Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2007 July 9

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July 9

Trying to remember the name of a character...

I recall a small impish character from the old Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV show but I can't remember his name and it's bugging me. I used to watch the show when I was a kid and the character came to mind today. I'm 99% certain that it was from this show and not Battlestar Galactica which I also used to watch when I was a kid. The character was something like a leprechaun and I remember him having an evil streak of some kind where he liked tormenting the main characters not out of malice but just because he was a trickster. Looking through the articles, IMDb, and some Google searches didn't really come up with anything. Can anyone help me out with the name of the character? Dismas|^(talk) 00:41, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Doesn't ring any bells. Sounds more like Mister Mxyzptlk from the Superman universe. Clarityfiend 02:50, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

No, it's definitely not him. Dismas|^(talk) 03:23, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

It isn't Twiki the robot, is it? Corvus cornix 20:36, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Definitely not Twiki. I know him. I think the character was only in a couple episodes. Considering the show only lasted two seasons, I didn't think it would be that hard to figure out. Now it's making me doubt if I have the right show in mind. I know it was a sci-fi series that I watched in the late 70s to early 80s. Dismas|^(talk) 21:10, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Was it from the episode "Shgoratchx!"? I seem to remember there were seven dwarves (not really leprechauns) in that episode. Can't recall who the leader was, but maybe someone else could?--Ispy1981 19:07, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

I tried an alternative way to find the answer. I did a search on television appearances of Felix Silla because he did a lot of television work. Of course, he did play Twiki. However, there is no account of him playing anything impish. What are the other "little people" popular on TV at the time. Hmm... maybe I should check all the stars of Time Bandits. -- Kainaw^(what?) 19:17, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Ha, when you said that, I immediately thought of Billy Barty. Looking through his TV appearances, there weren't a lot of villains, though, at least not from that era or from sci-fi.--Ispy1981 19:36, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

How about Journey to Oasis, Part 1 [1]; character name Odee-X, played by Felix Silla. --LarryMac | Talk 19:51, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Yes! Yes! That's him! You can see a picture of him at this link and this one! Thank you a million!! Dismas|^(talk) 02:20, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

Charlie Chaplin - not funny anymore

I've watched a few Charlie Chaplin films on DVD recently, and they did not seem at all funny. Why did people find them funny when they were made? Why dont they find them funny now? How has what people find funny changed over the years? 80.3.45.252 16:49, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

It's partly because so much of his schtick has been copied so often, and it now seems cliched (I'm sure you've seen dozens of references to eating a boot, or making potatoes dance, or whatever). For me, Buster Keaton is also not funny, for the same reason, and although they are not silent, neither are the Three Stooges. Maybe we also no longer have the patience for silent humour, we need quick one-liners to satisfy us. The Marx Brothers are still hilarious, I think, and perhaps that is why, it's just joke after joke, non-stop. Adam Bishop 16:59, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Well I think standards certainly have been raised since then, but at the time Chaplin was one of the pioneers of comedy. Perhaps they seem unfunny just because they're old, and seem unoriginal to modern eyes. Personally I have found only odd moments of Chaplin films funny, but enjoyed things like Monsieur Verdoux a lot, although a different kind of comedy. Perhaps your sense of humour does not match Chaplin's. It may be a question of taste more than anything.  slυмgυм [ ←→ ] 17:01, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure about 'standards' being raised, but certainly mainstream comedy has changed over the years. People like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin were found funny because they used their genre (mostly silent movies) to good effect - ranging from comical expressions, slapstick through to dramatic body movements etc. Cosmo Kramer in Seinfeld displays a lot of silent-movie style creditionals with his body-intensive comedy. Silent comedy does have the difficult of no spoken dialogue which, of course, is where most people find humour works best. The (to our modern eyes) silly antics are seen in many shows of recent years. Kenan & Kel had a lot of slapstick, I find that Scrubs uses a lot of physical comedy. I suspect that the biggest failing is that we can now blend the physical with the vocal and provide a variety of comedic performance that wasn't available in the silent-film era. The comedian Paul Merton hosted a wonderful series on the BBC called Paul Merton's Silent Clowns which was excellent - it opened my eyes up to the art of that time, and I must say I still find much of it very funny. ny156uk 20:25, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Mr Bean is silent but funny. So Charlie Chaplin is not no longer funny just because he was silent. 80.2.207.15 21:00, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

I have always found Chaplin very funny (and I also always cry when they come to take the Kid away...), but the Marx Brothers have never done anything for me (except for the mirror), and the Three Stooges I can't even begin to understand how anyone ever found them anything other than intensly irritating. Chacun à son goût. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DuncanHill (talk • contribs)

Part of the problem may be that you're watching alone. We laugh less when there's no one around to hear us laughing. Home video was rare Back Then. —Tamfang 23:41, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Another reason for not finding silent humor funny anymore is the fact that as the same jokes have been used over and over, society has become harder to please and the entertainment industry has had to go farther and farther to try to find original humor. Silent humor was simple, while today, we find ourselves watching complex action comedies such as Pirates of the Caribbean.

Land of Hope and Glory remix

I recently heard a "modern" remix of LoHaG being played; it had drums, electric guitars etc., but retained the tune and lyrics. I think it also included bits of Heart of Oak (tune and lyrics). Does anyone know what it is?--Rambutan (talk) 16:51, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Country Life advertisement music

Does anyone know the music used in the Country Life industrial-butter-substitute advert - the one where squirrels, robins, rabbits etc pop in to do the housework after the kids have gone to school? It's a tune I seem to have known for ever - but can't place. DuncanHill 21:48, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

I don't recognise it myself (sounds like something out of a Disney movie from the 50s/60s) but so as that others may help there is a youtube video post of it here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVLZdkZFtj8) ny156uk 22:09, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

I think it's 1940's and British.... but couldn't quite say why. Thanks for the link - it's impossible to describe music verbally! DuncanHill 22:18, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

• It's the theme tune for an old radio show fom the BBC.Housewives Choice I think.86.53.57.148 08:26, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

• Fabulous! Thank you 86.53.573.148 (or may I call you 86?). I looked up Housewives' Choice, where it says the theme is called In Party Mood by Jack Strachey. Then googled that, and yes, you are right. Thank you :) DuncanHill 09:33, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

ALP

hi all, Can anyone please provide me with some links to Assorted Linkage Puzzle(ALP) games?? Thank you

Since "assorted linkage puzzle" doesn't turn up anything useful on Google, would you be interested in describing what you consider an Assorted Linkage Puzzle to be? -- Kainaw^(what?) 01:46, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

Do you mean something like this? (Canadian site). I remember having a hard time finding these. iames 14:13, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

Hi Kainaw, let me explain you that by giving this example, it's an ALP game, play it and tell me if you win. http://www.freestuffhotdeals.com/hacker/1.html

Hmmm... I don't see what that has to do with "assorted linkage". The puzzle itself calls it a "hacker puzzle". Regardless, it is a little interesting, but no more than a "what follows this pattern" puzzle. -- Kainaw^(what?) 22:37, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

I thought I remembered something about these. Google for "hardest internet puzzle" and you'll find them. -- Kainaw^(what?) 01:34, 11 July 2007 (UTC)