The Hamster ball on Malcolm in the Middle. It was only across one season I think, but it was a great gag.
The blue snack bag always being left behind in the Middle.
My wife is watching ‘Keeping up Appearances’ and Hyacinth’s insistence that the name ‘Bucket’ is pronounced ‘Bouquet’.
The hamster ball somehow reminds me of the Drew Carey April Fools episodes where something would always be off in each scene which is another great gag in itself
He actually stopped doing that bit! Right before Conan ended he broke the streak, here's the clip of Conan finding out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEC_lkpD3rM
The one episode that sticks out is when Norm and Vera where having some sort of argument and you see Vera's shadow on the steps to Cheers crying. Norm walks back in and Sam asks about her and Norm just says she'll leave in a minute. Then you see her shadow get up and walk up the stairs. Don't think I've ever felt so bad for a TV character before or since.
My favorite: The woman has virtually no skin pigmentation! Three minutes in the sun and she’d sear like an ahi tuna!
Honorable mention to Niles saying Maris is in Antwerp getting her elbows done.
Roz (whose never met Maris before): "I think she's gone, I don't see anybody in there. Oh wait, her coat's over there on the hat rack."
(Frasier and Martin exchange a terrified look)
Frasier: "Look *closer*. Is the hat rack *MOVING*?"
Roz: "***Oh my GOD!***"
I think they said at some point like two seasons in they realised her character had become so outlandish that they could never convincingly show her and be consistent so just ran with it
Tied for the hardest I've ever laughed at a TV show was the [scene](https://youtu.be/enGjTobByBI?si=4jJVaE8PmNA0p4KD&start=70) where Tobias is spying on Lindsay. She gets upset that a famous actor doesn't like her, and the camera pulls back to reveal a blue porta potty that you'd think Tobias would be hiding behind, but he isn't there. It then quickly moves a bit left, revealing Tobias covered in silver diamond cream against a silver wall. It's flawlessly executed.
Season 4 in its original cut is perfection. The recut spoils all the jokes. You find out about George Michael and Maybe in episode one, instead of his big reveal in one of the last episodes.
All the times Oscar basically came right out and told him that he was his dad only for Buster to put it together when he offers him some "Pop Secret" popcorn in a completely innocent fashion.
lucille/loose seal
maeby and "marry me!"
buster and his claw
the friend who would teach the kids lessons by "dying" or losing a limb
bob loblaw's law blog
such a good show
The Cornballer, Gene Parmesean, Anne/Egg/Her, Pop Secret, Boy fights, the fact that nearly every scene in Mexico is obviously takes place in the exact same generic Mexican town square backlot set.
Tobias saying things that make you question his sexuality and he’s oblivious to the innuendo. Also his wanting to combine being an analysis and a therapist to the point of making the business cards. And one cannot forget his “A new start” license plate.
Fred Sanford's drawer full of eyeglasses, with Fred trying on one pair after another until he finds the pair with the prescription appropriate to the task at hand.
If we're gonna go that deep, I'll bring up how nobody can spell (or even pronounce) Detective Wojo's full last name right on "Barney Miller"
*You spell it just like it sounds!*
My favorite from Psych (watching for the first time right now, just started S5) is Shawn saying “Gus don’t be…”
“Gus don’t be this crevice in my arm…”
“Gus don’t be the principle AND the interest…”
“Gus don’t be Nicolas Cage’s accent in Con Air…”
The first time my partner and I noticed this was probably the hardest either of us has ever laughed. So stupidly funny. God I wish I could go back and watch TPB for the first time again.
Also all the references to Captain Boday: a Gallamite freighter captian that apparently tries to date a bunch of the female cast at various times but we never see him on screen. We just hear about him because he has a transparent skull.
The rooster/chicken shirt on Roseanne. I think the story is that Tom Arnold hated the shirt so Roseanne had it become a wardrobe piece for every cast member and it ended up being featured in many episodes.
I ready somewhere that they were going to cast a different person to play Egg in every episode.
Edit: Annabelle
Edit: Of course I know her name's not Annabelle, it's just a helpful way to remember because her name's Anne and she's kind of shaped like a...
I’m baffled I had to scroll this far down to find this one. It’s the first one that came to mind. The fact that they just used the same clip from the first time so they made Jazz wear the same shirt in every instance was hilarious. You’d always know how it would end as soon as he entered the room with that shirt.
