The Sad State of Comedy

This is my video essay on the comedic brilliance of Police Squad. A TV show that despite being canceled over 40 years ago, still feels like such a breath of fresh air compared to the comedies today.
But why is this the case? Why does it seem like we’re settling for comedies that aren’t as smart or witty when it comes to their presentation?
With Police Squad there’s just so much going on in any scene that can make you laugh. So many clever gags that can keep you guessing where the next joke is going to come from. One moment you’ll find yourself paying attention to what the characters are saying and then the next you’ll notice something hilarious in the background.
But how does Police Squad achieve this? What makes it so brilliant in its delivery and presentation? And importantly, which lessons can we learn from its hilariously clever writing so that today’s comedies can be elevated to that same high standard?
This is my video explaining how.
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What is Police Squad?
Police Squad! was an American television crime comedy series broadcast on the ABC network in 1982. It was created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, and starred Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin. A spoof of police procedurals, the series featured Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker's usual sight gags, wordplay and non sequiturs. While a parody of many television shows and movies, it bore a particular resemblance to the Lee Marvin cop show M Squad (in particular the opening credits) and the late 1960s series Felony Squad. Although the show was canceled after six episodes, it later successfully spawned The Naked Gun film series from 1988 to 1994. In 2013, TV Guide ranked it #7 on its list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".
Police Squad! was created by Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker, who had previously worked together on The Kentucky Fried Movie and Airplane!. Despite critical acclaim, the show was canceled by ABC after just six episodes. The show gained a strong cult following through repeat broadcasts, which led to The Naked Gun film series. Many of the show's gags were recycled for all three films.
Alan North played the role of Captain Ed Hocken on the show; in the films, the role was played by George Kennedy. Peter Lupus co-starred as Officer Norberg, but in the films, O. J. Simpson appeared as the similarly named Officer Nordberg. Apart from Nielsen, the only actors to reprise their role in the films were Ed Williams, who played scientist Ted Olson, and Ronald "Tiny Ron" Taylor as Al, a very tall officer who is seen only from the neck down. Robert Goulet, who appeared as one of the "special guest stars" who were invariably killed off at the beginning of episodes, appeared as the villain Quentin Hapsburg in the second Naked Gun film. Joyce Brothers played herself in the first Naked Gun film. She also played herself in the fourth episode of the show.
Each episode featured end credits over a 1970s-style freeze frame of the final scene, except that the frame was not frozen - the actors simply stood motionless in position while other activities (pouring coffee, a convict escaping, a chimpanzee throwing paper, etc.) continued around them.
The show's opening sequence was a satire on traditional crime-drama opening sequences, particularly those of M Squad and various Quinn Martin shows such as The Fugitive and particularly The New Breed (which also starred Nielsen). Hank Simms, who had worked as an announcer for some of Martin's programs, announced the title of each episode, though the spoken title never matched the title caption. The sequence introduces Nielsen and North as their characters during a shootout, as well as Abraham Lincoln impersonator Rex Hamilton, who dramatically returns gunfire to John Wilkes Booth. Hamilton never appeared in the show itself.
And if you’re still reading this - hello.
This video is made through Fair Use under copyright law for the purposes of education in criticism or review; as well as parody or satire. www.copyright.gov/title17/92c www.copyright.org.au/ACC_Prod

[@SaintzCS]

"different little jokes here and there" 10:45 lmfao classic

[@Pete779]

Lol

[@MrCtotheD]

I didn’t get it 😢

[@Wigion]

@@MrCtotheD REALLY pay attention next time

[@Baguenaudeur]

HAHA HE SAID LITTLE WHILE THERE IS A LITTLE PERSON ON SCREEN FUNNY ISN'T IT

[@timothybellette8178]

The formula for good comedy is simple: Begin with a point! It must be a universal point (not just a matter of personal taste, as the joke's on you if you think your own little life is true for everybody)! Your point must be original (it's already been said a 1000 times that food on airplanes is crap, and it's just annoying hearing the same thing over and over again)! It must be important (even the first jokes about airplane food wasn't that funny, because who really cares what the food is like on airplanes, that fact that it sucks has basically no effect on our life at all, and nobody wants to hear you sooking about trivialities)! It must be daring (as already mentioned your point must be original, and if it's not deemed "controversial" by some then it's already been commonly accepted, and you're simply beating a dead horse, you're irrelevant, so instead you have to speak the truth that nobody else dares to speak, you won't be the most popular, but it's the only way to be actually funny)! So think of something that really needs to be said, the more it's needed, the bolder it is, the more original, the funnier it is! ...and then comes delivery, this part is pretty simple, just use exaggeration to illustrate a cartoon that makes your point crystal clear, as quickly as possibly! Then check back over our joke to make sure there is no room for a "but" in it, meaning, ask yourself "is there any form of untruth in my joke?", as your audience can't fully laugh if they're thinking "well they've got a solid point, but....", you must have them thinking "this person is speaking NOTHING BUT TRUTH"! Then they can't laugh whole heartedly in total innocence! Examples here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZjTY42qrtNkjLs

[@andrewhosfeld]

“We're sorry to bother you at such a time like this, Mrs. Twice. We would have come earlier, but your husband wasn't dead then." -Frank Drebin

[@aramwatters]

ROTFL!!!!

[@BGNOLA]

"I did live with a guy once, the usual slurs...innuendos...they ran him out of town like a common pigmy"

[@KalCounty]

This is my favourite line in the whole show 🤣

[@gabsy_ferreira]

This is my fucking fave type of humor, I miss Leslie Nielsen

[@prosperity4444]

I missed this joke time stamp?

[@damemarthafalker6738]

Leslie Nielsen was an essential ingredient to that formula. He had a unique ability for deadpan deliveries in ridiculous situations and to convince the audience he was totally unaware of his bumbling lunacy. He fit that niche perfectly. He had a style and quality very difficult to replicate. Leslie was the glue that held it all together.

[@dragonfell5078]

@Greg Elchert that is just amazing comedy to me. Not only is the ridiculousness a part of the setting, the characters work around it and are good in their fields because of it. It feels natural

[@LongToad]

Lloyd Bridges was great at it too. -IMO best character in Airplane and Hot Shots.

[@damemarthafalker6738]

@@LongToad Agreed!

[@gregwessendorf]

It also helped that Neilsen's career up to that point had been entirely as a dramatic actor, so he kept the gravitas while moving to absurd premises. I realize now how spoiled I was with the comedy I had growing up.

[@damemarthafalker6738]

@@gregwessendorf I still find it funny how annoyed Elizabeth Taylor was at Leslie Nielsen for taking those Drebin-type roles at the latter part of his career. I can’t for the life of me think of an explanation as to why he would change paths and demean himself with such rubbish, she complained. He was once a remarkable, serious thespian.

[@-Nine9-]

I'll be honest this feels way more like a retrospective on Police Squad than a commentary on the current state of comedy.

[@motioninart]

Should there be a part 2?

[@bekaebrown]

@@motioninart yes please! 😁🙏

[@pabloaguiar4643]

@@motioninart most jokes and puns you showed on the first half of the video wont work in any other language. be aware that shows are build to be streamed worldwide nowadays.

[@jonasgamerSFGame]

@@motioninart there should be a real part one

[@omkarpandit357]

More like comparing one type of comedy to another. Police Squad was a totally different genre of comedy whereas nowadays that type of comedy is extremely rare. Some people prefer one to another and that's not a bad thing. OP is one of the people who love the former type of comedy. But that does not mean that modern comedy is unfunny.

