humour barriers

[deird1]

You know, it’s really quite hard to introduce people to a show by watching funny episodes.

Take BtVS. If you decide to show someone all the really great episodes, that they absolutely must watch, it’s fairly simple to come up with a list. (For the record - no matter who you ask, you’ll get at least five of the following suggestions: Hush, Once

Comments

[velvetwhip]

And as someone with no sense of humour? You could NEVER get me to watch a show by encouraging me to watch the funny episodes.

Gabrielle

[snickfic]

Except, a lot of those other fabulous eps have the same problem. OMWF, FFL, Restless - great TV, there's no denying, but context is a whole lot of the greatness. Restless, in particular - I can't fathom why anyone would show that to a n00b. It depends on four full years of previous TV plus foreshadowing for the next. OMWF certainly appeals intrinsically, but nothing has a lot of impact without the context of the rest of the season. FFL is fabulous enough on its own, I suppose, but part of why it hit me so hard the first time was the contrast with everything else I knew about Spike. I'd be really sad for anyone who saw that without knowing evil!Spike first.

Even The Gift and Becoming are culminations of season-long arcs, and that previous momentum is part of what makes them great.

(I have no idea why anyone would recommend CWDP to a newcomer, but I've never been as enamored of it as most folks.)

Now that I've been all cranky about people's choices, I'm trying to think what good intro eps are

[eowyn_315]

Except, a lot of those other fabulous eps have the same problem.

Agreed. Of the eps deird1 listed, the only one I think I'd show to a newbie is "Hush." "The Initiative" is a good one, too.

What about "Halloween"? Or "Harsh Light of Day"? Otherwise, I am pretty stumped.

[snickfic]

Maybe "Fear Itself"? "School Hard" seems to be a popular choice, and I decided to go the route of skipping S1 with someone, it's where I'd start.

[penny_lane_42]

This is so true. And also insightful. And also, I assume, inspired by the LOGO list of top episodes? Btw, the thread on whedonesque for that is making me mad, so I'm staying away.

In my opinion, really great humor is character-driven. It's funny if you know the characters and their relationships and their quirks and their situation. The more character-dependent humor is, the more I'm going to like it. Which is why the list of sitcoms I love is very, very short. Most sitcoms either A) go for the joke first, character second or B) don't have that great of characters to begin with, just stereotypes.

Character pwns all.

[menomegirl]

Hmmm. If I made a "funniest" list, I'd be...

1.Pangs
2.Tabula Rasa
3.Band Candy
4.Life Serial
5.Him

The Zeppo, Something Blue & Superstar might make honorable mention. Those three episode had some very amusing moments but nothing really laugh-out-loud funny to me.

[eowyn_315]

"Pangs" is definitely on my funniest list, too, but I figured it might be confusing to show to a newbie, since they'd be wondering why that blond dude is tied to a chair and who the weird lurky guy is. :)

[menomegirl]

Uh huh, I agree with you. I really don't think any of the episodes I picked would be good to try to draw a newbie in.

[peroxidepirate]

This is a very interesting insight, and one I've run into when I tried to introduce non-Buffy-fanatic fans to the show.

I had a lack of success getting someone started on OMWF, too, because she couldn't see what was so awesome about these people singing.

My pick for the best humorous episode to show a newbie is "Life Serial," and not just because it's one of my all-time favorites. There's enough situational humor -- Buffy's repeating time in the magic shop, anyone? -- that's funny even without much context.