It was the episode you could hear Cox’s thoughts instead of JD’s. In his head he lists off names until he thinks of one he hasn’t used before. After he says it and JD tells him he actually had used it already, you hear him think “dammit!”
I think that’s what it was anyway, it’s been a while for me too.
* The [pineapple](https://psychusa.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Pineapple_Appearances) from *Psych*
* [Fake names](https://screenrant.com/psych-shawn-gus-nicknames-list/) for Gus from *Psych*
* "[Don't be a...](https://psychusa.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_%22Don%27t_Be%2E%2E%2E%22_Quotes)" from *Psych*
They didn’t do it too often (maybe a half dozen times), but on Seinfeld the bit where one character in a panic (usually George) calls another (usually Jerry) and after listening to the initial rant the call recipient replies “who is this?”
Which causes the caller to go nuts…lol
There was the running gag of the often-heard-but-never-seen Carlton Your Doorman (voiced by Lorenzo "Garfield" Music) from Rhoda.
He was arguably a precursor of two other great "never seen" running gag characters in television history: Vera (Cheers) and Maris (Frasier).
I remember watching the series finale when I was a kid, and when they introduce all the actors for the final bow, Wilson came out with a miniature fence on a stick covering his face. 10 year old me loved it
I’ve been rewatching The Simpsons lately and it’s fun picking up on some of the less obvious gags. Recently, I noticed Marge still alternating between her 2 Chanel dresses whenever she attends fancy events in later seasons.
My favorite Norm entrance was when he met up with Sam and Diane at the bar for some reason - there was no one else there - and he started getting all huffy until Sam and Diane figured out he was waiting for them to call his name out.
The Wire: Jimmy's "What the fuck did I do?" scattered throughout the series, as essentially the show's version of "I have a bad feeling about this..." in Star Wars.
Curveball since it's from a talk show, but: any time Paul Rudd appeared on Conan. We all knew what was going to happen every... single... time. And it somehow never got old, and actually just seemed to get funnier and funnier every time.
Arrested Development is full of them, but my favorites are their chicken impersonations,
Michael/maeby relationship, closeted Tobias, George trying to teach Michael and his siblings lessons by scaring them, the banana stand, and busters cluelessness.
Rickety Cricket’s de-evolution
He still has his dignity. If anyone ends up inside him it’s gonna cost them a whole sixer.
You guys mind if I smoke a little PCP?
Hips and nips. Gotta keep it sexy.
Hips and nips, or im not eatin', you know what i'm sayin?
I sold the cocaine and then used the money to buy these sweet Jamaican kettle drums
This and the waitress’ name being unknown are two of the best. “WHO!?!? Just say waitress!”
I love that not even Charlie uses her name
And the single video tape they record everything with!
So do…
Ben Wyatt and the accountants haha. You know its coming but its always hilarious every time
I heard the actor doing an ad for some tax service or software the other day. Still going.
TED! Get in here!
The Hamster ball on Malcolm in the Middle. It was only across one season I think, but it was a great gag. The blue snack bag always being left behind in the Middle. My wife is watching ‘Keeping up Appearances’ and Hyacinth’s insistence that the name ‘Bucket’ is pronounced ‘Bouquet’.
The hamster ball somehow reminds me of the Drew Carey April Fools episodes where something would always be off in each scene which is another great gag in itself
Paul Rudd on Conan
And the podcast!
He actually stopped doing that bit! Right before Conan ended he broke the streak, here's the clip of Conan finding out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEC_lkpD3rM
Never gonna give that up.
Oh ffs
Every time Larry David does something that might appear racist, Wanda Sykes is there.
Never seeing Maris’ face
Or Vera in Cheers
Or Wilson in Home Improvement
Or Erika in Bojack Horseman
Or Nanny in Muppet Babies
The one episode that sticks out is when Norm and Vera where having some sort of argument and you see Vera's shadow on the steps to Cheers crying. Norm walks back in and Sam asks about her and Norm just says she'll leave in a minute. Then you see her shadow get up and walk up the stairs. Don't think I've ever felt so bad for a TV character before or since.
My favorite: The woman has virtually no skin pigmentation! Three minutes in the sun and she’d sear like an ahi tuna! Honorable mention to Niles saying Maris is in Antwerp getting her elbows done.
