Not a TV watcher but just started bingeing 30 Rock. One of the best series I've seen. The comedy is smart and swiftly delivered however every time we see doctor Spaceman the program shifts gear into slapstick.
"He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator."
Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!
As a huge 30 Rock fan (I've literally watched every episode at least half a dozen times), I always felt like a weirdo, for not being amused by fan favorite Dr. Spaceman.
I totally agree w/ you. He's simply too EASY. Too over the top, you know? And not like Tracy Jordan is over the top. Tracy's actually believable--cuz as an actor, they can BE Stupid and Senseless.
As a trusted doctor who someone as smart as Jack Donaghy even supposedly approves of? (Jack remarked in Season 1 about Dr. Spaceman: "He's also a pretty good dentist")--it's completely implausible.
This is why I also hated hated hated another fan favorite thing from the show: "Bitch Hunter", with Will Ferrell. Too over the top, once again. In fact, I disliked all the "fake shows" on '30 Rock'.
Okay, okay. I loved everything else. Seriously! :)
The over-the-top absurdism of Dr. Spaceman helps set up the more subtle humor of other parts of the show. Besides, Parnell's wonderfully deadpan way of playing those insane lines balanced things out.
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I did not mean slapstick per se but used the term more so as a low form of comedy. Particularly in relationship to the bulk of the comedy in the series. Typical examples.
Tracy: Thanks, Jack, for coming to this emergency meeting. I'm sorry I'm four hours late, but my alarm clock didn't go off because it died in a cock fight last night.
Jenna: Relationships are like sharks Liz, if you're not left with several bite marks after intercourse, then something's wrong.
Jack: TGS with Tracy Jordan without Tracy Jordan is an oxymoron, like "liberal government" or "female scientist."
Kenneth: There's a reason God gave us two ears and only one mouth: listening is twice as important as talking. But he gave us ten fingers ... he must really want us to poke things!
Liz: Usually everyone around here makes me feel like Hitler, but today I feel like Hitler in Germany.
Dr. Spaceman: (Asked by Jack to give a seemingly dying Mr. Geiss an intracardiac injection) We have no way of knowing where the heart is.
Forgive me but Dr. Spacemen seemed to be the unnecessary rubber chicken prop in a great comedy series. Regardless, I still love it.
"He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator."
See, that line is really more absurdist satire than slapstick or lowbrow.
shareWhat's lowbrow about his line? It's absurd, as most are saying. Lowbrow would be what you see on cbs any given night.
Also, the dr. Spaceman line is the funniest of that collection of jokes you posted, imo.
I would have a lot of eyes on the other side, wouldn't I? Wouldn't that just be fine?
So you have no problem with the incredibly one dimensional Kenneth and his annoying voice and mannerisms, but Spacemen is the real problem?
I think if they used Dr. Spaceman more, it would have been lame. But he was used just enough. My favorite line (that I thought was hilariously subtle) was:
"Tracy, you're going to die."
"What?! No!"
"...when I tell you who I'm dating. Squeaky Fromme. She is....difficult. Anywho."
I personally disagree, but I can understand how you could feel that way.
To me, Dr. Spaceman is an organic extension of the broader humor of the show, and feels like someone who could exist in the "universe" of the series. And definitely someone who would end up in the lives of the characters. And I love the humor involving him.
And FURTHERMORE, this is my signature! SERIOUSLY! Did you think I was still talking about my point?
Substitute "surreal" for "broader" and I think you have yourself a nicely stated description of Leo.
shareMaybe it's because I am someone with a chronic illness who has had many incompetent doctors over the last few years, but I think Dr. Spaceman is hilarious. The medical field often does take itself too seriously and those working within it do not admit how little they know, or they think they know it all and have opinions on things that they shouldn't because they don't have the expertise. Dr. Spaceman, to me, is a satire of that.
shareDr. Spaceman is probably my favorite minor character. I love his absurdity and incompetence. I think he should get his own show.
shareI feel ya. For most people if you go in with something relatively simple, you are probably going to get help. But if you are dealing with something rare, or something that could be a multitude of things, doctors generally don't put in enough time of thought to really help you, just go with the first thing that pops in their mind. And if you go back? From my experience they basically stall because they are just as lost as you are.
And if you actually know what it is, often doctors are clearly clueless about the condition.
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The over-the-top absurdism of Dr. Spaceman helps set up the more subtle humor of other parts of the show. Besides, Parnell's wonderfully deadpan way of playing those insane lines balanced things out.That's spot on. One premise of the show is you have a relatively "normal" person (but with her own idiosyncrasies) trying to deal with employees who are all dysfunctional on some level. Tracy is one of the most dysfunctional because he is crazy. Presumably, to stay alive, he'd need a doctor who is also "normal" to stay alive, but in this case his doctor is even crazier than Tracy. That's the joke, but it also adds surreal humor to the mix on the show, which makes it funnier overall.
And the actor was particularly good in the first live episode.IIRC, he was known for having the record for not breaking character on SNL. share