Steve Jobs introduces his newest product..
March 16, 2007 6:37 AM Subscribe
Introducing... the iRack! (video, youtube)
Old and forced, but still the line "I hear what you are saying. But NO!" slays.
posted by DU at 6:50 AM on March 16, 2007
posted by DU at 6:50 AM on March 16, 2007
Well, it was definitely funnier than Stuart.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 6:53 AM on March 16, 2007
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 6:53 AM on March 16, 2007
I was just kind of shocked that Fox let this one slip past.
posted by empath at 6:55 AM on March 16, 2007
posted by empath at 6:55 AM on March 16, 2007
That sketch was as much a mess as the subject it parodies.
posted by GavinR at 7:02 AM on March 16, 2007
posted by GavinR at 7:02 AM on March 16, 2007
You've got to give the joke a chance to be funny. It's like you've already decided the joke will fail before it is even given six months. I already see some signs that joke is starting to be funny. The joke is doing lots of funny things. The joke has made progress. You're hoping the joke wont' be funny aren't you? Why do you hate the joke? You've betrayed this joke. You don't even deserve this joke.
posted by srboisvert at 7:04 AM on March 16, 2007 [7 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 7:04 AM on March 16, 2007 [7 favorites]
Some people just can't support the comics. Comedy-haters, all.
posted by empath at 7:14 AM on March 16, 2007
posted by empath at 7:14 AM on March 16, 2007
I thought this was going to be about a bra.
No, because then it might be funny. And if it were funny, it wouldn't be on MadTV.
posted by Ynoxas at 7:17 AM on March 16, 2007 [2 favorites]
No, because then it might be funny. And if it were funny, it wouldn't be on MadTV.
posted by Ynoxas at 7:17 AM on March 16, 2007 [2 favorites]
Intelligence told me that the joke would be there. We told the whole world that there was a massive joke there. But now we know there was no joke there. The intelligence was faulty.
..i like it anyway.
posted by spicynuts at 7:25 AM on March 16, 2007
..i like it anyway.
posted by spicynuts at 7:25 AM on March 16, 2007
Parodying two things at once is difficult to pull off, and I didn't have much hope for this sketch going in, but they actually managed to make it funny, IMO.
posted by delmoi at 7:32 AM on March 16, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by delmoi at 7:32 AM on March 16, 2007 [1 favorite]
strange to see this with a fox logo in the corner ... it almost makes me wonder if this isn't the walter cronkite moment of this war
posted by pyramid termite at 7:48 AM on March 16, 2007
posted by pyramid termite at 7:48 AM on March 16, 2007
My belief is that with this joke we will, in fact, be greeted as entertainers.
posted by chemoboy at 7:55 AM on March 16, 2007
posted by chemoboy at 7:55 AM on March 16, 2007
phaedon: Thanks for that. Loved the "I'm so glad I didn't kill myself yesterday" line.
I don't think MadTV gets enough credit sometimes. I don't go out of my way to watch it, but it's usually not as bad as SNL can be with the smarmy, self-referential stuff (you can tell a skit's going to suck on SNL if Lorne Michaels is in it).
I guess I'm in the minority here, but I also think Michael McDonald is vastly underrated.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:24 AM on March 16, 2007
I don't think MadTV gets enough credit sometimes. I don't go out of my way to watch it, but it's usually not as bad as SNL can be with the smarmy, self-referential stuff (you can tell a skit's going to suck on SNL if Lorne Michaels is in it).
I guess I'm in the minority here, but I also think Michael McDonald is vastly underrated.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:24 AM on March 16, 2007
I guess I'm in the minority here...
Maybe what you need is a nice white lady to help you see the light...
posted by yeloson at 8:43 AM on March 16, 2007
Maybe what you need is a nice white lady to help you see the light...
posted by yeloson at 8:43 AM on March 16, 2007
Anyone ever heard of the Capitol Steps?
I have this theory that someone involved in the Capitol Steps has scathing blackmail material on high ups on both the left and the right, and in turn for not releasing the info, talk media is required to promote them as much as possible.
In turn the promotion leads to some success for them, though mainly out of name recognition.
posted by drezdn at 8:53 AM on March 16, 2007
I have this theory that someone involved in the Capitol Steps has scathing blackmail material on high ups on both the left and the right, and in turn for not releasing the info, talk media is required to promote them as much as possible.
In turn the promotion leads to some success for them, though mainly out of name recognition.
posted by drezdn at 8:53 AM on March 16, 2007
Time for those posting that it wasn't funny to take a test - who/what DO you find funny - or are you just snarky today and would hate anything.
posted by Muddler at 8:56 AM on March 16, 2007
posted by Muddler at 8:56 AM on March 16, 2007
That skit was totally unrealistic. Apple shareholders would never criticize Steve Jobs.
posted by bstreep at 8:57 AM on March 16, 2007 [3 favorites]
posted by bstreep at 8:57 AM on March 16, 2007 [3 favorites]
For some reason, I failed to catch the iRack reference going in. So, I ended up liking it quite a bit. I suppose the delivery could have been better, but I've never seen Steve Jobs do his thing, so maybe he comes across that way.
