tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post2223461459271327493..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Speaking farce-yBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70077811677650427342012-06-15T15:27:35.489-07:002012-06-15T15:27:35.489-07:00Out With Dad is the single best episode of a sitco...Out With Dad is the single best episode of a sitcom - only ahead of Communications Problems on Fawlty TowersMrs Richardsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53244966591063958202012-06-13T17:17:57.308-07:002012-06-13T17:17:57.308-07:00I'll second the nomination for British Couplin...I'll second the nomination for British Coupling, in particular "The End of the Line", the final episode in the second series. I can't believe how many threads Moffat (who wrote all the episodes) managed to tie together in that 40 minutes or so.Tom Gallowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17164851214377133676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51855792763076984032012-06-12T14:06:47.097-07:002012-06-12T14:06:47.097-07:00I have always hated the unrealistic lying that cha...I have always hated the unrealistic lying that characters do in sitcoms.<br />I guess its just too hard to simply tell the truth about the inflatable doll in the living room?chuckcdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25220257954959990422012-06-11T12:41:58.896-07:002012-06-11T12:41:58.896-07:00Wow. For anyone else who remembers JOKING APART --...Wow. For anyone else who remembers JOKING APART -- the story of its DVD release is fascinating. <br /><br />A fan bought the rights for the series and released it himself. So badly did he want it to be available.<br /><br />Incredible.Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71160924449725742652012-06-11T12:35:37.454-07:002012-06-11T12:35:37.454-07:00Good point! Fawlty Towers is still enjoyed today. ...Good point! Fawlty Towers is still enjoyed today. There's something about farces that make them less funny to me, on repeated viewings, but maybe it's when the characters get really broad? I don't know.<br /><br />Also, JOKING APART! I loved that show! I'd forgotten about it. I thought the first series was brilliant, especially the way it ended. I caught a couple of the second series, but it seemed too exaggerated. Plus I thought the first one was just so perfect on its own. A beautifully packaged story.<br /><br />I can understand everyone involved wanting to take advantage of the success of the first series, but I felt it ended so perfectly that a second one could only detract.<br /><br />I can't believe that was Steven Moffat! I had no idea who he was at the time. I remember Robert Bathurst acted his balls off, too.<br /><br />Thanks for the reminder, I think I'll have to track that down.Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30965039303103080832012-06-11T03:08:09.251-07:002012-06-11T03:08:09.251-07:00The best farces on TV ever were the great Fawlty T...The best farces on TV ever were the great Fawlty Towers episodes. The Frasier farces get a very very respectable silver award.<br />Oh, there's an early sitcom by Steven Moffatt, Joking Apart, in which every episode was a very clever sexually-tinged farce. Some episodes were brilliant, some were too-clever duds, but the second half of the first episode of season 2 (phew) is among the funniest 10 sitcom moments EVER.mrswinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16121973088315971132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75783291659217027302012-06-11T00:24:37.486-07:002012-06-11T00:24:37.486-07:00I love the Thanksgiving episode where Frasier and ...I love the Thanksgiving episode where Frasier and Lilith are trying to get their kid accepted into that hoyty prep school and they keep making up excuses to go back to the dean's house. I've seen it a half dozen times and it's still funny.The Milner Coupehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04615531012474374223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85123946039358319022012-06-10T18:05:05.369-07:002012-06-10T18:05:05.369-07:00One cannot praise Joe Keenan enough. That last sea...One cannot praise Joe Keenan enough. That last season without him on Desperate Housewives was painful. Also, his three brilliant books cannot be sufficiently praised, as they are among the very funniest books you'll ever read. Anyone who thinks that reading a book can't make you laugh so hard you'll have to put the book down hasn't read Keenan's books.Bob Clasterhttp://www.bobclaster.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38622858720321276802012-06-10T17:22:28.319-07:002012-06-10T17:22:28.319-07:00" Larry said...
Good farce is incredibly hard..." Larry said...<br />Good farce is incredibly hard to pull off. A common mistake is, even though there's a heightened reality and a certain suspension of disbelief, by and large it's best to make most of the characters, especially the antagonists, at least reasonably intelligent. If everyone acts like idiots, who cares if you put one over on them? Anyone could do it."<br /><br />This was a point I was trying to make as well with my complain about farces. Both Frasier brothers are very intelligent, if not geniuses, and to see them excessively blunder about and act without a respectable and believable level of intelligence in the farces seems to be too out of character for them.Damon Rutherfordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68359250294286054722012-06-10T17:14:50.638-07:002012-06-10T17:14:50.638-07:00If you were to ask me five times which my favorite...If you were to ask me five times which my favorite <i>Frasier</i> farce is, I'd have five different answers. <br /><br />A shout-out, though, to the episode in which Daphne's ex-fiance Clive visits: after the entire thing falls apart, Clive still believes Martin's half-assed claim to be an astronaut. Beautiful!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1249505050087460702012-06-10T12:14:59.740-07:002012-06-10T12:14:59.740-07:00"Anonymous [Pumpkinhed] said...
