Seriously Geeky Sundays – Funny Guys

Oh megalolz, it’s time for a particularly funny rendition of the highly successful, and always inspiring, Seriously Geeky Sundays, the excellent series of writing challenges delivered by none only than Just Geeking By‘s inimitable Heather! Seriously, go check out her site (after reading things on mine), she really is in the elite guard of bloggers!

So thank you as ever, Heather, let’s get into the challenge, Hell for leather…

It’s National Tell a Joke Day today which means we’re asking you to tell us all about what makes you laugh.

Question 1 – What Makes You Laugh?

A very interesting question, and not one that is easy to answer. Many things make me laugh, witty writing, bizarre concepts, things that don’t fit quite right, seeing faces in inanimate objects, my wife…

If I had to choose one thing, I suppose, it would be my duo of cats, Salem and Chiana. They were adopted by my wife as kittens, and I came to meet them when they were about 6 or 7. They are now 15 and 13, getting on a bit, but are still absolutely hilarious. Whether they’re ruining Zoom calls, being alarmed by nothing at all or, in the case of our blind old girl Chiana, bumping into stuff, the hilarity never ends! Ad that isn’t even getting into when they lie in funny positions…

I know it’s not geeky, but cats do rule the internet and surely that counts for something?

Question 2 – What TV Show Makes You Laugh?

Time to visit the year 3000 to answer this one, it’s Matt Groening’s science fiction gem, Futurama. The story of Phillip J Fry, a delivery boy accidentally frozen in stasis on New Year’s Eve 2000 and wakes up in the distant future to become… a delivery boy!

Futurama‘s strength was in both Groening’s brilliant humour (just think classic Simpsons) and the excellently formed characters that inhabited this world, including the hilarious Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Hermes the clerk and, of course, Planet Express’s resident asshole robot, Bender. Also worth a mention is the amazingly funny Zapp Brannigan, an asshole space general who may just be the most inappropriate womaniser in the galaxy.

But the best character? This mechanical Beelzebub…

Question 3 – What is Your Favourite Comedy Movie?

I don’t watch too many comedy movies to be honest, if it’s my choice I usually go sci-fi or action or whatnot. One movie which I watched a few Christmasses back however, when it was my wife’s turn to choose the subject of our cinema trip: Why Him.

Why Him follows the adventures of a rather old fashioned guy, played by the mighty Bryan Cranston, whose daughter starts dating a young tech industry billionaire played by James Franco. Sparks fly when Cranston’s family are invited to stay in Franco’s billion dollar mansion and get to know him, resulting in the two characters knocking heads over every little thing and, of course, creating lots of comedy hijinks.

Whilst both Cranston and Franco gice excellent performances, it’s the ever underrated Keegan Michael-Key that steals the show as Franco’s assistant Gustav, a parkour master and all-around oddball who keeps Franco’s character on his toes by occasionally attempting to mock-assassinate him in order to build up his skills. Michael-Key is a really funny actor and definitely deserves any praise he gets.

Question 4 – What Scene Always Cracks You Up?

There is a scene from 1979’s Monty Python’s Life of Brian that is 100% guaranteed to break me very time I see it, the famous introduction of Pontius Pilate, as played by Michael Palin. When our dubious hero Brian is brought before the Roman governor, things soon go wrong as Brian (and Pilate’s own guards) constantly mishear him and are punished for laughing. Things get even worse, however, when he starts talking about his “very gweat fwiend in Wome” Biggus Dickus, goading the hapless guards into fits of laughter so he can have them fed to the lions.

What makes this scene so funny, however, isn’t even the scripted comedy. No, it’s the fact that Palin himself is clearly trying so damned hard not to laugh himself, adding a whole lovable amateurishness to the scene that somehow makes it even funnier! I mean, come on, just watch it!

Question 5 – Who Is Your Favourite Funny Guy/Girl?

You know who has revealed a real comedic side in his movie career so far, even more so the last few outings? Chris Hemsworth!

Yeah, Thor Ragnarok and the god of thunder’s subsequent outings in Avengers Infinity War and Endgame revealed hidden comedy depths to Thor, a character which seemed to be struggling to keep pace with his Avenger buddies since the disappointing Dark World. Don’t get me wrong, you absolutely cannot understate Taika Waititi’s influence in Ragnarok, but Hemsworth’s natural charm really sold a funnier, sillier side of Thor, as well as the other Marvel characters in the movie.

Question 6 – Who Is Your Favourite Comedian?

Okay, once again I’m going to cheat and choose a comedy duo who have, in their time, worked the standup circuit and now work on the excellent Cheapshow podcast, Paul Gannon and Eli Silverman.

I first encountered this mad duo on Barshens, a YouTube comedy venture between Stuart Ashen and Barry Lewis. Paul was the producer on the series and Eli featured in many episodes, being a bit of a fan favourite. Both have a really anarchic sense of humour and bounce off eah other really well, using Cheapshow to explore everything from knock off food brands to board games, vinyl and beyond.

I seriously recommend giving them a try!

Well ,wasn’t that a hoot? A roflcopter trip over a lolcano? Of course it was…

Anyway, thank you so much for reading and please do check out all of the other writers posting under the #SeriouslyGeekySundays hashtag on Twitter and Instagram!

See you all next week!