Thanks for the entertainment, empath.
posted by Goofyy at 9:09 AM on March 16, 2007
Thanks for the entertainment, empath.
posted by Goofyy at 9:09 AM on March 16, 2007
Yawn. There's a few minutes of my life I can't have back. Just like the time I waited months and all Steve gave us was those crappy Quicksilver Powermacs.
posted by imperium at 9:19 AM on March 16, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by imperium at 9:19 AM on March 16, 2007 [1 favorite]
Muddler: it's not really about the thrill of the snark, it's just that the skit was a funny concept, poorly excecuted.
* It wasn't subtle at all. I think most of the audience understood that iRack = Iraq the second we read it, there was no need to keep saying "I-RACK" with such heavy emphasis like we were stupid.
* The physical comedy wasn't lining up with the audience's reaction. It's funny that the iRack was a shoe rack, but really, the model they used was perfectly stable, if just a little wobbly. If they used a thinner, scarier, wobblier rack as the "iRack," and provided a way for it to ACTUALLY catch on fire, the joke would have been a lot more consistent.
* Throwing money at the iRack? It makes sense as a DIRECT adaptation of what's happening in Iraq, but the metaphor doesn't cross over to the shoerack gag.
Let the joke act itself out within the situation, instead of using ham-fisted obviousness.
posted by Milkman Dan at 9:21 AM on March 16, 2007
* It wasn't subtle at all. I think most of the audience understood that iRack = Iraq the second we read it, there was no need to keep saying "I-RACK" with such heavy emphasis like we were stupid.
* The physical comedy wasn't lining up with the audience's reaction. It's funny that the iRack was a shoe rack, but really, the model they used was perfectly stable, if just a little wobbly. If they used a thinner, scarier, wobblier rack as the "iRack," and provided a way for it to ACTUALLY catch on fire, the joke would have been a lot more consistent.
* Throwing money at the iRack? It makes sense as a DIRECT adaptation of what's happening in Iraq, but the metaphor doesn't cross over to the shoerack gag.
Let the joke act itself out within the situation, instead of using ham-fisted obviousness.
posted by Milkman Dan at 9:21 AM on March 16, 2007
I was thinking boobs as well.
I usually am, too, but in this instance my first thought was balls. Try not to read any significance into that.
For me, the tragedy of this piece was the failure to refer to the vacuum cleaner as the iSuck.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:35 AM on March 16, 2007
I usually am, too, but in this instance my first thought was balls. Try not to read any significance into that.
For me, the tragedy of this piece was the failure to refer to the vacuum cleaner as the iSuck.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:35 AM on March 16, 2007
It wasn't subtle at all. I think most of the audience understood that iRack = Iraq the second we read it, there was no need to keep saying "I-RACK" with such heavy emphasis like we were stupid.
It seems like this is the standard criticism of funny things. People said the exact same thing about the hilarious Bob Dylan video. And I don't understand it. At all.
If a joke is funny, it will be funny the second and funnier the third time. If it's not funny, it's not worth saying once.
Part of what makes someone like David Letterman successful, for example, is that he carries on running gags for so long that the audience starts to feel a sense of gag-ownership.
And it's not a new thing, or something just espoused by those hacks on the internet, or on MadTV, or wherever. Look at Moliere. That guy would build a whole play out of one not-very-novel joke.
posted by roll truck roll at 9:49 AM on March 16, 2007
It seems like this is the standard criticism of funny things. People said the exact same thing about the hilarious Bob Dylan video. And I don't understand it. At all.
If a joke is funny, it will be funny the second and funnier the third time. If it's not funny, it's not worth saying once.
Part of what makes someone like David Letterman successful, for example, is that he carries on running gags for so long that the audience starts to feel a sense of gag-ownership.
And it's not a new thing, or something just espoused by those hacks on the internet, or on MadTV, or wherever. Look at Moliere. That guy would build a whole play out of one not-very-novel joke.
posted by roll truck roll at 9:49 AM on March 16, 2007
SinisterPurpose, wow man, sorry to say that you confirmed my suspicion. Damn. Those were bad. And I'm not talking Micheal Jackson Bad in a 1987 context, I'm talking Michael Jackson Bad in a 2007 context.
posted by Muddler at 10:40 AM on March 16, 2007
posted by Muddler at 10:40 AM on March 16, 2007
I'm pretty sure SinisterPurpose was joking.
posted by roll truck roll at 11:02 AM on March 16, 2007
posted by roll truck roll at 11:02 AM on March 16, 2007
Morning Meest cracked me up. Thanks for that.
posted by pointilist at 11:10 AM on March 16, 2007
posted by pointilist at 11:10 AM on March 16, 2007
If a joke is funny, it will be funny the second and funnier the third time. If it's not funny, it's not worth saying once.