[@grapeenjoyer3658]

All you’ve done is convince me to watch police squad

[@humanguy1]

me too

[@Bruhtatochip742]

Same

[@tonymoretti2347]

In color!

[@motioninart]

My job here is done

[@jay-white]

@@counterfeit_red free on KZbin

[@Histerix]

“I’m a locksmith and I’m a locksmith” LEGENDARY

[@motioninart]

Top 5 punchlines ever written

[@BGNOLA]

"Ska? I don't know anything about it."

[@lorenzobrunelli3698]

In fact his cover name for job was A. Locksmith. So the punchline goes like this: I'm A. Locksmith and I'm a locksmith. A genius.

[@ethanwilliams7706]

@ Lorenzo Brunelli that’s so fucking clever

[@GawrGurasBathTubPizza]

this isnt even a comedy thing, they just dont make things like they use to: music/cartoons/comedy etc

[@larryhuffman2673]

This should have been titled, “why aren’t more comedies like Police Squad?” While I love that style of comedy, it is not the only type of comedy that is good. Most great comedy shows, that are more beloved than Police Squad, would be deemed bad based on these criteria.

[@filmpjesman1]

I think some of the jokes can also be seen as 'dad jokes' which is not always bad, but can get cheap

[@paradoxinraindrops141]

Thank you. I think with streaming, a show like Police Squad would do better where (as the video paints it) more dialogue driven humor like Modern Family work well on cable. Still a show like Frasier works well for how dialogue driven it was but it also dabbled in slapstick (like Niles trying to use the ironing board).

[@mesicek7]

@@paradoxinraindrops141 MF was not on cable. It was on network tv - ABC which is basically free to air tv.

[@paradoxinraindrops141]

@@mesicek7 Dully noted, I always get cable and network mixed up.

[@TuathaTuna]

Exactly. It’s okay. It’s dad joke over dad joke. It gets old, too. For me, it’s better to have a mix

[@karlj1717]

Leslie Nielsen is a absolute legend, I still watch the Naked gun and airplane films when I need a good quality laugh.

[@Southpaw88]

Leslie Nielsen 🐐ed

[@bluejem1315]

Also he was grate in airplane.

[@mondoseguendo6113]

Surely you can’t be serious.

[@VC-cx8gf]

i was so ready to binge watch multiple seasons of this show... only 6 episodes is a crime

[@Bustermachine]

I mean, I think that's kind of the secret sauce. And what make's it a little unfair as a model for other comedies. Police squad is absolutely amazing but . . . could they keep it up? Not just for six episodes, but for a whole season? For multiple seaons? You don't 'run out' of creativity . . . but it isn't something you can turn on like a faucet and have it pour onto the page, y'know?

[@majinbusn]

Then they made 3 naked gun movies

[@srikkanthank]

Why they cancelled it? People couldnt understand... kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4ranGOAaLCan8U

[@VicenteTorresAliasVits]

Pun intended?

[@IsaacEverettVideos]

While this video is a great reflection about why Police Squad is a fantastic comedy, it’s important to note that you’re comparing absurdist comedy to more conventional genres of comedy. While I love absurdist comedy, it should be acknowledged that it’s a style that doesn’t necessarily appeal to everyone. Sometimes people want a more down-to-earth style of storytelling, and that’s purely down to taste. But you raise a great point about how little visual comedy is being utilised by well-known modern productions. Film and television are visual formats, and it’s a wasted opportunity when productions use an unimaginative style of cinematography or mise-en-scene.

[@jakestroll6518]

I don’t think he’s aware that comedy sub genres exist. He basically discovered Abrams Zucker and now thinks he’s very smart. Wait till he discovers Mel Brooks. He’ll be insufferable.

[@Hugsloth]

I think his point was that dozens of different forms of humor are used in just six episodes of Police Squad, humor that required extra effort simply for the sake of the joke (like the toe truck). Whereas modern shows feel like they uniformly have one form of humor (shot-reverse shot verbal jokes), and no effort is made to maximize the impact of jokes via environmental or meta layers, anything *beyond* just verbally saying lines that the writers wrote and said "this is funny"

[@mrkenny6817]

Yeah right.. Author simply picked totally different shows and compared them to this one hand picked masterpiece. It's like to say there used to be better sci-fi and then compare Alien with Star Wars ep. 8 or something. Also he was questioning why shows like Modern Family doesn't use smarter humor and then answered it by himself without even realizing - because target group of shows like that actually don't watch the show.

[@sebastiangrundler7640]

@@Hugsloth yes, I agree with the author of the video. These people are salty because they can’t understand that comedy has always been a concept with a foundation in intelligence, wittiness and relateability(why office is so popular). Comedy is dead for the most part nowadays going for awkwardness as humor. Whereas you can compare the inbetweenersand original office to the office and modern family and really see the difference

[@jackieyo6128]

Another problem is the "americanization" of comedy and its use as the standard of comedy. In my life i found how humor is very different and even ancient depending on where it comes from. American comedy, from my experience, relies a lot on the use of hyperboles and the consequent absurdity created by them : everything is so much extremized and crazy that makes you laugh. Don't get me wrong, i loved this genre, but it gets repetitive after a while and it has a surface level type of humor that not everyone appreciates. That's why many people like british humor, based on cynical wittness and sarcasm (Monty Python) or the french empahisis on deconstructing and create goofy protagonists. Another underrated gem of comedy is the italian one, based on trolling, when trolling wasn't mainstream (i saw a movie, surely from 70's, where a guy, just for fun, stops at a grave of a deceased girl, pretending to be her ex-lover in front of the husband that arrives just few seconds later : it's so dark, desecreating and mean in a funny way, that you just laugh) or deep social deconstructions of anyone that take themselves too seriously to the point to ridicule them and destroy their social status. Comedy is great because you can analyze the cultural background of who produces it, it's actually very deep, somehow even deeper than tragedy, which tends to be, paradoxically, very homogenous around the world, differently from comedy. I could keep going on talking about other types of comedy but you get the idea. Just open your mind to other types of humor, it's a a great adventure.

[@mneal713]

Arrested Development used similar humor, great writing, lots of background gags, and also struggled in ratings like Police Squad. Two of the greatest tv comedies ever.

[@motioninart]

Something man was not meant to appreciate

[@LeakedWisdom808]

Chris Morris's, "The Day Today" and "BrassEye" as well. Pure genius.

[@mlsaulnier]

Great show

[@abloshow91]

Community lasted 6season

[@YTAG33]

Malcolm in the Middle also tends to be like this. It is not like the hundreds of common family sitcoms like Modern Family.

[@lealc.k245]

I think arrested development is the perfect example of this kind of comedy. The sound and visual gags are incredible

[@eggymayo3271]

I couldn't get over him wanting to bang his cousin though

[@laurenreynolds9755]

and community!

[@volleykid09]

@@laurenreynolds9755 a fellow Human Being!

[@AManWithAVoice]

No

[@holdthedoor8130]

@@laurenreynolds9755 6 seasons and a movie .

[@michaelm148]

This isnt really a video about modern comedy. Its a video about police Quad, and why its great and different from Comedy shows today. There are different styles of comedy. Its also very subjective. Just because it doesn't match the style of Police Squad doesn't mean its not good, clever or vapid.

