Getting the Jokes (Ten years later)

[Beauregard]

Maybe it's just me...but as I walk through this world of ours, just doing normal every day tasks, I am suddenly hit now and then by the true hilariousness of old Sesame or Muppet jokes which I have only...just...got.

For example, I was talking about cowboys the other day, and mentioned, "The Lone Rider." And suddenly I laughed outloud, at the old SS characters, "Readers of the Open Range" because it suddenly made a whole lot more sense to me...whereas when I was 5, it was just cowboys who like to read.

There have been many more moments like this, when I realised that Bob Hope's cameo in TMM was actually funny, or when I realise that someone Kermit said once was actually very Risqué, or when I got the joke about Grasshoppers.

Anyway, I wondered if anyone else had these kinds of experiences with Sesame Street and the Muppets?

[peyjenk]

Like you, as a kid, I just accepted all the wackiness and zaniness and took it for granted. It's only been in recent years, when I rewatched some of the movies or old episodes, that I have realized that these things are supposed to be silly or absurd. :)

There are several such moments in GMC: the Baseball Diamond, the running gag of the Murphy Bed, the conversation between the old couple in the house Piggy steals, Highbrow Street, "It's plot exposition, it has to go somewhere", the payment methods at the Happiness Hotel, "places to park your carcases" ("what's wrong with bus terminals?"), Piggy's breakdown and Kermit's on-camera coaching...

Man, what DID I get out of this movie as a kid? :confused:

[redBoobergurl]

Oh definitely GMC had a ton of those moments, you are right Peyjenk! I watched that movie all the time when I was a kid and later on I'm like, ok, what did I actually enjoy here? Like when Gonzo is taking pictures at the supper club and the one guy is like "My wife IS at home" and Gonzo gets flustered and goes on to the next table. There really is alot that probably went over my five year old head.

There's alot of that kind of thing in TMM as well, though specifics escape me right now. The Hare Krishna thing comes to mind.

[Krazedmuppet]

yep- or how diry they can get

for example the rats in Muppet Treasure Island right before Jim and Long John have their conversation on the deck about stars and their fathers dying- those are naughty rats!

[dwmckim]

...of course it's just not the rats...

i'll never forget when i watched the Muppet Movie and it finally hit me what two of the scenes in Piggy's fanasies during Never Before were implying (ie the streetlamp and kissing out of sight below the grass)

[minor muppetz]

i'll never forget when i watched the Muppet Movie and it finally hit me what two of the scenes in Piggy's fanasies during Never Before were implying (ie the streetlamp and kissing out of sight below the grass)

You know, I never thought they were implying anything. I'll have to watch the movie again soon and see if my mind changes when I watch the scene.

[Krazedmuppet]

NO! I just rememberd the worst ever

A very Merry Muppet Christmas- the part where they are making fun of moulin rouge (that itself was pretty funy) at the end of Piggys number (Santa Baby) she says to Kermit

"Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?"
Kermit: "SAY WHA?"

in french "Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir" means "will you sleep with me tonight?" as in the song Lady Marmalade in Moulin Rouge. Now I got this right off the bat, and laughed really hard at it, but did YOU get that? I cant find an english version of that clip, but this is the song Im talking about if you dont remember (it was played ALL OVER a few years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoVeAGaO27I

[peyjenk]

[quote=Krazedmuppet;772372]in french "Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir" means "will you sleep with me tonight?"[quote]

Forgive me for being an insufferable know-it-all, but I believe that a more accurate translation is "Do you want to go to bed with me tonight?" which, in effect, is the same thing. :)

Sorry... sometimes I can't help myself.

[Drtooth]

Not quite the Muppet show... but I didn't get the Sesame Street character "I.M. Pig" for the longest time. And I'm sure kids who's parents aren't architect students wouldn't either.

