I love to watch the antics of a Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton, Lucy & Ethel or Laverne & Shirley because the visual, physical comedy was priceless. Today, all you have is what I call "dialogue"-driven comedy that to me, is just so mundane. Pithy remarks, one-note jokes and sarcastic remarks just don't seem to be enough to keep most of these sitcoms today funny for long in prime-time, let along in reruns.

What happened to physical comedy? Is it a "dirty word" these days or just no one out there talented enough to pull it off?

Hope and Faith had a lot of physical comedy. It's histerical. It only aired from 2003- 2006 though.

I think much of it has to do with the same reason that variety shows no longer work, namely theres no vaudeville circuit for slapstick comedians to hone their craft......not to mention that slapstick is often looked down upon, these days.

A show on Nickelodeon 'Drake & Josh' had physical comedy, altho it's no longer on the air. But I see what your saying. The same old jokes, ect. Hopefully somebody who was a child during the ILL days is tired of it and he/she is writing a good old-fashioned sitcom. But I bet the networks are too stupid to pick it up.
P.S: I never thought much about how TV has changed until I read this post. Good eye. :)

According to Jim has some with Jim and Andy...which is always good.

Billed as the funiest 5 minutes on TV, Frasier's Niels ironing offered incedible physical comedy. In Keeping Up Appearances, Pat Routledge was the master of physical comedy. Even Clive Swift had his moments. Drew Carey had some physical comedy and of course anything with Penn and Teller includes physical stunts.

A show on Nickelodeon 'Drake & Josh' had physical comedy, altho it's no longer on the air. But I see what your saying. The same old jokes, ect. Hopefully somebody who was a child during the ILL days is tired of it and he/she is writing a good old-fashioned sitcom. But I bet the networks are too stupid to pick it up.
P.S: I never thought much about how TV has changed until I read this post. Good eye. :)
Drake & Josh still airs in reruns on Nickelodeon. They are pretty funny. My son loves that show.

According to Jim has its moments as Pav above stated. Great show.

Billed as the funiest 5 minutes on TV, Frasier's Niels ironing offered incedible physical comedy.

He was excellent when he did the physical comedy, my favorite was when he fell in the kitchen. Laverne & Shirley had a lot of physical comedy.

will and grace also had quite a bit of physical comedy

don't forget about three company. and dick van dyke show.

Perfect Strangers also made good use of physical comedy. In one
episode, the cousins even parodied Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (who practically invented physical comedy).

Perfect Strangers also made good use of physical comedy. In one
episode, the cousins even parodied Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (who practically invented physical comedy).

I thought the Three Stogges (or however you spell it) or the Marx bros. invented it. Guess I was wrong.

Stan Laurel made his first film in 1917, while partner Oliver Hardy began his
career even earlier (in 1913). They appeared on the screen together for the first time in the short "Lucky Dog" (1917), but not as a team. It wasn't until
1926, at Hal Roach's studios, that they worked together again. Moe Howard (of The Three Stooges) made his performing debut on a Mississippi riverboat in 1914. He and his older brother Shemp later formed a vaudeville act and eventually landed a job with comic Ted Healy (1923). In 1928, they were
joined by Larry Fine. Ted Healy and his Stooges (as they were then billed)
did quite well in vaudeville and made their first film in 1930. The Marx Brothers started performing around 1908, but received little recognition until the mid-1920s. [Source: Movie Comedy Teams, by Leonard Maltin
(1970).]

So, all three teams hit their stride at about the same time: the 1920s. Many
people (including critic Leonard Maltin) consider Laurel & Hardy to be "the
greatest comedy team of all time." But they were "unappreciated by film
critics even during their peak years" and "forced into premature retirement."
The Marx Brothers were "brilliant" but their films "went steadily downhill
after 'A Day at the Races.'" The Three Stooges were "not comic geniuses,
nor do they pretend to be. They are talented, experienced comics who
deserve recognition, if only for longevity." In the late 1950s and early
1960s, thanks to television, they finally came into their own appearing as
guests on shows hosted by Steve Allen, Ed Sullivan, Danny Thomas, Joey
Bishop and others. And their classic shorts (especially the ones with Curly
Howard) prove that even today they are still "three truly fine clowns."

