Friends vs Two and A Half Men vs Big Bang Theory

Which is most  

Edited by Icarium - April 22 2018 at 10:09

I wouldn't choose to watch any of them these days but I used to watch 2.5 Men when I was around 12 and I didn't get the sex jokes, but I probably liked it more because of that.

Friends over BBT.

neither. not my kind of humor anymore. superficial one-liners without any real depth

No..that would be Modern Family.

dr wu23 wrote: BaldJean wrote: neither. not my kind of humor anymore. superficial one-liners without any real depth You just described most comedy shows  on television. ;)

that's why I love the late German TV-comedian Vicco von Bülow, better known under his pen name Loriot. his sketches are masterpieces in which every little detail is important and are often about communication failure, especially between men and women, and people trying to keep their dignity in totally undignified situations and of course failing. many phrases from his sketches have entered German everyday speech, like for example "da hast du was Eigenes" ("you have something of your own there"). he is in my opinion unsurpassed. many of his sketches feature Evelyn Hamann, who is congenial.

here a sketch that is understandable even if you don't speak German. a boss wants to get amorous with his secretary on the day of her 15th anniversary as his secretary:

dr wu23 wrote: I didn't think Germans had a sense of humor...? ;)

that is one of the biggest false stereotypes about Germans. when I came to Germany in 1993 (I am originally from Oakland, CA) I believed in it too and was extremely surprised that this is not the case at all. German humor is definitely different from US humor though.

Helge Schneider, one of the very best German comedians, is absolutely inconceivable in the USA; his humor relies a lot on the finer points of the German language, and his total mix of styles is absolutely incomparable to anyone else, even in Germany. plus Helge Schneider is an excellent musician who plays dozens of instruments (he mixes humor and music in his live acts): piano (he was awarded the title of best German jazz pianist once), and he is excellent on cello (he won a classical cello competition once), vibraphone and saxophone, and he plays trumpet, organ, ukulele, guitar, bass, clarinet and other instruments as well. his humor is completely improvised, which is why he mostly does live shows. al his shows are complete improvisations (of course the band rehearsed the songs, but when they are played and everything he speaks in between is completely improvised).

on the other end of the scale is the late Vicco von Bülow, better known under his pen name Loriot. he is widely considered to be the greatest German comedian ever and is best known for a six-part TV-series of sketches, with each episode being 45 minutes long. the sketches from this series are absolute classics and included acted sketches, mostly with the congenially funny Evelyn Hamann, but also with other actors, and also of cartoons which he drew himself. many phrases from these sketches and cartoons have become part of everyday German, like for example the phrase "da hast du was Eigenes"  ("you have something of your own there"). Loriot's sketches are planned to the smallest detail. he is known for having dozens dozens of takes for his sketches before he was finally satisfied with them.

here the last and allegedly final concert of Helge Schneider (he has given several "last concerts" before though and has so far always returned after a lengthy pause). his jokes will be lost for those who don't speak German, and he also does lots of parodies of artists that are well known in Germany that you probably don't know at all (for example Howard Carpendale, Udo Lindenberg or Peter Maffay; in this specific video he parodies Howard Carpendale at one point) but you can hear what a great musician he is




Edited by BaldJean - May 02 2018 at 14:27

Vompatti wrote: None of them is funny, but Friends has some minor nostalgic value.

My feelings exactly.

Two and a half men is abysmal, and I just can't cope with the stupid voices of the characters, and the manic pace of the "comedy" in the BBT.

Analysis is often overrated........all I know is that after a lifetime of watching tv comedies of all kinds ...Friends never really made me laugh .....Two and a Half Men was usually only gratuitous sexual humor......but Big Bang often makes me laugh out loud on a number of different issues. 

Stoopid f***ing captcha!!