The ultimate fear for the use of any running gag is not that it becomes an overly long Gag; rather, it is that it was never funny in the first place. Nothing is worse than starting a one hour show with a joke that bombs that you're going to use twenty times over the next hour.

Warren Ferguson's Huh, yeah huh. routine on TAGS and anywhere else he did it.

Once is often and twice is endless.

Never laughed at:

Bazinga!
or
Legend... wait for it... dary

Peter vs. the giant chicken on Family Guy.

I'm fine when it goes under a minute but there have been times when it goes on endlessly having nothing to do with the episode.

I thought of one from M.A.S.H. This was after the character of Charles Winchester came on the show in the later seasons, I don't remember in what season it started though. There's an episode where they find out they're getting wounded soldiers and everyone needs to go prep for surgery. Charles and Margaret are in the operating room and she says he can't operate and he needs to go back out and scrub up again because she saw him touch his nose, they argue back and forth a bit and then Colonel Potter orders Charles to go back out and scrub up again. They brought this up in several episodes again before the show ended. Margaret and Charles would get in an argument and it would come up, she'd insist "you touched your nose"! and Charles would insist that he hadn't and they both thought the other person was wrong about it. It wasn't funny in the first episode it was in and it wasn't funny in any other episode it was mentioned in either. It just wasn't funny and I can't understand why they kept writing it in. One of the dumbest and unfunniest things ever on the show.

Ed.

Early on in "Murphy Brown," they began an unfunny running gag where every time someone came through the door to Phil's, the bright light from outside would cause everyone to yell either "Close the door," or "Door." Thankfully someone realized how quickly that gag would become annoying and it was dropped.

JOEYS HOW YOU DOIN' on FRIENDS

Marions "standing up" to Howard (it was funny the first one or two times but then she kept doing it), Fonzies "AYYYY!", Fonzies making the jukebox play just by hitting it, on HAPPY DAYS.

Ediths "standing up" to Archie on ALL IN THE FAMILY, again, it was funny the first one or two times but then she kept doing it.

Early on in "Murphy Brown," they began an unfunny running gag where every time someone came through the door to Phil's, the bright light from outside would cause everyone to yell either "Close the door," or "Door." Thankfully someone realized how quickly that gag would become annoying and it was dropped.I think Murphy Brown was trying to imitate Cheers where everyone yelled Norm!, but it didn't have nearly the same effect.

I thought of one from M.A.S.H. This was after the character of Charles Winchester came on the show in the later seasons, I don't remember in what season it started though. There's an episode where they find out they're getting wounded soldiers and everyone needs to go prep for surgery. Charles and Margaret are in the operating room and she says he can't operate and he needs to go back out and scrub up again because she saw him touch his nose, they argue back and forth a bit and then Colonel Potter orders Charles to go back out and scrub up again. They brought this up in several episodes again before the show ended. Margaret and Charles would get in an argument and it would come up, she'd insist "you touched your nose"! and Charles would insist that he hadn't and they both thought the other person was wrong about it. It wasn't funny in the first episode it was in and it wasn't funny in any other episode it was mentioned in either. It just wasn't funny and I can't understand why they kept writing it in. One of the dumbest and unfunniest things ever on the show.

Ed.Hmm, I don't remember this gag.

no, I don't either. And I watch it almost every night.

Chachi's Wah, wah, wah's on Happy Days got on my nerves.

http://whatculture.com/tv/10-hilarious-tv-running-gags-that-lasted-an-insanely-long-time.php

Brought to you by Vandelay Industries.

Any catchphrase that had to be said EVERY episode.

how about marion keep making fun of howard weight keep putting him on a diet like every episode or season got old

Not really a sitcom, but I've been watching the old Monty Python shows recently and the animated segments are excruciating.

I love the Monty Python animated segments!

But Friends "We Were On A Break" isn't funny...and it dragged the show!

