January 8, 2005

• "Deep Thought" of the Day

  Three_five commented that my Dec. 22 post reminded him of the old Saturday Night Live gag, "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey." Here is my favorite Deep Thought.
  

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  One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take
  my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old
  burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said, "Disneyland burned down." He
  cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty
  good joke.
  

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  Not bad! An innocuous
  opener, followed by the surprising twist and minor suffering.
  (Comedy tip: suffering children = guaranteed laughs!) The closing
  line raises the stakes and echoes the beginning. A solid performance from start to finish.

  So, then, why does Handey have to add another sentence?

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  I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was
  getting pretty late.

  ---

  This undermines the "liking
  to be tricked" sentiment, is not surprising, and gives the story a limp
  conclusion. But mostly, it is just not funny. What was he thinking?

  Still, the joke is clever overall. I give it a B+.

  • 2:05 pm
  • 1 Comment