Best comedy TV questions of all time

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The Golden Girls picture

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Question: In different episodes a mug can be seen in the ice machine section on the outside of the fridge, which changes colors and patterns from episode to episode. Is there any significance to it?

Answer: Ice makers were a new invention, advertisement purposes.

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The Office picture

The Cover-Up - S6-E23

Question: In the beginning, when Jim and Pam are supposedly communicating through Morse Code, do they actually saying anything? What about the end with Pam and Dwight? What is said? Or is it just random clicks, taps, and blinks to seem like Morse Code for the audience?

Bishop73

Answer: This is what a person on Reddit wrote regarding Jim and Pam: I know Morse code well, and most of it was gibberish, especially Jim's clicks. Pam's second transmission was almost intelligible as SE HE IT (3 clicks 1 click, 4 clicks, 1 click, 2 clicks and long click). "

raywest

Answer: I only know the part about the detonator, the rest might be random but Jim said "There is a detonator in this office."

Is that what is actually clicked out? Seems way too long for what how short the scene is. Or are you just guessing that's what was implied because of Dwight's reaction.

Bishop73

Answer: I tried to solve it, seemed like random clicking to me.

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Malcolm in the Middle picture

Christmas - S3-E7

Question: What does "du kaya mischna" mean? Ida says it when falling asleep during the Christmas episode with Francis.

Answer: It is made up - although it is implied she is Croatian, she never mentions it herself.

Answer: Right, complete nonsense. Du, obvious pain prefix for two, Kaya is drugs in Jamaica and a fruit, coconut thing in Asia, and Mishna, spelled multiple ways, are certain types of studies in Hebrew.

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Kickin' It picture

New Jack City - S2-E19

Question: When Carson arrives at the dojo he is friends with everyone except for Jack. But Kim didn't know any of the other kids until Jack because she was a black dragon. How did they all know him?

Meggrundmeier

Answer: Because he was friends with Kim but he went to the same dojo as the other kids that's how he knows both Kim and the other kids.

No, it never said that. Maybe I'm mistaken, but she wasn't cool with anyone from Bobby Wasabi at the alleged time. So if she did know Carson it wasn't like they were friends, more like enemies if they did know each other.

Answer: Kim says Carson taught her to dance, so we can assume they were friends. Even though Kim was a Black Dragon and didn't hang out with the Wasabi kids, she could easily have been friends with Carson since they went to the same school.

Answer: Because Jack came through a wall.

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Answer: Both.

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Answer: Yes, it is.

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The Andy Griffith Show picture

Convicts-at-Large - S3-E11

Question: Beginning with the "Convicts at Large" episode in season 3, full width window boxes appear at the bottom of both front windows on the inside of the Sheriff's Office. Prior to this episode, they did not exist. Window boxes are often used to display decorative plants but I don't see any plants. And if they were supposed to partially block the background, the blinds were long enough to accomplish that. I find it hard to believe that the producers would spend additional money (for material and labor) for something that seems to serve no purpose. So why were they added?

Answer: Those "boxes" are valences that used to be very common, before air conditioning. They allow for windows to be open during rain storms. They permit air circulation, without letting the rain in.

Answer: As noted in the previous answers, in real life, things like this provided wind and/or rain deflection, and also maintained a bit of privacy when blinds were raised somewhat. The interior courthouse set was located in the studio, so the "outside" Main Street didn't exist. I believe these things were added to the courthouse windows for practicality, to avoid some crew movement being visible on the opposite side of those windows. These are not "window boxes" to hold anything, as they're actually bottomless; we can see the Venetian blind's long pull cords under them. They're made of plywood and simple to build, so the "material and labor" was inexpensive. Similar variations made of different materials are in other movies/shows. In 1957's "12 Angry Men," textured chicken wire glass panels are in the jury room windows, and in "Jesse Stone: Night Passage" another type is in Jesse's office windows.

Super Grover

Answer: I suspect these were common, as to block the wind from blowing the blinds and papers on the desk.