[@TheKiingkiller]

agreed, its like saying fantasty novels are in a bad state because there no discworld or lord of the rings.

[@williamstroker6805]

"We've sent the ransom note to the lab. They're demanding a million dollars." Frank - "Why would the lab demand a million dollars". That's a classic.

[@mipmipmipmipmip]

Note by the way that the next line explains the pun, ruining the joke.

[@theexpresidents]

Not really.

[@Valcuda]

@@mipmipmipmipmip It's not explaining the joke, it's the punchline. "They're demanding a million dollars" has a double meaning, but we naturally assume he's talking about the people who wrote the ransom. "Why would the lab demand a million dollars" implies the previous "They" means the lab

[@mipmipmipmipmip]

@@Valcuda i'm talking about the line after Frank's line

[@zeromailss]

@@mipmipmipmipmip In this case they have to, or else the misunderstanding won't be resolved which would be funny if they planned around it but they didn't so to move on explanation is needed to him that it was the ransom not the lab that demand the money. It doesn't ruin the joke IMHO, yes modern comedy garbage ruin shit by overexplaining and that could ruin a joke but you have to look at the context surrounding it to judge that

[@bobmcrae5751]

Leslie Nielsen (another great Canadian) once remarked, "I love doing nothing, but the biggest problem with doing nothing is that you never know when you've finished". Profound words indeed.

[@michaelwesten4624]

yeah like fawlty towers

[@LukeT390]

"We would have come sooner but your husband wasn't dead then" one of my favourite lines from Police Squad 😅

[@motioninart]

Genius

[@99wmac]

I grew up with this kind of comedy, and honestly, it wouldn't work today. It's a product of it's time and the audience is a different beast now.

[@Eissey1879]

It didn't work back then either, it was canceled after 6 episodes.

[@thompsonnoel]

You're generalizing the style of comedy of one creative duo over everything else... And while you are partly right, I do want to see more shows like it, I wouldn't want every single comedy show to be like this. I'd miss cringe comedy or stoner comedy or grounded comedy or political or satirical or even dramedies which seem to be the norm. I agree with you that this type of comedy is inspiring, creative and I miss it. The most important aspect of this type of comedy that I miss on TV is choreography, that's what made it exhilarating and special. It takes planning, rehearsal and perfect execution. Money. But it also sacrificed character development, plot or thesis for pure jokes. For example, if Veep/The Thick Of It had come out in Police Squad's time and now the TV landscape over represented the style of police squad you would be lamenting the absence of shows with a biting satirical edge.

[@johnnysake8052]

Underrated comment, almost writes off comedy as a single way to be funny. No two comedies are the same in any era, especially today's era. We've had genius dark comedies like Louie, obviously hilarious mockumentaries like The Office, even the standard sit-com like That 70's Show had a lot of highlights. They even mix in the type of humor mentioned in the video in different comedic genres. I mean, with shit like What We Do In the Shadows, Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi killed it.

[@thompsonnoel]

@@johnnysake8052 Arrested Development employs visual choreography, 30 Rock and Community do the same in dialogue and editing. So do canceled gems like Big Time In Hollywood, FL. Flight of the Conchords and Crazy Ex-girlfriend exist. And people have pointed out the first part of Angie Tribeca's run. Some of Police Squad's innovations persisted, mixed in with different flavors and without its "pureness". That's what makes this view somewhat reductionist. I do get his point though. I do miss that specific type of exciting TV high-wire act.

[@tiburc10]

Exactly. This video is just another one in this era of endless video essays and the ideia that everybody needs to have an opinion about something. I really doubt the guy who made this video REALLY loves Police Squad. Silly humor is great and I love it, but there is not much to that because everything is just... jokes. One after thet other. The characters arent real characters. They are just setup for jokes. So its very hard for the audience to care about anything. It makes total sense why there are so few shows like that. It tends to get boring really fast.

[@johnnysake8052]

@@tiburc10 comedy for comedy's sake, rather than a tool for the art of storytelling

[@RevStickleback]

@@tiburc10 I'm not sure too many have watched Police Squad, or the films made by them, and thought "this is getting boring", but it would be nigh on impossible to write that sort of comedy for three or four 22 episode seasons, and that really is what US TV stations want.

[@poolwaiter]

I saw all of the Police Squads when they first aired. Later I bought the VHS of all of them. Now I own the DVD. My children loved it. They are older now and make sure every friend of theirs watches the DVD when they bring them to our house. It is timeless comedy. No laugh track because why would you need it?

[@hiranom20]

The lack of a laugh track makes the gags less ironic, thus enhancing the humour in an already bizarre situation 🤣🤣 I never saw Police Squad when I was a child, but the Naked Gun flicks were definitely the subject of several reruns lmao!

[@UndeadPigeonFilms]

I'm 24 and only just now learning about Police Squad. Judging by the clips in this video, I think I would love this show

[@welty69]

you should also add sledgehammer to your viewing............ hilarious. and no laugh track so you can laugh when it is funny NOT when THEY tell you to laugh

[@kimmyera174]

My friend brought me to his place after school one time to play COD and roblox (in 09'), and he also showed me the first naked gun, which was hilarious and I have loved Lieslie Nielsen ever since. Such a local blessing, and missed every day but with a wonderful legacy. Can confirm, he (my friend) has done the work, like your children have XP

[@ZoolGatekeeper]

"I'm a locksmith,, and I'm a locksmith". Brilliant humor when the house owner asks "Who are you and how did you get in?".

[@lauracelis8004]

I love puns and small jokes but it can get old, no way you don't get tired of it after the first episode

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

if they get old they become big jokes

[@djprincegrandmasteryrjdalo2905]

Oh fuck nice, I’m kind of curious are you Colombian? I’m asking because of your profile picture having the Colombian flag, but I’m mostly asking because there could be other reasons to why you have the Colombian flag but I’m just curious are you Colombian though?

[@benbastabeast7523]

I feel like a more modern show that did this sort of comedy is Arrested Development (seasons 1-3). The comedy was so fast paced and every scene was packed to the brim with jokes and callbacks that you have to watch it multiple times to pick up on all of them, and the visual comedy and puns were phenomenal

[@blahblahblahblah2837]

Definitely a great visual gag show, with strong word play and strong characters. All over great comedy

[@DepressedHandsomeSpaceCop]

Great point. AD is definitely the inheritor of that tradition. There's also a layering of gags over time, as the lore of the Bluth family is built up, which gives so many opportunities for fun visual gags and throwaway lines.

[@thecompanioncube4211]

The ONLY thing that points that show is 20 years old is what phones they use. Apart from it AD feels like it came out yesterday. A true timeless masterpiece

[@ChaosCron1]

Has no one watched What We Do in the Shadows? Both the movie and show?

[@DepressedHandsomeSpaceCop]

@@ChaosCron1 that's an incredible movie. Never seen the show.