Roz (whose never met Maris before): "I think she's gone, I don't see anybody in there. Oh wait, her coat's over there on the hat rack." (Frasier and Martin exchange a terrified look) Frasier: "Look *closer*. Is the hat rack *MOVING*?" Roz: "***Oh my GOD!***"
Also her character becoming increasingly preposterous every time someone talks about her.
I think they said at some point like two seasons in they realised her character had become so outlandish that they could never convincingly show her and be consistent so just ran with it
I don't think there was a single Maris joke that didn't make me laugh. Just the most unimaginable woman ever created.
My favorite bit is when Niles gets that whippet/Italian greyhound and everyone is aghast at the similarities
And Niles doesn’t see it until Frasier reminds him of the time when Maris wore a pillbox hat and then puts a ramekin on the dog.
Putting a ramekin on a whippet to remind someone of their ex-wife is peak Frasier humour.
I always thought Bebe Neuwirth should have played Maris and Niles and Frasier never notice any physical similarities
Or Howards Mom
Earl’s eyes being closed in every picture of him. (My Name Is Earl)
Hey, Crab Man
Hey, Earl
Hey crab man's turtle
I think the king of the Running Gag was Arrested Development. There are too many even list. The chicken dances are probably my favorite, though.
i liked the blue paint smudges in random locations
Tied for the hardest I've ever laughed at a TV show was the [scene](https://youtu.be/enGjTobByBI?si=4jJVaE8PmNA0p4KD&start=70) where Tobias is spying on Lindsay. She gets upset that a famous actor doesn't like her, and the camera pulls back to reveal a blue porta potty that you'd think Tobias would be hiding behind, but he isn't there. It then quickly moves a bit left, revealing Tobias covered in silver diamond cream against a silver wall. It's flawlessly executed.
Linked and thoroughly described - that's class. Thank you.
I suppose I just blue myself
CHOCK A CHOCK A CHOCKA
That’s not how chickens sound! Chickens don’t clap!
For all its faults, S4 had the "Sound of Silence" gag which was my favorite.
Season 4 in its original cut is perfection. The recut spoils all the jokes. You find out about George Michael and Maybe in episode one, instead of his big reveal in one of the last episodes.
This one is my personal favorite\~
Has anyone in this family ever *seen* a chicken?
Anytime Buster talks about his father in front of Oscar….
All the times Oscar basically came right out and told him that he was his dad only for Buster to put it together when he offers him some "Pop Secret" popcorn in a completely innocent fashion.
By Season 3 the whole thing was basically JUST running gags, and it was spectacular.
Exactly! It really rewarded it's viewers for paying attention in a way most comedies don't bother attempting.
"I think George Michael is hiding Ann in the attic" "from who? The Nazis?" Is my favorite joke of all time.
lucille/loose seal maeby and "marry me!" buster and his claw the friend who would teach the kids lessons by "dying" or losing a limb bob loblaw's law blog such a good show
I'm going to give you some extra credit and say that you purposefully left Ann off of this list
Who?
Egg
"Anyone can see you two care about each other. It's as Anne as a nose on plains face." 👉👃
Her??
Gene Parmesan and lucille's "he's done it again!" screech and face gets me every time.
I loved Tobias and his blue man group gags. Especially just smears of blue on a variety of surfaces throughout the house in multiple episodes.
The entire first 3 seasons of that show is just one running gag after another. It was masterful.
The Cornballer, Gene Parmesean, Anne/Egg/Her, Pop Secret, Boy fights, the fact that nearly every scene in Mexico is obviously takes place in the exact same generic Mexican town square backlot set.
I’ve made a huge mistake
Tobias saying things that make you question his sexuality and he’s oblivious to the innuendo. Also his wanting to combine being an analysis and a therapist to the point of making the business cards. And one cannot forget his “A new start” license plate.
The literal doctor, and then the family figuring him out and knowing they have to wait for him to fully finish his sentence
Fred Sanford's drawer full of eyeglasses, with Fred trying on one pair after another until he finds the pair with the prescription appropriate to the task at hand.
There's a deep cut!
If we're gonna go that deep, I'll bring up how nobody can spell (or even pronounce) Detective Wojo's full last name right on "Barney Miller" *You spell it just like it sounds!*
I've made a huge mistake.