So, who invented slapstick comedy? Chaplin? Keaton? Someone else? Does
it really matter? Each of the early screen greats brought his own unique
style to it. And today's physical comedians--from Robin Williams to Jim
Carrey--owe a debt to the great comics who came before them.

What about the Keystone Cops. I think they were the earliest slapstick comics on film?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Kops

There's also some physical comedy on The New Adventures Of Old Christine. Not a lot but some.
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Mack Sennett introduced the Keystone Kops in 1913. Charlie Chaplin joined
the Keystone company in 1912, but his first silent film wasn't released until
1914. So, yes, I suppose the Keystone Kops came first. I forgot about them.

Three's Company had a lot of physical comedy, Scrubs was another.

I think John Ritter is the king of Physical Comedy and Lucille Ball is the queen.Lucy was better at it than any other Television personality(in my opinion).

I think John Ritter is the king of Physical Comedy and Lucille Ball is the queen.Lucy was better at it than any other Television personality(in my opinion).

I agree 100%

there was great physical comedy on Friends and Will and Grace... you can't help but laugh when Ross got caught in the leather pants or went to the tanning place....

I saw a segment on TCM where Michael Richards was talking about how he got his idea for entrances from Red Skelton. Now that's physical comedy!

Andrea

I think some people feel they are too sophiscated for physical comedy or slapstick. I love it!

I saw a segment on TCM where Michael Richards was talking about how he got his idea for entrances from Red Skelton. Now that's physical comedy!

Andrea

I was also going to mention Michael Richards!

Ross from Friends was also mentioned. I thought he was great with physical comedy, hitting his head on the dryer lid, when he & Monica did that dorky dance, etc.

Also on Wings, David Schramm who played Roy had some scenes that showed off his physical comedy which I thought was great because he was a big man. He pulled it off though!

Yes, good slapstick comedy on TV is missed. :(

I think some people feel they are too sophiscated for physical comedy or slapstick. I love it!
Ditto!!

Mama's Family had phyisical comedy. like when Mama and Iola "broke" into Kwik Keys though the window. Iola climbed in through the window (while sitting on Mama's shoulders) so she could unlock the door for her. Then, Mama took down Hobart (The Courteous Crook) with that giant key.
Also, when Mama slipped at the bank on a roll of pennies. the family tried to sue the bank and they made Mama walk in a walker, and in almost a full body cast in front of Raytown Bank employee.
:rotflmao:

^ :rofl: I remember that one.

Slapstick? It's all on the Disney Channel... That's So Raven, Suite Life etc.

^ Yeah, but that's mainly the teens. We want to see more adults doing the slapstick on network TV!! :lol:

I have to admit, funny, clever dialog to me, is more entertaining. I'll take a catty one-liner before somebody falling off of a rooftop.

^ Both have their perks. :D

I love watching idiots fall off a roof.

Look at the Married... With Children episode when Al was trying to repair a leaky roof and fell three times!

In hockey terms, that's a hat trick!

Dick York (Bewitched) was also very underrated in the physical comedy department. Plus, what not many people knew at the time was that he had suffered for years with a terrible back injury. Before Bewitched was finished, his back gave out, he had to be rushed to the hospital, and never came back to the show. :( Watching these episodes today, you'd never know it.

I love watching idiots fall off a roof.

Look at the Married... With Children episode when Al was trying to repair a leaky roof and fell three times!

In hockey terms, that's a hat trick!


Chris!!! I LOVE your avatar!!!!!!!!!! possibly the best one you've ever had.

Im picturing this scenario


3 people are watching something, physical comedy happens

Person A: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH :rotflmao: :lol: :rofl: :brent: etc.


Person B: That was stupid, that wanst clever at all! All he did was fall off a roof and go balls first opn that ground, what are we? 12?


Person C: Oh ,my gawd IS HE/SHE HURT? SOMEONE SHOULD HELP THEM!!!!


Person A : Its called ACTING, you worrywart!!!




I think that explains my reply

Someone earlier had mentioned Scrubs, and it's very true, there is a LOT of slapstick physical comedy on the show. Which is in first run CURRENTLY. So there is some physical comedy on the air today.

Someone earlier had mentioned Scrubs, and it's very true, there is a LOT of slapstick physical comedy on the show. Which is in first run CURRENTLY. So there is some physical comedy on the air today.
You're right - at least it's something.