[@cloudbloom]

Shoutout to Leslie Nielson btw he's a legend

[@motioninart]

The GOAT

[@Emilio1985]

I think this video's premise is something that occurs entirely too much when people compare any kind of art from the present to that from past, which is a premise I wish was acknowledged and examined more by people who do these kinds of media analysis. What usually ends up happening is comparing the cream of the crop from a bygone era to the standard fare of today. And I don't think that's a fair comparison. Something like Police Squad's style of comedy has an enduring quality in a way that most comedy, even other comedy from that same era of television, simply never will. Likewise, there are shows today that will stand the test of time even though most of them will not. In your video, you drew comparisons to more contemporary comedy shows like Brooklyn 99, Big Bang Theory, Parks & Rec, the US version of The Office, etc. Those shows will always fall short of Police Squad's style of humor, but they're much more in line with other comedy shows of the 1980s like Newhart, Silver Spoons, Mama's Family, Charles in Charge, or Benson, which also fall short of Police Squad's style of humor. None of these other shows are "bad" comedy shows, per se (although everyone's mileage may vary in what they do or do not like), they're just more common, and that can make them get stale more quickly. The issue isn't really that there's any sad state of comedy today. The issue is that some kinds of comedy are always more rare than other kinds. And there's a lot to explore and examine by examining that - why are certain kinds of comedy more prevalent than others. What makes certain kinds of comedy appealing, either from a production side or from a reception side? That would be way more interesting to delve into than just kind of easily pointing out that this show isn't as good quality as that show for X, Y, and Z reasons. That's a starting point, but the analysis shouldn't end there.

[@oliverholmes-gunning5372]

That's a good point, actually; people tend to forget that not every seventies show or movie was Fawlty Towers or The Godfather, there was an awful lot of crap too, just like today. And yet today, like in the seventies or eighties, there are also a lot of really top quality shows and movies, even in the comedy genre (eg Peep Show, The Thick Of It or Fleabag- sorry, I'm a Brit, so most of my references will be British lol); they just tend to be less immediately mainstream and have more of a cult following. One thing I do think has got worse in recent years is that it's a lot harder for comedy to break new ground and be challenging, given the current obsession with villifying anything that "offends" us, as though the revolution in comedy that began with Monty Python through to the anarchic punk-comedy of the 80s (eg The Young Ones) and the post-modernist, absurdist satire of the nineties and early 2000s (eg Chris Morris' stuff, like Brass Eye or Jam) has been forgotten, and we're back to bland, safe, fifties-style entertainment. But that has more to do with society than with any decline in writing talent, and it still hasn't stopped some fantastic shows coming out.

[@AntiGravityC9]

I think the comedy of Police Squad (visual gags, randomness, non sequiturs, clever short bits) does still exist - many memes/tiktoks/vines work exactly like that only difference is that with Police Squad it's all under one TV show with a theme and a recurring familiar set of characters, and an unmaintainable budget

[@abloshow91]

Yeah but YOU came up with that not HIM so it's not really up to him to do it. It's up to you to do that analysis.

[@stevenscott2136]

The real point ends up being "really good TV comedy is hard to do, and hard to watch". Producers don't want to pay for it, audiences don't want to work that hard.

[@derrickdiggs8612]

Agreed. Comedy evolves. Whether for better or worse. Much like any other form of art, comedian is a microcosm of the outside world. It mirrors what it going on. It’s also objective and draws on our own experiences. What someone thinks is funny in the UK, might not be funny in the states. Remember, at one point it time, people that black face was funny. It wasn’t now and it still isn’t.

[@amarug]

The kind of comedy like is in the Police Squad definitely made me laugh now, but I have the feeling it's pretty limited how long you can keep visualizing these "puns" etc. I think I would get old very quickly, thus producers try to explore other means (for better or worse).

[@astrladam4392]

The constant mistaking of terms is one joke constantly repurposed. I think you just love police squad and that style of comedy. It does not invalidate more grounded comedy at all.

[@RansomeStoddard]

Keep in mind that we have had crappy comedies in every decade of TV. Ever try watching more than 5 minutes if Mork and Mindy? And that was from the “golden” age of sitcoms.

[@theexpresidents]

I couldn't agree more.....I always thought Sanford and Son was genius and I'm white; yet I abhorred Mork and Mindy.

[@Hugsloth]

Mork and Mindy wasn't a show people just watched for jokes, though. It had lots of scenes and episodes that were intended to engage you emotionally, not just make you laugh because Mork didn't know xyz human thing.

[@RansomeStoddard]

@@Hugsloth emotionally? Did you watch the same Mork and Mindy that I saw? The one I saw was silly and dumb and eventually had Jonathan Winters as a 60 year old baby.

[@jacquelinef3329]

Yes, I have watched Mork and Mindy for more than 5 minutes and many episodes until the networks shuffled the time slots for the show. I thought it was something different for a sitcom combining sci-fi with comedy, and I had never seen or heard of Robin Williams who helped make it funny, unpredictable and connect with a character from a different world. Maybe you should try watching more than just 5 minutes of the show and maybe your limited attention span might help you get the humor and point some day.

[@RansomeStoddard]

@@jacquelinef3329 I was the youngest of three growing up and the oldest picked the shows. I saw every episode.

[@Bertie_Ahern]

I remember when I first wrote Police Squad, this was actually pretty typical for the humor of the day and the direction my colleagues were going in with regards to TV studio output. Things changed in the 90s.

[@mashedpotatoes1534]

Yooooo

[@the_inquisitive_inquisitor]

Lmao "Who are you and how did you get in here?" "I'm the locksmith... and I'm a locksmith."

[@bentaylor4203]

Shows like It's Always Sunny, Fleabag and Louie are pushing comedy forward still. It's not all trash nowadays. We can't forget there was a lot of trash back in the day too.

[@meodrac]

Yeah, his video essay reeks of "I am very smart"

[@saurelius5217]

It's Always Sunny has gone down hill though. It became political and even before that, making Mac gay ruined the character as it felt the jokes were more forced and removing the dynamic of Mac wanting the get ladies I think ruined part of the comedy. They could of made Mac bisexual, as he likes women but also finds out he loves Dennis. Though that would have been kind of too complex and dramtic for a show like Sunny. Either way, it's gone downhill.

[@AlbertonBeastmaster]

Fleabag was brilliant.

[@al4red_]

sunny has ALWAYS BEEN political even in season where the creators didnt really know yet about the shows feel

[@al4red_]

@@saurelius5217 sunny has gone political? LMAOOOOO sunny has ALWAYS BEEN political even in season 1 where the creators havent really figured out the shows formula

[@mrtoast244]

Even the out of context clips are funny, the "I'm a locksmith and I'm a locksmith" scene killed me

[@motioninart]

wait till tik tok gets a hold of this

[@alterniia6161]

on the topic of backgrounds in modern comedy, that's exactly why i like community so much. even though it gets wicked unfunny after the first 3 seasons, there's always a little story happening in the background and its just so fun to watch

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

Early Community was a masterpiece.

[@FirstMetalHamster]

big bang theory without laugh track is some of the most revealing videos ever.

[@motioninart]

lol

[@tombuck]

I have no idea how the Police Squad actors didn’t break during every take. Incredible.

[@motioninart]

Me neither

[@paradoxinraindrops141]

I know for Airplane! Abrahams & the Zucker Bros made it a point to cast drama actors against type, because they knew they would play the material exactly how they wanted it. That's how Leslie Nielsen got cast. At that point he was a career journeyman and Airplane! gave his career as a second wind as a comedic actor.

[@mahatmaniggandhi2898]

@@paradoxinraindrops141 i dont think i can watch leslie nielsen in a drama movie and keep myself from laughing

[@manifestgtr]

To this day, the greatest comedy I’ve ever seen is Fawlty Towers. There isn’t a single wasted *second* in that show…its two, short seasons pack more hilarity than most modern sitcoms that run 5+ seasons

[@JakTheLad]

It really is brilliant. One of the best British comedies ever made.

