In Reply to: Jonathan Harris could out- act ANY Star Trek actor, even today. posted by john dem on November 28, 2001 at 19:29:49:
FWIW, I dislike camp with a passion; I didn't even like scout camp all that much as a kid! :o)I prefer wit over so-called "high camp", just as I prefer more sophisticated visual jokes over slapstick. For instance, I absolutely despise a movie like Mel Brook's "Spaceballs" which is full of pratfalls, lame mockery and raunchy over-the-top gags cross-referenced with the original Star Wars [Note: Fortunately for Lucas, he successfully topped Brook's in Episode I, so I doubt he'll have to worry about his latest effort being parodied]. OTOH, a TV series like Red Dwarf or Hitchhiker's Guide contains a strong element of wit lacking in lesser parodies that makes them original and quite funny.
Another comparable example would be an obscure made for TV movie, the space parody Captain Zoom, which is so much sharper and funnier than the derivative feature (i.e., I believe it was called Galaxy Quest) starring Tim Allen which was a hit a couple of years back. Captain Zoom relied on numerous visual jokes, witty repartee and a surprisingly accurate knowledge of TV's early history to create it's fish-out-of-water humor. OTOH, Galaxy Quest's one-note Star Trek parody was stretched to the point of slapstick necessity almost before the openning credits disappeared!
Sorry about getting away from the specific topic of StarTrek/Lost in Space, but on the matter of "chuckle-worthiness" we needed to establish contextual references. I'm not questioning what you find funny or deriding you for what may or may not be a less sophisticated sense of humor, but rather providing examples of film and television programming which I find funny as compared with those which I find annoying, disrespectful of the genre or just offensive to my personal tastes.
>>> "And don't be mistaken about Star Trek- it's as campy as any other TV show from the 60's - not as chuckle-wirthy as Batman or Lost in Space, but chuckle-worthy none the less." <<<
It's interesting that you should praise the old "Batman" TV series, as I couldn't stand watching it back in the 1960's any more than now; I prefer superheroes done seriously as opposed to being camped up for the audience hyenas. There is a thin line between a suspension of disbelief and hokiness; sometimes a word or single scene can ruin the overall believability and shatter the screen magic.
You suggested that I may take TV too seriously; well, subjectively speaking, that may be true. OTOH, a true film/television aficionado loves movies/TV with a passion! And passion, notwithstanding an appreciation of humor, must be taken seriously to be of any merit at all.
AuPh
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Follow Ups
- No offense John, but I do take my humor seriously. ;^) - Audiophilander 23:58:36 11/28/01 (26)
- Holy Afficianado ! - john dem 04:27:34 11/29/01 (25)
- nope - late 06:20:13 11/29/01 (24)
- Re: nope - john dem 12:20:40 11/29/01 (23)
- John, you have a right to an educated opinion ... - Audiophilander 21:26:22 11/29/01 (16)
- Super Auph to the rescue ! - john dem 22:07:17 11/29/01 (15)
- Up, up and away! - Audiophilander 06:58:32 11/30/01 (14)
- Defying logic is not a super power, Super Auph. - john dem 11:24:18 11/30/01 (12)
- The poster's logic lacks Vulcanization! ;^) - Audiophilander 01:31:05 12/01/01 (11)
- You're the one burning rubber to get away from your absurd assertions. - john dem 13:56:17 12/01/01 (10)
- To the contrary, my prophylactic response is quite logical: - Audiophilander 15:07:22 12/03/01 (0)
- the remains of the day - late 18:49:17 12/01/01 (8)
- Re: the remains of the day - Bruce from DC 06:40:19 12/03/01 (1)
- good post, minor quibble(s) - late 07:27:57 12/07/01 (0)
- Enter late, defender of the punyverse. - john dem 19:42:47 12/01/01 (5)
- intuitively obvious to the casual observer - late 21:51:33 12/01/01 (4)
- Yes, it is obvious. - john dem 23:09:50 12/01/01 (3)
- naught, plus naught, equals... - late 07:35:17 12/02/01 (2)
- Yawn...it must be late. - john dem 13:58:05 12/02/01 (1)
- Don't like losing, do you? --nt-- - late 16:16:35 12/02/01 (0)
- a tinker's damn - late 08:09:55 11/30/01 (0)
- semi-curmudgeonly - Bruce from DC 16:13:57 11/29/01 (2)
- ya done good - late 17:03:47 11/29/01 (0)
- No curmudgeonly argument here. - john dem 16:44:20 11/29/01 (0)
- the critic speaks - late 12:31:21 11/29/01 (2)
- What "tech" in the 50's are you talking about ? - john dem 12:47:12 11/29/01 (1)
- yes, and no - late 13:44:41 11/29/01 (0)