@absolclaw: They had a similar gag in Family Guy where Lois becomes super aggressive after becoming a Blackbelt and rapes Peter. She does it again after Peter becomes abstinent. Even worse both cases treat her as being completely justified. Note they both were made before the show's humor became 100% shock value.
@Topazan: I guess it's because it's harder giving Straight Men comical traits so they make them more reactors and than actors. They can both work if done right, but I guess the problem is when they make the treatment unkarmic, either the serious guy becomes an unjust victim of abuse, or, like the above example, becomes a Designated Hero who gets away scot away with acting much worse than the "stupider" characters.
This is partly why I find designating certain characters to either always have the right of way or end up the luckless immbecile to be a bad idea, since it guarantees at least once they get designated into the wrong role (eg. how many Women Are Wiser roles have you seem where at least once The Unfair Sex is used and the Bumbling Dad should have actually won for once?). At least if you rotate the role around it will get less frustrating.
edited 23rd Nov '12 6:42:57 PM by Psi001
The Sidekick episode where the class goes on a trip to an amusement park, and of course things go bad for Eric and Trevor.
The show can be cruel, but I felt this episode took it Up To Eleven.
Proud Hippie Geek
- The Meg abuse on Family Guy (not only the abuse itself, but the fact that she called her family out on it finally, and then they ruined it by having nothing change at all). I agree that the jokes about her cutting herself are among the worst (I used to do it, so I know it's nothing to laugh about).
- Most of Roger's more sociopathic moments on American Dad, but among the biggest for me were him tricking Hayley and Francine into fighting each other so that he could make a video of it, and him tricking Steve into believing he was adopted because Steve ate his cookie. The worst part is that he always gets off scot-free.
That's all I can think of right now, but I will probably come up with more...
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I admit it kind of bugs me with Roger's Karma Houdini moments, not primarily because it happens, but because it seems, similar to Meg's abuse, the characterization of the others seems to have to bend in order for it to work. It seems very OOC for a guy like Stan to just let Roger walk all over him like that, and even the times he fights back he is given an Aesop against it.
Some of the points Roger gets away also kinda feel like they missed a main gag just so he could (eg. "Tears of a Clooney" which doesn't really have any big punchline with his sidestory) making it a more literal case of Dude, Not Funny. It doesn't help that the odd few times Roger actually gets his commuppance it's some of their funniest gags ("not the necklace!"). There are some rather funny moments with Roger getting away with murder ("just like in the movies, bitch") but they lack these issues.
Maybe this is why I don't have a problem with most of Cartman's very similar Karma Houdini moments, he gets away with it, but half the humor is the rather realistic shock and exasperation from the other characters regardless.
@T4448ight: While a more passive annoyance, I admit I found it kind of repetitive and contrived how often Hank seemed to find some sort of shameful aspect in whatever Bobby did or didn't want to do. The guy almost ended up an over the top contrarian in everything by the end of the show.
edited 26th Nov '12 8:49:35 PM by Psi001
edited 27th Nov '12 11:17:15 AM by kyun
I think you're in the wrong forum.
About 99% of the jokes on Family Guy.
"I like girls, but now, it's about justice."
Dude, don't be a whiny complainer. That's how threads get locked.
What? I'm not, I'm just stating my opinion. And it just so happens to be that most of Family Guy's jokes are extremely offensive and unfunny.
"I like girls, but now, it's about justice."
....
Most of the Ed, Edd, and Eddy humor, Ice King treatment post-reveal, Family Guy,American Dad
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At the risk of preaching to the choir, I'd say mine would be the way the people of Springfield treated Bart in the episode "The Boys of Bummer." Watching that stuff was like watching an evil...snail.
edited 2nd Dec '12 6:17:44 PM by Demetrios
I smell magic in the air. Or maybe barbecue.
there was a Spongebob episode about Squidward realizing how much his life sucks (omigodnowhey) with bonus visual suicide gags, ex made it look like he was sticking his head in the oven, scarf resembling a noise. CLEVER
your constant harassment of the female gender makes me sick
Another particular "Dude Not Funny" episode was The Fairly Oddparents "It's a Wishful Life" when Jorgen tells Timmy that he is the reason why everyone's lives are awful, so Timmy attempts to eliminate himself from existance. The fact that it's played for laughs makes my head spin.
Just awesome like that
That part wasn't played for laughs, though.