[@elihlecele5972]

Man i hate that term. "Most modern day...." like if you can say comedy is stale today thats fine but your acting like they're are not any good sitcoms in our day. B99,Modern family, The office, Seinfeld....like come on

[@tupaclives5848]

Faulty Towers is great I love it, that and the IT crowd are examples of really good British comedies.

[@kennethallen2223]

Gotta give it up to Connie Cleese.

[@bobtaylor170]

Hear, hear! The best sitcom ever.

[@adam145]

My friend watches a lot of comedies and he said that it's perfect when you're doing the dishes or cleaning up the house. You can focus on the good parts and not lose track of what you're doing in the meantime.

[@DKC1011]

Police Squad is amazing, make no mistake, and this video is a lovely homage to the series. I feel like the framing of this essay is a little off though. TV comedy would be exhausting if every show had the break neck pace of Police Squad. Its so dense, you say it in the video, you really have to pay attention to enjoy all of the humour on offer. Comparing a single six episode vignette to a handful of modern sitcoms (of, in my opinion, variable quality) comes across somewhat as 'New thing bad, old thing good'. Your point about 'Modern Comedy' being two dimensional due to lack of background content and depth /is/ true for the cherry picked examples given: The kind of chewing gum comedy you compare Police Squad to (Modern Family, Big Bang, etc) existed during and definitely predates Police Squad; it was just as if not more popular; Night Court, Family Matters, Alf and later into the likes of Cheers and the Fresh Prince, you get it. Situational Comedy has always been more popular than other Comedy formats. Nothing in that regard has changed, and thus framing those few examples as 'the sad state of comedy' today is a little short sighted I feel. Above was just a mishmash of minor criticisms and thoughts on the video, on the whole I thought it was well put together and well worth a watch

[@scottwhittaker4959]

In Naked Gun, OJ getting shot up, stumbling back and putting his hand on a window sill, the window falling on his fingers, THEN he screams out in pain is the greatest joke ever.

[@renzo7503]

Yes, and when he touched the hot stove! 🤣🤣🤣

[@scottwhittaker4959]

Forgot about that, all the other little pains we can relate to, the Zucker trademark to just keep piling it on.

[@xxx-pliskin-sniper-xxx8538]

The fact that he actually says “oh no” as if that paint is the worst part of his troubles 🤣 absolutely amazing movies. The hospital assassin scene is another highlight with OJ 😂

[@nessadvantage9447]

@@xxx-pliskin-sniper-xxx8538 I liked it when he gets dragged under a bus going to Detroit. I think that happens in the 2nd movie though😂😂

[@NazriB]

Lies again? MLS Student Debt Be Happy

[@weston407]

the "model prisoner" gag caught me off-guard and made me laugh out loud

[@weston407]

@Guy Whose opinions will offend you I Saw The Devil was great (loved the taxi cab scene)

[@kuzcosmkswed117]

This video should’ve been called the Sad state of comedy for shows

[@thomaskirkness-little5809]

"Modern comedy sucks, let's all watch Police Squad instead." I approve this message.

[@motioninart]

❤️

[@notallthatbad]

It's a sad thing when brilliant humor is lost to mediocre sass because people can't pay attention for more than 5 seconds.

[@nuckygulliver9607]

that's not why. Cancel culture has killed comedy. Comedy is too offensive for politically correct people who will cancel anyone that offends. Comedy always runs the rusk of offending. If you love comedy then oppose political correctness and cancel culture. It has zero to do with attention

[@notallthatbad]

@@nuckygulliver9607 Leslie Nielsen himself said the show was cancelled because people had to watch it/pay attention. There is no indication that cancel culture stopped this show from airing or is keeping it from being funny for general audiences.

[@Puerco-Potter]

@@nuckygulliver9607 I think your agenda against cancel culture has blinded you from actually watching the video before commenting something totally unrelated. I am sorry if I am cancelling you with this comment.

[@mtgspanglish731]

On that note. I was commenting to a co worker on how social media I creating generations of people with ADD.

[@bunnybo7757]

@@nuckygulliver9607 Cancel culture is not real. It’s a Twitter phenomenon. You can only say “I’m being silenced” publicly on numerous platforms numerous times before it looses its steam. “Cancel culture” just means “someone said something about someone I like” to largely men on the internet.

[@the7569]

This is really just a different style of humor than what is on TV now, and what was on TV back when it was out. I absolutely love the police squad style of humor, and I want more shows like it. But I wouldn't say that all the shows that are out right now are bad, there are a lot of bad comedy TV shows but they're also some great ones. According to your criteria in this video shows like it's always Sunny in Philadelphia, arrested development, community, parks and rec, and 30 rock which are all great shows would be seen as lackluster. I would have titled this video something more like "why aren't more comedies like Police squad?" Like I said I love this style of humor and I want more shows and movies that are in this style of humor, but there are other styles that are more grounded that I still think are very funny and I think something that you use in the same example, modern family is actually a really good show. It's comedy is a lot more realistic and it actively tries to make the viewer empathize with the characters and feel emotion, it's simultaneously supposed to be a family drama

[@kikefuentes5191]

Was looking for this comment.

[@LowDinksHijinxPickleball]

The gap between the best and worst programming has become wider, mirroring the patterns of polarizations in the greater cultural and political landscape. The worst comedy today is so bad that without the laugh track people really wouldn't know when the jokes occur, and watching with the laugh track removed is genuinely disturbing (e.g. The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two And A Half Men, King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond). But there is also a lot of high quality comedy today that I personally find to be more viscerally, laugh out loud funny than older classics like Naked Gun (e.g. Curb Your Enthusiasm, South Park, Portlandia, Schitt's Creek, Reno 911, Workaholics). That is not to disparage Naked Gun, but that kind of humor is more cerebral and clever, which my brain finds interesting but it doesn't get me actually busting up laughing until my ribs hurt. There sure is a lot of mediocre content today as well. Shows that are watchable but incredibly formulaic and predictable - mostly of the mockumentary style popularized by The Office, Parks and Rec, Modern Family, etc. But mannnn people just can't get enough of Steve Carell being socially awkward and Amy Poehler being eccentrically type A.

[@FortisConscius]

Police Squad and others like it excelled in weaving multiple types of comedy into a single show/movie. Monty Python is similar, there are definitely several types woven in- Wordplay, surrealism, absurdism, innuendo, dark, slapstick, caricatures... There's truly something for everyone. If you didn't care about slapstick or props the wordplay and caricatures would do it for you, or the props and surrealism might be the thing to tickle you. Enough variety to carry virtually everyone through. There's nothing wrong with specialisation but with modern comedy it really is just manufacturing a standard formula well enough to make bank. I would recommend "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace" for a good mix of prop, slapstick, spoof, surrealism, 4th wall breaks, wordplay etc. It's quite underrated. It's British but takes it's cue from spoofing 1980s US-style dramas.

[@helenaasousa]

LESLIE NIElSEN is my HERO! Frank Dreben 🐐 The #1 most hard working, oblivious PI, who plays some mean hoops while interrogating you. subbed loved this & ur kanye vid, so far.