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Roseanne picture

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Question: In the episode where Jackie goes to Roseanne's house and complains that she is overdue, she says something along the lines of she will be 80 years old with a 35 year old kid inside her. Well she lifts up her shirt and that pregnant belly looks real. Here's the question, was Jackie pregnant in real life?

Answer: Yes she was. When Laurie Metcalf, who played Jackie, became pregnant during the series, her pregnancy was written into the storyline; her pregnant belly is real. At the end of the episode where Jackie gives birth, there is a photo of Laurie Metcalf in the hospital just after she had her baby.

raywest

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Red Dwarf picture

Kryten - S2-E1

Question: When Holly is saying about how he has changed music he says that because of the 2 new notes he's made instruments would be bigger. "Triangles will have four sides. Piano keyboards the length of zebra crossings. Course, women will have to be banned from playing the cello." I don't understand the joke about the cello part. Could someone please tell me what he means?

Answer: The cello is a large four-stringed instrument, which, when it is played, stands vertically on the floor between the player's legs (assuming they are seated). If it is to grow as large as the other instuments mentioned will, it would require a rather unseemly lack of femininity to be able to encompass it with the legs.

Rooster of Doom

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Friends picture

The One With The Jellyfish - S4-E1

Question: When Ross and Rachel are fighting, Chandler hides behind the door and bursts out saying, "I knew it!" When Rachel says, "It's not that common, it doesn't happen to every guy, and it is a big deal!" is this just a Chandler moment or is there another joke I have missed?

Answer: The statements that she's contradicting (that it is common, it happens to every guy, and it's not a big deal), are the things that a woman commonly says to a man who is suffering from erectile difficulty, typically to assuage his bruised ego. However, most men do not believe that these statements are true, as evidenced by Chandler's outburst. He's so caught up in the proof that women are lying about it that he gives himself away.

Rooster of Doom

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M*A*S*H picture

Ceasefire - S1-E23

Question: General Clayton says that he confirmed the news of a ceasefire with "CINCOMPAC" (according to the subtitles). What the heck is CINCOMPAC?

Answer: It is actually Cencompac for Central Command of the Pacific. It is like the headquarters for all military activity in the Pacific Region (Japan, Korea, Okinawa, etc. The newer version of that is United States Pacific Command (USPACOM).

EMTurbo

And the abbreviations were used mainly by the Navy. Especially CENCOMPAC.

Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Indo-Pacific_Command.

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Chosen answer: Her agent/manager negotiated a special billing as part of her contract. It distinguishes her from the rest of the cast, probably when she became a producer on the show.

JC Fernandez

Answer: She became a producer.

Incorrect. Her billing changed in season 4 but she didn't become a producer until season 5.

Bishop73

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Family Guy picture

Business Guy - S8-E9

Question: In the episode, Peter threatens to fire Lois, and she responds with "you wouldn't" and Peter then replies with "Oh really, does the name Lacey Chabert mean anything to you?" which in turn makes Lois go wide eyed and reply with "OK, I'll behave" and Peter then goes on to add "Yes you will" Can anyone explain this joke if it is a joke to comprehend?

Answer: Lacey Chabert was the actress who originally voiced Meg in early episodes. She left of her own accord due to being in school and other acting work; Seth MacFarlane has stated there was no tension with her leaving, but it makes for a handy joke for the show.

Jon Sandys

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Monk picture

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Question: If Monk is afraid of germs, then why does he keep touching things that could possibly have germs on them like parking meters or books?

Answer: Notice also that in the opening credits scene when he is touching parking meters her also wipes his hand on his clothes each time he does it.

Answer: That's the thing about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It's not something rational. He just has to touch things like that. It's not something he can rationally think through. However, since part of his disorder includes an obsession with cleanliness, he also has an assistant walk around handing him wipes periodically. It's like when he gets a cold and uses both a humidifier (because that's what you use when you're congested) and a dehumidifier (to counteract the effects of the humidifier). He may spout rationalizations after he does something, but his compulsions exist outside of any rational thought whatever.

