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A gag character is usually a character that is rarely used, and typically exhibits little or no personality except to serve as the conduit for a joke in comic strips and TV shows.
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A gag character is usually a character that is rarely used, and typically exhibits little or no personality except to serve as the conduit for a joke in comic strips and TV shows.
Gag characters usually appear in single panel cartoons that do not follow any main or centralized character (although they might follow similar types of jokes). Some examples include The Far Side, Bizarro, and Speed Bump. Because of this, gag characters are not given a broad depth of characterization, as to complement the lack of narrative continuity present in their format.
Gag characters also appear on television. However, a gag character on a syndicated or serialized show usually makes one appearance during the series' run. Any subsequent appearances make the character into a secondary character within the work.
Often, a gag character's usage is centered around humor rooted in the character's behavior or appearance. However, there are cases where a gag character may also be the main characters of a particular narrative or even series. In such cases, the narrative frequently utilizes one or more recurring jokes throughout the series unique to that main character. Examples include Arale Norimaki from the manga Dr. Slump, or Marvel Comics' Squirrel Girl, among other examples. Due to being protagonists of their own respective show, such characters tend to be given more characterization and be put in a variety of scenarios, typically in parallel or in contrast to potentially much more serious characters.
You Can't Do That on Television is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured adolescent and teenage actors performing in a sketch comedy format similar to America's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and Canada's Second City Television. Each episode had a specific theme, typically relating to the popular culture of the time.
A whodunit is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the clues to the case, from which the identity of the perpetrator may be deduced before the story provides the revelation itself at its climax. The investigation is usually conducted by an eccentric, amateur, or semi-professional detective.
In fiction, a character or personage, is a person or other being in a narrative. The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, in which case the distinction of a "fictional" versus "real" character may be made. Derived from the Ancient Greek word χαρακτήρ, the English word dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones by Henry Fielding in 1749. From this, the sense of "a part played by an actor" developed. Character, particularly when enacted by an actor in the theater or cinema, involves "the illusion of being a human person". In literature, characters guide readers through their stories, helping them to understand plots and ponder themes. Since the end of the 18th century, the phrase "in character" has been used to describe an effective impersonation by an actor. Since the 19th century, the art of creating characters, as practiced by actors or writers, has been called characterization.
Tricky Dicky is a British comic strip which debuted in the magazine Topper in December 1976 and was drawn by John Dallas. From 1979 to 1986 he was the cover star of the comic, succeeding Danny's Tranny and preceding Beryl the Peril. The strip survived the merger with the Beezer in 1990 and continued in The combined Beezer and Topper comic til it ended in 1993. The character later reappeared in The Beano.
A cold open is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North American television, this is often done on the theory that involving the audience in the plot as soon as possible will reduce the likelihood of their switching from a show during the opening commercial. A cold open may also be used to recap events in previous episodes or storylines that will be revisited during the current episode.
A crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, common corporate ownership or unofficial efforts by fans.
Cheeky Weekly was a British comic book magazine published every Monday by IPC Magazines Ltd. It ran for 117 issues from 22 October 1977 to 2 February 1980, failing to be published for 3 weeks in December 1978 due to an industrial dispute. It merged with stable-mate Whoopee!, initially as a 16-page pull-out section. The title character originated in an earlier comic called Krazy as a character in the strip The Krazy Gang and also the star of the 'Ello, It's Cheeky feature, and proved popular enough to get his own comic, which managed to outlive Krazy itself. The first issue came with a free "Red Jet Rattler". Its characters and strips included:
Drawn Together is an American adult animated series and sitcom created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein for Comedy Central. The show premiered on October 27, 2004, and ended on November 14, 2007, after three seasons and 36 episodes. The series is a parody of house-based reality shows such as The Real World, The Surreal Life, and Big Brother, and follows the misadventures of the housemates in the fictional show of the same name and uses a sitcom format with a reality TV show setting.
A gag cartoon is most often a single-panel cartoon, usually including a caption beneath the drawing. In some cases, dialogue may appear in speech balloons, following the common convention of comic strips. A pantomime cartoon carries no caption.
A flashback, more formally known as analepsis, is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story's primary sequence of events to fill in crucial backstory. In the opposite direction, a flashforward reveals events that will occur in the future. Both flashback and flashforward are used to cohere a story, develop a character, or add structure to the narrative. In literature, internal analepsis is a flashback to an earlier point in the narrative; external analepsis is a flashback to a time before the narrative started.
Planet Sketch is an animated television series co-produced by Aardman Animations and Decode Entertainment, with animation production by C.O.R.E. Toons. The show was first aired on CITV on 10 September 2005, and later began airing on the Canadian network Teletoon starting on 19 November 2005. The series ended its run on 30 December 2007.
Jokers Wild is a British comedy panel game show that originally aired on ITV from 9 July 1969 to 20 November 1974. It was hosted by Barry Cryer. The show was based on two American panel game shows: Stop Me If You've Heard This One and Can You Top This?.
A spinoff or spin-off is any narrative work derived from an already existing work that focuses on different aspects from the original work.
Hammerspace is an imaginary extradimensional, instantly accessible storage area in fiction, which is used to explain how characters from animation, comics, and video games can produce objects out of thin air. Typically, when multiple items are available, the desired item is available on the first try or within a handful of tries.
The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting.
A television show, TV program, or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is traditionally broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable. This includes content made by television broadcasters and content made for broadcasting by film production companies. It excludes breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed between shows. Television shows are most often scheduled for broadcast well ahead of time and appear on electronic guides or other TV listings, but streaming services often make them available for viewing anytime. The content in a television show is produced by one of two production methodologies: live taped shows such as variety and news magazine shows shot on a television studio stage or sporting events The other production model includes animation and a variety of film productions ranging from movies to series. Shows not produced on a television studio stage are usually contracted or licensed to be made by appropriate production companies.
Characterization or characterisation is the representation of characters in narrative and dramatic works. The term character development is sometimes used as a synonym. This representation may include direct methods like the attribution of qualities in description or commentary, and indirect methods inviting readers to infer qualities from characters' actions, dialogue, or appearance. Such a personage is called a character. Character is a literary element.
Annoying Orange is an American live-action/animated comedy web series created by Dane Boedigheimer. The series follows a talking orange who annoys fruits, vegetables and various other objects and even people and creatures by telling crude jokes and puns and making annoying noises until their demise. The Annoying Orange YouTube channel has 13 million subscribers as of 2024.