[@gregboyington4896]

Dude, I was there when Police Squad came out. It was revolutionary then. The majority of of comedies were conventional sit coms. Police Squad was subversive, and intelligent that's why it only lasted one season. The majority of people didn't get it, but there was still hope they eventually came around that's why we got the movies. Abrams Zucker and Zucker were comic geniuses. Checkout Top Secret! with Val Kilmer.

[@nataliasoares225]

Top secret! is the best comedy ever. I lost count how many times I watched it.

[@spiderleenie]

"I'm a locksmith ... And I'm a locksmith" is the greatest joke ever written for TV. It's immaculate.

[@yuricrack60]

why what does it mean

[@mightybatillo]

@@yuricrack60 He asks, "Who are you and how did you get in" "Im a locksmith" is the answer to both questions...

[@yuricrack60]

@@mightybatillo Thank you Raul Munguia

[@humanguy1]

i absolutley agree

[@DrRinse]

I think it's my favourite gag in all of Police Squad

[@jmalmsten]

"Act 2: Gezundheit" The groan I made when I saw that title card on my last rewatch can still be heard in several island colonies.

[@0mn0mable]

Vapid. what a word. I was immediately on your vibe just from seeing the vid's title/thumbnail. Thanks for the great work and incisive takes in this vid Motion In Art!

[@motioninart]

One of my favourite comments. That’s incredibly kind of you thank you

[@motioninart]

One of my favourite comments. That’s incredibly kind of you thank you

[@jordanneal576]

Arrested Development, at least for the first three seasons, did this kind of comedy pretty well. It expected you to pay very close attention for clever word play, visual gags, and call backs that might go as far as an entire season back. The "Seaward" and "C-Word" joke is still one of my favorites in all of TV comedy.

[@earlpipe9713]

It was like a less juvenile (or more adult flavor of juvenile), more character focused and serialized evolution of the formula - all of which were probably needed to give such a type of humor sustainability on tv imo, as the original Police Squad's all gags/all frames 'absurdism above all else' philosophy could lead to burnout or lack of investment/attachment from audiences

[@carlotorres5292]

Just remember to watch out for loose seal

[@justins7711]

Came to say exactly the same thing. One of my favorite shows of all time, strictly seasons 1-3 though.

[@jocoshbo2026]

Though I see what you mean, I would actually say Arrested Development is higher brow than this. It doesn’t rely on one off gags and tangents, the humor is much more grounded in the characters behaviors. But this person seems to think that having comedy based in character is cheap? And that all humor should be low hanging word play and sight gags. Idk. Too each their own. Not much real analysis of anything I’m this video.

[@Aaron-mj9ie]

I'm a huge fan of the Marx Brothers. They're from a hundred years ago, yet their comedy is so unique and fast paced. An interesting thing ai've noticed though is that modern audiences often don't "get" it, and the word play is happening so fast they don't even realize four jokes have been thrown out in the span of an instant.

[@raoularmagnac2037]

I totally, completely agree! 👍 I just LOVE the Marx Brothers! They are definitely my FAVORITE comedy team of all time! 😅🥸🤣

[@phantasm8180]

“These are my values.. if you don't like them, I have others" ... Groucho Marx.

[@JoshMaxPower]

Let us add "The Paramount Films" are unique and fast-paced. :) "Go West," not so much.

[@sleathymofo]

I'm more of a Three Stooges fan but yes, the Marx Brothers were brilliant!

[@bobtaylor170]

If you're a Groucho fan, you'll want to watch the many "You Bet Your Life" shows here on KZbin. I adore Groucho, though I prefer W.C. Fields just a little. Fields never had a TV show, and it's probably just as well. Groucho always gave too much credit to George S Kaufman and other writers. Those "You Bet Your Life" programs show what a blazing fast wit the man actually had.

[@KatSuYeah]

I always wondered how awkward laugh track situations would be irl, where everyone just sits there in silence since it's real life, not a tv show, no laugh track will play "You can't get me to come" and then it's just 10 seconds of staring at each other

[@pigeontalkcomedy]

Brilliant video, said I lot of stuff I have been thinking for years about 'comedies' these days. Thanks for putting it together and share it.

[@motioninart]

❤️

[@RuinsOfMetal]

I always thought the Leslie Neilson would have made a great addition to The Office as Michael Scott's father.

[@daeviant]

His biological father or Jeff?

[@RuinsOfMetal]

@@daeviant biological, either father or grandfather

[@funkahontas]

That would've explained so much about Michael.

[@christophercoe598]

Comparing absurdist comedy to grounded (albeit silly) comedy... point undermined right from the start.

[@MrAsan0]

That's so weird I literally rewatched Naked Gun the other day then this appears in my recommended. I'm from the UK and had no idea there was a police squad series so I'll definitely be watching that! Great analysis on the modern comedy show, I've been finding myself wondering why I can watch "comedies" and barely smile then watch something like Airplane or Monty Python and be laughing out loud. I'd love to see you analyze Monty python.

[@feridunyunus8187]

Leslie Nielsen and Peter Sellers were the pioneers of TV comedy in my opinion. Every movie that Peter Sellers did were also masterpieces in comedy

[@motioninart]

I want to do a video on Sellers one day

[@TheDarkestMarcus]

Two of my favorite comedies of all time definitely fit this mold. 30 Rock and Scrubs. Two shows that were only thirty minutes in length but featured twice as many jokes as any other contemporary show.

[@IAMTHESTARMAN]

Both great shows. 30 Rock with Dr. Spaceman. Just watch a Spaceman compilation and you’ll understand why this series is so great.

[@kaitlyne1870]

The problem I have with this type of video is that there's more than one style of comedy, and that's OK. Sometimes I love ridiculous comedy like this show or Monty Python, sometimes I want something a little more straightforward or even slightly realistic. Clearly people find The Office funny, and Monty Python is hilarious as is Stephen Fry's style of comedy like in Jeeves and Wooster. They're all drastically different, but all equally valid and I personally enjoy all of them at different times, depending on the mood I'm in. Please stop trying to set such rigid rules for certain genres. ESPECIALLY comedy!

[@evelynwilson1566]

I agree, the likes of Naked Gun, Police Squad, Airplane etc are really a genre of their own. You know to suspend disbelief and expect all sorts of silliness. You really have to be in the mood for them, and if you're not, they can be quite tiresome. I'm not criticising Police Squad by the way, I thought it was very funny and I love Airplane. However, it seems to me that what the creator of this video is simply saying is 'I like absurdist comedy and all comedies should use its techniques.' Well, there were bad and indifferent absurdist comedies, they were not all Airplane, and these techniques would just not fit in a sit-com which was based in more realistic situations where you have to believe in the characters.

[@dusthymn8187]

I agree, the thumbnail appealed to me because i actually liked 2 broke girls, and i binged it recently

[@humpteedumptee8629]

I think hes referring to the dumbing down. ironically as its silly comedy. but nowadays most jokes are 1 line and no tracking. its hard to write a good story driven joke that requires background knowledge. people praise rick and Morty for having more developed jokes that involve the audience paying attention across episodes and seasons and also having background info not given at the show. or a lot of standup types require brought in information. but for whatever reason nowadays people are generally more ignorant. you cant make a Mussolini joke if 90% of the population don't know the name... you cant joke about gulags if 90% of the population dont know what they are or that they lasted until the 90's... there simply more attention attractors and most are idle and lazy. they add nothing and subtract nothing, just good ole time sinks. I personally blame the internet. despite in general having more information. there is no collective information shared within the public consciousness. if you were raised in the 50's everyone had the same articles, newpapers, encyclopedia, and watched the same movies and shows. so knowing what people already views you could use that for more developed dialogue. now its hard to speak to general audience as it all over the place. it could be the i consumed nothing but obscure anime for 15 years or I consumed nothing but beauty videos and articles. which its nice to have more options and for everyone to pick their entertainment. but from a writing prospective it makes it really hard to target and land well formed joke.

