Stack's humor - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

scm80 · 02-13-2007, 02:57 PM

He was dead serious. Oh, shouldn't have said the "D" word.

But anyways, watch the segments like "Scared To Death", "Whistleblown" and there are a few others.

Note that he can change tones from segment to segment. Remember, on a given show their could be a missing persons, wanted, lost love, unexplained. Again, I know they were filmed on different locations, and on different dates, but still...we can't accuse him of having a one track tone.

In unexplained he could smile, which has always lead me to believe that after a scary, unnerving case, was good for the viewer.

Remember the case where there was that comedy club that dated back to the early 1920's, you have some hauntings, and other incredible things.

End of segment, Stack says "There have been 60 recorded cases of strange and unusual activities here!" (Chair in background just glides across the stage, Stack turns around for a second, back to camera smilling). "Perhaps you should make that, 61"

I know that wasn't incredibly funny, but nothing like that ever happend with any other case, Stack and co. playing up on the haunting and humour at the same time at the end of a segment.

Huskerz85 · 02-13-2007, 04:00 PM

After watching him speak in the same deadpan tone w/the same muted expression........seeing him crack a smile scares the daylights out of me......

AB · 02-13-2007, 04:16 PM

When he did smile it kind of gave you the shivers but I can't imagine anyone
else hosting the show, he just has the knack for it.

DarkDante · 02-13-2007, 04:31 PM

Yeah the case of "The Comedy Club" is a rare exception where they allowed an obvious dose of ironic humor into the show. I'm not disputing anything you mentioned, but this was a very, very rare case in which Stack and UM decided to have a little bit of fun with their audience and because it was done so rarely (and because Stack had always been portrayed as somewhat stoic) it was done here to great effect.

justins5256 · 02-13-2007, 04:42 PM

The Virginia Madsen co-hosted episodes typically opened with a joke. It was beyond lame.

Kane · 02-13-2007, 08:58 PM

Quote:

The Virginia Madsen co-hosted episodes typically opened with a joke. It was beyond lame.

I guess this was one of the reasons why Virginia Madsen didn't click with a lot of UM viewers. She's not a bad actress by any means (in my opinion, she did a terrific job in Sideways). It's just that she generally didn't seem to have as much credibilty on the show as Robert Stack did, and I think that was why it didn't work out with Madsen.

Awsi Dooger · 02-13-2007, 11:46 PM

I always thought they should have done at least one pure spoff episode, maybe when Wednesday or later Fridays fell on April 1. Come up with some over the top bizarre segments and then some subtle dry ones.

You couldn't do that with murders but something lesser, maybe phony robberies. Endless possibilities. Like giving clues and they are obviously pointing to a famous person. Then let tens of thousands of viewers call in to solve it. Hell, I would have done something like that almost every week. So what if when you resume with real cases no one takes you seriously. Part of the game.

DarkDante · 02-14-2007, 12:43 AM

Didn't Dean Cain - host a show just like that where he would present four or five mysteries and you had to guess which ones were real and which were hoaxes? It might have been in conjunction with "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" now come to think of it.

It was kinda stupid...but good for an occasional viewing.

Awsi Dooger · 02-14-2007, 01:57 AM

Yeah, I saw an episode or two but the hoaxes and real were too similar. I suppose that was the idea for guessing purposes, but IMO it sucked. If you're going to make something up, then make it bizarro in one direction or the other, over the top or subtle. I guess that's why I hate sitcoms the last decade or more, too mainstream and that equates to not funny. Where's an Arnold the Pig when you need him?

Am I allowed to say I hate sitcoms on a website with this title?

scm80 · 02-14-2007, 02:39 AM

As long as you don't hate THIS sitcom!

Hey remember, "And I'm Micheal Jordan and I play basketball for the Chicago Bulls", that make unsolved mysteries a sitcom, now doesn't it?

LooksLikeCRicci · 02-14-2007, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkDante

Didn't Dean Cain - host a show just like that where he would present four or five mysteries and you had to guess which ones were real and which were hoaxes? It might have been in conjunction with "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" now come to think of it.

It was kinda stupid...but good for an occasional viewing.

No, it was Jonathan Frakes from Star Trek: The Next Generation. It did air on the Sci/Fi channel, and I think the show was called something like "Fact or Fiction?"

In any case, it was lame.

oicvah · 02-14-2007, 01:05 PM

I think Robert Stack would make a great stand-up comedian. Matter of fact, I recall a beautifully constructed opening to one of the segments:

"Such and such person had everything and thought he had found the perfect woman when he met such and such. (slight pause) He was wrong." (implying murder or some such thing). Man, that would kill in the clubs.

DarkDante · 02-14-2007, 01:26 PM

Charlie Sigmin

- thats classic!

