Catchphrases - a thing of the past?

After remembering that Mitchell and Webb, to put it technically, owned Catherine Tate, I wondered if anyone else felt that the need for catchphrases is less powerful then in the heat of Little Britain.

I mean, I've never heard anyone say 'numberwang' and the last time I heard anyone say 'Am I bovvered?' was about a month ago, thank God.

I personally like comedy without giant laughs just for a four syllable phrase, but I wanted to see if anyone else shared this view?

Like 'em or hate 'em. The marmite of comedy.

Catchphrases can work and there is nothing wrong with them aslong as they aren't the focal point of the comedy. If your full sketch is just leading to the 'catchphrase' and then comes the laugh, then that is rubbish. If the rest of the sketch is hilarious and then the catchphrase is just that extra bit of familiarity at the end, then that is alright I say.

And in sitcoms, catchphrases can work aslong as they are not the main joke and also can work very well with certain characters, again I'm a massive Arrested Development fan...and that show has a few catchphrases that just seem to work so well without feeling forced, such as "I made a huge mistake"..."STEVE HOLT"..."Marry me" etc.

I hear Numberwang quite often actually. Only people put their own words before the wang part.

And I'm always hearing people do the "Thanks ants, thants" from Look Around You. Ony they put their own words in that too.

Maybe all the good catchphrases now are interactive.

"Are you having a laugh?"

"Are you having a laugh?"

*Fires missles*

Ricky Gervais is not my favorite comedian.

Well I'll say this slowly: that wasn't a real sitcom.

What wasn't? Extras?

Course it was. It was a (debatable to some although I quite enjoyed it) Comedy in a situation - Andy Millman was trying to get work as an Extra.

The catch phrase was in the sitcom within the sitcom.

I think zooo meant the sitcom within a sitcom.

I missed Extras, but I just don't like Ricky Gervais in general because I feel he used Britian as a stepping stone to get the USA.

Sorry - personal demon there.

Hey Treenifer, I was bored and looking at my first posts and saw a thread of yours and thought, I wonder what happened to Treenifer? And then here you are, spooky?

Yeah I mean the sitcom within a sitcom. The "You're having a laugh" part. He wrote that line specifically to be annoying. It's all about how crap catchphrase comedy is.

Quote: Martin Holmes @ May 28, 2007, 8:01 PM

And in sitcoms, catchphrases can work aslong as they are not the main joke and also can work very well with certain characters, again I'm a massive Arrested Development fan...and that show has a few catchphrases that just seem to work so well without feeling forced, such as "I made a huge mistake"..."STEVE HOLT"..."Marry me" etc.

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"COME ON!"

Quote: Martin Holmes @ May 28, 2007, 8:01 PM

And in sitcoms, catchphrases can work aslong as they are not the main joke and also can work very well with certain characters, again I'm a massive Arrested Development fan...and that show has a few catchphrases that just seem to work so well without feeling forced, such as "I made a huge mistake"..."STEVE HOLT"..."Marry me" etc.

View original

"Annyong"

I find catchphrases good in the sense that they can be a sign of "it is safe to laugh now" for the audience. Also, as a writer, having a catchphrase would help marketing. Both through merchandise with the catchphrase printed on, and also as free advertising through word of mouth. It is a lot easier for a comedy show with a catchphrase to be brought up because there is that catchy line that people will recognise. It is also about character, a catchphrase is seen as an extension of a character, and in that way you know it is the same character through the catchphrase.

And on the flip side, writers become lazy and use the catchphrase as a replacement for an actual punchline. So on the whole, they pretty much suck. If used correctly (probably when the writer is not aware of there being a catchphrase until someone picks up on it) then they can be good and useful.

"I am a alien"

Quote: Treenifer @ May 28, 2007, 7:57 PM

After remembering that Mitchell and Webb, to put it technically, owned Catherine Tate ...

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How do you mean, "own"?

Isn't "I am an Alien," from 3rd Rock from the Sun.