[Nekoshema]

lol, yes. one that happened yesterday, when i was five i saw the muppet movie, and Fozzie [dressed as the bartender] said "drinks on the house" and everyone ran onto the roof. i found it funny as a kid, but watching it now that i'm 20, i understand what he ment and i just facepalmed, it was hilarious and painful all at once ;)

[Skeeter Muppet]

Or how about in MTI when Piggy greets Long John Silver by calling him "Loonnnng John", obviously referring to a certain part of his anatomy?

(and it wasn't his leg)

-Kim

[Super Scooter]

I've posted some of my thoughts on this in the Cheeky Muppet Moments thread, but here's one (and this is technically off-topic):

In the Pirates of the Care-to-be-readin' episode of Sesame Street, one of the characters makes a statement that is something like "No chance in L."

But, yeah, The Great Muppet Caper and Muppet Treasure Island are filled with jokes I didn't get as a kid. Such as this painful, hidden gem from TGMC:

Scooter: Popcorn! Popcorn! (Looks at chicken) Popcorn, chicken?

HA! Popcorn chicken! That's hillarious! ... Well, not really, but it is the first time you realize it's supposed to be a joke.

[Nekoshema]

Or how about in MTI when Piggy greets Long John Silver by calling him "Loonnnng John", obviously referring to a certain part of his anatomy?


his hair? [lol, kidding]

yea, that's my sister's favourite movie and she noticed that a a few months back, i'm kinda shocked i didn't notice that, and they made that joke ;)

[tutter_fan]

You remember when E & B were playing a counting game and when Bert says "I eight the sandbox" and Ernie says "how'd it taste, bert? (laughs)"? OMG! That was the funniest thing I ever heard in my life! seriously! I "eight" the sandbox! lol!

[Beauregard]

Such as this painful, hidden gem from TGMC:

Scooter: Popcorn! Popcorn! (Looks at chicken) Popcorn, chicken?

HA! Popcorn chicken! That's hillarious! ... Well, not really, but it is the first time you realize it's supposed to be a joke.

*stares*

*stares*

*stares* OH! I GET IT! Literally, life changing moment for me there, Scoot. I've never seen that as anything other than a quirky Muppet moment...Popcorn chicken...*laughing...a lot*

[heralde]

I have always felt rather silly for not getting "the telephone pole" bit until someone explained it to me, lol. :o

[MrsPepper]

Ooh, thought of one! Maybe it's just my dirty, adult mind vs. my innocent child mind, but when I was little, I never really thought too much about the pirates who are running for all of the gold during "Love Led Us Here" in MTI. There's a part that two of the pirates run towards each other in slow motion, then I think they end up hugging and throwing gold around. It just seems a lot less innocent and a lot more deliberate now than it did then... Anyone else think it's slightly off-colour? >: )

[Gelfling Girl]

I have always felt rather silly for not getting "the telephone pole" bit until someone explained it to me, lol. :o
I still don't get it.

[Super Scooter]

I still don't get it.

Fozzie's dressed as a telephone. He claims his name is "Mike Oznowitzki," a Polish name. Therefore, he is the telephone Pole.

Beauregard, I didn't get the popcorn chicken thing until about a month ago. Life-changing for me too, man!

[Gelfling Girl]

Fozzie's dressed as a telephone. He claims his name is "Mike Oznowitzki," a Polish name. Therefore, he is the telephone Pole.
Oh. Thanks for explaining that for me. :):o

[MrsPepper]

Fozzie's dressed as a telephone. He claims his name is "Mike Oznowitzki," a Polish name. Therefore, he is the telephone Pole.

OOOOOHHHHHHHH! I *just* got that now! That's pretty sad. :o

[Krazedmuppet]

I always liked the sketch where Kermit and Piggy sing "waiting at the church" where Miss Piggy has a pillow under her dress to look like shes pregnant

OR! this sketch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbXzpoH6m2c

NEVER got this till I was older- and boy is it SOOOOO much more funny! Gotta love the mating calls Frank Oz makes LOL (if you cant watch it, its the Koozebanian Mating Ritual narated by Kermit LOL

Oh the shape of their mouths, AWESOME
SOOOOOO dirty

[Super Scooter]

That one is hillarious.