I think anoth...<i>"Anonymous </i>[Pumpkinhed]<i> said...<br />I think another great Frasier farce was Out With Dad. Worth it just for the look on Niles' face and his body language when he comes out holding Martin's pretending to be his boyfriend."</i><br /><br />Oh yes! The first time I saw that episode, I was <i><b>VERY</b></i> glad I was watching a recordiing of it rather than watching it live, because once Niles "broke up" with Martin and stormed out. ("I'm keeping the jewelry!"), I had to crank it back and rewatch Niles's entire scene from entrance to exit again, before going on to the rest of the episode. Lack of surprise didn't stop it from being even funnier the second time. Within a great script, there was David Hyde Pierce proving what genius comedy acting is all about. His face at each and every moment in his scene was beyond brilliant (same for his "body language") and into the realm of the comic sublime.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74723026797539719412012-06-10T06:03:45.255-07:002012-06-10T06:03:45.255-07:00Favourite Frasier farce? The Innkeepers (the one w...Favourite Frasier farce? The Innkeepers (the one where they buy their favourite restaurant to keep it from closing).<br /><br />That's the only show that left me with my mouth agape.<br /><br />That said, as enjoyable as a good farce can be, I think the problem with farces (if, indeed there is one) is that they rely on surprise. The second time through is never as funny as the first.Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70270369520263517592012-06-10T01:00:35.280-07:002012-06-10T01:00:35.280-07:00Good farce is incredibly hard to pull off. A comm...Good farce is incredibly hard to pull off. A common mistake is, even though there's a heightened reality and a certain suspension of disbelief, by and large it's best to make most of the characters, especially the antagonists, at least reasonably intelligent. If everyone acts like idiots, who cares if you put one over on them? Anyone could do it.Larrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70866490160289589522012-06-10T00:51:26.935-07:002012-06-10T00:51:26.935-07:00Joe Keenan once said, that although the farces wer...Joe Keenan once said, that although the farces were hammered out in the room just like any story, he prefeered to take them home to work out the plot points. Are there any other things that ae hard to do in a room?Ger Apeldoornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03633862833036214748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78187815766176175352012-06-09T16:55:16.496-07:002012-06-09T16:55:16.496-07:00Oh, that was me right above. Guess I forgot to fil...Oh, that was me right above. Guess I forgot to fill in my name.pumpkinheadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62616999598209895202012-06-09T16:54:03.835-07:002012-06-09T16:54:03.835-07:00I think another great Frasier farce was Out With D...I think another great Frasier farce was Out With Dad. Worth it just for the look on Niles' face and his body language when he comes out holding Martin's pretending to be his boyfriend.<br /><br />And I agree with McEwan about The Kipper and the Corpse.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58659084514790077892012-06-09T16:05:19.400-07:002012-06-09T16:05:19.400-07:00I love farce, and I love Frasier, so I thought the...I love farce, and I love Frasier, so I thought the Frasier farces were really funny.<br /><br />I want to write some farce, so thanks for the tips, Ken.<br /><br />Woo hoo, David Lee.<br /><br />Fawlty Towers was genius.cshelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43884162294924097402012-06-09T14:35:19.133-07:002012-06-09T14:35:19.133-07:00Damon: I think if you made a farce "realistic...Damon: I think if you made a farce "realistic," it would no longer be a farce.<br /><br />It's sort of like complaining that fairy tales aren't realistic.jbryantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-3255519261509274292012-06-09T14:00:12.730-07:002012-06-09T14:00:12.730-07:00Well, I won't argue that Fawlty Towers did far...Well, I won't argue that <i>Fawlty Towers</i> did farce better than <i>Frasier</i>, but they did them every bit as well. It was 12 nearly-perfect farces. Adn the best wwas <i>The Kipper and the Corpse</i> which involved lugging a dead htoel guest around. You can hardly get more serious than that.<br /><br />I have found farces really difficult to write, but on the few times I've brought one off, I find myself terribly proud of it.<br /><br />In London in 1994 I saw a Feydeau farce titled <i>An Absolute Turkey</i>, though it was anything but. It starred Felicity Kendall, and I wish everyone who wished to attempt farce, either as a writer, a director or an actor, could see that production. It was utter perfection. Thank Heaven for the two interemissions. Without them, I'd have died of exphixiation from laughing out all my air and never being able to draw a breath in.