Norrin Radd
Vice Admiral
Which series was best at utilizing comedy within its episodes?
Which Star Trek series was best at comedy?
- Thread starter Norrin Radd
- Start date
I'll agree with that, they sometimes ATTEMPTED to be humorous. Whether or not they were is another matter...
tos was better at comedy the other series werent quite there though the funniest scene of trek was in ds9 when sisko hits q who says
"you hit me! picard never hit me"
"i'm not picard" replies sisko
"you hit me! picard never hit me"
"i'm not picard" replies sisko
DS9. You can get a lot of humour out of the mundanity of going nowhere on a space station.
I'll second that!
I'll second that!
DS9 was the best at attempting humour followed by TOS, but the truth is that Star Trek was not very good at comedy in my own personal opinion. Stargate carried it off better.
DS9 probably, followed by TOS.
I thought DS9 was particularly good at dark humour which often appeared in moments with Garak, for example, or between the likes of Weyoun and Damar.
It also managed to pull of some amazing stuff like "In the Cards" which is really, really funny but never once simply becomes a comedy. It manages to weave the funny and the serious stuff seamlessly.
There were also some great comedy episodes, I felt, such as "Take Me Out to the Holo-Suite". But there were also some that didn't do so well.
I think the characters were part of the reason why IMHO humour worked better on DS9 or TOS than on TNG, VOY or ENT. They weren't as 'perfect' as the characters on the other shows where humour would usually come off as pretty stiff, I think. Their imperfections allowed for more humour just like real people in the real world can be funny precisely because of their flaws.
I thought DS9 was particularly good at dark humour which often appeared in moments with Garak, for example, or between the likes of Weyoun and Damar.
It also managed to pull of some amazing stuff like "In the Cards" which is really, really funny but never once simply becomes a comedy. It manages to weave the funny and the serious stuff seamlessly.
There were also some great comedy episodes, I felt, such as "Take Me Out to the Holo-Suite". But there were also some that didn't do so well.
I think the characters were part of the reason why IMHO humour worked better on DS9 or TOS than on TNG, VOY or ENT. They weren't as 'perfect' as the characters on the other shows where humour would usually come off as pretty stiff, I think. Their imperfections allowed for more humour just like real people in the real world can be funny precisely because of their flaws.
You READ my mind! It's a line or situation now and then that is funny in Trek. Especially the characters you mentioned, or sometimes when Spock is being excessively logical. Its "comedy" episodes don't make me laugh, though.
And I totally agree about the nonperfect characters in TOS and DS9.
Way of the Warrior is probably my most vivid memory so far, only b/c I rewatched it not too long ago. After our heroes rescue Dukat, he goes up to the bridge, only to find out that Sisko lost a bet to Dax. Out of all the chaos that's going on, the heavy and urgent tone throughout the two episodes, the two of them still manage to make fun of Dukat because, well, he's Dukat. I love it.
DS9. Some of the humor on TOS is not intentional, so it's not really a competition here.
You Are Cordially Invited stands out in my mind for an episode with many funny scenes, however TOS had the running riffs between Bones, Spock and Kirk that spanned the entire series. TNG had quite a few moments between Geordi and Data.
I'd rank them:
TOS
DSN
TNG
VOY
ENT
I'd rank them:
TOS
DSN
TNG
VOY
ENT
DS9 for me. The show didn't necessarily have to do comedy episodes to pull off a well timed funny. Quark/Odo and Bashir/O'Brien scenes are the highlight of any episode for me.
TOS does get some good comedic moments, but sometimes they just felt misplaced. Like at the end of an episode, Kirk's lost the girl, half his crew and a planet of godlike beings, but they can still all have a ruddy good chortle round the captain's chair
VOY did have some good comedy episodes but I don't think it was as sophisticated maybe DS9 was trying. And Enterprise always disappointed me by it's lack of comedy. The times they tried seemed to have fallen flat for the most part. (Is Precious Cargo supposed to be a comedy episode or is it trying to be legit?
)
TOS does get some good comedic moments, but sometimes they just felt misplaced. Like at the end of an episode, Kirk's lost the girl, half his crew and a planet of godlike beings, but they can still all have a ruddy good chortle round the captain's chair
VOY did have some good comedy episodes but I don't think it was as sophisticated maybe DS9 was trying. And Enterprise always disappointed me by it's lack of comedy. The times they tried seemed to have fallen flat for the most part. (Is Precious Cargo supposed to be a comedy episode or is it trying to be legit?
)
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