This, in a nutshell, is what I find unappealing about much humor from the States. I'm not saying that British humor isn't just as guilty of this - Little Britain and The Fast Show would make me look like a total moron if I tried to claim that, but American humor seems to have a much higher incidence of taking a perfectly serviceable joke, and running it right into the fucking ground than Brit or Canadian comedy.
I recognize that a running gag with variations can be great, you can start playing with the audience's expectations of a joke, and build on it, and so on, but running the joke down until it dies a death is not the way to do this, which is pretty much what they did here.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 11:28 AM on March 16, 2007
This, in a nutshell, is what I find unappealing about much humor from the States. I'm not saying that British humor isn't just as guilty of this - Little Britain and The Fast Show would make me look like a total moron if I tried to claim that, but American humor seems to have a much higher incidence of taking a perfectly serviceable joke, and running it right into the fucking ground than Brit or Canadian comedy.
I recognize that a running gag with variations can be great, you can start playing with the audience's expectations of a joke, and build on it, and so on, but running the joke down until it dies a death is not the way to do this, which is pretty much what they did here.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 11:28 AM on March 16, 2007
American humor seems to have a much higher incidence of taking a perfectly serviceable joke, and running it right into the fucking ground than Brit or Canadian comedy.
is 'e 'avin' a laugh? 'e's 'avin' a laugh!
MadTV represents "american humor" in the same way Bush represents American presidents.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:56 AM on March 16, 2007
is 'e 'avin' a laugh? 'e's 'avin' a laugh!
MadTV represents "american humor" in the same way Bush represents American presidents.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:56 AM on March 16, 2007
That was the best thing I've seen on MadTv in years. I had one of those "I thought they were dead" moments.
Too long on the lead in, it's obvious that that they don't have much more of a budget then a civic theater group, and it needed to be rewritten to have more supporting jokes, but, like mentioned above, the "I hear what you're saying, but NO!" was fucking hilarious and dead on.
posted by klangklangston at 12:14 PM on March 16, 2007
Too long on the lead in, it's obvious that that they don't have much more of a budget then a civic theater group, and it needed to be rewritten to have more supporting jokes, but, like mentioned above, the "I hear what you're saying, but NO!" was fucking hilarious and dead on.
posted by klangklangston at 12:14 PM on March 16, 2007
On the off chance that this is BDSM gear, I think I'll wait until later to click that link...
posted by pax digita at 1:03 PM on March 16, 2007
posted by pax digita at 1:03 PM on March 16, 2007
Sheesh people.
You go to YouTube with the joke you have, not the joke you want.
posted by Kickstart70 at 1:14 PM on March 16, 2007
You go to YouTube with the joke you have, not the joke you want.
posted by Kickstart70 at 1:14 PM on March 16, 2007
I usually am, too, but in this instance my first thought was balls. Try not to read any significance into that.
Like this recent eye-tracking study that found that men look at crotches.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:33 PM on March 16, 2007
Is there some cosmic rule that a laugh track means something is going to be unfunny? Cause that is how it seems to work.
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:38 PM on March 16, 2007
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:38 PM on March 16, 2007
Here's Three Videos from channels to which I subscribe that I think are hilarious right now.
I could only get through about 30 seconds of the first one. At that point, I didn't even care if she got naked at the end. That was some painfully unfunny shit. You are dead to me.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:04 PM on March 16, 2007 [1 favorite]
I could only get through about 30 seconds of the first one. At that point, I didn't even care if she got naked at the end. That was some painfully unfunny shit. You are dead to me.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:04 PM on March 16, 2007 [1 favorite]
that was dumb.
posted by nj_subgenius at 6:59 PM on March 16, 2007
posted by nj_subgenius at 6:59 PM on March 16, 2007
That girl in the "Morning Meest" video has a much brighter future as a webcam girl than a comedienne.
How do you go 3 minutes and not even do something funny accidentally?
posted by Ynoxas at 10:25 PM on March 16, 2007
How do you go 3 minutes and not even do something funny accidentally?
posted by Ynoxas at 10:25 PM on March 16, 2007
They did it horribly, but it's a great anecdote to relate to other people. You can strip the terrible comedic timing and the unrelated useless dialogue!
posted by tehloki at 1:01 AM on March 17, 2007
posted by tehloki at 1:01 AM on March 17, 2007
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posted by ericb at 6:46 AM on March 16, 2007