Honestly, while I can understand people's problems with that episode, I don't think it's as bad as people seem to think. I think it serves to make Timmy look extremely selfless and humble, traits that are quite admirable. Certainly better than how he's usually played in later seasons.
edited 4th Dec '12 10:34:09 AM by 0dd1
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Here are a few
- All of The Simpsons episode "The Boys of Bummer". Really, that plot feels more at home on South Park. - All of the American Dad episode "Bully For Steve". It's pretty hard to watch. - All of the Faamily Guy episode "Tea Peter". IU'm a hardcore liberal, but the Republican bashing was too much even for me.
Archangel of Beza-Dan
herbert vs the nazi from family guy.
REALLY?!
an old man being nice to chris vs a pedophile who thinks only of having chris get his off, who constantly tries molesting other kids (and who ruins the friendship chris has with the nazi), herbert should've died in that camp.
and the way diane simmons was treated. (her episode was real good) but the targets of her revenge escaped. both tom tucker and "james woods" are free to cause misery for others
for simpsons, it was the arman tanzarian (SKINERRRR!!!) and xmas (where bart burns all the presents accidentally) I actually liked the panda episode ;D
Slaying all enemies in the Name of the Goddess of the Force!
X-ALL!
There was one that I absolutely hated was in the new Tom And Jerry, it's one which setting is the American Revolution and Tom is the cat of Ben Franklin and has to protect the letter of independence, and Jerry goes on, makes Tom's life a hell and frames him as an English loyalist, while Jerry gets to be quoted in the letter of independence as a hero. After that, I swore to never watch a Tom And Jerry cartoon after the 1960s, not anymore.
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Just awesome like that
That seems a bit of an extreme reaction, especially considering Jerry's done worse to Tom even in the pre-60s ones (e.g.: condemning him to hell after he dies)
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@40 You have a point there about how the episode made Timmy look like a Nice Guy. To me, Most of the Kafka Komedy Timmy suffers falls into the Dude, Not Funny! category as well.
@42 I thought I was the only one. I hate Tom Tucker and James Woods..always being jerks and ruining everything. Diana was always made fun of on air and Tom never gets punished. But that's family guy for you. Always punishing the nice people and the jerks are karma houdinis.
Also, another moment I didn't find funny on Family Guy was how it was mentioned that there was a Facebook group dedicated to getting Meg to kill herself.
edited 16th Dec '12 8:33:18 PM by MsCC93
Just awesome like that
Another reason for me to not watch Family Guy.
Was going to post an ill thought out rant about the joke you mentioned, but I decided not to since it wouldn't be coherent and it'd be kinda stating the obvious.
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I feel that many revivals and imitators don't get the main mechanics of Tom And Jerry, and, as mentioned in the Woobie thread, just seem to throw lots of abuse onto Tom by reflex.
In the original shorts Tom went through a lot of crap but there was a much greater feel of karma in how it was set up. Jerry did get away with being the instigator at times, but not really much more times than Tom did, and the majority of the time both characters suffered when they didn't play fair. It at the very least felt less like the universe was skewed to make Tom suffer.
In fairness, Jerry sending Tom to hell seemed more him not buying such a ridiculous story, and he did submit but unknowingly too late. It was All Just a Dream anyway.
I admit I'm not big on the type of Butt-Monkey humor mentioned, it feels cheap and lazy, not to mention far too mean spirited.
edited 16th Dec '12 11:36:11 PM by Psi001
@48 Agreed.
Another Dude, Not Funny! moment for me personally is the treatment of Jimmy from Ed Edd N Eddy. Although he was wrong from framing Ed and Edd (while Eddy was the only one who deserved the punishment), he is the second most mistreated person behind Edd (usually getting injured and bullied when he doesn't deserve it.) Sometimes I see Jimmy more of a Designated Villain because sometimes it appears that we should be routing for Eddy when he bullies him, but really Eddy looks like a douche who deserves to be punished in particular episodes.
edited 18th Dec '12 1:24:27 PM by MsCC93
I admit it does lean in the same vien as the Eds group wise treatment, in that we're supposed to enjoy Eddy bullying Jimmy as it gets under the skin of his genuinely nasty friend Sarah.
Granted even then, compared to Ed and Double Edd there are a lot more moments Jimmy acts smug or vindictive, if in a Depending on the Writer ratio.
edited 18th Dec '12 6:33:43 PM by Psi001
Just awesome like that
I don't think we're supposed to sympathize with Eddy's bullying of Jimmy. I think it's more Comedic Sociopathy than anything.
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I can think of plenty from King of The Hill. Most noteably, the episode where Bobby was forced to get beaten while being a mascot for the football team, and some of the episodes focusing on Bill.
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