Page 106 - The Language of Humour

SPOKEN HUMOUR- TELEVISION AND RADIO 93
viewing audience, who can laugh both at him and with him. Joey
nearly always misses the point; he is a consistently good-natured
but stupid fall-guy—literally in the scene where his soap opera
character plunges down a lift shaft. Chandler is angst-ridden, but
articulate and witty. He either sets himself up for a laugh with some
lengthy soul-searching, or provides a devastatingly brief put-down.
Rachel’s character has developed from the spoilt rich girl who
could refer vaguely to ‘one of those job things’ to a less easily
definable character type. She is not so much a comic stereotype as a
glamorous icon. Her love affair with Ross provides some romantic
tension and poignant moments, though the saddest moments often
generate some of the best jokes in an episode. Monica’s character
seems to generate the least humour—or popularity—perhaps
because someone who is so sensible and organised is no fun. She
tends to be the butt of humour.
6. Bringing in an older lover for Monica, with all the romantic
implications of using the established ‘heart-throb’, Tom Selleck,
added little humour, whereas other characters introduced into the
series have had more obvious comic potential: the geeky new flat-
mate for Chandler; his bizarre girlf riend, Janice; Marcel, the
monkey, for Ross; the fat-ugly-naked guy. These characters add to
the possibilities for running gags and in-jokes and thus the creation
of humour which can only be fully appreciated by connoisseurs of
the series.

TELEVISION SKETCHES

Apart from sitcoms, many comedy shows contain a series of different
sketches, often with variations on a similar format each week. These
may be presented by a single comedian, like Harry Enfield or Victoria
Wood, or by a comedy duo, like Morecambe and Wise or French and
Saunders, and occasionally by a team, as on Monty Python or The Fast
Show. Each sketch will use distinct devices of humour and can be
analysed as a free-standing text, though there may be a recurring style
across the whole show.
Other shows create comic characters, who remain in character
throughout: Peter Cook and Dudley Moore as Derek and Clive, Barry
Humphries as Dame Edna Everage and Les Patterson. In this type of
humour there will be the representation of a register appropriate for that
character, but with some features distorted or exaggerated for comic
effect.