Bill S.
01-18-2007, 07:53 PM
I've been thinking about this lately and I'm starting to believe that The Honeymooners may have been one of, if not the earliest form of toilet humor. Not to say it's inappropriate, The Honeymooners is certainly a show that you could watch with your family, but there's certain things that are said and/or done on the show that we subconsciously think about but never really analyze. Most notably, references to Norton's occupation as a sewer worker. In an era when the censors were so worried about Elvis Presley's wiggling hips, it's a little surprising that some of these sewer jokes went virtually unnoticed. For example, when Ralph says something like "Norton works in the sewer and he can't stand the smell of paint?" we all know exactly what he's talking about! Just like when George Petrie stopped himself from taking a bite out of that hot dog after Norton told him he worked in the sewer...we all know why, but never really stop and think that this was the 1950's, a time when the list of do's and don'ts was probably a mile long. And that's only the beginning...
Norton's joke in "Game Called On Account Of Marriage" about a "floating crap game" definitely takes the cake. Talk about pushing the limits and playing with the censors! Now I don't know if that double pun was intended, but the audience definitely got a kick out of it. And I bet Gleason and Carney got a good laugh out of it after the show ended too. But you have to ask yourself, how did things like that slip by? It just adds to the list of reasons why this show is so great, the cast was able to execute these jokes in such a way that hardly anyone even batted an eyelash, now that's clever! And as much as I hate to compare The Honeymooners to some of the inappropriate television shows of today, you have to admit that if a joke like that was made today, it would definitely fall under the category of toilet humor. Another line that caught me off guard was Audrey's in "Stars Over Flatbush," something to the extent of, "You may be Taurus, but it's still the same old bull." Once again, something that would go unnoticed in this day and age, but somehow managed to sneak by the censors back in the 50's. That being said, I think it's definitely possible that The Honeymooners helped set the standard for the blatantly obvious toilet humor of today. Post your thoughts.
Norton's joke in "Game Called On Account Of Marriage" about a "floating crap game" definitely takes the cake. Talk about pushing the limits and playing with the censors! Now I don't know if that double pun was intended, but the audience definitely got a kick out of it. And I bet Gleason and Carney got a good laugh out of it after the show ended too. But you have to ask yourself, how did things like that slip by? It just adds to the list of reasons why this show is so great, the cast was able to execute these jokes in such a way that hardly anyone even batted an eyelash, now that's clever! And as much as I hate to compare The Honeymooners to some of the inappropriate television shows of today, you have to admit that if a joke like that was made today, it would definitely fall under the category of toilet humor. Another line that caught me off guard was Audrey's in "Stars Over Flatbush," something to the extent of, "You may be Taurus, but it's still the same old bull." Once again, something that would go unnoticed in this day and age, but somehow managed to sneak by the censors back in the 50's. That being said, I think it's definitely possible that The Honeymooners helped set the standard for the blatantly obvious toilet humor of today. Post your thoughts.