out of vogue a few years ago. But I'll tease you with what that is in order to present two examples.

From the 60's or 70's one awful convention was when two people were talking Person 1 would make a plain declarative sentence, Person 2 would ask a bizarre question about it despite the statement not warranting a question, thereby setting up Person 1's unforeseen comedic answer. Example:

Person 1: Man, am I glad to have a glass of water.
Person 2: Why, because you just got in from a 7 mile jog?
Person 1: No, because water tastes much better than pee.

or

Person 1: Man, it sure is too bad my father had an H.A. (Heart Attack)
Person 2: Why? Because he nearly died, and now he's not as likely to live a long and happy life, and still risks several complications from surgery?
Person 1: No, because while rushing to the hospital I missed the last inning of the Cubs game.

I saw this convention a lot in black and white sitcoms from the from the first Nick at Nite era.

The second convention I saw a few times in the 80's. When something happened in the show and ominous music began playing, the actors would look around and say, "where is that lame organ music coming from?"

Which brings me to final convention from the 90's. It's when two people are talking and Person 1 is really sounding off about a third people and saying all kinds of disparaging things about them for an extended amount of time only to have that person enter the scene and stand right behind Person 1. Person 2 just listens and lets Person 1 hang himself without diffusing the situation right as the third person enters the scene.










That's how I roll.