Does Trek tend to do comedy badly?

[suarezguy]

A lot of people like the Tribbles episodes and The Voyage Home but think that most other comedy-heavy installments are OK at best.

Which ones do you like and what separates them from the rest? Or do you like most of them?

If you dislike most of them, does a heavy emphasis on humor seem out-of-place in ST or is it more that they could work but the tone feels off?

 

[Melakon]

I think the franchise overall has a poor track record with comedy episodes. There might be occasional comic relief scenes that are well played, but their outright comedy episodes fail for me*. It might be because I prefer science fiction to be played straight, because we're already being asked to have a willing suspension of disbelief. The Voyage Home is my least favorite film.

* = VOY: Body and Soul comes closest to a passing grade for me though, mostly due to Jeri Ryan's impression of Robert Picardo.

 

[bbjeg]

Data singing Lifeforms was great.

 

[{ Emilia }]

How can you not love this?

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45VAelC_QsI[/yt]

 

[Greg Cox]

I think an occasional episode ep is a nice change of pace. I love The Voyage Home and "Little Green Men" is still one of my favorite DS9 eps.

But, yeah, not every comedy ep works. I'm actually not a big fan of the "Harry Mudd" eps on TOS. Carmel is great as Mudd, and I like the idea of a lovable rogue showing us another side of humanity in the 23rd century, but the eps themselves haven't aged well.

 

[Melakon]

A lot of the intentional comedy episodes feel overly rehearsed to me, especially when it comes to physical gags. It might be because the actors were rarely allowed to ad lib or improvise, especially in the Berman years.

 

[Simon Goldfarb]

I think the comedy element is always welcome as long as it does not detract from the credibility of the narrative.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

Body and Soul comes closest to a passing grade for me though, mostly due to Jeri Ryan's impression of Robert Picardo.

Definitely. That was far more than just an actress showing up to read her lines. Ryan was outstanding!

 

[Mojochi]

I'm in agreement with the majority here. Their comic moments are best in small doses. Some of Brent Spiner's funniest work of his entire career came in TNG moments, but an episode like A Fistful of Datas is just painful to bear

I think TOS could pass it off the best in larger servings, because of the character dynamic, but Spiner, Picardo & Shimmerman did well bringing funny moments to their respective shows too. Ultimately though, it really was best as a garnish & not the whole dish, with a very few exceptions aside

 

[erastus25]

Star Trek runs into the most trouble when it tried to make entire comedy episodes. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part hte franchise just can't carry a joke that long. Integrating an occasional gag into a "serious" plot works a lot better. DS9, especially, was good at this.

 

[The Wormhole]

Integrating an occasional gag into a "serious" plot works a lot better. DS9, especially, was good at this.

Hell yes! It's ironic, many often accuse DS9 of being the "dark Star Trek" but I think I've gotten more laughs from while watching DS9 than any other Trek series.

 

[Lance]

Yea, "funny moments" are great, but comedy episodes often..... aren't.

 

[The Wormhole]

Yea, "funny moments" are great, but comedy episodes often..... aren't.

Even then, I didn't have much of a problem with DS9's often maligned Ferengi comedy episodes. Sure, they got sillier as the show went on, but many of them were pure fun. Even the one with Quark in drag, terrible as that is has its moments.

Granted, the other series were all over the place with their comedies. Sometimes you had a decent one, sometimes it was terrible, and then there was Enterprise's A Night in Sickbay which is...best not to discuss.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Most of Star Trek's best comedy moments are relief scenes from very dramatic episodes.

Comedy episodes of Trek tend to try to tell the audience what's funny instead of making it funny ("You're a droid and I'm a noid"). And they tend to make the false assumption that good comedy operates on a lower intelligence level than good drama. My favorite comedy episodes of Trek have all been parodies (The Royale, Our Man Bashir, Bride of Chaotica) that used the holodeck as an excuse to be ridiculous without making the main characters act ridiculously.

But the funniest moments in Trek have been the times where the writers are just using naturally funny attributes of the characters instead of trying to force something to be funny.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I agree that it's the comedic moments in STAR TREK that are funny, rather than the so-called comedies of STAR TREK. Like THE VOYAGE HOME, I rank that movie right at the very bottom. And just barely above that is THE FINAL FRONTIER. There were comedy techniques which I would've liked to have seen, though, like breaking the 4th Wall, for example. Having something embarassing just happen and Picard turn and look directly into the camera like, "Can you believe this shit?" The problem with something like that of course is that they'd over-use it. And that's the one thing about STAR TREK that's always bothered me. Kill off a main character and bring him back once? Now, we have to see it every season. Every movie. Whatever. Blow up the main ship once? Now, it's part and parcel of this franchise for added "excitement." The "comedy" is even worse, in that regard and entirely overrated. The jokes are just horrible and rarely used to effect. I prefer playfulness to comedy. For example, in INSURRECTION, when Riker visits Troi in her office and is acting goofy around her, because the Planet of Youth's rings are making him feel friskier ... fresher ...

 

[Tim Walker]

Unfortunately, with the very few exceptions mentioned, Trek did not have an impressive record with comedy. Maybe do to the emphasis of the series, more given to drama?

Consider nuBSG, which was even less inclined to humor than Trek. On the other hand, Red Dwarf was mostly comedy in a space opera-ish universe, with an occasional serious moment.

Trek seems to work best as serious material with an occasional light hearted moment.

 

[erastus25]

Comedy episodes of Trek tend to try to tell the audience what's funny instead of making it funny ("You're a droid and I'm a noid").

But the funniest moments in Trek have been the times where the writers are just using naturally funny attributes of the characters instead of trying to force something to be funny.

Ughhhh. The early season TNG scripts were where laughter went to die. Some of that Data stuff is sooo bad.

Totally agree with your last point that I quoted here. They did a great job with this using Worf and Spock as straight men.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

Overall, I agree that the 'moments' work better. Picard trying to sleep on the Klingon ship in Reunification, Pt. I, for example, was comedy gold.

 

[Nightdiamond]

TNG and Trek in general didn't always do comedy that well IMO. there are smiles and grins but not the laugh out loud funny.

It's kind of hard to be funny when the atmosphere is stiff, safe and bland. Everybody in TNG was so safe!

Worf (with a headache) : Romulan Ale should be illegal
Geordi: It IS

That was supposed to be funny, but that just came out flat and tired.

Otoh, Data in Generations was funny. The Magnificent Ferengi was pretty funny.

TOS had some funny moments too.

The one I found most funny is actually Turnabout Intruder.

It wasn't intended to be funny, but the scenes with Lester in Kirk's body and when he has that crazy break down in front of everybody were hilarious.

Maybe that's why it was kind of funny. You have to see it to understand.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

You reminded me, Nightdiamond, of the one time with TNG that I actually did laugh out loud. And it was Troi, of all people!

Whatever episode it was, Troi was talking to Worf, and it was his birthday. Troi said something about how she'd understand if he'd want to be alone, and that he'd probably want to hit himself with a pain stick, or something. I don't know if it was the unexpected sarcasm from her or what, but it was such a great crack!