Abstract
I outline Robert Solomon’s Inferiority theory of humor, which he illustrated by reference to the Three Stooges and contrasted with the Superiority, Incongruity, and Relief theories. And I discuss the status of the catchphrase with reference to ‘He’s fallen in da water!’ from the Goon Show. Unlike Bob, I don’t think the catchphrase always operates as a set-up, because it is not always heralded or predictable. The funny catchphrase involves a form of meta-humor that draws attention to the contrivance of the story.
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Notes
Solomon Robert C. 1996. ‘Are the Three Stooges Funny? Soitanly!’ In Aesthetics in Perspective. K. Higgins (ed.) Harcourt Brace & Company, pp. 604–10.
Ted Cohen tells me that a general wisecrack has been ‘What’s the difference between men and women?’ ‘Men like the Three Stooges.’
This catchphrase did not become established until the seventh series. It was used by Little Jim in some earlier series, but it was not inevitably spoken when a character plonked into the water. In the fifth and sixth series, it is often Bluebottle who falls in the water and comments on this. (At www.thegoonshow.net/characters.asp, Bluebottle is described as a ‘young, lustful boy scout with a squeaky voice who normally gets blown up in each episode. He is often a companion of Eccles and is willing to help anyone for sweets, although he frequently fails. Bluebottle is noted for using tools or weapons made from cardboard and string. He often reads his stage directions out loud and is always greeted with a deliberate round of applause from the audience.’) For instance, in Forog, Bluebottle responds with: ‘You rotten swine, you! You have directed me into the dreaded water and I cannot see for the fog, so I don’t know whether I’m drowning or not! Shouts ‘Help’ just in case… Help Just In Case! Lights match to see if feet are touching the bottom… No, but the legs are! Tee-Hee! I made a little jokul! Hee-hee-hee!’ In The Great White Box of Barfield, he says: ‘Oyyyy! I’m drownded in the dreaded water. Look! All the silver paper’s come off my cardboard cutlass. My best trousers is wetted. This means I’ll have to wear Mum’s old drawers while they dry. Heeheeheee! Exits left to hear Ray Ellington’s Quinten.’ In Napoleon’s Piano, he cries: ‘Aiiooo! Help! I’m in deep dreaded drowning-type water.’
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Davies, S. Bob, Little Jim, Bluebottle, and the Three Stooges. SOPHIA 50, 265–268 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-011-0249-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-011-0249-1