There was some physical comedy on 8 Simple Rules before John Ritter died. He still had that penchant for making people laugh by his actions and his words. He was truly one of a kind and there will never be anyone like him ever again.
There was some physical comedy on Family Matters all due to Urkel. He was always falling over stuff and breaking things.
There was a lot of physical comedy on I Dream of Jeannie, and mainly due to Jeannie. She would use her powers on people. A lot of the time when she would use her powers on Tony, she got him to do some crazy things. All the things she did to poor Roger. It was funny when she sent Tony and Roger to the top of the Swiss Alps in "I'll Never Forget What's Her Name." It was hilarious. That is missing on shows nowadays.

has anybody mentioned Home Improvement? that show had a lot of physical comedy, all thanks to Tim "He Doesn't Know What He's Doing! Somebody Get 9-1-1 On Hold" Taylor.

^ Yes, how could we forget Tim and his many, many accidents? They were all :rofl: funny.

Dukes of Hazzard also featured plenty of physical comedy - usually provided by Boss Hogg, Rosco P. Coltrane and/or Enos Strate (and Cletus Hogg, when he was there). Boss and Rosco were the Laurel & Hardy of Hazzard County. :lol:

Im picturing this scenario


3 people are watching something, physical comedy happens

Person A: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH :rotflmao: :lol: :rofl: :brent: etc.


Person B: That was stupid, that wanst clever at all! All he did was fall off a roof and go balls first opn that ground, what are we? 12?


Person C: Oh ,my gawd IS HE/SHE HURT? SOMEONE SHOULD HELP THEM!!!!


Person A : Its called ACTING, you worrywart!!!




I think that explains my reply

I'm Person B. I prefer verbal humor over physical slapstick. I don't mind a little physical comedy (Lowell on Wings was great at this.) but when it becomes the main source of the show's humor, I lose interest.

If it's done right, there is a place for both physical and verbal comedy on any sitcom. It's just that in many of today's shows, verbal comedy is done strictly for the sake of trying to get the audience to laugh and has nothing to do with the character or the story itself. Physical comedy is also done for the same reason and is looked down upon by many because the characters appear to be reaching too hard for laughs and seem immature and childish in the process. Even those that have excelled in it in the past, like the Three Stooges and Lucille Ball, aren't seen much on TV these days, because they're from a distant era and their brand of comedy seems better suited for children or teenagers who prefer to watch stuff like "Hannah Montana" "That's So Raven" etc. etc.

One person who could have benefitted from this but wasn't allowed to was Michael Richards of "Seinfeld", who has been mentioned already by a couple of people a few pages ago. Like his fellow "Seinfeld" alumni, he was offered his own sitcom after "Seinfeld" ended, titled "The Michael Richards Show". When he filmed the pilot, the show featured a lot of slapstick and a Kramer-esque character. But the network, for whatever reason, didn't like it and told him to reshoot the pilot with a different cast. When the show made it to the air, the slapstick bits were gone and there was a heavy emphasis on verbal comedy. The final product was awful and not very funny at all and the show did not last very long. Instead of allowing Richards to work in a situation which was natural for him and that had worked for him before, they made him change his style in order not to offend their audience. It didn't work. And that could be one reason why sitcoms aren't doing very well today because all of the networks are thinking the same way. Guess what? It's not working so you might as well try again. The sitcom isn't going away but the viewers are and that's what's important. Once everyone realizes this, we might have some better shows to watch in the near future, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Hmm yes, physical comedy seems to be limited to children's shows and cartoons these days. I guess people think adults are too sophisticated for it. http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/8572/giveupka7.gif

I've been watching Soap on DVD - the opening sequence with the family beating up on each other - plus various characters strangling each other...:eek: :rofl:

I just thought of something. "Two and a half men" actually has a lot of physical "comedy". They often have jokes about someone, usually poor Alan, being injured or sick or something like that.

It died after Night Court or The Drew Carey Show ended. Seriously, I haven't seen really hilarious physical comedy in anything released since the mid or late 1990s.

I think like a lot of great things it's just not in vouge right now but i'm sure in time will come back around. I think it has a lot to do with the current lack of good traditional three camera sitcoms.

i know in the 90's it was alive and well--- shows like Will & Grace, Moesha, Friends, Fraser, Will & Grace and The Nanny all featured phyiscal comedy very often to varying degrees of success. The Nanny was one of the best shows for phsyical comedy around.