The Meg bashing on Family Guy. Child abuse and violence on women isn't funny and never will be.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty!"...Family Guy's way of deflecting from an awkward scenario. It started off as a brief gag, but the episode where they played a good two or three minute music clip was probably one of the last episodes I watched.

Peter vs. the Chicken got pretty tired too. I think that's kinda what annoys me most about the show, Seth's constant running stuff into the ground, well after they wore out their welcome.

A few years ago, the Friday night episode of The Late Show with David Letterman would go to commercial with a "preview" for "The Morning Show", a spoof of Today or Good Morning America. They were never funny...same for the "interviews" with former Vikings coach Mike Singletary.

He was a late night legend, but Letterman ran a lot of stale jokes into the ground in his later years.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty!"...Family Guy's way of deflecting from an awkward scenario. It started off as a brief gag, but the episode where they played a good two or three minute music clip was probably one of the last episodes I watched.

Peter vs. the Chicken got pretty tired too. I think that's kinda what annoys me most about the show, Seth's constant running stuff into the ground, well after they wore out their welcome.

A few years ago, the Friday night episode of The Late Show with David Letterman would go to commercial with a "preview" for "The Morning Show", a spoof of Today or Good Morning America. They were never funny...same for the "interviews" with former Vikings coach Mike Singletary.

He was a late night legend, but Letterman ran a lot of stale jokes into the ground in his later years.

The FG Conway Twitty joke went away fast...

But if I can, I may have my TV Show have this running gag from Monty Python...

aPB3nCIYdmo

Instead of the small town of Wains-Cotting, I use the small town of Milan, Ohio where Thomas Edison was born. So Monty Python used the cutway gag before Family Guy!

But when one of the heroes of Bertstown is in deep ****...they'd say "Ladies and Gentlemen..." and show a clip of The Ed Sullivan Show, like this gem...

DzGQi7kXqDM

Only if I get permission from "Sofa Productions"...

Never laughed at:

Bazinga!
or
Legend... wait for it... daryI am a big bang theory fan but I have never really found bazinga funny ether

Marions "standing up" to Howard (it was funny the first one or two times but then she kept doing it), Fonzies "AYYYY!", Fonzies making the jukebox play just by hitting it, on HAPPY DAYS.

Ediths "standing up" to Archie on ALL IN THE FAMILY, again, it was funny the first one or two times but then she kept doing it.

Yeah, it's not so special if they keep doing it. That's what was weird about 70s TV. Every episode we're supposed to believe a character acts a certain way, then they do something to go against their character type, repeat next episode, again and again..... yet somehow we're still supposed to believe certain character falls into a certain label. They were really counting on audiences to have short memories back in the day.

I never thought Edith was as passive as people always classified her as. Every episode of AITF I watched, she seemed to get her way with Archie quite a bit. None of that passive "always do as the man says" stuff happened when I was watching it. The implication always was that Archie ruled his house with an iron fist, but that never really happened.

Another assumption: we were always somehow supposed to believe George Jefferson only cared about money and nothing else, but how many times did he do a good deed even if it cost him some money? Yet next episode we're supposed to go right back to believing all he cares about is money.

Any catchphrase that had to be said EVERY episode.
"Whatchoo talking about Willis?"

Yeah that was cute when Gary Coleman started the show at age 10 but not cute when he was becoming a teenager.

Going back to Family Guy for a moment, I'd like to add that the Stewie being gay got old really quickly. We get it already!

Going back to Family Guy for a moment, I'd like to add that the Stewie being gay got old really quickly. We get it already!

I think that gag died fast...I think Stewie is bi-curious...and a furrie lover.

The Meg bashing on Family Guy. Child abuse and violence on women isn't funny and never will be.


I don't watch this show but 99+% of violence on TV is violence against men. I guess that's perfectly fine with you.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty!"...Family Guy's way of deflecting from an awkward scenario. It started off as a brief gag, but the episode where they played a good two or three minute music clip was probably one of the last episodes I watched.

:lol: That never gets old but I'm a huge Conway fan so maybe that's why.