tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738012638904762739.post6048010032948761322..comments2024-03-27T01:19:56.698-07:00Comments on Tralfaz: Is Jack Benny Too Inside?Yowphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09264605351878574044noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738012638904762739.post-15826230583650830212017-02-19T07:49:57.446-08:002017-02-19T07:49:57.446-08:00"“I’m giving everyone a bonus check. That’ll ..."“I’m giving everyone a bonus check. That’ll help you get back to California,” said Mr. Benny. <br />“Get back to California – with THIS check?” <br />“Turn it over – there’s a road map on the other side.” <br />Unless you know Benny pretty well, that gag would mean very little. But, the veteran radio comedian has invented and perfected a sort of radio family joke. Benny's idiosyncrasies excite both laughter and sympathy the same way father does when he leaves his umbrella on the streetcar again. It’s not funny to any one outside the family."<br /><br />Okay, let's get technical.<br /><br />** “I’m giving everyone a bonus check. That’ll help you get back to California,” said Mr. Benny.<br />Set up.<br /><br />**“Get back to California – with THIS check?”<br />Clearly stating that the amount is insufficient for the stated purpose.<br /><br />**“Turn it over – there’s a road map on the other side.” <br />Punchline - revealing how a check for an insufficient amount may be properly used.<br /><br />It's standard joke construction, and you can completely get the joke from the words that are used. There is nothing incomprehensible about it.<br /><br />Poor example.<br /><br />However, in the Jack Benny show we're performing today (I'm with an old time radio re-creation group), the line "STUPID parrot" gets a big laugh, which I couldn't fathom until I realized that it must have been a carry-over joke from the previous week.Craig Gustafsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14503925766039307551noreply@blogger.com