Advertisement
Dublin: 14 °C Tuesday 5 November, 2024

13 of the best TV gags from the past 20 years

“IT TASTES LIKE FEET!”

WHETHER it’s one offs or running jokes. There’s space for them all (well, a very small number of them) here…

1. The Rural Juror on 30 Rock

roar tumblr tumblr

The tenth episode of the first season of 30 Rock is called The Rural Juror. It’s also the name of a movie Jenna (played by Jane Krakowski) is starring in.

Trouble is, ‘rural juror’ is hard to say, and none of Jenna’s co-stars can decipher what the film is actually called. And thus a great joke was born.

mounorman / YouTube

rural juror

2. Rachel’s trifle on Friends

Poor Rachel goes out of her way to make a delicious Thanksgiving desert for her pals. Trouble is the cookbook pages get stuck together and she ends up making a trifle which includes “beef sauteed with peas and onions” along with the cream, jam etc.

aae971ca48b7421bbc79a01a53691006

It also precipitates one of Ross’ funniest lines:
https://vine.co/v/hu7h2IDDtaX

3. The chicken dance on Arrested Development

Has anyone in this family ever even SEEN a chicken?

One of the most beloved recurring jokes on Arrested Development. The chicken dance sees each Bluth wheel out their own version of the moves in order to torment other family members.

WaffleSouls / YouTube

4. Jim’s pranks on The US Office

One of Jim’s favourite past-times is figuring out ways to annoy Dwight.

Some of his best moments:

jim1

jim2

jim3

jim4

prank imgur imgur

5. Stand for our National Anthem on Father Ted

It’s difficult to pick a stand out Father Ted gag (honorable mention for ‘small, far away’, Dougal’s crippling fear of women, the hairy babies etc) but we’ve gone for the simplicity of Ghost Town.

Alex Tommer / YouTube

6. Snake juice on Parks and Rec

dance

Drinking on Parks and Recreation always ends in hilarity, but the whole gang getting gee-eyed on Snake Juice is probably the funniest. Bonus points for Andy’s sweaty face and Ann’s hiccups.

TheJacobrox / YouTube

Honorable mention for the legend that is Lil Sebastian on Parks n Rec, and the banger of a tune written in his honour by Mouse Rat:

7. Surelook on Republic of Telly

mor

This Sherlock parody is one of Republic of Telly’s finest sketches, from ‘Moriarsey’ to Sherlock’s trademark ‘surelook’ catchphrase.

RTÉ Republic of Comedy / YouTube

8. The oven mitts on Malcolm in the Middle

Again, so simple. So perfect.

mitts1

mitts23

mitts3

mitts4

mitts5

mitts6

mitts7 imgur imgur

9. My Single is Dropping on 30 Rock

My single ‘My Single is Dropping’ is dropping.

rbiz / YouTube

10. White power suit on Broad City

One of the best comedies of recent years, laden with one liners and very clever jokes, Broad City season 3 can’t come soon enough.

suit

suit2

suit3 imgur imgur

11. Robin Sparkles on How I Met Your Mother

In a show which thrives on running jokes, the Robin Sparkles gag is one of the standouts. Robin’s been hiding a secret from her Canadian past… that she was a teenage pop idol. As the series progress, more and more of her pop career is revealed, including the song ‘Two Beavers is Better Than One’.

robin

 12. Dean Pelton’s puns on Community.

DEAN-DEAN-DEAN-DEAN-DEAN, DEEEAN, DEAN, DEAN, DEAN DEAN…

dean1 tumblr tumblr

dean

bar tumblr tumblr

dean tumblr tumblr

13. Free the Paedos on Peep Show

Jeremy and Super Hans are struggling to come up with a name for their new pub. Super Hans, being Super Hans, wants to call it Free The Paedos.

I’m just really not happy with Free The Paedos. Can’t we call it something more normal like – the Swan And Tomato?

Yeah? Or, compromise … The Swan And Paedo.

cold

Did we miss any of your favourites? Let us know in the comments…

TV show Community cancelled… 6 reasons why you’re a fool for not watching it>

19 jokes and references only Sherlock fans will get

What to watch on TV tonight: Saturday

Author
Emer McLysaght
View 12 comments
Close
12 Comments
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.