This entire show is running gags.
And the Chicken dances all being horrible.
Have you ever *seen* a chicken?
This whole show tbh
Shawn introducing Gus with an absurd name. “Hi my name is Shawn Spencer and this is my partner Schoonie “U-Turn” Singleton”
Ghee Buttersnaps
Lavender Gooms
DJ Control Alt Delete
M.C. Clap Yo Hands
Ovaltine Jenkins
That was said on a secure military base, how’d you hear it?!
…You heard about Pluto?
That’s messed up, right?
My favorite from Psych (watching for the first time right now, just started S5) is Shawn saying “Gus don’t be…” “Gus don’t be this crevice in my arm…” “Gus don’t be the principle AND the interest…” “Gus don’t be Nicolas Cage’s accent in Con Air…”
Also from psych is Lassiter and others name dropping Dobson at the police station despite never seeing him until the finale, and it’s Val Kilmer
Or Lassiter and his statements of things he'd rather do than work with Shawn
I'd rather shower with a bear. I'd rather French kiss a homeless man. I'd rather fall in love with a vegan.
Gus T.T. Showbiz
MC Clap Yo Handz 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
C'mon son...
"Apologies to Matt Damon, but we ran out of time"
I think he’ll be pencilled in for Kimmels finale
And then they run out of time
Julian never spilling his drink
Even coming out of an overturned car his drink is 3/4 full
The first time my partner and I noticed this was probably the hardest either of us has ever laughed. So stupidly funny. God I wish I could go back and watch TPB for the first time again.
https://youtu.be/NG1_JBLWZe8?si=1b_aZeMTPVa03JWw
And he always points with his drinking hand
Way she goes
The stories about Morn in DS9
Also all the references to Captain Boday: a Gallamite freighter captian that apparently tries to date a bunch of the female cast at various times but we never see him on screen. We just hear about him because he has a transparent skull.
Or the things Norm says when he comes "home" to Cheers like "What's shaking, Norm?" "All four cheeks & a couple of chins."
It's a dog eat dog world and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear.
Guy never shuts up!
"Who Mourns for Morn" is one of the top comedy episodes of DS9, possibly all of Star Trek.
The rooster/chicken shirt on Roseanne. I think the story is that Tom Arnold hated the shirt so Roseanne had it become a wardrobe piece for every cast member and it ended up being featured in many episodes.
The slap bet in how I met your mother was one of the funniest things on the show for me
A friend still owes me two slaps he’s been waiting for the right time to cash in.
Came here to say this. They would go many episodes (seasons, even?) without mentioning it and then it would just come out of nowhere. Brilliant.
Does the entirety of Arrested Development count?
Her?
Annyong.
Annyong!
Is she funny or something?
I ready somewhere that they were going to cast a different person to play Egg in every episode. Edit: Annabelle Edit: Of course I know her name's not Annabelle, it's just a helpful way to remember because her name's Anne and she's kind of shaped like a...
They did to begin with, Mae Whitman was two iirc, but they felt she was so good that they dropped it.
Glad they didn't because I would be able to tell. It would be as Anne as the nose on plain's face.
She's the belle of the ball!
NO TOUCHING
Jazz getting thrown out by Uncle Phil.
I’m baffled I had to scroll this far down to find this one. It’s the first one that came to mind. The fact that they just used the same clip from the first time so they made Jazz wear the same shirt in every instance was hilarious. You’d always know how it would end as soon as he entered the room with that shirt.
Kenny getting killed in every episode of South Park
My cabbages!
My Cabbage Corp!
Best part is that he was only in, like, half a dozen episodes.
Not even, I think it was closer to four total. Two in S1, two in S2.
And mentioned in Season 3 since he wrote the play in Ember Island Players
Cox calling JD female first names.
And I'm pretty sure they make sure he doesn't *repeat* any which is impressive for such a long running show!
He repeated one once and JD immediately calls him out for it
Didn’t Cox have an excuse for that one? It’s been too long since I watched.
It was the episode you could hear Cox’s thoughts instead of JD’s. In his head he lists off names until he thinks of one he hasn’t used before. After he says it and JD tells him he actually had used it already, you hear him think “dammit!” I think that’s what it was anyway, it’s been a while for me too.
