High Brow Humor: “I Am Not a Wassily!”

A nineties sitcom that completely fell under my radar was Frasier, the Cheers spinoff about a radio psychologist who moves back to Seattle to live closer to his private practice psychologist brother, Niles, and aging father, Marty.

The season one pilot reeled me in after a couple of jokes about an Eames lounge chair, the opera, and eclectic design style. The main character had a sense of humor and culture that I really enjoyed. The father’s character, Marty, was a former cop who liked sitting on his favorite couch. His character was put in place to appeal to the larger fanbase because he was a relatable everyman.

The jokes between Frasier and his brother Niles are so funny because like Frazier and Niles, I was more interested in academics than sports when I was growing up and I understand most of their jokes. Of course there are times when I have to look up an object he was referencing while I am watching the show before I can laugh at it.

I do believe that one of the reasons I could not follow Frasier when I was very young was because many of the jokes went over my head because I did not have context for them. The concern with highbrow humor is that it excludes a population of the audience so there has to be less elite personality type characters in order for broader jokes to work.


2018 Drunk Duck Secret Santa

Submissions for the Secret Santa are being posted in the forums.

Post your Secret Santa gifts here:

https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/178057/


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