Some of my older bloggites may remember a post I did about "Offensive is Funny." Think of this as part two of Rob's Humor Guide. Today's lesson is on recylced material.
This is inspired by Scott's comments on yesterday's Smallville Topic. Now the inside joke that no one else got there, was the entire first two paragraphs of his comment I had received as an Instant Message during the course of the show. We're talking, word for word. Now is this any fault of Scott's? No. Would I have normally called him out on it? No. But I'm just illustrating the example. Everyone does it. If you tell a joke or a funny story about something that happened to you, and you get a good response, you're bound to tell it again. But boy is it awkward when you're caught. That's why I don't tell very many Europe stories, because I can no longer keep straight who I've told what stories... and I know when I tell them, I say them almost verbatim. When you hear someone tell a funny story or joke more than once, the illusion of spontaneity is broken. Although it may have even been original the first time you heard it, the whole story is cheapened somehow when you hear the repeat.
Its kinda like the kid in the group who's not really funny... but says something funny one day, and then he just beats it into the ground. The old beating a dead horse scenario and the kid has now gone from being that quiet kid to funny to irritating. Its a fine line, if you've got good material, you want everyone to hear it. But you must mind your audience.
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8 comments:
I had a job as a secretary a few years ago and when my bosslady broke her foot and was confined to a wheelchair she kept making this, "I feel like I should beep everytime I back up" joke. Then she and whomever she was talking to would OH SO NOT IRRATINGLY chant, "Beep, beep, beep." This went on for two weeks. With repeat offenders who would humor the broken woman. Several times. Often in one day.
My vindication came when she found my blog (and I was subsequently fired) and she read three separate posts about that damn "beep, beep, beep" joke and how everyone shook their heads and rolled their eyes behind her back every time she said it. She cried. It was great. Then she threatened to sue me for slander.
Ahh... gotta love that.
First off, Slander is spoken. When it's written it's libel. Secondly, I beleive it has to be false information. All you would have to do would be to get one other person to admit to the fact that people really would roll their eyes. Then you have a documented retelling of events, not libel.
First of all, screw you. Secondly, the entire Smallville topic of yesterday's blog was taken from that IM. Just because I thought you might try something like this (although I expected it yesterday...) I saved the chat.
scottthecool33: Why didn't she teleport away when he was chloroforming her?
scottthecool33: Did she get knocked out that fast?
scottthecool33: That girl wouldn't last 10 minutes at a rave
scottthecool33: But I guess she's really going to be considered a stiff now
scottthecool33: And what's with this teleporting guy
scottthecool33: Was he the inspiration for Kansas' hit 'Dust in the Wind'?
xISUx is no longer idle at 8:06:52 PM.
scottthecool33: I mean seriously
xISUx: seriously...
xISUx: blog topic for tomorrow
xISUx: you just wait
xISUx: I'm logged in now
scottthecool33: Damn it
scottthecool33: You're blogging about it?
scottthecool33: Fine have it
scottthecool33: I have other topics
xISUx: Of course you do, you're waaaaay better than me as a person.
So naturally I thought I might as well add my imputs that worked the first time. Because you're just one dude, I gots to get the word out. Also so you couldn't steal it and claim it for your own later on.
Thirdly, it must be a really slow blog day for you if that's all you got.
- Scott
Man, I just re-read my comment. That came off way too harsh...not what I was going for. This is where banter takes a left turn and dips into the area of conversation called 'the valley of overreaction'. I named it that. I was pretty proud of it. So let me apologize, for the comment (and for apparently killing this post).
- Scott
I KNEW that sounded familiar! When I read Scotts post yesterday about Smallville I KNEW I heard it before... but I couldn't remember where. And then I thought it was just deja vu. But it WASN'T! Rob told me exactly what Scott had IM'd him before he posted. Scott... you're a sneaky sneaky man.
~Ro
Yeah, I get burned for reusing bits a lot. But as a fledgling comic, I'd like to think I'm in training. Yeah, stand-ups tweak here and there, but once you've got a good bit, you stick with it. Then you say the same stuff night after night. Even comic actors at Second City are pretty much tied down to the sketches after they're set. So me repeating myself over and over is just training. Yeah...that's the ticket.
The trick is to always find a new audience. The best were my campus tours. I could probably sit down and write my tour down right now, word for word, because I did it the same way every time. But it was a freaking good tour. Educational AND entertaining. If you didn't have a good time on my tour, it sure as hell wasn't my fault. The only embarrassing thing was the one time the girl at the front desk of the Rec Center called me on using the same racquetball joke for the 20th time. But it was a good joke. (It involved me hitting Josh with a racquetball.)
The worst is when I get caught doing bits in the course of normal conversation. It's gotten to the point where my friends and I will just be bantering and I'll go off on something and they'll say, "Are we having a conversation here or are you doing a bit?" And sometimes, I'm doing a bit. Which is embarrassing. But seriously, why DO cars still have a blind spot? Has mirror technology not advanced to the point at which we can eliminate the deadly blind spot? Ah...I'll stop.
Yeaahh, see *I* know the difference between slander and libel and *I* know that it has to be untrue but bosslady did not. I wish I could have heard the conversation between her and the legal department... as they rolled their eyes at her.
I know just what you mean Tim. Sometimes you'll come across some situation specific material that just KILLS, and then you might abuse it a little bit. Or not abuse it, but just use it over and over with different people. Then someone you wouldn't ever expcect (like the desk chick) interrupts and ruins the whole thing. What a pain in my ass.
Bastards! Leave me and my comedy alone.
- Scott
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