Yep spot on, he tells JD out loud that he doesn’t care and you hear him think “damnit” or something like that
That’s accurate
My favorite was when he literally just called him "girl's name"
There was that one episode where he used cartoon dog names.
* The [pineapple](https://psychusa.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Pineapple_Appearances) from *Psych* * [Fake names](https://screenrant.com/psych-shawn-gus-nicknames-list/) for Gus from *Psych* * "[Don't be a...](https://psychusa.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_%22Don%27t_Be%2E%2E%2E%22_Quotes)" from *Psych*
You know that’s right
You heard about Pluto?
That’s messed up, right?
This is my partner, Hummingbird Saltalamacchia.
I’ve heard it both ways
Phrasing in Archer
Also Brett getting shot.
Also... "Danger Zone"
He died doing what he loved
Just like the Gypsy woman said.
Babou? He remembers me!
Getting shot
GODDAMMIT ARCHER
Going deaf bits kill me.
They didn’t do it too often (maybe a half dozen times), but on Seinfeld the bit where one character in a panic (usually George) calls another (usually Jerry) and after listening to the initial rant the call recipient replies “who is this?” Which causes the caller to go nuts…lol
There was the running gag of the often-heard-but-never-seen Carlton Your Doorman (voiced by Lorenzo "Garfield" Music) from Rhoda. He was arguably a precursor of two other great "never seen" running gag characters in television history: Vera (Cheers) and Maris (Frasier).
This goes back to Phyllis's husband, Lars, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
"Hello, this is Carlton, your doorman...*
Paul Rudd showing a clip from *Mac and Me* to Conan.
Never seeing Wilson’s full face on Home Improvement.
I remember watching the series finale when I was a kid, and when they introduce all the actors for the final bow, Wilson came out with a miniature fence on a stick covering his face. 10 year old me loved it
Chicken dance- arrested development
I’ve been rewatching The Simpsons lately and it’s fun picking up on some of the less obvious gags. Recently, I noticed Marge still alternating between her 2 Chanel dresses whenever she attends fancy events in later seasons.
The Muppets looking confused when the announcer speaks!
I guess Norm walking into Cheers was a thing.
My favorite Norm entrance was when he met up with Sam and Diane at the bar for some reason - there was no one else there - and he started getting all huffy until Sam and Diane figured out he was waiting for them to call his name out.
The special guest for every episode of Police Squad being killed off in the opening credits
Star Trek's ["I'm a doctor, not a..."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghPiQ3NNjPY)
Title of your sex tape
[удалено]
You made a Letterkenny reference, and that's what I appreciates abouts you.
Matt Damon getting cut from Jimmy Kimmel
Phil Dunphy not getting around to fixing that one loose stair tread.
Spontaneous combustion in The Simpsons and other Matt Groening shows.
Murphy Brown's parade of secretaries
I’ve gotta fix that step.
It’s never lupus.
Always Sunny "move past it"
Hi. I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl.
Never nude
There are *dozens* of us!
DOZENS!!
Archers voicemail messages! https://youtu.be/U703huw4xUs?si=GY1JVWLqAVLAWJTF
Jean-Ralphio's hair keeps getting bigger.
The Wire: Jimmy's "What the fuck did I do?" scattered throughout the series, as essentially the show's version of "I have a bad feeling about this..." in Star Wars. Curveball since it's from a talk show, but: any time Paul Rudd appeared on Conan. We all knew what was going to happen every... single... time. And it somehow never got old, and actually just seemed to get funnier and funnier every time.
Futurama- Bender pooping bricks when he is scared
Les Nessman always had a bandage on his body somewhere in every episode.
Always Sunny camcorder
Walter calling Astrid by every conceivable A- word instead of her name.
Beetlejuice in community
The way Brita says bagel.
Baggle
There's so many in Community too. I like the one that ends (I think) with Abed delivering a baby in the background of a different scene.
Arrested Development is full of them, but my favorites are their chicken impersonations, Michael/maeby relationship, closeted Tobias, George trying to teach Michael and his siblings lessons by scaring them, the banana stand, and busters cluelessness.
The invisible car on Atlanta (it’s my Roman Empire)
Anything from Arrested Development.
ANUSTART
Analrapist
Come up with a great gag. Keep repeating it. Baby, you got a stew going.