One I didn't get until just last night while thinking of it:

MASTERSON: Do you believe in interspecies dating?
BROOKE SHIELDS: Well, I've dated a few rats before, if that's what you mean.

When I was a kid, I always thought she meant she had dated literal rats. Last night I was thinking about the scene, and realized she was referring to men who act like rats... who'da thunk it?

[Nekoshema]

You remember when E & B were playing a counting game and when Bert says "I eight the sandbox" and Ernie says "how'd it taste, bert? (laughs)"? OMG! That was the funniest thing I ever heard in my life! seriously! I "eight" the sandbox! lol!

lol. my firends say 'Om-nom-nom' all the time, as a way to ask if what we're eating's good or if we're hungry, and a while back, after a year of saying it, a friend of mine just screamed 'Omg! Cookie Monster :insatiable: goes om-nom-nom!' and we laughed, cuz that's where we got it after all. ;)

lol, we still say those jokes, i'll tell them the sandbox one next time i see them, thanks for the line ;)

[tutter_fan]

You're quite welcome! :)

[heralde]

Oh. Thanks for explaining that for me.

OOOOOHHHHHHHH! I *just* got that now! That's pretty sad.

Aw, thanks guys, now I don't feel so bad, hehe. Though I think this just proves the joke was just as bad as Fozzie feared it would be. Lol :p

MASTERSON: Do you believe in interspecies dating?
BROOKE SHIELDS: Well, I've dated a few rats before, if that's what you mean.

When I was a kid, I always thought she meant she had dated literal rats. Last night I was thinking about the scene, and realized she was referring to men who act like rats... who'da thunk it?

That's exactly the kind of joke that you can put in a family movie where the kids will laugh without losing their innocence, and the adults won't be bored, hehe. ;)

[Gelfling Girl]

I'm watching the Texas Telly episode of SS, and I'm noticing lots of Indiana Jones references that most young children wouldn't understand. Of course, I've only seen the first and most recent I.J. movies, so there might be more references that I didn't notice, but so far, there was a boulder scene, and at one point Telly said, "Snakes, why did it have to be a snake?"

[tutter_fan]

Oh! Here's one that's even more hilarious than the I "Eight" the sandbox skit. Look here: http://www.toughpigs.com/anthernie03.htm (the first one)

[Gelfling Girl]

http://www.toughpigs.com/anthernie03.htm (the first one)
LOL. So corny, but so funny all at the same time. :D:p:(

[Krazedmuppet]

ok, I had one of those moments just this week

So I was watching A Muppet Family Christmas and it got to the part where Fozzie is singing with the Snowman and maybe its because I just could never understand what they were saying (I really think that was it) but here is the joke I JUST got

Snowman: oh its always cold at Christmas

Fozzie: oh Christmas time for Santa Clause and his 8 dancing Reinbear

Snowman: thats Reindeer

Fozzie: no thats snow darling!


:D NOW I GET IT! HAHAHA! My husband looked at me like I was crazy....


here it is at 2:22 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IbLaMgCkxg

[Kiki]

"My wife IS at home" and Gonzo gets flustered and goes on to the next table. There really is alot that probably went over my five year old head.

Same here, it wasn't until a quite a few years back that I actually got it, heehee.

I have always felt rather silly for not getting "the telephone pole" bit until someone explained it to me, lol. :o

When I first saw it I roffled so much, but only because I didn't get it, and I found it absurd. A little while afterwards I got it because I have three Polish friends and they're last names have a "ski" at the end. x3

"Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?"
Kermit: "SAY WHA?"
[/URL]

I remember that! The first time I saw it I didn't understnad, but when I saw it when I was about 13 I was like, "....wait a minute", I mean, it's funny, but you still sorta think, I wasn't expecting that!


Yeah, I've had this experience a number of times with different TV shows, mostly noteably TMS and The Simpsons. I've been watching The Simpsons since I was pretty young and I'd often laugh at the more obvious jokes. But for the past few years I've picked on on things -I come form a family who analyse films/shows all the time, so it's no surprise I guess- and how they take the mickey out of society and Tv stereotypes (eg. a housewife), it's amazing how funny the more obscure things are.