<br /><br />I do have a favorite farce: Joe Orton's <i>What the Butler Saw</i>: the verbal wit of Oscar Wilde, the bawdiness of Orton alone, and the most-perfectly constructed farce plot I've ever read. I've yet to see a stage production of it that does it justice.<br /><br />I wrote a stage sex-farce set entirely in The Oval Office I rather like, though, as David Lee has pointed out, you need lots of doors, and I think I added about three more doors than it actually has, as well as a trap door in the floor, and a sliding glass door to a patio outside. I set it in unbroken real time, and the first line of act 2 is the last line of act 1 to emphasize that there is truly no break in the action. As for being about something deadly serious, hey, the farcical complication that drops the act 1 curtain is the realization that they've just accidentally nuked England off the map.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77563777953257005832012-06-09T13:41:51.313-07:002012-06-09T13:41:51.313-07:00This is, to me, what made Frasier stand out as a s...This is, to me, what made Frasier stand out as a show. It could be the most intellectual comedy on TV one week, then a complete farce, and throw in a little slapstick, and pull them all off effortlessly. At least make them all seem effortless to the viewer.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40279359167808767062012-06-09T12:54:31.826-07:002012-06-09T12:54:31.826-07:00As great as the farces of "Frasier," are...As great as the farces of "Frasier," are, and yes, they were absolutely amazing, have you ever seen the British version of "Coupling"? To me, that show did sex farce as well as Shakespeare did. I'm always in amazement at how they did it. I think farce is by far, the toughest genre to write. Lord knows, I've tried, and frankly I admire even attempts.David Baruffihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09554779573559438331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41192793042852066122012-06-09T11:59:07.677-07:002012-06-09T11:59:07.677-07:00Errata:
The problem with farces ... IS ...
&...Errata:<br /><br />The problem with farces ... IS ... <br /><br />&<br /><br />That *to* me would be...<br /><br />(Can not NOT correct myself)Damon Rutherfordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65072254468821849082012-06-09T11:57:11.639-07:002012-06-09T11:57:11.639-07:00The problem with farces -- even the ones on "...The problem with farces -- even the ones on "Frasier" -- are that they are not very realistic, and thus I have difficulty in accepting the premise of the lies upon lies and all the craziness/mayhem/wackiness that ensues. This is also the case for the catastrophe episodes, like the one on "Frasier" when the brothers buy a classy restaurant. Of course everything goes wrong! (Yawn.)<br /><br />Have there been farces where those lying get away with it!? That too me would be much more interesting, if the initial lie was realistic and warranted, and then the increasing lies are subtle, logical, and believable -- even though the character(s) is/are still at the verge of breaking and doing whatever they can to win. <br /><br />But inevitably the lies become too much and all is revealed. (Yawn again.)Damon Rutherfordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75942171488037415152012-06-09T11:24:27.087-07:002012-06-09T11:24:27.087-07:00Well...nobody's perfect.Well...nobody's perfect.Paul Ducanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29965478483845649072012-06-09T10:56:42.283-07:002012-06-09T10:56:42.283-07:00One of the greatest farces of all time, SOME LIKE ...One of the greatest farces of all time, SOME LIKE OT HOT, is built around two characters who have something very serious at stake, namely, their lives. One of the thing that always keeps the film from flying off into silliness is the fact that one seriously wrong step and our heroes could wind up in the ladies' morgue. (Until it's discovered they're really guys in dresses, at which point they'll die of shame.) The other brilliant thing about the plot is the way that the big lie that Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon tell to stay alive gets tangled up with all of the other big lies that Curtis' character keeps telling so he can seduce Marilyn Monroe. And, just at that moment, in walk the gangsters whose mass murder sent these two into hiding in the first place. And that entrance truly is a matter of perfect timing. It ratchets up the proceedings just that extra notch needed to keep you interested and set up the finale. Wilder didn't always get it right (LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON and KISS ME, STUPID never quite jell), but when he did get it right, oh boy . . .Matt Pattonnoreply@blogger.com