| Author | Message | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Barney and Basil are proud to announce that they never did it but perhaps Barney's achievment is the most noteworthy | ||
| Dref (Dref)
|
Basil = any relation to a certain Mr. Fawlty? "It" = a crime? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Basil = any relation to a certain Mr. Fawlty? Absolutely! "It" = a crime? No | ||
| Dref (Dref)
|
Barney and Basil = both human? adult? So, there is a relationship, eh? is this puzzle based on any FT episodes? Barney = any relation to Det. Miller? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Barney and Basil = both human? Yes adult? Yes So, there is a relationship, eh? Yes is this puzzle based on any FT episodes? Not as such Barney = any relation to Det. Miller? Bingo! | ||
| Dref (Dref)
|
So, are we dealing with the two as characters in their worlds? or as actors in ours? It = something to do with business? awards? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
So, are we dealing with the two as characters in their worlds? no or as actors in ours? no We are dealing with the two sitcom comedy shows It = something to do with business? no awards? yes | ||
| Dref (Dref)
|
Referring to Basil and Barney instead of the full titles of the shows really threw me off. Good job.  Is the fact that Barney was on TV quite a bit longer than Basil relevant? Fawlty Towers was great, but why so short? I was able to fit almost the entire series, barring two episodes, on just one VHS tape. Distressing.  | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Is the fact that Barney was on TV quite a bit longer than Basil relevant? Yes You are doing very well so far! Fawlty Towers was great, but why so short? I echo the same | ||
| Dref (Dref)
|
Is the Emmy award relevant? Is an award both shows _didn't_ recieve relevant? Is their achievement related to ratings? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Is the Emmy award relevant? no Is an award both shows _didn't_ recieve relevant? Yes Is their achievement related to ratings? Yes but not ratings as defined by the number of viewers | ||
| Dref (Dref)
|
Is this award British? or USian? neither? both? Is this award generally considered a positive one to get? or negative? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Is this award British? no or USian? yes neither? no both? it could be considered as international Is this award generally considered a positive one to get? no or negative? yes | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
RECAP The American sitcom "Barney Miller" and the British sitcom "Fawlty Towers" both failed to do "this". It is related to an American-cum-International award not related to the numbers that watched the shows. The "award" is a negative one. | ||
| Dref (Dref)
|
Is it an award for worst TV episode/season/series? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Is it an award for worst TV episode/season/series? No | ||
| Ed Mason (Logician)
|
Is it an award for 'most hackneyed show' - Barney Miller being more noteworthy due to their 170 episodes, as opposed to Fawlty Tower's mere 12? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Hi Ed Is it an award for 'most hackneyed show' - Barney Miller being more noteworthy due to their 170 episodes, as opposed to Fawlty Tower's mere 12? No, however this is a valuable observation and perhaps it is time for some clarification. Remember that both Barney Miller and Fawlty Towers "Never did it" meaning of course that they never did ... You need to find out what they both never did. What they failed to do is something to be proud of. It is related to a negative award, although, perhaps the term "award" is a little misleading. I would say that the fact that Barney Miller ran for so many episodes makes that show's achievement of "never doing it", even greater. So, what is it that they never did? To find out the exact term will require specialist knowledge but you can discover the idea without that knowledge. | ||
| Ed Mason (Logician)
|
Is this "award" related to the principle actors? secondary actors? minor actors? guest stars? the storylines? length of time on air? number of repeats? clip shows? repeats? cross-overs? the production staff behind making the show? the cuts/pans/tilts etc used in the show? | ||
| Ed Mason (Logician)
|
...the number of locations used? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Is this "award" related to the principle actors? secondary actors? minor actors? guest stars? the storylines? length of time on air? number of repeats? clip shows? repeats? cross-overs? the production staff behind making the show? the cuts/pans/tilts etc used in the show? ...the number of locations used? None of these Ed | ||
| Tim A. Dowd (Bodo)
|
Jumped the shark? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Jumped the shark? 100% correct. Please would you do us the honour by way of explanation? | ||
| Tim A. Dowd (Bodo)
|
"Jump the shark" originated as a phrase to describe the various efforts of sitcoms to revive a flagging audience share. The phrase is derived from the Happy Days episode (I think it was a two-parter) in which Fonzi jumps over a shark on water skis. Other methods of shark-jumping include adding new characters or shooting lead characters. Apparently neither Barney Miller nor | ||
| Tim A. Dowd (Bodo)
|
Sorry, "Fawlty". | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Well done Tim. I have to go out now but I'll post the spoiler later. Essentially a show that is said to have "jumped the shark" reached it's peak at that point and started to decline in quality. Most shows jump the shark at some point but Fawlty Towers and Barney Miller never did - I'll prove it later. | ||
| Dref (Dref)
|
I was going to ask about jumping the shark and I didn't! Stupid, stupid me! Go ahead and post the spoiler and further my grumpy mood today! Joking. | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
******************* SPOILER ****************** They both "Jumped The Shark" What is "Jumping The Shark"? Never Jumped Click on "never jumped" bottom of left hand column Barney Miller never jumped - proof Fawlty Towers never jumped - proof In my humble opinion - the best American and best British sitcoms of all time. Neither jumped the shark and Barney Miller never even jumped after -what was it- 125 episodes! We will give Fred the benefit of doubt and he is promoted to share the honours with Tim! | ||
| Dref (Dref)
|
Thanks, and I agree about both shows, of course. | ||
| Tim A. Dowd (Bodo)
|
As they just had the 30th reunion of Happy Days on TV the other night, I thought I'd mention that Gary Marshall pointed out they had 100 more episodes after the shark-jumping one. And it did create two successful (i. e. not the Joanie-Chachie thing) spin offs--Laverne and Shirley is the obvious one, but who out there knows which sit-com title character originally appeared as a character on a single episode of Happy Days? No fair googling. I bet Fred knows.  | ||
| Dref (Dref)
|
Oh, that's easy. NANU, NANU! It was Mork of later Monk and Mindy fame, of course. | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
|
So would the shower scene in Dallas with Bobby Ewing be counted as shark-jumping? Or just far-fetched? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
Lynne it would count as both Dallas definitely jumped the shark! If you look at the site from the link above you can see that 33 people voted to say that Dallas jumped the shark at the detah of Bobby Ewing while the top vote of 45 has been cast for "the dream". It is worth mentioning that these awards are dynamic and ongoing and the votes are cast by Joe Public. I voted last night. | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
|
MAJOR BLOOPER !! CORRECTION BELOW *************** SPOILER ********************* They both FAILED to Jump the Shark What is "Jumping The Shark"? Proof that they Never Jumped Click on "never jumped" bottom of left hand column In my humble opinion - the best American and best British sitcoms of all time. Neither jumped the shark and Barney Miller never even jumped after -what was it- 125 episodes! We will give Fred the benefit of doubt and he is promoted to share the honours with Tim! | ||
| Tim A. Dowd (Bodo)
|
Yup, Fred's right--I actually saw the episode of Happy Days where Mork from Ork made his first appearance on network television--even though I didn't normally watch Happy Days. Actually, it could've been a re-run, for all I know. |