[@PrincessLioness]

@@humpteedumptee8629 Does this video take into account culture. Like you said not all people will get a joke because they weren’t exposed to certain aspects that makes the joke funny. Which I don’t think is a bad thing. What people in Japan find funny is different than what people in England find funny. It is what it is.

[@kaitlyne1870]

@@humpteedumptee8629 I get the general point you're making, but this is a very different (possibility better) argument than was made in the video. You don't need cultural context to get the joke when they say "please take a seat" and the other person walks off with one of the chairs, which is the type of joke he's talking about with taking things too literally. It probably is a LOT harder to write culturally relevant jokes into a script these day, but there's still material to work with as we're all pretty well aware of the generational stereotypes, for example, as well as other widely known topics. It would be doable though, if you keep in mind the top few demographics making up your target audience and write some jokes just for each. The Big Bang Theory is a pretty good example of a show being very successful despite catering to a very niche audience, but entertaining a very broad one. There's certainly lazy comedy, I won't argue with you on that! But to say that it all needs to follow one formula that over saturated the market 40 years ago (like the video argued, not that you did) is also pretty lazy. Sometimes you have to try something that ends up sucking just to see what new ways comedy can work.

[@annaselbdritt7916]

The literal humour of showing metaphors/common phrasings literally gets tired very fast. It stops being unexpected even faster.

[@josephquezada6138]

its outdated

[@Kevin_Street]

"I'm a locksmith... And I'm a locksmith." I love Police Squad. You really can watch it over and over.

[@notquitedone51]

It's so interesting and paradoxical that a show gets cancelled because it forces people to watch attentively to fully appreciate it.

[@andrewalden8364]

Over 30-40 years later, the Airplane! movies and the Naked Gun movies are still some of my favorite movies. And I’m 42.

[@plutoburn]

I really liked Fraiser, it was such a well written sitcom that was overshadowed by Friends in terms of mainstream popularity even though critics loved it too.

[@kuzcosmkswed117]

Yeah it’s funny that my mother would watch friends with my sister, while my mom would watch Fraiser with my father and my brother. So it was basically a win win. I also really enjoyed the Larry Sanders show that show felt like a spin-off from Seinfeld lol! Definitely ahead of its time.

[@nikolaikuvshinikov2450]

This should just be called "Why I Love Police Squad!" lmao

[@motioninart]

Or so the Germans would have you believe

[@mocatwist22]

I think you can really see this style of comedy in the first few Scary Movies. (Nelson actually appeared!) After the third movie they really started to go in the direction of the more bland modern comedy

[@motioninart]

Agreed. The style completely changed and degraded over time.

[@TheFacrecords]

I suspect that The Scary Movie franchise is the bottom echelon of modern absurdist humor.

[@pennnel]

The reason that this show and Naked Gun/Airplane work is because the actors, despite saying hilarious lines, deliver them like a normal sentence. They aren't making jokes, they're having conversations that just happen to be funny.

[@pandaman1331]

Naked Gun, Scary Movie, Hot Shots. These kind of movies had a foolproof recipe to make you laugh.

[@matthewtaylordeoppressolib7141]

That's when they cut out the wayans brothers

[@andrewgeisthardt4076]

I’d go with Simpson’s first 10 seasons, some of the best comedy ever

[@zagnorch1336]

I disagree; I think his first nine seasons with the Bills were downright legendary. His last two with the 49ers... not so much.

[@thathandsomedevil0828]

Seasons 3 to 9 of family guy, for me. 🤣👍

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

Police Squad is superb. Been rewatching it for 30 years!!

[@motioninart]

So good

[@TheFiddle101]

So true. Thanks for the reminder. I'm going to watch some of it this evening. There are so few visual gags nowadays.

[@riquiffer]

Guys hold on, we've got here a comedy intelectual

[@HolyCanoley]

"I really like Police Squad...and I'm going to insinuate that the 5 crappiest 'comedy' shows on TV today, are somehow representative of ALL comedy today."

[@iamsirpablo]

I've never heard about this show and now I can't wait to watch it! Thank you for making a video about it!

[@motioninart]

Ugh. This makes me so happy. Let me know what you think!

[@Histerix]

This gave birth to the naked gun series

[@emitizmo7456]

Maybe watch the Naked Gun 1 & 2 first then go for the show.

[@dennishena1399]

RIGHT! I grew up loving “The Naked Gun” films, and didn’t know that “Police Squad” wasn’t just the name of the police force in those movies, but the name of a TV Show. Leslie Neilson was a comedic-genius!

[@BGNOLA]

Yeah its the best. I know it was based on M SQUAD; there's a comparison video between the two on KZbin

[@grantmcgee6163]

I actually never knew there was a tv show before the naked gun movies. I was excited to go check it out until you said there are only 6 episodes. Great video essay! Your points were excellent

[@motioninart]

thank you grant. means a lot.

[@VinnieGer]

Wait a minute, this isn’t a critique on comedy. Its just a 13 minute ad for Police Squad.

[@bigbrad6828]

When I was growing up police squad, the naked gun, airplane and top secret were considered dumb comedies. I always loved them but I appreciate pretty much all types of humor and this style has always been my favorite.

[@THeOliveGardin]

Wow than the stuff today would be considered downright Neanderthal material👀 What would've been considered a 'smart' comedy?

[@cardiffpicker1]

How silly can you get?

[@mipmipmipmipmip]

Maybe there were just always people saying "MoSt CoMeDy ThEsE dAyS iS nOt As GoOd As It UsEd To Be!!!"

[@bigbrad6828]

@@mipmipmipmipmip probably

[@chazzmccloud36]

I introduced my kids to the Naked Gun when they were pretty young. They were getting good laughs throughout, but the scene where Frank closes the wrong eye trying to look through the magnifying glass had my boys completely in tears. They've been Leslie Nielsen fans ever since. So ridiculous!

[@dohadeer8242]

The modern equivalent of Police Squad was the 2012 UK TV show 'A Touch of Cloth'. Like Police Squad it was a parody Police procedural show with an identical type of humour to Police Squad, tons of background visual gags that weren't drawn attention to. The UK show also had actors who normally worked on UK police dramas, so they brought the same performance style to the parody.

[@NicDoesDumbThings]

Great job using Police Squad to show a comparison between then and now's TV comedy. Last time I watched it I was laughing so hard and I didn't understand how they were able to be so funny

[@coopdville855]

"Cigarette?" "Yes,it is." I so rarely laugh out loud. I did when I heard that, though.

[@HimynameisJermHicks]

Same here and then the tail part. :D

[@caldw615]

Reminds me the line in Airplane! "You better tell the captain we've got to land as soon as we can. This woman has to be gotten to a hospital. -"A hospital? What is it?" "It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now"

[@MrvlZmb]

Maybe six episodes were enough. They were so joke-rich that I’d be astounded if they managed to keep it up.