Garlonuss

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Answer: She was in the show 90210, so I'm guessing it's a reference to something she did in the show?

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The Brady Bunch picture

54-40 and Fight - S1-E15

Question: Would someone please explain to me why Marcia did not just simply remove her dangly bracelet that endangered the girls standing in the house of cards competition after Carol said "Oh Marcia, Marcia, your bracelet"? It would have made it less stressful on her not to mention her team, and she wouldn't have had to restrain it with her other hand.

Answer: The dangling bracelet was used for dramatic purposes - to keep the audience on edge.

Answer: There were several episodes throughout the run of the show where Marcia was infatuated with a guy she went to school with. This bracelet could have been a gift from her then-boyfriend; as such, she would not want to take it off, as a sign of loyalty. A stupid thing to do, of course, but it's not a mistake for a character simply to be dumb.

Matty Blast

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Night Court picture

Hi Honey, I'm Home - S1-E13

Question: In this episode, a married woman is surprised to discover that her first husband, a soldier who was MIA and then declared legally dead is still alive. How would this affect her marriage to her second husband? Is she still legally married to her first husband?

Answer: Being declared legally dead is called "death in absentia", meaning there is no evidence of death (i.e. a body), but the individual is presumed dead. This can happen to anyone, not just MIA soldiers. If a spouse petitions the courts to grant a divorce on the presumption of death and all criteria are meet, they are legally divorced and free to remarry. The return of the presumed dead would not change the divorce ruling. However, if a spouse does not go through the legal steps prior to remarrying, then the return of the presumed dead spouse would nullify and void the 2nd marriage immediately (and the remarried spouse could face bigamy charges).

Bishop73

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Frasier picture

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Question: Counting his role on Cheers, Kesley Grammar has played Fraiser for twenty years. Is this the record for the longest portrayal of a character by a TV actor?

Answer: It equals the record of James Arness of "Gunsmoke" for the actor who's played the same part on TV NOT in a soap opera. If you include soaps there are two main contenders - William Roache, who's been playing Ken Barlow in "Coronation Street" in the UK since 1960. Don Hastings has been playing Robert Hughes in US soap "As the World Turns" since 1960 as well.

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Everybody Loves Raymond picture

Pet Cemetery - S5-E5

Question: Frank found a small amount of money with his metal detector at the end. He left saying he would buy a "yoohoo". Does anyone know what that is?

Answer: The original Yoo-hoo is a chocolate flavored drink in a bottle, but there are other flavors, most popular being Double Fudge Yoo-hoo and Strawberry Yoo-hoo.

Super Grover

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The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air picture

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Question: Does anyone know why Janet Hubert-Witten was replaced? I've heard rumours that she didn't get along with the rest of the cast, is this true?

Answer: Yes. It's very true. Janet quit at the end of the third season because she claims that Will acted horribly, bullied cast and crew on the set and got her fired for no reason. Alfonso Ribeiro however has called her "cuckoo" and stated that her claims were baseless. He also stated that she was very difficult to work with on set. Even James Avery agreed and often had to remind her that the show was called "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and not "Philip and Vivian of Bel-Air."

Answer: To avoid the confusion, I mentioned "Good Times" only in response to a former submission on here that she was on Good Times at one point (that submission was deleted shortly afterwards, but my Good Times response somehow stayed on here causing the confusion.

Answer: She was never on Good Times. She didn't start acting until the early 80s. Good Times ended in 1979.

This question isn't about Janet being on Good Times. It's about her being replaced.

To avoid the confusion, I mentioned about "Good Times" only in response to a former submission on here that she was on Good Times at one point (that submission was deleted shortly afterwards, but my Good Times response somehow stayed on here causing the confusion).

Answer: She became pregnant in real life, which would have messed up the story line. They would have had to add a fifth kid.

They did add a fifth kid.

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