Dislimb · 02-14-2007, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LooksLikeCRicci

No, it was Jonathan Frakes from Star Trek: The Next Generation. It did air on the Sci/Fi channel, and I think the show was called something like "Fact or Fiction?"

In any case, it was lame.

Yep, it was called, "Beyond Belief: Fact Or Fiction?"

LooksLikeCRicci · 02-14-2007, 05:42 PM

Robert Stack WOULD have made a decent stand-up comedian. He would have been KILLER at deadpan comedy...

02-13-2007, 02:57 PM	#1
scm80 Scott UM Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 21, 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 45	Stack's humor He was dead serious. Oh, shouldn't have said the "D" word. But anyways, watch the segments like "Scared To Death", "Whistleblown" and there are a few others. Note that he can change tones from segment to segment. Remember, on a given show their could be a missing persons, wanted, lost love, unexplained. Again, I know they were filmed on different locations, and on different dates, but still...we can't accuse him of having a one track tone. In unexplained he could smile, which has always lead me to believe that after a scary, unnerving case, was good for the viewer. Remember the case where there was that comedy club that dated back to the early 1920's, you have some hauntings, and other incredible things. End of segment, Stack says "There have been 60 recorded cases of strange and unusual activities here!" (Chair in background just glides across the stage, Stack turns around for a second, back to camera smilling). "Perhaps you should make that, 61" I know that wasn't incredibly funny, but nothing like that ever happend with any other case, Stack and co. playing up on the haunting and humour at the same time at the end of a segment.

02-13-2007, 04:00 PM	#2
Huskerz85 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 31, 2006 Location: Westeros Posts: 740	After watching him speak in the same deadpan tone w/the same muted expression........seeing him crack a smile scares the daylights out of me......

02-13-2007, 04:16 PM	#3
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,428	When he did smile it kind of gave you the shivers but I can't imagine anyone else hosting the show, he just has the knack for it.

02-13-2007, 04:31 PM	#4
DarkDante Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1,569	Yeah the case of "The Comedy Club" is a rare exception where they allowed an obvious dose of ironic humor into the show. I'm not disputing anything you mentioned, but this was a very, very rare case in which Stack and UM decided to have a little bit of fun with their audience and because it was done so rarely (and because Stack had always been portrayed as somewhat stoic) it was done here to great effect.

02-13-2007, 04:42 PM	#5
justins5256 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 08, 2002 Posts: 3,866	The Virginia Madsen co-hosted episodes typically opened with a joke. It was beyond lame.

02-13-2007, 11:46 PM	#7
Awsi Dooger Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2003 Location: Miami Posts: 1,537	I always thought they should have done at least one pure spoff episode, maybe when Wednesday or later Fridays fell on April 1. Come up with some over the top bizarre segments and then some subtle dry ones. You couldn't do that with murders but something lesser, maybe phony robberies. Endless possibilities. Like giving clues and they are obviously pointing to a famous person. Then let tens of thousands of viewers call in to solve it. Hell, I would have done something like that almost every week. So what if when you resume with real cases no one takes you seriously. Part of the game.

02-14-2007, 12:43 AM	#8
DarkDante Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1,569	Didn't Dean Cain - host a show just like that where he would present four or five mysteries and you had to guess which ones were real and which were hoaxes? It might have been in conjunction with "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" now come to think of it. It was kinda stupid...but good for an occasional viewing.

02-14-2007, 01:57 AM	#9
Awsi Dooger Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2003 Location: Miami Posts: 1,537	Yeah, I saw an episode or two but the hoaxes and real were too similar. I suppose that was the idea for guessing purposes, but IMO it sucked. If you're going to make something up, then make it bizarro in one direction or the other, over the top or subtle. I guess that's why I hate sitcoms the last decade or more, too mainstream and that equates to not funny. Where's an Arnold the Pig when you need him? Am I allowed to say I hate sitcoms on a website with this title?

02-14-2007, 02:39 AM	#10
scm80 Scott UM Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 21, 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 45	As long as you don't hate THIS sitcom! Hey remember, "And I'm Micheal Jordan and I play basketball for the Chicago Bulls", that make unsolved mysteries a sitcom, now doesn't it?

02-14-2007, 01:05 PM	#12
oicvah Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 24, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 24	I think Robert Stack would make a great stand-up comedian. Matter of fact, I recall a beautifully constructed opening to one of the segments: "Such and such person had everything and thought he had found the perfect woman when he met such and such. (slight pause) He was wrong." (implying murder or some such thing). Man, that would kill in the clubs.

02-14-2007, 01:26 PM	#13
DarkDante Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1,569	Charlie Sigmin - thats classic!

02-14-2007, 05:42 PM	#15
LooksLikeCRicci Likes to live in a clean house Moderator Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 27, 2005 Posts: 4,050	Robert Stack WOULD have made a decent stand-up comedian. He would have been KILLER at deadpan comedy...