[@elikartel]

Police Squad feels like a shitpost

[@aliminator1310]

I love how this video's title keeps changing every time I see it!

[@motioninart]

any suggestions? haha

[@aliminator1310]

@@motioninart I feel your title, "Why Police Squad is Amazing" was pretty fitting, since you focused primarily on that show, its specific strengths, and what you thought was lacking in more modern shows.

[@tobigrantlbart]

I think my favourite thing in a tv show that just happend in a background was a season long joke in Community of Abed meeting a pregnant woman, greeting her several times just to later on deliver her baby completely in the background of the series. It may just a be a little detail and it went over my head several times until one rewatch I was like: "My god that thing about Abed delivering a baby wasn't just filler dialogue, it really happend!"

[@misslaurarh]

I’m not gonna lie, I don’t get on with this comedy. Once you know the comedy is based entirely on puns, it’s no longer a surprise once the next one is done. And the next, and the next…

[@SaikolaM]

Me either. I didn’t even crack a smile during this video. The humor seems very dated

[@darylesells19]

Hear hear. Didn’t even smile once. “Put a tail on her before she leaves.” Oh golly, I wonder where this is gonna go! If this is seen as intelligent comedy then I’m simply a dunce.

[@sebastiangrundler7640]

@@SaikolaM give an example of good humor.

[@sebastiangrundler7640]

But would you watch 10 seasons of any other modern sitcom?

[@pmcate2]

totally agree

[@luster5497]

It's literal jokes vs sitcom jokes. You're comparing two different genre. There's a difference, it's okay if you prefer the first

[@AManWithAVoice]

Humor is subjective....but that KZbin ad revenue isn't

[@luster5497]

@@AManWithAVoice Bias ad-monetization probably counts as subjective though?

[@aVanGeLz07]

Very good video! I keep explaining this to my friends and they don't understand this form of comedy.

[@bensondavido4525]

I think 30Rock and Arrested development are the closest we have had to police squad in the recent years

[@galvanizedgnome]

30rock is gross

[@yeshwantdasari2075]

@@galvanizedgnome good god Lemon, have some decency

[@rodmunch6865]

I agree with Arrested Development, but not 30Rock. I think some of the more modern examples are Community(ik its over 10 years old) and Bojack Horseman

[@mr.sinjin-smyth]

What about The Office or Parks and Recreation?

[@nuckygulliver9607]

there's a 1990s sitcom called Hammer that is in the Airplane style of comedy. It was the only tv comedy to embrace that style. It was hilarious in the 90s but completely forgotten now

[@kingchuckfinley]

Angie Tribeca was a great homage to the Zucker Brothers style of comedy. It ran for a couple seasons, but probably found the same fate for the same reasons. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes this style of comedy.

[@Kevin_Street]

Angie Tribeca was a good try, but they couldn't keep up the sheer density of jokes required. Possibly because you need a big budget to constantly introducing new props and speaking characters that only appear in a single scene. I did love the episode where she chases a suspect through a bunch of different weddings. It must have cost a bundle to film, but it was hilarious.

[@kingchuckfinley]

@@Kevin_Street yeah I agree, but it’s the best try we’ve had I think. Very fun and really the only show that truly attempted that style.

[@unclechaelsneckvein]

- I can take him blindfolded. - What if he's not blindfolded? This joke was so fast and clever I was still waiting for the punchline for a couple seconds before I realized what he said.

[@reinderrider45]

“Who the hell are you and how did you get here?” “Im the locksmith, Im a locksmith” 😂

[@motioninart]

Greatest setup and punchline

[@worganfreeman2694]

"Cigarette?" "Yes, I know" O.O That hilarious line will forever stay with me.

[@vjizzzle1]

That lay up tho 😂😂😂

[@motioninart]

nothing but net

[@slevinchannel7589]

@@motioninart 0:05: Craziest Thing is that the GOP iis arguably at Fault for the decreasing Standart of various Stuff. If you dont believe me, watch the Third GOP-Video of 'Some More News.'

[@majoraswrath6182]

The thing about modern comedy i feel is what it serves to relieve. In the past, society was more limiting in any ways, there was significantly stricter social expectations and limitations. So, comedy was more absurdist and about experimentation because it was meant to relieve the tension in of what some may feel is mundane life. Now, life has become crazier and less rigid, life is as absurd as fiction, so, comedy writing is instead mundane to contrast.

[@axewieldingmilena]

Great video! A well needed one! :)

[@dududu5189]

Good old _Spoof_ humour! I watched *Police Squad* when it was shown on UK TV after the success of *The Naked Gun!* *Sledgehammer* was another favourite when I was a teen.

[@motioninart]

Haven’t heard of sledgehammer. Is it still going or where can I watch it?

[@dududu5189]

@@motioninart kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKKVYaSpfJymqbM The rest of season 1 are also on KZbin. It's a kind of spoof on the *Dirty Harry* films.

[@motioninart]

@@dududu5189 i cant wait. thank you.

[@devenscience8894]

His parents, Jack and Armen Hammer. Loved that show when I was young.

[@nuckygulliver9607]

yeah Sledgehammer was great. It was the only tv comedy to use the airplane style. Completely forgotten now I thought. It's surprising to see it mentioned. Hardly anyone knew it existed when it was on tv even. Very fringe. great show

[@YasmeenCheM]

I've never heard of Police Squad before but from what snippets you've added in the essay, this is definitely a show for me! But only 6 episodes though? That's just criminal!

[@georgebailey8179]

There were three Naked Gun movies made, which are sequels to the series.

[@YasmeenCheM]

@@georgebailey8179 Oh, I've heard of the Naked Gun movies but never seen it. I'll definitely put it in my to-watch list. Thanks!

[@diegowushu]

Police Squad was soo good. I rewatched it this year and it's amazing how it holds up. Brilliant piece of TV.

[@hovno342]

All the older comedies like Police Force or Hot Shots are (TO THIS DAY MIND YOU) aired on Czech and Slovak TVs because they are gold and everyone enjoys them.

[@gabrielstirling3207]

I’ve watched Airplane before but never Police Squad. Brilliant to see that same humour being executed (and dear Leslie Nielsen).

[@fairypoo]

The Naked Gun movies is his same character from police squad

[@matthulik5832]

I haven't heard of this show until this video, and I can tell there's a lot to appreciate about it, and it must have served as inspiration for many future shows. HOWEVER..... There are few things I find less funny, than knowing what happens next, and since the show seemingly relied heavily on puns as well as purposeful misunderstandings, very quickly, as a viewer, you are going to start picking up on things like the 'toe truck' gag. You basically get trained to expect the exact way a joke will unfold, and I can see that getting old pretty quickly. Captivating stuff abounds by no specific rules, and as much as I understand what was meant by 'people had to WATCH it', I do think people would have, if the style was able to stay fresh and unexpected. It also could just be a style that few enjoy, but they do so with vigor.

[@kevinarun9842]

First video of yours I've watched. Subscribed!!!

[@motioninart]

Welcome aboard! Thanks

[@fusakei1825]

I'm autistic so a lot of the time i comprehend the police squad punchlines first before they are revealed, like when he said hunch back, i immediately assumed he was saying "hunchback" and it was after that i had to rethink and go "oh he is making us think he is saying "hunch..back" and with the "put a tail on her" obviously I understood it as a literal tail before i realized it was being used as a phrase people say