[APRena]

Okay, this is minor but:

Re-re-watching a VHS of Muppet Classic Theater, during the 3 Little Pigs part when the Wolf comes up to Miss Piggy's house made of bricks and she answers the door and he says:
"Oh, a brick house!"
:mad: "You're no junior petite yourself." :mad:

After watching that video like 1000 times I still didn't get it, like, OF COURSE it's a brick house! It's made out of bricks! Duhhhh...

I just got that earlier today.

[Gelfling Girl]

Also, after watching the Cindy Crawford episode of Muppets Tonight, I'm surprised they got away with using this one scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSz0DvboiO0
(8:00-8:07)
:concern::o:shifty:

[Nekoshema]

Krazedmuppet, it took me until this year to catch that joke too, it was so bad it hurt... course right after i made my sister listen closely, and we recited it to my mom, it was unanimously awful, but still. :o

[Gelfling Girl]

"Oh, a brick house!"
:mad: "You're no junior petite yourself." :mad:
Now I can't get that song out my head. :p Ugh...I hate disco.

[GonzoLover85]

Ugh...I hate disco.

It's not disco.. it's funk.
It was a part of the "all-funk" Muppets From Space soundtrack... now the real question is... why would they decide to make a soundtrack all funk?

[Super Scooter]

In IAVMMCM, Kermit confronts Miss Piggy about her work as a fake psychic, and Piggy's response is: "Are you a cop? Because if you are, you have to tell me."

Is this a reference to the false idea that if you ask an undercover police officer (specifically in the case of a... well, inapropriate and illegal line of business) if they're a cop, they're required to tell you?

[SesameKermie]

I can think of 2, both from "Letters to Santa": :confused: invents a 'wishing machine' and when :eek: tries it out, he wishes for a supermodel, and then later at the party, Bunson cuts in and dances with Beaker.

[SkeksisGirl]

Ahh... I love the smell of Swiss Moments (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SwissMoment) and Fridge Logic (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FridgeLogic) in the evening.

[Frogster]

lol definitely the Tony Randall show, where Piggy is turned to stone and Floyd's taking shots at her...

Fozzie: (lifting Stone Piggy up) Boy you sure are heavy, you must at least weigh a ton!
Floyd: That's good, that means she's lost weight!

:sing: Hey Gonzo, did you hear that Miss Piggy is very worried about Kermit?
:concern: Worried about Kermit? Why?
:sing: Well she's worried he'll take her for 'granite'!

lol I saw this when I was like 6, and this is definitely why Floyd's one of my top five faves.

[peyjenk]

Ahh... I love the smell of Swiss Moments (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SwissMoment) and Fridge Logic (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FridgeLogic) in the evening.

I love TV Tropes! :)

[terrimonster]

I think there are a lot of things that really weren't meant to be dirty, but look that way from the perspective of someone who's grown accustomed to such things in modern entertainment. But then there's stuff I see when I watch my TMS DVDs that I can't believe they put in.

Not particularly dirty, but the first one I noticed that was definitely aimed at adults (and that I didn't get ~30 years ago):

(from "At the Dance")
Do you believe in the hereafter?
Yes.
Good. Then you know what I'm here after!

[JanicePepper]

Hot Cross Bunny! I just got that! (LOL!)

Now that I'm older, I get a lot of the jokes from Monsterpiece Theatre better. I've been watching them on YouTube.

I like TV Tropes too. :)

[Katzi428]

Fozzie's dressed as a telephone. He claims his name is "Mike Oznowitzki," a Polish name. Therefore, he is the telephone Pole.

Beauregard, I didn't get the popcorn chicken thing until about a month ago. Life-changing for me too, man!
OH!slapping hand against forehead That's baaaddddd!(the telephone Pole) I didn't get it until now either!:rolleyes: